Arcen Games
General Category => Stars Beyond Reach... This World Is Mine => Topic started by: x4000 on April 14, 2015, 05:10:35 pm
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There are no spoilers in here, and I'll be brief (well, brief for me ;)).
Current Status:
Wow this game has changed a lot in the last few months (writing this as of late September 2015). If you were already a beta tester prior to this date, then try to forget what you thought you knew about the game. Seriously it will be easier I think. If you're new, then no such problems. Welcome!
So, let's see:
1. There is a development status screen on the main menu that gives you the latest info on what is known-unfinished and what is complete, so please refer to that before posting bugs relating to those things.
2. If you want to see what we're actively working on, you can read the SBR List Backlog (https://docs.google.com/document/d/14XQ61PpOfTHiusfdy0D6Vjq2OjNN04GkKddpYV7ZrJE/edit). The lists on there for Keith are accurate, although the ones for me tend to get pretty out of date and I do a lot of notes for myself in notepad.
Where To Give Feedback
On mantis, which is here: http://www.arcengames.com/mantisbt/
Key notes:
1. Please only report one issue per mantis ticket. That way we can close the tickets when they are done, versus having half-done tickets all over the place.
1.a. That said, if it's something like "here are 30 typos," obviously that is one mantis ticket. It's a judgement call on your part, but if you think that we're extremely likely to address the entire set of issues at once, then it's one ticket.
2. It is possible to upload files on mantis, though some folks miss that. It's there in the middle of the page after you make your initial submission. You can continue to submit more files as much as you need as discussion continues.
3. Please please please include a savegame and steps to replicate where relevant. :) It's almost always relevant. We don't need screenshots or video unless it's something really strange that you think we won't be able to easily observe another way. But a savegame and instructions lets us just pop into your game, see the problem, fix it, test it, and then mark it resolved. The observation and testing steps take 90% or more of the time for us if you don't include savegames.
Anyway, thanks. :)
What Sort Of Feedback?
Honestly, whatever you want to tell us. If it's feature suggestions, then sure. We might not do them or might not do them until far into the future, but it never hurts to submit if you've got an idea and you think it's cool. If I do wind up closing a lot of your tickets as "won't fix" or "working as intended," please don't be disheartened. I'll leave a brief comment to explain why, and the fact that you have a lot of closed tickets does not reflect in any way badly on you. It's all good! No pressure, really.
Now, the one exception: really long stream of consciousness narratives. Those tend to be very hard for me to read quickly, and me being able to parse information quickly is a pretty important thing when it comes to moving through the beta. You guys will outnumber me hundreds to one, literally, by the time this is over. If you want to share longer narratives with other players in the forums and have a long discussion with them, absolutely! No problems.
If you come to some sort of consensus, or if you want to float specific ideas past me either way, then please just make mantis tickets that are specific potential action items. Or that are specific problems that you had (confusion here, bug there, balance there, etc). I'll take part in some longer discussions, but I won't have time to read most of them just because I'll actually be working on the game, but I will read every last mantis ticket that's in the style requested above.
These are just some guidelines on what to expect based on what has worked in the past.
Oh, Please Do Remember I'm A Human
If something sucks, I want to know about it. But! I'm not a robot. So if you can tell me it sucks -- clearly, so that I know you mean it sucks -- without bludgeoning me emotionally, that would be best for all of us. When I get worn down emotionally by overly-negative stuff, I get slower.
Basically think of it like this:
Healthy feedback: "Thing A is no fun at all, or is broken or whatever, and probably needs attention. Possible resolutions might be XYZ, or I don't have ideas but what specifically is bugging me is 123, and addressing that would probably make this fun/functional/whatever."
Toxic feedback: "Thing A sucks, I don't know what you were thinking. I'm not having any fun at all." (NB: Even if you're not having any fun at all because of some issue, a better way to say it is "I can't get past this issue to really evaluate the rest of the game, because this one thing is bothering me so very much.")
