Ok, how many of you wanting beta actually want to help clear up issues, or just want to play a bit e

hakuda · March 2004

The way i see it, most of the people bitching about beta are the ones that want to play the game early. Truthfully, are you going to spend hours game testing it, filling in forms and sending useful bug reports and lots of feedback. Possibly spending more time reporting than playing?

You see, I think most will get in, play, develop their character ready for release ~(if you can transfer), and ignore all the reporting they could do...just for their own selfish gains.

Perhaps a bit controversial...tell me I'm wrong.

p.s. I'm in Beta, and I report bugs/issues etc

Solomon · March 2004

My major reason is to lay claim to the name I want, for example it sux having a name like Vegeta22104 in some games.

I find that in games I do crazy and sometime unthought of movements, that get me stuck in buildings, walls, and sometimes falling through the ground. All of these were in the released games, I feel my getting in the beta, no matter how selfish my reasons are, I can provide some of the best reports of bugs. I am the king of bugs and glitches

I never beta tested a game, but I have beta tested software and e-paperwork is usually 10%-20% of the total experience, unless the software is totally garbage.

SO I say Coh: Return of the King!

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"I'm not normally a religious man, but if you're up there, save me, Superman!"
-- Homer Jay Simpson

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killerTwinkie · March 2004

Most of the people that Beta-Test games go in for that simple reason, to play and not beta. Or they send one bug in as a report, that most people know about and decide that they have finished their civil duties.

I myself find that if you are a true beta tester, there to find bugs and not play, then the games that are released should be a hell of a lot better. It's not always the Publishers problem, it's also lack of the community doing their civil duties.

So, next time you play a game and it comes our very well, lay claim to the fact taht you've beta'd the game and that you actually spent time Beta testing the game instead of playing.

- MMORPG.COM STAFF -

crushr · March 2004

I usually play a game and when I encounter a bug, i write it down and test it (testing method depends on the bug). Then I report the bug and.... play more until i am "bugged" again

Beta testing isn't only about bugs, but also about testing the gameplay and suggesting improvents where you think they are needed.

EDIT: the name element thing: bug work around --> pick an original name

heartless · March 2004

I usualy mix playing and testing. If I encounter a bug during my play session, I usualy try to recreate it and then report. I found that it's one of the best ways to test. Because the devs not only need info on bugs but also on the game itself. The way I do it, I can give feedback on both aspects.

killerTwinkie · March 2004

In my post above, I wasn't trying to advocate that playing is a bad thing. Obviously you need to play the game to get the bugs. It's that 1/3 of the community playing the game that wont deter from playing the game. If they get a bug, they'll restart and not send their information. Those are the ones creating most problems.

- MMORPG.COM STAFF -

heartless · March 2004

I agree with you and found that to be the problem in most beta tests I've participated in. I found that people who were actually a part of the game's community before beta do a better job at testing.

I agreed with Cryptic from the get go, since they announced that people who signed up to the forums before November 2003 would be the first ones to enter the closed beta. They also checked for recent activity on the forums to make sure that the person didn't just create an account and leave.

To me it seems like a smart move on their part because I feel that most of the old timers on the official forums would actually want to game to succeed and thus will report bugs.

I see too many people saying "I want to get into the beta to see if I like the game and maybe then I'll buy it." And quite frankly it erks me because you can't judge the finished game by the beta. Well in most cases anyway, AO, SWG and EVE Online excluded.

Anyway, beta is not a free demo of the game, it is a period of testing and weeding out the bugs and exploits, as well as, giving feedback on the gameplay so that devs can make the game better.

killerTwinkie · March 2004

Originally posted by heartless
I found that people who were actually a part of the game's community before beta do a better job at testing.
Beta is not a free demo of the game, it is a period of testing and weeding out the bugs and exploits, as well as, giving feedback on the gameplay so that devs can make the game better.

Agreed.

