We select them .. though there is a certain random impulse as well.
Current beta will close in a few weeks, with the release of demo and with the announcement of our game. Anyone who preorders the game will be receiving regular alpha builds and will become our beta tester.
Sounds great! I've been following Outerra since 2009, and I'll preorder as soon as I can.
The amount of detail this engine is capable of, the fact that it is generated procedurally, the essentially infinite scale it is on, and the choice to explore it all on foot, in automobile, or in air makes Outerra one of my most-looked-forward-to pieces of software, ever. The amazing performance, too, at least on nVidia cards (I have an ATI card [I realize that they've always half-assed their OpenGL driver support compared to nVidia], and I'm willing to deal with graphical glitches and performance issues during beta).
I cannot wait to explore the Earth in Outerra in a few weeks!