Malfador Website
 

News has been posted on the site.
Malfador.com

Beta testing to begin April 1st!

And a new image on the site as well. Very nice!

Re: Malfador Website
 

April first, eh? I wonder http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

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I wondered the same thing.... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

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He wouldn't really do that, would he?

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Nope. Too obvious.

Or is that what we're supposed to think?

Or are we supposed to think that that's what we're supposed to think?

Or are we only supposed to think that?

BOOOM!!!!

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how about a picture of the actual game for a change http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

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Screenshots on april 1st, it said.

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April First or July first its all the same to me. If I am accepted into the beta I will be thankful and truly happy to be part of the games history.

OBT I have a wall paper. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif SEE HERE

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Those sergetti ships put me in mind of the STmod Tholians.

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But more to the point, where is the info to sign up for the beta!

and yes, Aaron WOULD.

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I looked for the beta information, but then reread the page. It says to check back then (at the end of march) for entry signup.

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Umm..this may sound stupid, but what is beta testing about?

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Finding bugs and squashing them, so the initial release doesn't crash so much that a significant fraction of your income isn't scared away.

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Aaahh, I see.
So you play and play until you find errors or it crashes and you report it.
Sounds fun. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

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Well, early in the beta phase it tends to be..not very fun.

"Ok, lets install it. Ok, that worked..lets play.
-click program icon-
CRASH!

Well, crap."

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I'm with you there. I highly doubt I'll make it into the beta, but I can sure hope eh? That'd be great.

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Its a lot of work and you never finish a game because of the updates that will most likely be put out by Malfador as the beta testing progresses.

The object of a beta (Not saying it is for this beta) is to play test it looking for whatever errors or what nots that might creep in. UI bugs, hang ups, errors, etc.

As many of us earily players can atest to, the dreaded RCE (Range Check Error) was the surge of many a games. Through beta testing the RCE was nicely retired. (Thank you)

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I think they bear too much resemblence to the Abbidon ships. Just a little blockier and blue..

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And modding too...

Me and Rollo were doing a bunch of that. Its tough when you have to rebuild your mod from scratch every other week because the format of the datafiles has changed.

Rollo's EEE/spacemonsters mod was great. I have a copy still, but it only works under v0.15 or so, and I don't have the skills to update it.

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imho the beta testing shouldnt be randomized, some people are better at beta testing than others, maybe they should have every aspirant beta tester write a small paragraph of why he/she wants to be a beta tester, some people have no ide of how frustrating the life of a beta tester can be. if you're beta testing your own code it's even more frustrating, I can speak from experience there http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

beta testers should not expect to play a game, they should expect to play something which looks like a game but is actually a collection of bugs, definetly in the earlier stages.

Also, I doubt this would happen, but some bugs are SERIOUS, as in: damage user data. PoR had a nasty bug that survived beta testing and ended up in retail which removed all data from C.... effectively formatting your drive, nice, really really nice ...

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i wouldn't put it past him...

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I think you misunderstood. The beta team is definetly NOT a random group. Most of the beta testing team is already pretty much set. The lottery thing is just for a few extra spots. It's basically a way to give anyone that wants to be a beta tester at least a chance to participate, since you obviously can't have everyone be a beat tester.

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Exactly what Geo said, there is a core list of people that will be givin an invite to the se5 beta, but this in no way guarantees that they will be available (as in 'have the necessary time to spend hunting bugs') The random selection does two things, it indeed gives a chance for new gamers to get into the beta but it also brings new blood into the mix. Often in the beta process a newbie will find things a veteran will miss, simply because the veteran knows how to play and is less likely to make wierd or 'different' choices when going through the different parts of the game.

All in all, there is allot to scan and test during beta. It always starts out as a massive bug hunt, and then slowly it becomes more stable and the beta testers get to make 'suggestion' for gameplay imporvements. At the end of the beta all the testers can be proud of a job well done, but you should know that a beta does not end at the release of the game, beta testing still goes on after the release of the game. (just that everyone is now a beta tester http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif)

Anyway, the countdown has begun, so stay tuned.

Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Edit: Fixed embarrasing typo

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Very nice picture. Can't wait! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

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... uh David, you might want to edit that last sentence :embarrassed:

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tut tut, DEG needs a smacked bottom lol

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Post edited to calm the natives,.. Is that better? LOL

Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

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Looking good David.

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Beta testing is definitely not an early chance to play the full game (well maybe it is for some, but they quickly drop away). The attrition ratio is high, but that is how new blood gets added as DEG and Geo pointed out. In fact, that is how myself, [D]aynarr and [M]ephisto got into the beta last time, due to drop-outs. It is an incredible amount of work but is very rewarding experience when taken seriously (and heck you get your name in the credits http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif I easily put several hundred hours last time around (I still have tons of spreadsheets, whitepaper suggestions, etc. on my system from the last beta test) without ever finishing a game - and that is not even counting modding time or the time to get the mods together for the gold disk. Sorry - did not mean to preach. I really need to find an avatar, perhaps a palm tree or something...

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Am I correct in thinking that as people drop off (as you mentioned attrition) that others are invited to join the beta??