TLDR: I can take the heat, I'm open to all feedback, but only when I feel like you're on my side. If I feel like you're going "this Chris guy is actually an idiot, why was I ever excited about this," then I start going into a death spiral if that happens enough. Past a certain point in the beta I get a lot more confidence and that becomes less of an issue, but whenever I'm first unveiling a new game it's a really emotionally tense thing for me. Don't hide the truth from me or say things you don't mean, but if there's something you hate then please give me the benefit of the doubt that we can work through it together, and approach it from that angle. It will be a lot happier for both of us that way!
What's Changed Lately?
Whatever it is, you can read about it here: https://arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Stars_Beyond_Reach_Beta_Phase_3_Release_Notes
Tips
You don't owe us anything for being a part of the beta, in fact my view is that we owe you. The free copy of the game that you get (your "beta" steam key is a permanent thing that will keep working after the game comes out, fyi) is a small token that we're able to give back to you. Your feedback really is what takes the game from being pretty rough at first beta, and then getting to fully polished at 1.0. That said, if you want to leave a tip, we do have a way for you to do that: http://arcengames.com/tips/
Giving us a tip is not required to get into the beta, nor will it get you into the beta -- though getting into the beta honestly shouldn't be a problem for you anyway, at this point, if you have the interest. We're only taking a certain number of people per batch, but you should have no problem getting into one of the batches. My honest preference is that if you do feel inclined to give a tip, you actually wait until you're in the beta and make sure you still feel that way. ;)
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As of April 14th, the following Redshirts should have PMs (or in DevildogFF's case an email) for the beta:
mrhanman
windgen
Misery
Watashiwa
tbrass
pumpkin
crazyroosterman
GarathJJ
mllange
FractalReaper
Hyfrydle
ptarth
DevildogFF
Pizzatiger
TheVampire100
Testers added on May 5th (Orangeshirts!):
jerith
Shrugging Khan
MaskityMask
donblas
Drakonis
tombik
Timfortress
UsF
YoukaiCountry
Mayjori
nas1m
Eternaly_Lost
Endymion
Zebeast46
Kizor
Testers added on May 22nd (Blueshirts!):
Aklyon
Cinth
Cyborg
Mick
Darloth
Zalrus9
Kizor
steelwing
Utrick
Stilgar
Vacuity
notagreatgamer
Physicaque
Deekay
Paps
tadrinth
SugeBearX
Testers added on May 24nd (Blueshirts extra!):
Sounds
Testers added on June 1st (Yellowshirts):
mooncows
Billick
P3X-639
TheokGrundor
Animorganimate
kasnavada
EzekielMoerdyk
skanx
stblr
MayhemMike
MooN
satoru
Elijah
DreadnoughtShanor
Azurian
Lysenko
eOSO
tim1983
Magus-k
Vordrak
Hampsmaine
Huw
FroBodine
Testers added on June 2nd (Yellowshirts -- ack I missed them but should not have!):
Razer98K
wwwhhattt
iozay
Testers added on June 15th (Blackshirts)
Rekka
Taravassal
doctorfrog
Chthon
LordStryker
MishTheFish
ghgl090
kokonut
qrter
dersquatch
DrGonzo
Valectar
Parmenides
Tormodino
greywolf1991
EvilMonk3y
Chriamon
AlgaeNymph
Vinco
Orelius
Jerebaldo1
rallythelegions
Teal_Blue
Tolc
Gwmngilfen
Testers added on June 16th (Blackshirts -- late additions)
AlmightyTaz
Testers added on September 24th (Redshirts V2, previously going to be known as Greenshirts)
Traveller
Tomasdk
ElektroSMF
Nubbify
Tridus
donlol
darkarchon
hadberz
Genomic
gnosis
Firemad
hapexindustries
Torchwood202
Peons
Rendon
Diji
Paracosma
Despayre
bobsky
mrvole
Ingros
Greywolf22
KaidenOZ
Genosse
dfinlay
SashaNein
d10sfan
Ravachol
Entvex
rjblackwolf
relmz32
Testers added on October 1st (Blueshirts V2)
Smithgift
tassadarpaladin
YukaTakeuchiFan
NullDragon
Panzeh
Groomy
Cyprene
Pluto011
Rythe
Julius
Morslok
Turbokretzsche
jaxxa
anastase
ElOhTeeBee
Mal
ajhager
Vesson
mightymike2035
Grey-fox-13
gia
jabbawocky
Chazn2
DFox83
Matt Damon
Sytri
I'll keep this post up to date as I later send out invites for blueshirts and so forth, to make sure that if you're wondering "should I have a PM but I don't yet?" You can check this list to see. Thanks!
