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Why I think beta testing is ruining the industry
Unrivaled1
Member UncommonPosts: 34
I expect this will be a hotly contested topic, but I've been trying to put my finger on why MMO's are losing their appeal to me the past few years and I now feel it is because beta testing (which I know is completely necessary to bring a polished product to market) allows a select amount of players to gain carnal knowledge of the inner mechanics and geography of the game and therefore gives them a HUGE advantage at release that other players cannot hope to overcome.
Another way of putting it is that what I want in an online game is to compete against my fellow players in all things. Leveling, resource collection, crafting, building, expanding, etc. All of it. And I cannot even begin to do so any more, courtesy of beta players cornering the market on all aspects of competition in the game right on Day 1.
Again, I know beta testing is integral and necessary but at the same time it is making it pointless, for me at least and I believe there are many others out there that feel this way as well, to even bother playing in the first place if we're just going to take a distant 732nd place in all things competitive.
And that is just horseshit to me, frankly. I don't have a viable alternative as I am not a game developer, but something would have to change about it in order to reel me back in. Now, maybe I am no great loss in the grand scheme of things, but there is a buttload of new f2p games out every year and competition for a limited number of gamers is fierce. I'd like to think the game that solves this issue might reap a healthy market share.
Thoughts?
Another way of putting it is that what I want in an online game is to compete against my fellow players in all things. Leveling, resource collection, crafting, building, expanding, etc. All of it. And I cannot even begin to do so any more, courtesy of beta players cornering the market on all aspects of competition in the game right on Day 1.
Again, I know beta testing is integral and necessary but at the same time it is making it pointless, for me at least and I believe there are many others out there that feel this way as well, to even bother playing in the first place if we're just going to take a distant 732nd place in all things competitive.
And that is just horseshit to me, frankly. I don't have a viable alternative as I am not a game developer, but something would have to change about it in order to reel me back in. Now, maybe I am no great loss in the grand scheme of things, but there is a buttload of new f2p games out every year and competition for a limited number of gamers is fierce. I'd like to think the game that solves this issue might reap a healthy market share.
Thoughts?
Comments
As for the general problem of knowing stuff before release... This is the second problem. This come with story driven "you are the hero" MMORPGS. Since you need to test quests and storylines you need to use real quest areas. In betas I have been those usually were limited to one or two maps and one instance, but still you get the "been there... done that" feeling when starting. If you are planning a game like Anarchy Online or Ryzom you could easily circumvent those problems with special testing areas, since you do not need to test quest lines, but balancing and mechanics. Drop mobs and entry points (for those who don't know: Anarchy Online had mission terminals that would let you draw missions, you chose one and were sent to an entry point with a procedurally generated "dungeon" and Ryzom is more sandboxy), some merchants and mats and let players loos to give you feedback. On release just plop them to the real world they do not know, perhaps but some look and feel that was set on beta island. That would be how I would handle it.
The last true beta I was in was Vanguard.
The only thing that makes sense is that the OP is protesting against paid Early Access.
It can't be beta testing itself, because that has been a feature of MMO development since the dawn of the industry. Yet the OP has only experienced a problem in "the past few years".
TL:DR: Everything should be free, except the stuff I don't care about, which they can sell in the Cash Shop !
Beta test is not something new and that's not what killed MMORPGs.
Shallow design and lack of social interaction is the problem.
I don't expect everyone to have the same issue with the concept as I do myself, but for me personally I see it in game after game that beta testers on release day already have a comprehensive plan in place to dominate all aspects of the game that they have previously researched throughout the beta test.
And in that scenario I have to ask why bother playing when a select few have already "won"?
@berenim: I play online to be competitive. That is what I derive satisfaction in gaming from. Others do so from cooperative play so likely will have less issue with the results of beta testing.
Such a flawed view. A great player doesn't need the extra time to learn the game, they will adapt and overcome and produce a strategy to put them where they want to be.
Sure you are on same server, so it will be hard to know who is who, but if you are competing, compete against your own? Instead of trying to fight against people whom you do not share basis with.
Maybe set smaller goals, personal goals and or maybe join a guild and compete against your own guildmates?
You seem to have some options, if you want to avoid your own frustration.
Personally I can say I have never had this issue of yours, so I cant rally with you on your quest.
To me beta testing is great! I dont like to play betas myself or at least I stopped doing so, cause it spoils the game.
But its great that some people are willing to, testing the servers, finding bugs, etc.
Very useful.
As to my failing to get into beta tests that would be a correct yardstick for measuring my ability to get into a beta test, but has fuckall to do with the issue of this post.
Are there even games that DON'T offer paid early access? I think that paid beta access is, essentially, par for the course now. So I'm not sure what the complaint is. Are you complaining about one game in particular? I can see where there might be a select few games that might still conduct closed betas, but for the most part you can buy access to the majority of betas now, even "alpha". So if you're worried about them gaining advantage, then just buy in earlier than them.
Crazkanuk
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Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
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What I feel the OP is saying is that it's a money grab.
"But this is how it is and you just have to deal with it." No, I won't. This isn't what our video game market should become.
My beef is with the long-term closed beta. Take Black Desert Online for instance. There were youtube videos from guys that spent nine months in the closed beta. Upon release they all rocketed ahead of the pack to secure coveted positions in the game, made massive amounts of money by comparison and to this day are unmatched by any player that saw the game for the first time at release.
