Beta post 1.0
maD maX
Join Date: 2010-01-28 Member: 70347Members
Join Date: 2010-01-28 Member: 70347Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Play tester->beta->1.0 people</div>Just wondering what the plan is for post 1.0 release? as I understand it this game will continue to evolve much the way ns1 did. My concern is that play testers only catch and represent a relatively small chunk of the community and sometimes patches get past play testing that maybe shouldn't. Currently we all accept this since it is in "beta". But post 1.0 will patches go from play testing to everyone?
My suggestion I guess would be to maintain the beta test community as a buffer between play testers and full release...
My suggestion I guess would be to maintain the beta test community as a buffer between play testers and full release...
Comments
As to the polarization of the community thats my point... so far every patch has gotten past the playtesters but none of them has gotten past the community. This community is founded on lovers of NS1 but if you took that away and instead had a community of first timers these patches would be incredibly frustrating.
The only way I see around maintaining a beta test group for future patches is for all future patches to be extremely small with very little effect on the game so players hardly notice a change...... To me that sounds sad, an end to what NS has always represented, I hope Unknown worlds continue to push boundaries and allow the game to evolve far beyond NS1. (who says aliens can only have 5 lifeforms... why not 7... in a few years who knows)
However, it seems much more reasonable to let UWE continue to develop their game the way they envision it, and maintain their current playtester group (I hope they at least keep their PTs around for obvious reasons). The structure is already there, and imo, they are doing a preety decent job at stomping out bugs.
Lack of feedback on ideas and lack of caring at all seem very similar to anyone browsing the forums casually, look at how many complaint posts there are and how few response topics. I know that there's not many devs but would a video every few days on NS2HD of just 20 mins of talking over recent forum posts be that hard to do?
This^
Its not that we don't express our opinion on changes that we think will be problematic but that
- They are usually not game-breaking enough to prevent a patch release (if we waited to fix every imbalance, bug, or poor mechanic, patch releases would take a month or more)
- Features get more exposure and better testing when released to the entire community.
It seems only logical and more productive than working on the game.
/irony off
Seriously, silence should be a good indication of "no thank you"
This wording.. not sure what exactly you are implying? That the playtesters stamp their seal of approval on every patch before it goes out, or something? lol. i assure you its not like that.
<!--quoteo(post=1985661:date=Oct 1 2012, 09:36 AM:name=KaptajnKLO)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KaptajnKLO @ Oct 1 2012, 09:36 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1985661"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->You are misunderstanding the role of the playtesters I think. Their job is not to give feedback on balance and gameplay changes, though the devs certainly listens to their opinions, but instead it is solely to find as many bugs as they can for the devs to fix.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
^ This. and what Scardybob said.
The devs seem to listen more to you, the public forums, than internal play testers - when it comes to balance and gameplay feedback. Why? Because you are a larger sample size than the few of us. But when we say something is broken or going to ruin a patch, concerning gameplay, 1) it had better be accurate 2) they will pay attention to this.
(an example is the condition of the onos before the last patch went out, internally. It was a god.)
As for the rest of patches, I'm not sure what Charlie has in mind, but I can imagine that the PT team is the only layer between development and release. New features will have to be tested extensively, while small balance fixes can just be tested in the field fairly quickly.
Looking at popular competitive games like for instance League of Legends, that's how they do it as well. First playtest with a smaller group and just release it to the public after that. There are 'bad' patches where balance is broken, which is determined through feedback from the community. They'll then fix those balance issues in the next patch.
I'm sure some people will think this is an awful system (and express this), but it's the only viable option I can think of off the top of my head. Besides, it worked for NS1 as well.
All the above except for the first paragraph is speculation, bear that in mind. :)
The only way I see around maintaining a beta test group for future patches is for all future patches to be extremely small with very little effect on the game so players hardly notice a change...... To me that sounds sad, an end to what NS has always represented, I hope Unknown worlds continue to push boundaries and allow the game to evolve far beyond NS1. (who says aliens can only have 5 lifeforms... why not 7... in a few years who knows)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
We work with what we have when changes are put in for both balance and features alike. Our 'seal of approval' so to speak doesn't matter at all. If majority of the bugs are fixed and there isn't something completely overpowered like an invincible EXO then it ships regardless of what our feelings on balance are. Future patches will remain how they are now. Playtesters will continue to look for bugs and Charlie will continue to do his job. :)
<!--quoteo(post=1985774:date=Oct 1 2012, 03:32 PM:name=RobustPenguin)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RobustPenguin @ Oct 1 2012, 03:32 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1985774"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Lack of feedback on ideas and lack of caring at all seem very similar to anyone browsing the forums casually, look at how many complaint posts there are and how few response topics. I know that there's not many devs but would a video every few days on NS2HD of just 20 mins of talking over recent forum posts be that hard to do?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Expecting Charlie and other UWE employees to constantly reply to new ideas and discussions is very unreasonable and not a very good use of their time. They do read them and are brought to their attention via inside documents that Obraxis, myself, and the deputies update on a daily basis.
As far as what happens ill be fine with however they do it, But it seems they already have a group of people who don't mind trying out new things I guess we'll wait and see how big NS2 and hopefully the next gen will be as loyal and patient as the last.
Of course the playtesters are just volunteers, and heaven forbid the devs have a different vision than the testers. If every suggestion of the playtest group was followed, we'd probably have a ###### game. Even if we didn't, it wouldn't be NS2 anymore.