"open Beta Syndrome"

[AarkAngel]

After spending a bit more time here on the forums, I have finally figured out the main issue here: what I call "Open Beta Syndrome".

 

People seem to be forgetting that this is a BETA TEST. You aren't here to get early access to the game, you are here to play through what content the devs have added in so far and find bugs/other issues with it, then report on those to the devs so they can fix/improve them. Yes, the stamina system has it's issues right now, but that's why they are doing it in the beta test, and not after launch: so they can have people TEST IT AND TELL THEM WHAT THEY THINK. All the people that are getting so butthurt over the stamina system tweaks that they are quitting are idiots and aren't cut out to be beta testers.

 

YOU ARE HERE TO TEST THE GAME, NOT TO PLAY IT.

[NERVNQSR]

if we were here to test the game there wouldn't be events every weekend to keep our attention

what's going to happen once the game "releases"? there's not going to be a huge magical spike in players

[Probta16]

I see a paradox. How to test a game without playing it

[Renathy]

Why test, when you can cry about every change and quit afterwards?

[Ronin666]

Not really.

 

Once there's a "cash shop" in-game, it doesn't matter whether you label it "open-beta", gamma, delta, theta, eta, iota et al.

 

The game is "live". It's pretty much pre-release now.

[AarkAngel]

if we were here to test the game there wouldn't be events every weekend to keep our attention

what's going to happen once the game "releases"? there's not going to be a huge magical spike in players

Then you have zero clue what an open-beta is and need to leave. like right now. or you can stick around and actually help the developers make a game you don't have to pay for.

[NERVNQSR]

Then you have zero clue what an open-beta is and need to leave. like right now. or you can stick around and actually help the developers make a game you don't have to pay for.

they dont seem to care about that f2p part as you can see, the game's shaping up to be nothing but grind and cash to relieve grind

you need to understand the game is basically a released game in development, the beta tag is nothing but a convenient way to justify radical changes

[Acos]

That's hilarious. If this game was actually "Open Beta" they would be giving us things to test. We wouldn't be grinding or having to spend cash on warframes because they would need our data to actually improve the game. Which would be fantastic because you wouldn't have giant core-mechanic changing things going live as the playerbase would have had time to be tell development what a terrible idea it was before it ever saw the light of day. 

This is not open-beta, I don't care what the sticker on the can says. 

Edited September 14, 2013 by Acos

[AkhAnubis]

Shouldn't they be paying us if we are doing the job of testers/QAs? Beta nowadays is just an excuse to release half-baked content. We can't even test like the way it is supposed to be because they don't give us information about how everything should work (skills, drops, tables, etc).

Edited September 14, 2013 by AkhAnubis

[KvotheTheArcane1]

Then you have zero clue what an open-beta is and need to leave. like right now. or you can stick around and actually help the developers make a game you don't have to pay for.

No, you don't have a clue what open beta is. It's the new soft release, while keeping a label to say "but it's beta!" Closed beta is where serious testing is done. However, WF is in beta. Mostly. It's not feature complete, which applies to beta products.

[RealityMachina]

Not really.

 

Once there's a "cash shop" in-game, it doesn't matter whether you label it "open-beta", gamma, delta, theta, eta, iota et al.

 

The game is "live". It's pretty much pre-release now.

Yeah honestly at this point open beta, at least for F2P games, have pretty much become synonymous with "buggier gameplay than if you waited for this to come out of beta, but otherwise expect it to be a game we want you to spend money on" as far as a lot of people are concerned.

 

And, specifically, it's that last part that tends to get people pissed whenever changes like what's been done in U10. Especially since it screwed around with fundamental mechanics that drew people into the game.

[Sixnalia]

Being handed everything just because it is in Beta would make other parts pointless. We would just get capped warframes, capped mods, capped everything and only play high end or low end missions. The process they have now gives us the chance to go to every planet and map to play through and find a bug.

Many changes DE makes are because of player opinion and outcry.

Though there is a cash shop in the game, it is something they can test for popularity.

Just because some parts of the game aren't like every other game's open beta, does not mean it isn't open beta.

I don't remember getting endless free gear when testing most MMO's, they wanted us to go through the leveling experience to provide feedback on what we thought of it, as well as making an opportunity for us to run into any possible bugs we can report.

[TaTooKa]

It's not exactly consistent to have a game in open beta and promote every update like it was a final released game, and also sell stuff for real money.

I'm all out to play an unfinished game earlier and provide feedback to improve it, and I'd love to see warframe improving (at a higher rate).

 

But what I see is lots of new content being added every month and a massive list of bugs and balance issues piling up without solutions. That is not very open-beta-ish...

[Acos]

Being handed everything just because it is in Beta would make other parts pointless. We would just get capped warframes, capped mods, capped everything and only play high end or low end missions. The process they have now gives us the chance to go to every planet and map to play through and find a bug.

Many changes DE makes are because of player opinion and outcry.

Though there is a cash shop in the game, it is something they can test for popularity.

Just because some parts of the game aren't like every other game's open beta, does not mean it isn't open beta.

I don't remember getting endless free gear when testing most MMO's, they wanted us to go through the leveling experience to provide feedback on what we thought of it, as well as making an opportunity for us to run into any possible bugs we can report.

You would be testing things. You wouldn't be "playing" anything. You would test the high end and low end missions because you are specifically looking for bugs. That's what BETA IS. 

You are not in open beta; everything you've just described is what a LIVE game is like. You are PLAYING to have fun. You are not a tester. 

