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Beta Testing
KingBuddy30
Member Posts: 59
Dose anyone know whats the avg time for beta testing an MMORPG ??? like from all the MMORPGS that have came out whats the beta test time frame been around.
Igsharmik
Games I Play:
Quake Live
Track Mania Nations Forever
Runes of Magic
Comments
Usually about 4 to 6 months ,Though shadowbane was like erm close to 2 years.
Beta is becomin a fiasco though because hardly anyone plays beta to actually test the game rather they look at it as free playtime and for those going into retail it is a chance to have knowledge of the game and try find some exploit bugs that they would keep secret and use it retail.
Take the crafting bug in SWG,few ex beta testers used it to become masters and then reported it so they could make sure they had monopoly on the economy for a while since others would now level normally.
Thus most mmrpgs(all of recent) come out bug ridden .
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Omol da'Ox
The Blooded
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Omol da'Ox
Well so far none of the games released in past year have come out with anything but a bug feast.
In short last game i remember to come out in a reasonable state was DAoC and thats it.
Even games before it were a nightmare at launch=UO,EQ and of course the all time champ AO.
SWG came out laggy as hell and with numerous bugs.
SWG is made by SoE that has to be one of the most known names in MMORPG and yet they could not get it right.
Lag has settled now and was probabaly due to over 100,000 people trying to jam themselves into the too few servers at launch but SoE is experienced enough to know that the servers were too few at launch.
Bugs- no explaination for this as they are suppose to be experienced game makers.
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Omol da'Ox
The Blooded
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Omol da'Ox
Well as much as i hate to admit it SoE is king of mmrpg with EQ and SWG they have the top 2 slots in subscription rates in north america and europe.
But honestly which company ever kept a finished mmorpg out?
None!
Igsharmik
Games I Play:
Quake Live
Track Mania Nations Forever
Runes of Magic
I have to say that Mythic did a very nice job with DAoC. When that game came out, the bugs were very minor. Compared to the buggy code and lack of content that has plagued the last few MMOGs, DAoC was near perfect. In the DAoC beta, Mythic used alpha and beta 1 - 3 to fix bugs. They invited all who applied for beta to the beta four and used that for stress testing. When the game went gold, it was solid as a rock.
I beta tested EVE for several phases and the beta board was a constant battle between testers who complained about all the bugs and testers who would make excuses for the incomplete state of the game. Many of us pleaded with CCP through the boards to extend the test a few more months until the game was ready. They did delay once, but that game needed another 3 months of testing when it was released.
SW:G was the same. It was nowhere near ready when beta ended and Sony went for the quick money. They got a bunch of initial signups, but that game is leaking players like an oil well during Saddam's retreat. It won't remain on top of the subscriber pile for long.
TSO by many accounts was not ready for release, but I think the Sims just doesn't translate well to a MMOG. Does anyone play that game anymore? I never hear about it.
Shadowbane? Holy smoke. There's proof that extensive beta testing doesn't make for a good game! I have no idea what the devs did for three years, but they apparently didn't focus on bugfixes!
Anarchy Online is the most notorious bad launch, but Funcom has done a damn fine job of overcoming their initial problems and putting together a great game. AO is an outstanding title. Even though I don't play it anymore, I understand the expansions have been pretty well developed. WWIIOL launched at the same time just about, it was equally as buggy and STAYED buggy for years. The problems with that title were deeper than buggy code, though. Regardless, it is still out there and has a core of dedicated players.
I think a lot of this garbage started when it became kind of geek chic to be invited to test a game and all kinds of people started signing up to test anything. Earth & Beyond actually sold pre-orders with the promise that buying the product early guaranteed you a spot in the beta test. They actually sold beta code! A brilliant marketing move, but one that (I think) eventually fomented a good amount of bitterness toward EA and E&B.
NC > DAoC > EQ > UO > fecal matter > leper's oily rags > SW:G
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Old timer.
If this was aimed at me,I was referring to the incomplete crap that they have been putting out,not how long they keep something out.
The quality of games has taken a nose dive.It almost seems as if it is the "norm" now to release a game that is not complete with all the content,items ect ect ect.
Looks at all the EQ expansions.I cant think of any of them that has been released that has had everything in them that was supposed to be in the game.Hell they still have shit that is unitemised in LDoN still.Yet people still pay for it.
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Omol da'Ox
The Blooded
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Omol da'Ox
Through your fear I am reborn. My hand of grief can't be ignored. You know my name.... yes you know who I am. Frustrating turmoil again and again. I am the spike that drives through your hand. for i am eternal battering ram!
Zakk Wylde
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. ~ Italian proverb
ill just list ones that ive been in my self
elemental saga (cancled) i was in the beta for a year my guild leader was in it for 2 and a half+
black moon cronicals(on hold) year and half for me 2 years+
earth and beyond over a year for me i want to say around 18 month
Dark space not realy a mmorpg a year+ maybe 13 14 months.
ragnarock 2 years+ nearly 3
priston tale nearly 2 and a half years
some like rubies of eventide now live went on for many year (great game great dev team great community)
most ll mmorpgs ive been in in beta are year pluss
my in game name in rubies is nova
howla, that SWG comment will not go unanswerd. Hate to tell you, but EVERY bug used after the release date was reported to the developers during beta 3!!!. And i'm speaking as a Ex-SWG beta tester here ... We can't help it, when they 2 weeks before the release date, do some quick & mega paching to 'fix' everything, but in result, they have been fixing 1 bug, and adding 5 more (who almost all caried over to the final version) ... Dident we say to wait atleased 3 more month's?
