[OPINION] Future Betas From Stardock & Associates

request

from Demigod Forums

Greetings,

I hope most earnestly that Stardock does not gimp, cripple, restrict, focus narrowly, or otherwise gut future betas. It would be a shame and a tangible detriment to the process if a few testers who did not understand they were pre-ordered testers were allowed to sully the superb beta experience for the rest of us. One of the core aspects of the dual pleasure/chore of this beta testing has been sampling a substantial portion of game code before release... doing away with this core would definitely make the entire process, the prospect of participating, less appealing.

Let a select few individuals sink while the rest of us swim.

Maybe have pre-requisite psychological evaluations for each pre-orderer...

(grin educationally)

1,697 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from Demigod Forums Top

Agreed!!!

Reply #2 from Demigod Forums Top

From what they're talking about for the Elemental beta I highly doubt that things are going to change.  This is the way they do betas, and I fully expect that this is how they'll continue to do them.

Offworld Trading Company
Reply #3 from Demigod Forums Top

I like them having focused phases of testing, Stardock betas are the most enjoyable ones around.

Reply #4 from Demigod Forums Top

Thanks guys!

 

Actually for Elemental we plan to add a 4th beta so that we can have the beta even earlier.

Beta 1: Game Mechanics Test (Spring)

Beta 2: Engine Test (Summer)

Beta 3: Multiplayer Test (Fall)

Beta 4: Balance/Fun/Tweak Test (TBD)

So Beta 1 of Elemental would hide the main graphics engine and force beta testers to play on the cloth map for the entire game just to see if the game is fun played as a board game.

Reply #5 from Demigod Forums Top

That will be one long beta test, I pre-ordered awhile ago so I'll be around for it.

Reply #6 from Demigod Forums Top

This is my first Stardock beta and I didn't enjoy the gimped betas.  I think if there's another beta, demigod2 for example, I'll just wait for release date.  Elemental isn't my type of game. 

I gladly enjoy the open betas that other companies provide even if it's only a marketing scheme. 

Reply #7 from Demigod Forums Top

the problem with those dudes is that they have been lied to by the whole game industry.
beta nowadays are used as ads for the game and are mainly demos with the a very polished version of the game (almost a gold version)
So when they see a real beta like the one stardock provides, they are pissed off, there is nothing to do about it (sadly those people probably think that demigod sucks)

Reply #8 from Demigod Forums Top

Mythos, from Flagship Studios underwent a Beta process much like the betas described by Stardock.  The game in its initial form was very primitive and did not have a lot of features.  The entire point of Mythos at that time was to test the netcode (and to a lesser extent, the Engine) for Hellgate: London.  As it grew, more features and gameplay were added for the players, but the process was very much about finding bugs first and worrying about feature addition and balance later, as the game progressed, though major funbreaking imbalances were fixed earlier so the beta testers would at least enjoy the product they were testing.

 

I think Stardock's Beta process is a fine method, but I don't think the goal of the primitive forms should be to be "unfun".  If you're intentionally stripping the potential for enjoyment out of your game for the sake of calling it a beta, then you're intentionally making the process unnecessary tedium for your testers.

Yes, there should be a bit of tedium in the hunt for bugs, but it shouldn't be artificially forced, nor should it be overlooked when players are expressing a point that makes the game unfun for them in the beta process on the grounds that "it's just a beta."

Regardless of the status of the game, a feature being unfun is still unfun.  Having people search for bugs in a barren form of your game is fine, and I understand that it helps you find the more important bugs first (since there's less fluff to sort through to find engine bugs)...but if your gameplay at that point has problems that discourage people from trying it, it's a problem.  Sure, the game may not be for that person.  But on the other hand, by devaluing or even ignoring that tester's opinion on a gameplay-related feature, you may be losing one of your early testers, and the process is bound to repeat itself.

Betas don't have to be fun, but the game being tested does.  And if it's not fun in even a barebones form, something's missing from the game.

Reply #9 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting TiberiusAudley, reply 8

I think Stardock's Beta process is a fine method, but I don't think the goal of the primitive forms should be to be "unfun".  If you're intentionally stripping the potential for enjoyment out of your game for the sake of calling it a beta, then you're intentionally making the process unnecessary tedium for your testers.
End of TiberiusAudley's quote

The problem with that is if you make it too fun too early, people will focus on the fun and nitpick game balance rather then the foundations that makeup game PLAY.  Nevermind that the engine and other assets need to be stress tested beforehand as well.

Balance is what's needed AFTER the game mechanics themselves are nailed down.

Reply #10 from Demigod Forums Top

I'd like to chime in and support Stardock style betas here.

Way too many games go through marketing "betas" and are then released with a ton of bugs that could easily have been prevented by a proper beta. (and not a "beta" that starts 2 weeks or so before release, which basically boils down to a time-liited extended demo)