Beta Journal #3 observation

PR24 · 2003-03-11, 09:23 AM

After reading the beta journal I have to ask the question " Are they really doing the beta testing in order "?

I thought that in this stage it was bug testing and really nothing more. Yet after reading the journal they said they want to make sure the game is not complex for people to play.

Well with only for say 100 - 150 beta testers is it really the right time to gage if this game if too complex or not?

I truely hope they do not newbify this game to the below average gamer and realize that a little complexity is a good thing at times.

Yetskii · 2003-03-11, 09:31 AM

This is why there is the closed beta, to find out how things actually translate to a larger group of people. They want to make sure that things are user friendly and work the way they want them. Once we get to the open beta, things will be much more locked down. They are shooting for playability and fun for the average gamer, so it is inevitable that they will change things at this point...

Discordja · 2003-03-11, 10:17 AM

remember that previously the only people testing were the developers. devs have a nasty habit (all programmers do i should say) of seeing their work in a far different light than normal people. things that they see as intuitive everyone else doesn't. so ya, they need to be testing complexity versus playability with normal players as they can't really do so themselves and now really is the only time available to do so.

Yetskii · 2003-03-13, 11:54 AM

Originally posted by Discordja
remember that previously the only people testing were the developers. devs have a nasty habit (all programmers do i should say) of seeing their work in a far different light than normal people. things that they see as intuitive everyone else doesn't. so ya, they need to be testing complexity versus playability with normal players as they can't really do so themselves and now really is the only time available to do so.

The reason a programmer see's it as intuitive is becasue he/she created the program/interface, and knows it oh so intimatly. Programmers also seem to think differently than the average user. Sometimes they think illogically, because programming can be that way. this is why not everyone can program. I do light programming and work with programmers all the time...

Lexington_Steele · 2003-03-13, 12:29 PM

They probably wouldn't make huge changes to the game to solve complexity issues.

It is more likely that they would create a more elaborate tutorial or help menu.

Shryn · 2003-03-13, 12:43 PM

Admitedly, everyone is bound to think illogically sometime; nobody's perfect. Saying that sometimes programmers think illogically that way thogh is a lot like saying Galileo was thinking illogically when he said the earth revolves around the sun. Everybody could see the sun revolved around the earth...

Everybody should have the logic training programmers have to go through. Things would just work better. I feel like you are calling them confused because you do not understand what they are working on.

SO off topic I know, but I just couldn't read past a slant like that.

Chanfan · 2003-03-13, 01:15 PM

Originally posted by PR24
I thought that in this stage it was bug testing and really nothing more. Yet after reading the journal they said they want to make sure the game is not complex for people to play.

Well with only for say 100 - 150 beta testers is it really the right time to gage if this game if too complex or not?

Depends on what they mean by complexity.

I believe they are testing if the game play - from an individual persons point of view - is complex. That is, is it hard to learn how to buy certs, use your inventory, operate the weapons and equipment?

From the viewpoint of a usability study in that fashion, 100-150 testers is a fine sample, as long as they are folks without long exposure to the game (that is, developers).

What you may be thinking of complexity-wise is the interaction of large numbers of troops, coordinating forces, using the command structures, etc. That will require a much larger number of folks to really test, although you can probably get an idea from the smaller test.

Yetskii · 2003-03-13, 01:40 PM

Originally posted by Shryn
Admitedly, everyone is bound to think illogically sometime; nobody's perfect. Saying that sometimes programmers think illogically that way thogh is a lot like saying Galileo was thinking illogically when he said the earth revolves around the sun. Everybody could see the sun revolved around the earth...

Everybody should have the logic training programmers have to go through. Things would just work better. I feel like you are calling them confused because you do not understand what they are working on.

SO off topic I know, but I just couldn't read past a slant like that.

Was not a slant. I work in a developement house that produces thier own software. Some of the code, by reading it, looks so illogical it is not funny. A programmer has to think outside the box, has to do things that have not been done before. So to the average person it would be illogical.

OmnipotentKiwi · 2003-03-13, 03:28 PM

Originally posted by PR24
Well with only for say 100 - 150 beta testers is it really the right time to gage if this game if too complex or not?

Would you rather deal with 100-150 confused people, and then fix the problem, or wait till there is 20,000 confused people?

Sounds like the right order to me.

Last stage of beta is the main stress test, and a lot of the bugs get found there.

Discordja · 2003-03-13, 05:56 PM

The reason a programmer see's it as intuitive is becasue he/she created the program/interface, and knows it oh so intimatly. Programmers also seem to think differently than the average user. Sometimes they think illogically, because programming can be that way. this is why not everyone can program. I do light programming and work with programmers all the time...

isn't that what i said?

software development, like all other fields, has it's own "language." if you give me a piece of code/software i'll use it as a developer since i am one, so even tho i'm not intimate with the programing i will view it differently from the lay audience...which ultimately doesn't help the production process.

that's one of the largest reasons the linux/unix phenomena is just now starting despite the fact the os has been available for a long time. they are no longer attempting to design with just the tech nerd in mind...they are attempting to reach out to the average non comp savy user and it's beginning to pay off.