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*wears a blue shirt that been hastly painted red*
Uhhh, i am here for testing *nervous laugh*, i spilt some blue paint on my shirt, no need to notice any of the blue in it.
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*wears a blue shirt that been hastly painted red*
Uhhh, i am here for testing *nervous laugh*, i spilt some blue paint on my shirt, no need to notice any of the blue in it.
Switched you to redshirt, you should have an email now. ;)
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Installing now. I should be able to spend at least a couple hours with it by the end of the day.
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Went looking for an appropriate meme image to describe my excitement. Failed.
Very excited. :D
Any chance of a subforum for beta discussions?
EDIT: Haha, is there a reason the default profile name is "Hydral"?
EDIT2: No music on startup... Pity. Good thing I know where it's stored in the data. :D Really digging the theme.
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*wears a blue shirt that been hastly painted red*
Uhhh, i am here for testing *nervous laugh*, i spilt some blue paint on my shirt, no need to notice any of the blue in it.
Switched you to redshirt, you should have an email now. ;)
*Whispers to self "Damn i didn't think that work work"* Thank you captain sir! I will make you proud with my pathetic meat brain
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Excited for this, about the savegame thing, I am assuming that we copy and paste the savegame from the options menu which will probably be in the options menu? Sorry if this question sounds stupid but I am not the best at figuring this stuff out.
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Can i still become a redshort or do i have to wait until the first tests are over?
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Excited for this, about the savegame thing, I am assuming that we copy and paste the savegame from the options menu which will probably be in the options menu? Sorry if this question sounds stupid but I am not the best at figuring this stuff out.
Your save will (/should) be stored in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Stars Beyond Reach\RuntimeData\Save unless you installed the game elsewhere.
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So far I'm confused but enjoying it, keeping a log of thoughts of my first game in readiness for Mantis.
Is their anyway to end the turn without placing landers? I'm running out of crowns.
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Thank-you for including me on the team, I'm anxious/excited to dig in. As always - best wishes and good fortune!
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awesome sauce ill install it tonight it tonight and then do some achual testing tomorrow when my laptops not in a mood.
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Awesome, thanks guys! For all the kind words, and the help. :)
To the questions:
Any chance of a subforum for beta discussions?
Done: http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php?board=114.0
EDIT: Haha, is there a reason the default profile name is "Hydral"?
* The default profile name is now "Benevolent Dictator" instead of Hydral.
:)
EDIT2: No music on startup... Pity. Good thing I know where it's stored in the data. :D Really digging the theme.
It's on my list, yeah.
*Whispers to self "Damn i didn't think that work work"* Thank you captain sir! I will make you proud with my pathetic meat brain
I'm an easy going guy. Thanks for coming aboard, crewman!
Excited for this, about the savegame thing, I am assuming that we copy and paste the savegame from the options menu which will probably be in the options menu? Sorry if this question sounds stupid but I am not the best at figuring this stuff out.
If you look in the settings menu, there is a game folder path. You can also in steam go to properties and just hit browse local files. In that folder, RuntimData/Save has the savegames.
Can i still become a redshort or do i have to wait until the first tests are over?
Boom, redshirt. Check your PM. :)
So far I'm confused but enjoying it, keeping a log of thoughts of my first game in readiness for Mantis.
Is their anyway to end the turn without placing landers? I'm running out of crowns.
Yep, redshirt confusion is all but guaranteed. I wasn't kidding around! ;) But I'm glad you're enjoying it despite that, that's a good sign. When things are properly streamlined in terms of communicating properly to you, that should be much better for those who follow after the redshirts. You guys fall on the grenades of confusion so others don't have to. ;)
Regarding camp placement, that will be adjusted next build: http://www.arcengames.com/mantisbt/view.php?id=16174
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I started up a game of this and all the other races are dead apart from the acutions and burlusts is that normal?.
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I started up a game of this and all the other races are dead apart from the acutions and burlusts is that normal?.
