Preamble:
Let me begin by saying I do not presume to speak For anyone, but rather, on behalf of everyone. The purpose of an Open Letter, such as this, is to ensure everyone who chooses to voice their own opinions has a form and format in which to do so. I am merely expressing my own perspectives, though these are drawn from commonly expressed opinions and ideas popular in this particular forum.
Body:
Open Beta, specifically for the upcoming content, which, to the best of our knowledge, features Fleet Carriers, Support Ships for said Fleet Carriers, as well as other, at the time of this writing, undisclosed content, is regarding as highly desirable. It is my observation that such major content releases have, historically, been preceded by a Beta test. Originally these were limited to Closed Betas, then Paid Betas, then finally publically Open Betas. I suspect this will be a tradition that will be carried on with the upcoming content release.
There are a few items I feel should be handled in a manner that will be different from any previous Beta held for content releases and are as follows:
In previous Beta tests, accounts have been copied from Live Data, at a point usually several days prior to the start of the Beta. This allows us the opportunity to carry on in the beta with a version of our live accounts, including credit balances, ranks, titles, ships and the like. We have also been given an option to Reset those beta accounts and start with a somewhat accelerated account, with a greater-than-1000 credit balance. My first proposed change is this:
Once accounts are copied to the Beta Environment, everyone has their positions reset, so that all participating are gathered into the same location, at the same time. This will ensure that all those participating are able to make an equal start. Additionally, it has been observed that large numbers of players, gathered into the same area, at the same time, produce a wide array of connectivity issues. Gathering Beta participants in this manner should allow data to be gathered to help mitigate this.
The next variation should be the addition of a Mission, a "Join the Beta Test" mission, with credit awards that ensure each participant will have sufficient credits available to purchase and outfit a Fleet Carrier, Support Ship, and easily participate in additional testing of as-of-yet undisclosed content. Along with this, this mission should also award sufficient materials, Carrier Fuel and/or other items necessary to test aspects of this and other content.
On the subject of Content, it has been my observation that additional "surprise content" has traditionally been included in releases that has been left out of Beta Testing, or obscured in such a way that it does not receive testing during the Beta period. It has also been my observation that this content is frequently the cause of issues, or has issues once the Beta period ends and it is integrated into the Live game. One such example would be the original Thargoid Community Goal, where players were asked to bring samples of Thargoid ships, gathered by Research Limpet, to the sponsoring station. This particular Community Goal was terminated prematurely due to issues in its execution that rendered it impossible to complete. Similar issues have arisen with other "surprise" content, where the "surprise" has been a negative experience for the players as a whole.
Do not hold back content from testing. It is the only way we can possibly test and ensure the total viability of content.
The last portion of this is directed more towards the Community, and addresses Communication. It has long been a point of contention that communication, especially during a Beta, has the appearance of being One Sided - that is to say We Speak, and are not spoken to. While this may appear to be the case, I suspect a lot of this is simply a matter of there being nothing to say. We report bugs discovered during a Beta test. We may or may not receive an acknowledgement, and we may or may not see a particular issue resolved during the actual beta test, but may see that issue is not present in the Live game. This is not unusual - though I do believe a simple statement, prior to the end of the Beta period, would be beneficial. A statement of "These are the issues that were reported that will be corrected in the Live version" along with "These are issues that were reported that could not be reproduced", and "These are issues that we reported, are not part of this content release, but will be addressed at a later time" (typically old bugs or recurrences of old bugs brought to light by new content).
We do understand the primary purpose of the Beta test is its focus on the New Content, and while it is desirable to all that old issues are also resolved, they are not the primary focus of the Beta period - issues such as the "Dolphin Heat Bug", while these may be addressed along with new content, are generally not the purpose of this specific Beta, and should not be the focus of participating testers.
I feel approaching an Open Beta for this new content with these alterations on both sides will allow for the best possibly quality of Content Release to date.
At this point, I Open this Letter to the rest of the Community to voice your concerns, to suggest changes to this proposal, or to simply agree, and allow this proposal to speak on your behalf.