BTW - Nice Heartless Picture

- MMORPG.COM STAFF -

Stormrage · March 2004

I want to play the beta for 2 reasons. 1 because i want to help make the game better. 2 because i been with CoH for 3 years now and i finally want to see what they have done with the game not just hear about it and see pics.

jjjbad · March 2004

Not to denigrate any younger players, but I think older more expierienced players with many years of gaming under thier belts should be chosen for the beta.

READ: ME!

heh heh

JJ

TheThriller · March 2004

Well both really, i mean i would like to give my feed back to the devs. I know i would be a valuable person cause i am that kind of player that well always goes around exploring and dwelving into things other wouldnt have thought of......but playing early wouldnt hurt.

heartless · March 2004

Originally posted by killerTwinkie

BTW - Nice Heartless Picture

Danke

oumarch110 · March 2004

help clear up issue = yes

play early = yes

so, basically...I wanna do both.

Reelo · March 2004

I think a lot of the people who want in beta testing just want in so they can have a FREE trial run of the game to determine whether they want to pay $50 for the game then $15 a month to keep playing it. Personally I would like to get into beta just so I could play with the costume creator for awhile

HawkCXVII · March 2004

This late in the game does it really matter? Most of the bug will be found, at least I hope, and the most any new beta testers will do is stress test. But im all for finding bugs and playing

Quess · March 2004

personaly i thing it depends on the persons, and you can nomaly tell fron the posts a person is making if they well be good beta testers or not. (read nomaly)

and i really do thing that the main part of the ppl in close to any (closed) beta are trying to help as much as they can, but many of them dont know how to test or what to look for, so for them it well easy just be some free time in the game and a quit look at it befor they have to pay for it.

but you only have about 60 to 100 ppl working on making a game like this so if you have about 4000 testers. that is alot of feed back you get that that little time

but remimber it is the 8th of marts now .. release is not that fare away

_______________________________
So i am a addict. i can live with it
can you ?

vash_aka_ada · March 2004

i would like to be a beta but too dang young

id want to be it so that they can spot errors and stuff cause i hate games that come on and have 50 PLUS errors eg nwn and such so thats why i would want it

TheThriller · March 2004

Originally posted by vash_aka_ada

i would like to be a beta but too dang young
id want to be it so that they can spot errors and stuff cause i hate games that come on and have 50 PLUS errors eg nwn and such so thats why i would want it

*cough* swg *cough* ...im sorry, i got a bad game...i mean cold...cold....

If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.
--Jack Handy

endiku · March 2004

Getting in a week or two before release... you couldnt have an affect on developement if you wanted to.

Its one thing getting into beta months before release but no one who has a pre-order or even the contest winners will have any affect other than load testing the servers.

If you find an actual bug 2 weeks before release then odds are its well known and either will be fixed or will be ignored, your imput on it though will be irrelevant.

So the only reason to get into beta this late is to play the game early. That still isnt entirely selfish however. As if the game rocks you can help promote it. And if it sucks you can tell people to stay away.

Solomon · March 2004

Originally posted by endiku

Getting in a week or two before release... you couldnt have an affect on developement if you wanted to.
Its one thing getting into beta months before release but no one who has a pre-order or even the contest winners will have any affect other than load testing the servers.
If you find an actual bug 2 weeks before release then odds are its well known and either will be fixed or will be ignored, your imput on it though will be irrelevant.
So the only reason to get into beta this late is to play the game early. That still isnt entirely selfish however. As if the game rocks you can help promote it. And if it sucks you can tell people to stay away.

Whether you were a handle full of the chosen Beta testers, who found many pre-release bugs OR if you are a pre-order/contest winner thats helping test the game servers, both are helping create a bug free (relatively) game with an efficient network for the game. Either way let me in early, let me help you make a better game.

If Beta testing and game playing is so different, then when the game is released all the true beta testers get out of the game and beta RYL or something.