Umm... no, that should never be possible and I've never seen it despite starting about 300ish games. Savegame on mantis would be great. Did you perhaps start via the scenario editor somehow? Maybe we had some sort of regression on that front of initial placement just today, I'm not sure.
I just quickly fired up a game of my own and it seemed fine, so I'm definitely perplexed. There's absolutely no way the spire, neinzul, and thoraxians should fail to spawn in particular. Maybe this is based on certain map types -- I've only been playing continental for a very long time.
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Are redshirts the people that signed up on this thread:
http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,17238.0.html ?
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Very much interested in beta. I did the TLF beta and I was really happy to see that my feedback was valued here. Is the right thread to volunteer?
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I would do that if it wasn't for the fact that the game had a hissy fit and I had to restart my laptop so I kind of lost it.(as a side note my method for bordering a bordering civ 5 while in game does seem to mess it a bit I know stars beyond reach gives you the ability to turn the full screen but I've been using my other method out of pure habit ) I can give you the set up though map style hot tropic(I'm about 60 percent sure that was it but I'm not 100 percent sure) map size standard turn limit max starting tempo untouched land random and the difficulty normal and the race krolin. ps I am 1000 percent sure that I was dong nothing with the scenario editor
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Got mine all downloaded, though with my schedule being what it is you'll probably not see my feedback until morning.... I'll try not to pile up too much in one go, heh.
I'll be firing this up as soon as I get home from my usual annoying driving.
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Are redshirts the people that signed up on this thread:
http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,17238.0.html ?
Redshirts are the people who signed up for the beta yes, but also they said they didn't mind the confusion and possible tales of woe that comes from it.
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oh, i signed up but missed needing to say I dont mind being "confused". I actually like playing without directions/tutorials/etc.
If its not to late, please add me to the redshirt list :D.
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Providing feedback in a way that doesn't hurt is something I've been thinking about a lot in recent years, albeit in a slightly different context. A large part of what I do (both professionally and on open source projects) involves code review, as both the reviewer and the reviewee (which spellcheck thinks isn't a word, but I'm using it anyway).
Oh, Please Do Remember I'm A Human
If something sucks, I want to know about it. But! I'm not a robot. So if you can tell me it sucks -- clearly, so that I know you mean it sucks -- without bludgeoning me emotionally, that would be best for all of us. When I get worn down emotionally by overly-negative stuff, I get slower.
Basically think of it like this:
Healthy feedback: "Thing A is no fun at all, or is broken or whatever, and probably needs attention. Possible resolutions might be XYZ, or I don't have ideas but what specifically is bugging me is 123, and addressing that would probably make this fun/functional/whatever."
Toxic feedback: "Thing A sucks, I don't know what you were thinking. I'm not having any fun at all." (NB: Even if you're not having any fun at all because of some issue, a better way to say it is "I can't get past this issue to really evaluate the rest of the game, because this one thing is bothering me so very much.")
What Chris said above is excellent, but I'd like to add some more specific points:
- Be professional. You're here to do a job, and that job is helping the Arcen team build the very best game they can build. Too much emotion can distract from that.
- Be nice. Chris said it better than I can. :-)
- Be concise. Include all necessary detail, but try to avoid clutter. All else being equal, shorter tickets take less time to read than longer ones. (Don't take this to extremes, though. Sometimes a little extra fluff is helpful.)
- Talk about the game, not the people. This is something that sounds obvious and a bit silly, but is surprisingly important. Basically, "you did a silly thing here" and "there's a thing here that seems silly" both carry the same information but only one of them accuses the developer of silliness.
- Look for good things as well as bad. Your main job as a beta tester is to find problems so they can be fixed, but it's also important to occasionally mention things that work really well. (More on this below.)
- Check for duplicates before reporting a problem. It doesn't take long, and it saves the Arcen team a whole lot of admin work. If you aren't sure if you have a duplicate or not, open a new ticket and include something like "this problem looks kind of like that one, but not quite". If you do have a duplicate, add extra details to the existing ticket if you think they can help.
As I was writing this list, I found myself spending a lot of words on the "look for good as well as bad" item, so I'll explain it in more detail here. On the one hand, a steady stream of problems can be really depressing even if they're reported in the nicest possible way. On the other hand, concise reports of particular problems are very important. The idea is to occasionally mix in some positive feedback with the negative in a way that adds value without getting in the way.
