Pt Requirements
Grendel
All that is fear... Join Date: 2002-07-19 Member: 970Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor, NS2 Playtester
All that is fear... Join Date: 2002-07-19 Member: 970Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor, NS2 Playtester
<div class="IPBDescription">Just some facts amongst the speculation</div> First of all, for the newer forum goers, let me introduce myself.
I joined the NS team in July 2002, well before NS 1.0 was released. Over that period, through a mixture of excessive time spent testing and playing and my ability to gently encourage (shout, threaten and cajole) PTs to attend tests, I was made PT Lead for NS. I was responsible for administering and dealing with issues arising from the 2.0 Veteran program. Sadly, due to the pressures of real life and the fact NS pays none of my bills, I was forced to take a break from the team for several months and thus have been relatively inactive until recently, whereupon I've been drafted back in to run the EU portion of testing.
For the record, I am undoubtedly the most eager to recruit clanners (except Flayra) of all the NS team. Every time I try to recruit more, certain things get in my way. To clarify the problems I face recruiting clanners, I've tried to explain below what are requirements are.
The Development team look for the following characteristics in a PT, in order of importance:
1) Reliablility and discretion.
2) Comprehensible English and the ability to communicate to another without becoming irrational, abusive or sarcastic.
3) Representation of our player base.
4) Skill.
<b>Notes:</b>
(1) Now I know that some of you will be going "WTH? skill is teh m05t! teh h4x is where it's at, baby1!!!".
Well, no. First and foremost, we need people who won't leak builds and people who we can trust. That automatically puts a number of individuals out of the running. The higher the e-status of the individual, the more prone they are to leak information. <i>If an individual has already proven to the development team through their actions in the community that they are unable to keep things to themselves, then they are never going to get a testing slot.</i> Many of the more suitable candidates for testing due to their skill or knowledge have already disqualified themselves on these grounds.
We also need people who will turn up at testing, which people generally fail to do if they have to attend a CAL match.
(2) If a player causes irritation amongst the PT group, or is in the habit of being derisory or contemptuous towards developers or testers, then it stands to reason that we don't want to work with them. Why should someone, who spends hundreds of hours coding each version, want to use a tester who belittles them constantly?
Besides which, a tendancy to use emotive language when arguing a point, indicates a person who is likely to apply the same emotional approach to testing. Finally, the necessary confidence required to play competitively frequently displays itself in the teenage psyche as total arrogance.
(3) Currently we have very little representation of a number of demographic groups in our PT group. This is partly due to socio-economic factors and partly due to simple issues with communication. Whilst we understand that many people think that they would make good testers, we have limited need to further represent the 14-21 year old, white, affluent European/American male demographic in testing right now.
(4) Skill is important and would be my No. 1 selection criteria for testers, <i>after all other considerations have been met</i>. However, there is no <i>need</i> or point in trying to get game balance spot on in a beta release. As a test group the size of the PTs is insufficient to provide meaningful data. If we feel the need for restricted testing with a trustworthy group, then we have the Constellation members. In reality, the general public can amass more playing hours in a day than a test group can amass in weeks. Besides which, to suggest that the best method of game distribution is to release a balanced game shows both a total ignorance of player psychology and a total misunderstanding of the practicalities of introducing new features into a game.
Any questions asked in a clear and civil manner will be answered below.
I joined the NS team in July 2002, well before NS 1.0 was released. Over that period, through a mixture of excessive time spent testing and playing and my ability to gently encourage (shout, threaten and cajole) PTs to attend tests, I was made PT Lead for NS. I was responsible for administering and dealing with issues arising from the 2.0 Veteran program. Sadly, due to the pressures of real life and the fact NS pays none of my bills, I was forced to take a break from the team for several months and thus have been relatively inactive until recently, whereupon I've been drafted back in to run the EU portion of testing.
For the record, I am undoubtedly the most eager to recruit clanners (except Flayra) of all the NS team. Every time I try to recruit more, certain things get in my way. To clarify the problems I face recruiting clanners, I've tried to explain below what are requirements are.
