Beta Testing

[Kreador Freeaxe]

Not making it to the end of the game can mean missing some interesting "bugs." I remember one star fighter game I played (many years ago), a friend and I discovered that if you get to the final battle, see the big enemy, then turn tail and run back to your mother ship without firing a shot, you win.

It seems the beta testers never thought to try that.

[Kreador Freeaxe]

Scan it to a PDF and e-mail, maybe. As long as you also mail the original hard copy, it should stand up as legal.

[Rune_74]

I was one of the testers on book 1 and I can assure you there is alot of work involved, but I loved it(names in the credits).

I had very lengthy conversations with basilisk during that time, which I believe some of which was brought up to be put in book 2.

[BasiliskWrangler]

Beta testing in January?? When did I write that??

I'm not very confident that we will make a January beta goal at this time. We are really adding a LOT to this game- Book II is really everything that we wanted in an old-school RPG but just didn't have the time or resources to put into Book I. So to answer your question Jedi_Learner, we've hit no problems at all other than Book II is a more detailed game in terms of graphics, role-playing mechanics, and overall design. The development time-lines we became familiar with during Book I's development are not applying accurately with Book II.

I am looking forward to talking about some of the new features and of course show off some new screenies (one person who recently saw the newest screen shots said: "Wow, that looks so much richer than Book I". Interpret that how you will.) So, things are moving forward daily and we're only a bit behind schedule at this time.

[Yeliu]

Beta testing in January?? When did I write that??

I'm not very confident that we will make a January beta goal at this time. We are really adding a LOT to this game- Book II is really everything that we wanted in an old-school RPG but just didn't have the time or resources to put into Book I. So to answer your question Jedi_Learner, we've hit no problems at all other than Book II is a more detailed game in terms of graphics, role-playing mechanics, and overall design. The development time-lines we became familiar with during Book I's development are not applying accurately with Book II.

I am looking forward to talking about some of the new features and of course show off some new screenies (one person who recently saw the newest screen shots said: "Wow, that looks so much richer than Book I". Interpret that how you will.) So, things are moving forward daily and we're only a bit behind schedule at this time.

Wow, that's awesome Basilisk. I mean, not the fact that it will be a little later XD but the fact that you guys are adding so much. I'm very excited and really looking forward to it!

[CrazyBernie]

Well if there's still going to be a cash reward for beta testing, I'll be able to put it towards buying my friends a copy so they can see my name in the credits... assuming I get selected, of course...

[CrazyBernie]

Actually, how about a contest with he/she who finds the most bugs getting a character in the game named after him/her??? ^_^

[Rune_74]

Cash reward? I never heard of such a thing...

[BasiliskWrangler]

Cash reward? I never heard of such a thing...

Well, this isn't anything "big"- I'm talking like perhaps a small $50.00 cash bonus for making it to the end of the game and fulfilling all the requirements of beta testing. I just need people who ask to beta test to make good their commitment...it wastes everyone's time when a beta tester puts 3 hours into the game and then decides they are not up for the task.

[RezoApio]

You are right about the loss of time for everyboy with the drop rate, but I find it sad personnally that money is the way to keep people doing things....

My name in the credits would be marvelous and more than enough

A Rezo character in the story would be too much (I always remember that the Ultima story had a Dupre character (this is my real last name).... even if I had to admit it had nothing to do with me )

[Rune_74]

You are right about the loss of time for everyboy with the drop rate, but I find it sad personnally that money is the way to keep people doing things....

My name in the credits would be marvelous and more than enough

A Rezo character in the story would be too much (I always remember that the Ultima story had a Dupre character (this is my real last name).... even if I had to admit it had nothing to do with me )

A chance to be a character in game would rock:) I could see this as a major incentive:) Basilisk, seems I may be home a bit for the next year or so hint hint;)

Btw, I also purchased teh full version of the game after testing guys if you were wondering.

[Randomizer]

Having a high drop out rate is a pain because you then have a smaller group giving you information beyond finding errors. Since beta testers are usually better players to start with, they don't think the game is as hard as new players.

The only thing then is to bring in more testers later in the process to replace the dropouts.

[BasiliskWrangler]

...or, instead of paying people to finish beta testing we could do just the opposite: make people purchase their beta copy, sort of like what Mount & Blade did (but not to as open).

For example, we put the BETA version 0.95 up for sale and let just 50 people purchase it, then those people would have access to a special forum where they can discuss bugs and balance issues. When it's all patched up after 3-4 weeks of "beta testing", we put it back up for everyone else to purchase.

The benefits to this are:
- Selling the beta means that we automatically get the most dedicated players to help us. Since these beta testers would have a "vested interest" in seeing the game improve, they are more likely to be active testers rather than us having to keep checking in on them.
- A larger beta-test group means more bugs can be caught, and we would be less effected by drop-outs.

[Unclever title]

...or, instead of paying people to finish beta testing we could do just the opposite: make people purchase their beta copy, sort of like what Mount & Blade did (but not to as open).

For example, we put the BETA version 0.95 up for sale and let just 50 people purchase it, then those people would have access to a special forum where they can discuss bugs and balance issues. When it's all patched up after 3-4 weeks of "beta testing", we put it back up for everyone else to purchase.

The benefits to this are:
- Selling the beta means that we automatically get the most dedicated players to help us. Since these beta testers would have a "vested interest" in seeing the game improve, they are more likely to be active testers rather than us having to keep checking in on them.
- A larger beta-test group means more bugs can be caught, and we would be less effected by drop-outs.

It might be a bit more of a hassle, but how about if people are required to purchase the beta
then those who make it to the end and fulfill the requirements of beta testing get a full refund for the beta this provides an immediate check at the beginning for dedicated testers with a "vested interest" and also provides an incentive to complete testing.

Kinda like indentured servitude, in theory of course, and only kind of maybe sort of like.

[VPeric]

The Mount & Blade model might not work so well here, primarily because Eschalon and M&B are two different types of games: while Eschalon is story-driven, while M&B is mostly sandbox. Because of that, M&B will have a far greater replayability and people will simply be more willing to play it a lot. It is also important to note that buying the beta in M&B wasn't limited and didn't carry any sort of obligation with it.

On the other hand, Eschalon has enough die-hard fans that you'll easily find some who are good beta testers and also willing to pay. It's not like those same people wouldn't buy the game, even if it remained forever at beta-test quality (and hopefuly it won't! ).


(Sorry if my writing is a bit convulated, I'll have to play the "I'm foreign!" card here)