I want to reiterate here that this is all just something that ruins the game(s) for me. This is what is killing online gaming in MY opinion. If this isn't the case for you then by all means stop following this thread and enjoy online gaming for as long as it lasts for you. In fact, stay out of the forums altogether. No good can come from reading the posts of the dissatisfied.
The idea that beta players gain some insurmountable advantage over non-beta players is ridiculous. By that rationale, anyone who joins the game a year after go live might as well not play either because the people who joined on day 1 will have an insurmountable advantage. Actually, they will have even more of an advantage because they'll not only have more knowledge of the game, they will have grown in power and wealth as well. Getting rid of beta won't change that.
There are a finite number of things you can learn about a game. Mechanics change and the things they learned may no longer be applicable. Just because people have beta experience doesn't mean they are automatically good players. Some people are going to suck no matter how much time they spend playing the game.
I've been testing Crowfall for over a year and yes, I have an advantage over people who have just started testing, but good players will get up to speed quickly. If you aren't getting up to speed quickly, you might have to entertain the notion that you aren't a good player.
BTW, I find it ironic that your user name is Unrivaled, yet you are complaining about how you can't compete with beta players.
1. Beta's are not the same as they were ten years ago. They used to be a way to invite a group of people to play and find bugs to squash. They are now used as an excuse for releasing buggy games.
2. Beta's used to be a few months to identify bugs and stress test the hardware. Now they run for years because it gives developers an excuse for having buggy code.
3. Early Access is just another way developers get around releasing products way before they are ready.
4. I no longer play beta's or previews because it can ruin a game for you. I was in Firefall very early, back when playing medic was just like TF2 where you held a beam on a person to heal them. People were thumping everywhere and there were always groups open to jump in and have instant fun. Then the whole thing changed, then the whole thing changed again and again until finally it was not even close to the game that you had so much fun with.
I made no mention of those who start a game one year later. I made it crystal clear more than once the issue I have is with those that start at release versus those that beta tested for months prior to that.
While I agree that there are a finite number of things to learn about a game, a player given enough time can certainly learn the absolute optimum method to leveling, crafting, exploring, etc. So much so that starting on day one of release there is no hope of competing with them on any level.
What's hurting is people paying money to play unfinished, not-anywhere-near-alpha "crowdfund" and "kickstarter" crap that is only offered up so that people will pay the aforementioned money. This has given many devs license (in their eyes) to release buggy crap, as the MMO community continues to swallow up this crap, pay for it, and then rave about how "great" or "groundbreaking" it is.
That would imply that starting at any point after launch day is beyond hopeless, don't even consider it !
Yeah, and you could buy Closed Beta access to BDO. They offered founders packs on their website.
Also, as far as popularity and money goes, you've got this bias in believing that because these select few YouTubers had 9 months of access, they were somehow able to rocket ahead. There is, probably with few exceptions, always a server wipe, especially going from closed to open beta. So whatever perceived advantage they may have gained in the game is strictly in their knowledge of the game and the alliances they've made, all of which you could have done yourself. You just have to buy into the game.
Secondly, this knowledge provides diminishing returns. So the fact that they had CBT access plays, effectively, zero role in their ability to maintain positions of power. It's much more likely that they are leveraging social channels in order to ensure that their position of power is maintained.
Again, there are few, if any, games which don't allow you to buy some level of access to early stage testing. For those which still require the traditional application process, you can generally buy access via grey market channels. So my question is are you simply making up excuses for your inability to gain more power in the game? Maybe you should try doing the same as them and start up a YouTube channel, build viewers, and get them to help you in the game. I'm sure that's a much more likely scenario of what's happening.
Crazkanuk
----------------
Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
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Seemed the beta players knew everything at launch and especially in games with competitive PVP and resource control this seemed an unfair advantage.
But as time passed betas became more available, even I got invited (or paid for early access) yet I quickly discovered it changed nothing.
There are just some players who put much more effort into their gaming than I am willing.
They study every nuance, look for every advantage, practice and refine their stategies and techniques and often team up with others to gain a competitive edge I will never match.
I honestly play mostly for "funsies." I don't learn every mechanic of my class, much less all of the ones I don't play.
I don't learn the best economic strategies, over 7 years of playing EVE and I still pay cash rather then PLEX them as others do.
I've come to accept I am a very average, casual gamer and I don't begrudge conceding the advantage to those who are better through knowledge, early access or more often, just willing to put in more effort.
Also, if I really wanted to eliminate other players early access advantage its easily done in almost every new game out there, you just pay for it.
Even now I have had early access to Albion Online and CU yet I never log in. I find it ruins my playing experience to join a game too early.
For the most part the MMOs I've enjoyed the longest I joined at least a year or more after launch.
One advantage is everyone has figured most everything out and information is readily available online to help me get up to speed.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Beta is about paid founder packs, based on the amount spent. How do we solves this advantage and give the Play4Free (P4F) gamer a level starting ground? Like @berenim said, spend money developing a test zone or island, that won't be in game at launch.
Develop a throw away database just for testing purpose that has little or nothing to do with the live game. This will test your hardware, and the mechanics of your software systems. It will do nothing to test out the live database, but if that fails on launch it's no skin off the nose of the non paying customers.
So the solution is simple, spend extra time and money on discardable game assets so that the non paying customers feel on a level playing field with the spending customers.
Good luck with that.
Boy: Why can't I talk to Him?
Mom: We don't talk to Priests.
As if it could exist, without being payed for.
F2P means you get what you paid for. Pay nothing, get nothing.
Even telemarketers wouldn't think that.
It costs money to play. Therefore P2W.
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