If you read the user comments in the forum (ignoring the fanboys & whiners), you will have seen that a lot of ex-beta testers have been in havoc that those fase 3 bug's still have been in the game ...
Hell, i dident even buy the game for that reason, and i waited 3 month's before importing it to be shure all the bugs are gone (everybody know that the first month of a mmorpg is a wasted month thanks to bugs - small bugs is one thing, but those freaking big bugs what made people run arround with full ST armor & mech's )...
So after 3 month's, i got my copy of SWG ... tested it for 2 weeks, only to find out that the game is STILL in a sorry state (i'm sorry to say, it's not improved sinds beta 3, it's about status quo now in comparison to beta 3 ... you can even say, this is beta 3 bis)...
You may be shure that the developers knew every bug there was, but when a product gets pushed out to make money for the mothercompany, everybody knows the effect ...
Note: and even i gave up on SWG ... after 3 weeks ... if the developers can't even fix those daim spawn of red's on your head that kill even medium characters in 2 seconds (yes, i'm talking in real terms), then they expect people's money for that? And i'm sorry to say this, but the game become boring thanks to all the nerve's (and i'm in general not a person to complain about nerv's) and the still unfixed bugs
Btw: Force Sensitive slot anybody? We are almost what? 4 month's sinds the release, and still nobody has the jedi extra character slot ... hmmmm ... i'm wondering if it even exists, just like all that nice pr of player towns, mounts, and other stuff, where there is still no sign of
)
Seen it with Eve, see a dark future for SWG (has a big account nr's of 300.000 thanks to it's name, but the continue subscription nr's are well hiden arent they
).
Maybe in a year the game wil become something, but then again, it's hard to almost impossible to recover from a bad launch ...
Note to any developers of mmorpg's if they visit this forum: LISSEN to your beta testers ... when the more sober people ( not the fanboys, these guys just love to hide any bug/break down anybody's sugestion & drive away the serieus beta testers ) all yell out in mass that a game needs more beta testing time, it's not becouse we want more "free" time, but becouse people feel the game isent ready!!!
the above post is 100% correct. Galaxies is so laced and riddled with bugs its rediculous... i mean, completely out of control. on average if i play 5/6 hours i have at LEAST 10 relogs.. at the very minimum to fix stupid stuff, like the datapad... complete garbage.
i mean hell, the simple sh*t doesnt even work, i mean the basics people - guild chat - - BROKEN! im not joking, at least 60% of the time you cant speak on guild chat... simple shit, not fixed, no attention to it. 2 days ago i had a stucture factory just disappear right in front of me. just *poof* into thin air... peoples houses disappearing, people weapons disappearing... the bugs are absolutely out of control. not only this but the dev team is stacked with complete morons - the last patch they tried to put on had to be taken off the next day because the bugs it caused were worse than the ones they tried to fix...
and this is 4 months after launch - the absolute BASICS remain broken, player cities were announced 2 months ago. Bio-Engineers are so bugged they cant even use factories, hell they are so bugged that the pets they produce cant be tamed! out of 33 animals they can "bio-engineer" 7 cant be used by ANYONE - thats over 20% of an entire profession that doesnt work AT ALL.
so what we have is a game people pay $15 a month for where everything that was supposed to be out months ago have yet to appear, no player cities, no profession fixes, no swoop bikes, AND ZERO JEDI! we have 2 guys who play 1 character AROUND THE CLOCK in our guild, and no jedi... on any server... its retarded, no reason for this whatsoever - oh wait... yeah there is.. the whole jedi profession is probably bugged... and the dev monkeys have no idea whats wrong with it, hence its not turned on yet -
1 word - PATHETIC!
Let me get this right: The dragons breath knocks you over the 300' cliff onto the jagged rocks below and you want a saving throw?
My brother was in EB the other say and was looking for a game to buy when this fat nerd with glasses and pimples came up to him waving a copy of SWG. "You should really buy this," he said, "You can actually play Star Wars!" He then proceeded to tell my brother that there was a guy in the game who had already reached Jedi Grand Master. According to my brother, he looked like he was about to gaz when he said it.
The fact that dictionary definition nerds love this game notwithstanding, something is funky here. Whether ArconX is right and no one has gotten a slot or Myron the uberdork is accurate about his buddy reaching Jedi nirvana, neither is good news for SWG. Either it's far too hard or it's far too easy. Given the fact that a lot of teenagers and twentysomethings waste their lives in front of MMOGs, it's not surprising that someone got to Jedi Master in a couple of months of marathon PLing. But again I say, SO WHAT? Now you're at the top of the game, so what is there to do? I could tell in beta that SWG was going to be, if not a bust, then a major disappointment.