I often write something along the lines of "I love how the potion crafting system blends alchemy and chemistry, but the UI for using dephlogisticated air makes it hard to interact with" rather than just reporting the UI issue. As well as the warm fuzzy feeling of knowing that they did something great, it tells the team that my problem is specifically with the UI rather than the underlying game mechanic. Adding "Despite the somewhat clunky menus, I'm very pleased with the wide variety of cuisines available for Thoraxian Royal Feasts" or similar to the end of a ticket achieves the same effect.
This post ended up being about twice as long as I originally intended, so I'll stop here. Just remember that my list is a set of general guidelines and anything the Arcen team says about the kind of feedback they want should take priority. This is a topic I'm particularly interested in, so feel free to add to my list or disagree with it. I'm not particularly active on the forums, as you can see by my post count, but I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.
As an aside: Chris, am I on the beta list? I'm happy to wear whatever colour shirt you choose for me, but I "signed up" long enough ago that there may not have been a list yet and I'd hate to miss my opportunity to take over the world help you guys build an awesome game. ;-)
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If you have a use for more people in red shirts - I don't mind getting my nose bloodied :P
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by the way I'm 21 turns in and I cant figure out how to generate water I seriously have no idea I just thought id ask here first before doing putting anything down on mantis just in case its something obvious I'm missing?.
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One of the early techs is groundwater research. It makes basic wells.
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Into the breach people. Throw your bodies against the bugs, so we can climb over them with the piles that will form. :D
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Interested in being a blue shirt , I was in TLF beta before. ;)
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What Chris said above is excellent, but I'd like to add some more specific points:
- Be professional. You're here to do a job, and that job is helping the Arcen team build the very best game they can build. Too much emotion can distract from that.
- Be nice. Chris said it better than I can. :-)
- Be concise. Include all necessary detail, but try to avoid clutter. All else being equal, shorter tickets take less time to read than longer ones. (Don't take this to extremes, though. Sometimes a little extra fluff is helpful.)
- Talk about the game, not the people. This is something that sounds obvious and a bit silly, but is surprisingly important. Basically, "you did a silly thing here" and "there's a thing here that seems silly" both carry the same information but only one of them accuses the developer of silliness.
- Look for good things as well as bad. Your main job as a beta tester is to find problems so they can be fixed, but it's also important to occasionally mention things that work really well. (More on this below.)
- Check for duplicates before reporting a problem. It doesn't take long, and it saves the Arcen team a whole lot of admin work. If you aren't sure if you have a duplicate or not, open a new ticket and include something like "this problem looks kind of like that one, but not quite". If you do have a duplicate, add extra details to the existing ticket if you think they can help.
Sound advice. As a longtime tester here, I'll add just a bit.
You volunteered to do this. Even if you don't spend a lot of time with the game, you very first impression of the game is very important to the guys. Write it up as you play or just after your first play session. It's the most important piece of feedback you can give. So just do it.
If you feel the need to get personal, talk about how YOU feel. Keep it in context of the game. Games should evoke emotions, talking about that is a good thing.
Beta is a process. Welcome to an Arcen beta. Updates can come rapid fire or take some time. Make sure you have the latest and greatest. Read the patch notes. If you have a bug posted in Mantis, double check it. Sometimes what the guys think they fix, isn't exactly what you wrote up. Other times it's just good to know the issue was taken care of (verified fixed).
Be open to discussion and changes.
Think that's about all I have 8)
I do believe that the beta is still open to folks who want to test. Speak up, be heard and wait. A few will be added each week (stated in OP). Have fun all!
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Hi. I have played every Arcen game, but was never able to beta test. I am super excited about SBR and would love to help this time. I am not daunted by bugs and a lack of documentation, so any wave is great with me.
Thanks and good luck!
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I haven't gotten a PM yet. Is that because I didn't specify where I wanted to be in the beta?
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Hello guys!
I'm also quite interested in beta testing of Stars Beyond Reach. I'm following the game for a long time. I just hope I can help you guys out with anything…
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I haven't gotten a PM yet. Is that because I didn't specify where I wanted to be in the beta?
