SEV Betatest...

David E. Gervais · #1 March 15th, 2005, 12:24 PM

Post counts will have little or no bearing on the choice for beta slots. Everyone has prety much an equal chance of catching Aaron's eye.

FYI: Even the 'old regulars' need to send in an application before they can be considered for a beta slot. Also, wanting to be in the beta is never enough, it is where things begin though.

Things to note,..

How usefull will a beta tester be if he can only spend 5 hours a week testing?

While high end 'Bleeding-edge' super systems are good, the beta needs a large variety of systems. In fact having 10 identical systems will make the choice harder for Aaron. The form asks for System specs, but if you have more than one system, please feel free to list them both (just add the required lines to the form.)

Having a Fan site is a definate 'plus' but I'll remind you that there are many fan sites out there that are still 'online' but have not been updated in months or years.

Previous Beta testing is also considered a 'plus' and this experience is not limited to having beta tested any of MM's other games. (Have you played 10000 PBW games over the years? that might be worth mentionning on your beta application.

'Mod' experience is another 'Plus', having modded SE4 or SF will definately add to your 'beta value'.

Bottom line is Aaron will need a variety of systems, a variety of players Both verteran and novice, and probably most important,.. people with the time to dedicate to the beta process. The more time the testers can apply to the beta the faster development will go.

But all this means nothing if you don't take the time to fill out the beta application form and send it in. So, hop to it people, get your forms in.

Cheers!

Slick · #2 March 15th, 2005, 12:27 PM

Quote:

... I triple checked the form for spelling and grammer errors ...

LOL! Sorry, I couldn't resist.

zircher · #3 March 15th, 2005, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Slick said:

Quote:

...grammer...

LOL! Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Ah! Now you see why I needed to triple check the form. I'm terrible at this English stuff.
--
TAZ

boran_blok · #4 March 15th, 2005, 05:50 PM

I hope everyone here knows what it is to beta test, it's not "play the game before it get released"-stuff eh, it's mainly an exercise in frustration, but maybe i'm biased because I always have to beta-test and debug at the same time. maybe the debugging is the more agrevating point, maybe not.

NullAshton · #5 March 15th, 2005, 06:15 PM

Beta-testing is where you get to participate in making the game. Your ideas usually get placed in the game

Atrocities · #6 March 15th, 2005, 06:32 PM

Also a beta test is not suppose to be a nit pick free for all. The developer is looking for feed back yes, but not out right negative critisim of their products. The most likely need and want all feed back that a beta test has, but that does not mean that they want to a steady diet of "This sucks" "That sucks," etc. If something sucks, be detailed and explain why it sucks and be specific about what it is you would like to see done to improve it.

Bug reports are the most helpful thing to a developer, or so I would think. So reporting those, along with detailed information about how you came acrossed it would be the most advantagious thing to do. (Or so it is my opinion.)

I have seen so many beta tests go south because people post about how bad the beta is when they fail to understand that it is a BETA and not the finished product.

Case in point Tribes Vengence. Although the big issue there was the cheating on the MP games, ignored by VUG, the beta degenerated into a negative posting fest of epic proportions. It got so bad they closed the forum. The game was not bad, it just was not good.

Space Empires players are far more decidely professional than the twitch monekies that participated in the T:V beta so my confidence is high that Aaron will be getting the best beta testers in the world.

Instar · #7 March 15th, 2005, 06:35 PM

The trick is GOOD bug reports. Details people, details!
Debugging is fun, if you ask me... then again, I'm insane.

Strategia_In_Ultima · #8 March 17th, 2005, 10:13 AM

And what is it about living in Brazil that would eliminate you from the selection? Sounds to me like you make a VERY good chance of making it, as you have all those systems.....

Makinus · #9 March 17th, 2005, 10:19 AM

the problem is if Aaron would send the betas by CDs instead of downloading it (i have a DSL conection, so dowloading would not be a problem), since to mail the game to Brasil would take too much time and bother...

Thermodyne · #10 March 15th, 2005, 03:39 PM

Quote:

David E. Gervais said:
Things to note,..

How usefull will a beta tester be if he can only spend 5 hours a week testing?

While high end 'Bleeding-edge' super systems are good, the beta needs a large variety of systems. In fact having 10 identical systems will make the choice harder for Aaron. The form asks for System specs, but if you have more than one system, please feel free to list them both (just add the required lines to the form.)

Cheers!

Both?? How about the top and the bottom. I really didn't feel like posting specs on 20+ systems.