With Regards,
Indigo
Let me begin by saying I do not presume to speak For anyone, but rather, on behalf of everyone. The purpose of an Open Letter, such as this, is to ensure everyone who chooses to voice their own opinions has a form and format in which to do so. I am merely expressing my own perspectives, though these are drawn from commonly expressed opinions and ideas popular in this particular forum.
Body:
Open Beta, specifically for the upcoming content, which, to the best of our knowledge, features Fleet Carriers, Support Ships for said Fleet Carriers, as well as other, at the time of this writing, undisclosed content, is regarding as highly desirable. It is my observation that such major content releases have, historically, been preceded by a Beta test. Originally these were limited to Closed Betas, then Paid Betas, then finally publically Open Betas. I suspect this will be a tradition that will be carried on with the upcoming content release.
There are a few items I feel should be handled in a manner that will be different from any previous Beta held for content releases and are as follows:
In previous Beta tests, accounts have been copied from Live Data, at a point usually several days prior to the start of the Beta. This allows us the opportunity to carry on in the beta with a version of our live accounts, including credit balances, ranks, titles, ships and the like. We have also been given an option to Reset those beta accounts and start with a somewhat accelerated account, with a greater-than-1000 credit balance. My first proposed change is this:
Once accounts are copied to the Beta Environment, everyone has their positions reset, so that all participating are gathered into the same location, at the same time. This will ensure that all those participating are able to make an equal start. Additionally, it has been observed that large numbers of players, gathered into the same area, at the same time, produce a wide array of connectivity issues. Gathering Beta participants in this manner should allow data to be gathered to help mitigate this.
The next variation should be the addition of a Mission, a "Join the Beta Test" mission, with credit awards that ensure each participant will have sufficient credits available to purchase and outfit a Fleet Carrier, Support Ship, and easily participate in additional testing of as-of-yet undisclosed content. Along with this, this mission should also award sufficient materials, Carrier Fuel and/or other items necessary to test aspects of this and other content.
On the subject of Content, it has been my observation that additional "surprise content" has traditionally been included in releases that has been left out of Beta Testing, or obscured in such a way that it does not receive testing during the Beta period. It has also been my observation that this content is frequently the cause of issues, or has issues once the Beta period ends and it is integrated into the Live game. One such example would be the original Thargoid Community Goal, where players were asked to bring samples of Thargoid ships, gathered by Research Limpet, to the sponsoring station. This particular Community Goal was terminated prematurely due to issues in its execution that rendered it impossible to complete. Similar issues have arisen with other "surprise" content, where the "surprise" has been a negative experience for the players as a whole.
Do not hold back content from testing. It is the only way we can possibly test and ensure the total viability of content.
The last portion of this is directed more towards the Community, and addresses Communication. It has long been a point of contention that communication, especially during a Beta, has the appearance of being One Sided - that is to say We Speak, and are not spoken to. While this may appear to be the case, I suspect a lot of this is simply a matter of there being nothing to say. We report bugs discovered during a Beta test. We may or may not receive an acknowledgement, and we may or may not see a particular issue resolved during the actual beta test, but may see that issue is not present in the Live game. This is not unusual - though I do believe a simple statement, prior to the end of the Beta period, would be beneficial. A statement of "These are the issues that were reported that will be corrected in the Live version" along with "These are issues that were reported that could not be reproduced", and "These are issues that we reported, are not part of this content release, but will be addressed at a later time" (typically old bugs or recurrences of old bugs brought to light by new content).
We do understand the primary purpose of the Beta test is its focus on the New Content, and while it is desirable to all that old issues are also resolved, they are not the primary focus of the Beta period - issues such as the "Dolphin Heat Bug", while these may be addressed along with new content, are generally not the purpose of this specific Beta, and should not be the focus of participating testers.
I feel approaching an Open Beta for this new content with these alterations on both sides will allow for the best possibly quality of Content Release to date.
At this point, I Open this Letter to the rest of the Community to voice your concerns, to suggest changes to this proposal, or to simply agree, and allow this proposal to speak on your behalf.
With Regards,
Indigo