The Development team look for the following characteristics in a PT, in order of importance:
1) Reliablility and discretion.
2) Comprehensible English and the ability to communicate to another without becoming irrational, abusive or sarcastic.
3) Representation of our player base.
4) Skill.
<b>Notes:</b>
(1) Now I know that some of you will be going "WTH? skill is teh m05t! teh h4x is where it's at, baby1!!!".
Well, no. First and foremost, we need people who won't leak builds and people who we can trust. That automatically puts a number of individuals out of the running. The higher the e-status of the individual, the more prone they are to leak information. <i>If an individual has already proven to the development team through their actions in the community that they are unable to keep things to themselves, then they are never going to get a testing slot.</i> Many of the more suitable candidates for testing due to their skill or knowledge have already disqualified themselves on these grounds.
We also need people who will turn up at testing, which people generally fail to do if they have to attend a CAL match.
(2) If a player causes irritation amongst the PT group, or is in the habit of being derisory or contemptuous towards developers or testers, then it stands to reason that we don't want to work with them. Why should someone, who spends hundreds of hours coding each version, want to use a tester who belittles them constantly?
Besides which, a tendancy to use emotive language when arguing a point, indicates a person who is likely to apply the same emotional approach to testing. Finally, the necessary confidence required to play competitively frequently displays itself in the teenage psyche as total arrogance.
(3) Currently we have very little representation of a number of demographic groups in our PT group. This is partly due to socio-economic factors and partly due to simple issues with communication. Whilst we understand that many people think that they would make good testers, we have limited need to further represent the 14-21 year old, white, affluent European/American male demographic in testing right now.
(4) Skill is important and would be my No. 1 selection criteria for testers, <i>after all other considerations have been met</i>. However, there is no <i>need</i> or point in trying to get game balance spot on in a beta release. As a test group the size of the PTs is insufficient to provide meaningful data. If we feel the need for restricted testing with a trustworthy group, then we have the Constellation members. In reality, the general public can amass more playing hours in a day than a test group can amass in weeks. Besides which, to suggest that the best method of game distribution is to release a balanced game shows both a total ignorance of player psychology and a total misunderstanding of the practicalities of introducing new features into a game.
Any questions asked in a clear and civil manner will be answered below.
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
It is rather sad, that i have to wait 1 and a half year to have any chance of becoming a PT.
Serious though:
-Where is your PT server located?
-And since most of your player base consits of the persona mentioned above ,frankly speaking I dont see a problem with this.
-You are just looking for more PT women you can play your tricks on, right ? <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
-I almost forgot: What is the e-status?
edit *spelling*
So the operation is scheduled for then? <i>(It was a joke, a JOKE! Stop hitting me!)</i>
It's interesting even for us to read Grendel's thinking. Not to sound a bandwagoner, but it's good to see that what I personally would like to see in testers in represented well in Gren's post.
@ Faskalia :
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Serious though:
-Where is your PT server located?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
There's two or three, as far as I know two NA and one EU.
- Shockwave
No seriously, am I the only one that finds it odd to care about your demographic that much in an internet playtesting group? Not that I disapprove, but ethnicity or regionality just doesn't seem very applicable to online gaming.
It does have to do with making a more marketable product. No one questions Blizzard when they ask South Koreans what they think.
It does have to do with making a more marketable product. No one questions Blizzard when they ask South Koreans what they think. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Not to mention that different cultures may well have different ideas on ways to play or things that they might try to ferret out unusual bugs.
May favourite bug report and reproduction:
<i>OK, I figured out how to reproduce this! Get in the command console and build two electrified resource nodes and an observatory. Have an alien player get attacked by an electrified node, and scan with the obs so that you see that alien and the bolt of electricity. Then have the alien go attack the other electrified node, and watch the spot on the map where you saw the alien get attacked the first time. The bolt of electricity will appear to go to that spot.</i>
<!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
"Whilst we understand that many people think that they would make good testers, we have limited need to further represent the 14-21 year old, white, affluent European/American male demographic in testing right now"
Whaaa?!
