Purpose of Beta?

[DeletedUser]

@Goryn I know distinction, but you and team still miss the point a lot of people raise here. This server should be complementary to Closed Beta Server for QA. Not one only slightly ahead of live servers. Way it is working now, simply waste its potential. With changes I and few active people presented, testing could be much more interesting, proactive. Some time ago I realized, that I don't have to play here to have all possible info needed. Simply reading forum I can gather a lot of data I am interested in. So why should I bother with playing on live-alike server? I will get same updates 2 weeks later on live. On this server I have no extra gained value compared to live servers. I can wait those 2 weeks. I am not as impatient as some people.

Here are mostly dedicated players. Not using them in a ways different from what they do on live servers is simply waste of a resources. People are eager to help, but they hit a wall of narrow-minded management. Do a experiment and create test server 2, in a way it should look. Many active players will shift there. It can be even 2-3 updates ahead of this server and more buggy, but people will love it. You ask why? Because for many of us important is not WHAT we get, but HOW we get.

 

[DeletedUser]

It seems that the term "beta tester" meant one thing to players and another thing to Inno.

Hindsight being 20/20 though...diamonds do tell the tale:

1. they're somewhat less expensive on beta than on US servers. But Beta is still a profit-making endeavor
2. diamond rewards for bugs are minimal (according to opinions on this forum)
3. diamonds aren't used to retain advanced players (which guarantees a steadily-diminishing basis of advanced testers)
4. newest premiums are very expensive (which guarantees even fewer testers of the most advanced features and game impact)

Any other points to add?

Given these 4, it would seem that Beta is, in effect, "put up with the bugs and tell us about them, and you can buy premium for 30% less". I've never beta tested anywhere else, so I don't know if this is "real beta" or not. But I do wish I'd started my main city here rather than on US1...I'd put up with the bugs for the reduced costs.

 

[DeletedUser]

I can ensure you on most beta servers premium currency is available, but a lot of times you get if for free with resets or updates. With reset often you get thousand of them to spend them any time you want: faster progress, premium buildings. This create many possibilities.

 

[DeletedUser651]

As i have said in a different thread, this is not a Beta server in the way most people in this thread see it, but rather a server where players can play like they do on any live server, and help us test new released features before they're being implemented on live.

Essentially you are saying that the work we do as bug finders provides so little financial gain to Inno that we aren't worth getting paid even fake game currency, in fact, we are lucky to be here. (Unless we are the first to submit a bug report).


But think of this Goryn:

If all of us leave, then the live servers get all the incredibly buggy versions that we (the buffers) put up with or Inno would have to pay many beta testers to do the job we all do. That would, I imagine, be very bad for Inno. I would surmise this would cost Inno a lot of money.

What do we lose if we all leave? We lose out on getting the content two weeks early.

Who needs us here on beta more?

 

[DeletedUser118]

In my oppinion this server lives from curiousity, not bug hunting. Most ppl play on here cuz they can see and play with new game features. Inno even makes some money through offering diamonds while we provide them with bug reports. So why shouldn't they have a server like this?

 

[DeletedUser651]

Of course they can have a server like this. And they can treat people any way they want to on here. It is their company. The question is, what is best for Inno? thekandor and I were both suggesting ways they can utilize the customers on here in the most efficient way.

What happened when they started giving diamonds for bug reports? They got more bug reports. Isn't that good for them?

 

[DeletedUser118]

The best for Inno is to make lots of money. How can they do that? By providing ppl something they can spend money on while giving them something to do and to be curious about. And that's what they are doing in here. Bug reports are a nice side effect but to me not the main purpose. If they only were after bug hunting, they would use a Beta like thekandor explained. That would be the best and most efficient way to run a Beta. And they know that already as they are definitely no beginners. These guys are doing this job for more than 10 years and they are doing it pretty good I'd say if you look at how the company has grown over all these years.

 

[DeletedUser651]

These guys are doing this job for more than 10 years and they are doing it pretty good I'd say

And yet, they consistently dump buggy versions on the live servers and lose customers because of it. This is simply a discussion about how they can do their job better. If you don't have to lose customers, that is better. If you don't produce a buggy game, that is better. If you keep good beta testers around because you treat them well, that is better.

I don't get what you are fighting against. Why is it bad to suggest that people treat others with respect and consideration and gratitude? I learned this in kindergarten. Manners. Saying please and thank you. It isn't as if anyone is suggesting that Inno send every player here a share of all the money they make. What do manners mean in a gaming context? Apologizing if you mess up someone's game. Making things right. These are pixels. Not real goods. It doesn't take any revenue to give out a handful of pixelated diamonds as an apology every once in while if you really mess up. Send out a warning before you dump a new retroactive requirement. All that takes is a sentence. One simple sentence on a forum. Most of the biggest complaints around here are nothing more than players asking to be treated with dignity.

If you promise something, keep your word. If you have to change things, then let people know why. No one expects them to work for free. Again, just act as if your customers who are giving you their MONEY are a good thing instead of irritating little gnats that you wish would just go away. How hard is that? Aren't customers who give Inno money a good thing? I don't get why I have to constantly argue so vehemently to explain that customers are a good thing for a business.

 

[DeletedUser]

@Bobbykitty As an addition to your post about good manners I can add for example one thing... Many errors are well known in a moment version is deployed. Info about update can inform about them under label "Known issues". It is like a sign: "Those errors we know about - don't report them. We are also sorry for their existence". Maybe I am old-fashioned, but in a lot of changelogs I read this section and for me it is not a shame to have it. It is in fact great reference for players. They know what or how is bugged.