NC > DAoC > EQ > UO > fecal matter > leper's oily rags > SW:G
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Old timer.
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E.T. is alive...
MMORPG.com - Gramp Staff
What will he do next?
Glad I made you smile, D.
Anyway, back on topic...
I've stopped beta testing because nothing gets done. I've been in one beta test where the devs listened to the beta community and made changes to the game per their requests. The rest were just "report the bugs, period." Although the boards are full of dingalings, some people do put good suggestions out there. Devs rarely post on the boards, so at times it seems that the beta testers are writing to themselves.
Beta testers, in my experience fall into a couple of categories:
Real testers - These are the people who play regularly, but not too much. They send in bug reports, post helpful info on the forums, and don't get all bent out of shape when there's a wipe or a server crash. This is an endangered species.
Faux testers - Kind of like the real testers, but more concerned with the fact that you aren't submitting enough bugs. Every post that might criticize an aspect of the game or the game state is met with, "Shut up, you are here to find bugs - that's ALL!" These people don't realize that bug reports help with the tangible problems, but forum postings give devs an insight into the more esoteric side, e.g. gameplay, fun factor, etc. If the devs didn't want us posting, they wouldn't put a board up.
Fanboys - Becoming way too prevalent. These guys do not want to hear one critical thing about the game. No matter how bad it is nor how poorly it is designed, these guys are completely infatuated and any criticism will be met with insults and flames. I tell these guys that I, too, want the game to succeed, and that is precisely why I am pointing out flaws. They don't want to hear it. These same guys are probably grumbling now about how SWG has too many bugs and should have been tested longer, but back in beta they were saying, "Raph and the devs know what they're doing! You don't! You're not a developer, so shut up!" These people are very difficult to tolerate.
Lottery winners - These testers act as if a beta invite is a golden ticket in a Wonka bar. They are always telling you how lucky you are to be in this beta and that there are 10 other people who would kill to have your position. You, according to them, should get on your knees and bow to the company HQ thrice daily for the privilege you have been given. These guys don't understand that beta testing is a JOB. Yes, only a select few are invited, but it's not all fun and games being a tester if you do it properly. Remember, the developers need testers as much as (if not more than) testers need developers. My time is valuable and I can spend it doing lots of things other than fixing someone else's code just do I can have the honor of paying to play their game. I rarely hear developers take this attitude, as they understand how important testers are.
Old timers - These guys love to go on and on about how long they've been in the test and what it was like back then and how many positive changes have been made and how you don't know what the hell you're talking about because you came in on beta 2 and they've been there since alpha. Sometimes there is some relevance to the current issue in their posts, but mostly they are just bragging about their length of service, a pretty pitiful boast at that.
Badge wearers - Even more annoying than old timers are the testers who love to give you their beta resume, as in, "I've been in 84 betas, and I know what I'm talking about!" These guys collect beta invites like baseball cards and proudly tell everyone about their history in some geeky attempt to be cool. They provide very little substance, probably because they are too busy signing up for more beta tests.
Free players - To these guys, a beta invitation is a chance to play the game for free. They do not understand that a beta game is a work in progress, therefore anytime a server crashes or characters are rolled back, they are screaming "WHY CAN'T I PLAY?!?!?" Admittely, it is annoying when you've developed a character and it is wiped, but that's part of the agreement. Most people understand this, but a few get extremely angry and love to dump that anger on the boards.
Griefers - We've all met these players, and they're in beta tests as well. Since beta games are rougher, they are easier to exploit, so here they come, looking to make your playing time as miserable as possible. Generally under the age of 16, they go by names like YuGiMoN and Sweet Leaf
and don't do a whole lot of posting, probably because they can't read or write. They spend a lot of time making up for their lack of genitalia by killing or harassing legitimate players. Mommy and daddy will be supporting these guys well into their 30s while they master the art of pizza delivery.
NC > DAoC > EQ > UO > fecal matter > leper's oily rags > SW:G
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Old timer.
ArconX, i am not sure what you mean as bad as beta 3 since i was not in SWG beta.
But i played it almost from release and can say a lot of the bugs have been fixed and the game is 100 times better now then release.
As for reporting bugs.Well there is a crafting bug that was there from launch (ok you can argue this bug came with launch but from the way people used it from day 1 i am pretty sure it been there for a while).
This bug permitted crafters to loop over and kind of overlap macros so basically using resources for 1 item but in end having 5/6 items from .So uber fast exp with little resources wasted.
Then a master weaponsmith announced the bug (after he made master in less then 5 days!) .
SoE in next day killed the bug.
Considering how fast they were to react to this bug i doubt they would ave been told such a economy crunching bug existed and not bothered to handle it for months.
Anyhow i stand by my point that beta has lost its meaning.Not just because many beta testers are just looking for holes they can use when game goes live to get top level in a few days, but also from like you said developers that care little.
Personally way games come out of recent i think 2 months is maximum time needed for any beta because most games come out in a state similar to or worse then beta 2.
Just my view.