Wont get much testers past this part. <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
But really, "Not to mention that different cultures may well have different ideas on ways to play" doesn't make any sense either. Want a PT to be tactical? Tell him to do so. Want him to try to break the game at every opertunity (moving durring round start count-down, for example) presented? Tell him to do so! Want him to find bugs in a map? <i>Tell him to do so!</i> <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
"Skill is important and would be my No. 1 selection criteria for testers, <i>after all other considerations have been met</i>."
If you want good aim, use bots!
And you can take that seriously or as a joke, if you want to.
(I still don't see what ethnicity has to do with playtesting.)
I always thought it was like..
The first rule of being a PT is you do not ask to be a PT!
The second rule of being a PT is YOU DO NOT ASK TO BE A PT!
The third rule of being a PT is ponce.
(i dunno)
I always thought it was like..
The first rule of being a PT is you do not ask to be a PT!
The second rule of being a PT is YOU DO NOT ASK TO BE A PT!
The third rule of being a PT is ponce.
(i dunno) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
erm, the rules were just stated.
About 3) The player base is comprised of people of all types of skill, so, appropriotely, shouldn't the PTs also be comprised of people of varying skill? Because, let's face it: A newbie to NS is playing a totally different game than the members of cri are playing, for example.
About the comment about 14-21 White males etc: Well, those PTs have done well so far right? I think I speak the truth if I say that, if you release a beta that is not attractive to some people, then those people will (from past experience of previous builds of NS) definitely **** and let you know about it. The entire NS community is already a good litmus test. What I'm trying to say is that any non-minor blunder the NS team makes on a beta will definitely be quickly pointed out by the NS community (which arguable, represents the player base pretty well, or heck, IS the player base) and the offending problem which was missed somehow by the 14-21 year old white males will be fixed.
Who said anyone was leaving?
(I take it you haven't seen Fight Club then? <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> everyone's getting too serious about it, someone's gotta try and lighten the atmosphere..)
(I take it you haven't seen Fight Club then? <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> everyone's getting too serious about it, someone's gotta try and lighten the atmosphere..) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
You're not funny. LOL!!!
How often to the playtesters usually schedule to meet?
(Notice I said schedule, rather then how often they actually do lol) :-)
How often to the playtesters usually schedule to meet?
(Notice I said schedule, rather then how often they actually do lol) :-) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Depends. Currently there are about 8 hours of testing scheduled per week, plus additional tests on a per case basis. That does not of course include the sterling work that individual testers put in researching things like crash bugs and problems with the HL engine that NS brings to light.
Why are we looking for different demographics?
Two reasons. One, we do not live in a perfect, one-continent world with zero-ping from everywhere to everywhere. In reality, NS' playerbase is seperated by two massive bodies of water, cutting them roughly in three: The European, the American, and the Pacific area. There's still a sizeable exchange between all three, but nonetheless, ping and similiar barriers have led to slightly different approaches to the game in different areas (Grendel likes to cite the example of the small Japanese community using the Gorge in pretty much the same way as TFC's medic). More mundanely, timezones and ping mean that an Australian PT can not really help in a playtest scheduled in a European timezone on a European server. Thus, we're trying to ensure that all three areas have a sufficiently high representation in the group.
Second, we're also looking for representatives of different approaches to the game - most notably, casuals, competitives, and creatives. All three are important to the game, so it's only logical to give members of each group a chance at voicing their points. "But you can't balance..." Hold your breath. The PT group is <i>not</i> supposed to balance the game on a competitive level. We're going to use other resources for that once we ironed all of the huge bugs out. The PTs are there to a) help bughunting, b) ensure a semblance of balance in diverse, unorganized playing fields (-> pubs), and c) determine what is fun and what isn't. Nothing more, nothing less. A group as small as the PTs can in my perception just not really hope to balance significant changes out beyond a certain degree - you need a way of receiving statistically significant data for that.