[Smoke39]

Yes, the stamina system has it's issues right now, but that's why they are doing it in the beta test, and not after launch: so they can have people TEST IT AND TELL THEM WHAT THEY THINK.

 

And that's exactly what we're doing?  Telling them what we think?  You seem to be telling people to do exactly what you're complaining about them doing.

[Kitzun]

On an unrelated note:

Not really.

 

Once there's a "cash shop" in-game, it doesn't matter whether you label it "open-beta", gamma, delta, theta, eta, iota et al.

 

The game is "live". It's pretty much pre-release now.

I remember this crazy guy who was making a Wizardry clone.

He was working on it since the start of the 90's, and last time I heard of him (2010 something) he said his product was at the "Gamma" level of production and that it would be released once all the leaks had been plugged after the "Omega phase"...

 

Now, think the guy will finish before dying of old age ?

[Acos]

On an unrelated note:

I remember this crazy guy who was making a Wizardry clone.

He was working on it since the start of the 90's, and last time I heard of him (2010 something) he said his product was at the "Gamma" level of production and that it would be released once all the leaks had been plugged after the "Omega phase"...

 

Now, think the guy will finish before dying of old age ?

Duke Nukem came out eventually right? There's always hope. 

[litlit]

After spending a bit more time here on the forums, I have finally figured out the main issue here: what I call "Open Beta Syndrome".

 

People seem to be forgetting that this is a BETA TEST. You aren't here to get early access to the game, you are here to play through what content the devs have added in so far and find bugs/other issues with it, then report on those to the devs so they can fix/improve them. Yes, the stamina system has it's issues right now, but that's why they are doing it in the beta test, and not after launch: so they can have people TEST IT AND TELL THEM WHAT THEY THINK. All the people that are getting so butthurt over the stamina system tweaks that they are quitting are idiots and aren't cut out to be beta testers.

 

YOU ARE HERE TO TEST THE GAME, NOT TO PLAY IT.

 

Dude it's just a beta, we can't play it yet. Just be patient and wait until the game releases and DE fixes everything up, then we can start testing. Beta is beta.

[theammostore]

if we were here to test the game there wouldn't be events every weekend to keep our attention

what's going to happen once the game "releases"? there's not going to be a huge magical spike in players

Actually yes. PS4, then XBone, more advertising, more public knowledge. More players because of more systems and more availability. I know people who can't play WF on PC, but when it comes out for the ps4 and xbone they will most likely get it there.

[PsychedelicSnake]

 

Ah yes. The classic "It's Open Beta/No it isn't!" argument. Here we go once more.

[TwiceDead]

Beta is just an excuse to release a game early with all it's bugs and flaws.

The new Beta tests that equal what we refer to the old kind of Beta test is now called Alpha tests. 

The "It's Beta" argument holds about as much value as sand stationed in the middle of the Sahara desert. None whatsoever. 

[NIL0S]

It may be beta, but i'm sinking money into it. It has had a soft release. No argument on these things.

Sometimes i wonder if DE has any QA at all, stuff that seems perfectly avoidable slips past them right into the official build.

Edited September 14, 2013 by NIL0S

[ZeroPhobic]

After spending a bit more time here on the forums, I have finally figured out the main issue here: what I call "Open Beta Syndrome".

 

People seem to be forgetting that this is a BETA TEST. You aren't here to get early access to the game, you are here to play through what content the devs have added in so far and find bugs/other issues with it, then report on those to the devs so they can fix/improve them. Yes, the stamina system has it's issues right now, but that's why they are doing it in the beta test, and not after launch: so they can have people TEST IT AND TELL THEM WHAT THEY THINK. All the people that are getting so butthurt over the stamina system tweaks that they are quitting are idiots and aren't cut out to be beta testers.

 

YOU ARE HERE TO TEST THE GAME, NOT TO PLAY IT.

Yeah this is the classic "I have no idea what I'm talking about" syndrome. I have alpha and beta tested games and even have gone to college to make games. This is way outside the classic beta testing of games. It still has a toe in the area because yes they are still dropping in huge game changing issues and then figuring out what works and what doesn't. However, the core part of the game is finished, the game will never be anything else other than what it is today, this is a finished product. I have played since this went open beta and they are asking feedback to improve a finished game to polish it not to alter what the core game is and how it functions. I and we have never "tested" anything on the game, we have played this game to offer our insight to polish it, and only in that regard is this a "beta". Someone pointed out, once you have a cash shop you cross the line, listen to him, he is exactly right. Once you take money for your product it has moved phases, we are now customers of DE not testers for them.

 

If you ever taken your car to a carwash where they come and dry your car by hand at the end just before you drive away, thats us the guys trying to dry the car with a damp towel before they jump in and drive off.

Edited September 15, 2013 by ZeroPhobic

[iotimoline]

'Open Beta' F2P games (with cash shops) are such a genius idea because some suckers will always defend them to the death on nothing more than the strength of the 'beta' tag.

 

Hopefully sooner or later everyone finally wises up and stops buying into it and treats them like they are - feature incomplete releases.  There's nothing wrong with this per se so long as you know what you're involved n, but stop making excuses just because of a label.

Edited September 15, 2013 by iotimoline

[NalkorRN]

they dont seem to care about that f2p part as you can see, the game's shaping up to be nothing but grind and cash to relieve grind

you need to understand the game is basically a released game in development, the beta tag is nothing but a convenient way to justify radical changes

DE is like PGI right now. If we could have signatures, I'd totally go for a signature like the one on MWO's forums where it's the PGI icon saying We Totally Know What We're Doing! with a stupid-looking face.