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"I'm not normally a religious man, but if you're up there, save me, Superman!"
-- Homer Jay Simpson

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Yordo · March 2004

This is a very interesting issue you bring up. My guess is that most people are not in the beta for the sole purpose of helping out the Dev team work out problems in the game. Honestly, everyone is out there to PLAY the game. I usually don't even think about submitting bugs or anything until the end of the first week of playing. After that time the initial burst of fun is over, and I can spend some more time on the game support forums submitting errors and such. Also, I'm sure every game company knows this....and even though they know, they DO NOT care. First off, even if half the people who are participating in the test don't do anything except play, they are still testing reliability of the servers without even thinking about it. Seeing how many people the server can handle at once is one of the top priorities in beta tests. Second, without these testers, the game would never even get off the ground. So many errors are found by the Devs by just watching what happens with everyone playing. If anything, the Dev team owes the testers something, which is one reason why you should NEVER pay for a beta test. Pre-ordering the game which gets you into beta, as in Lineage 2 or City of Heroes, is fine, since you also get the actual game later on.

midnitewolf · March 2004

Well to be honest it works a little like this for me. If the game is something that really excites me I want to beta the game to play and find bugs and make suggestions. If the game is just something that looking like it might be interesting then I want to just beta to get a free trial. If upon playing at that point I find the game is outstanding or has alot of potential I will hardcore beta test it and looks for bugs and offer improvements.

M.

WizGamer · March 2004

I usually just like to get into betas to play lol but I always eventually (somehow someway) get affected by a bug and then I report it. Its what they want me to do, its easy to do, and it helps them fix a bug that is extremely annoying. I usually become in love with the game during the first few minutes (unless its a gay game) and then I am at the point in which I would do anything to help the game.

Gothic: Wanna throw Rocks in the river and cry?

Hippie: Paint my face. Then I'll be a true American. I know what, lets dance!

Over-achiever:...and at six I walk through my bedroom door right after glancing at my cat who always sits on the rug at four, and....

Ignus · March 2004

There is an excitement to being a BETA tester that is really hard (for me at least) to describe. I have been an early adopter program member for several database software programs and utilities as well as a BETA coordinater for 7 different database software applications and versions.

As a developer (database applications only - what game developers are doing today blows me away), I crave last minute information. For the simple reason that I want to know before the general public does. The idea of a BETA is to simply find out the things that you never even thought was possible with your software. In most cases, as was mentioned previously, just playing (or in my case - using) is enough. People are wacky and do wacky things. That is what makes us unique and that is the kind of information that developers need (even last minute) to fine tune their software.

Just wanting to play is fine, but remember (well, you do not really need to remember) but for me, it is an honor to be a BETA tester, even if it is because I won some contest. You have a chance to help. Even if it is just a little bit or it just saves a developer from an embarassing moment. (I have had my share with my software)

The point is that we talk about the game community and wanting roleplay and having fun with our friends in a challenging environment and all the other things that make a MMORPG successful. The BETA is a BIG BIG part of that. Report your bugs! Report your suggestions. Report them with honesty and accuracy and no flamage. You might not ever even see what you report fixed or changed in the game, but you will know that you did what you believed would help make the game successful.

Why would you even want to play early if a successful game is not on your agenda.

KithDPine · March 2004

This problem was created by moving the beta testing away from dedicated paid teams to any one who could fill out a web application.

Several companies play up the idea that beta is a reward. They are further supporting this beta=play early image.

I used to black box test roms for Sega and Nintendo, I was paid for this service. If I get into this or any other beta I will take my role as tester seriously and note/report any errors I find, but unlike before when I was being paid I am not going to try jumping 100 time on each pedistal, or repeating the same action more then 4 times to see if I can repeat the error. That sort of dedication came from being paid, if my payment is getting to play with the game early, then I am going to collect my pay.

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Ok, how many of you wanting beta actually want to help clear up issues, or just want to play a bit e

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