Second post of the thread has a list of players currently in the beta. Like the rest of us who are on the list but not yet in, be patient and you will get your invite in. I would expect another 15 or so players to get invites by Monday or Tuesday next week.
Also, take that with a grain of salt (I'm waiting to play too). I would expect that everyone who asked to test, is going to get the opportunity to do so.
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I'd like to test the game at some point, but put me in when it's convenient for you!
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I would be willing to test. I think I do best being in the very last batch. I've been doing all I can to ignore this as much as possible, so as to come to it with "clean eyes" to properly test tutorials and other learning opportunities.
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Where to apply for beta? Is here convenient for that?
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Sorry for my super slow responses! I've been so sucked in with the first wave of testers that I've not had time to do much else. With the release date pushed back to allow for more refinement, I'm also taking the waves of testers a bit slower, at least particularly at first, so that the biggest issues of each "wave" get resolved prior to the next wave coming in. With this first wave of redshirts, of course that list of issues is... well, pretty massive, given the scale of the game. But that list is getting smaller by the day, and we're hitting a point where new testers will be useful within the next week.
The really gratifying thing for me has been seeing that despite all of the expected carnage of confusion and bugs for the redshirts, that they were still really enjoying it / hypnotized by it. So that's a really exciting thing for me personally, because it speaks to what the game will hopefully be for people once it's actually properly fully polished!
Are redshirts the people that signed up on this thread:
http://www.arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,17238.0.html ?
They're folks who asked to be redshirts on any of the threads, really.
Very much interested in beta. I did the TLF beta and I was really happy to see that my feedback was valued here. Is the right thread to volunteer?
Thanks very much! Added you to the list.
oh, i signed up but missed needing to say I dont mind being "confused". I actually like playing without directions/tutorials/etc.
If its not to late, please add me to the redshirt list :D.
I think what I'm going to do is start an "orange shirt" group to come between the redshirts and the blueshirts, on reflection. The redshirt period has been a lot longer than I expected, and a lot rougher on that group. I still haven't had time to focus on proper documentation for what the blueshirt experience is supposed to be. So I think I'll add this orange shirt level that is basically "redshirts round 2, but this time with way more balance and way fewer bugs compared to before." And anyone who was previously marked as a blueshirt and wants to become an orangeshirt can do so. I'll make another thread about that.
Anyway, I have now marked you as orangeshirt -- the first!
Providing feedback in a way that doesn't hurt is something I've been thinking about a lot in recent years, albeit in a slightly different context. A large part of what I do (both professionally and on open source projects) involves code review, as both the reviewer and the reviewee (which spellcheck thinks isn't a word, but I'm using it anyway).
...
This post ended up being about twice as long as I originally intended, so I'll stop here. Just remember that my list is a set of general guidelines and anything the Arcen team says about the kind of feedback they want should take priority. This is a topic I'm particularly interested in, so feel free to add to my list or disagree with it. I'm not particularly active on the forums, as you can see by my post count, but I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.
Thanks for that, that was really well said. :)
As an aside: Chris, am I on the beta list? I'm happy to wear whatever colour shirt you choose for me, but I "signed up" long enough ago that there may not have been a list yet and I'd hate to miss my opportunity to take over the world help you guys build an awesome game. ;-)
You are definitely on the list! I have the date of your signup as being November 5th of last year, making you literally the first one to ask to be a tester. I have now marked you down as an orangeshirt. :) Judging by how often your name is in past release notes for games like TLF, you might not be on the forums much, but boy are you on mantis! ;) In the best possible way -- I have hugely valued your contributions, which have been very nontrivial. You and steelwing are going to be giving ptarth a run for his money soon. ;)
If you have a use for more people in red shirts - I don't mind getting my nose bloodied :P
Orangeshirt the third! :)
Into the breach people. Throw your bodies against the bugs, so we can climb over them with the piles that will form. :D
You better believe there are piles of bodies, holy cow. These redshirts have been troopers, haha.
Interested in being a blue shirt , I was in TLF beta before. ;)
Yep, I remember you! Thanks again for your help with TLF. I've added you as a blueshirt, but if you'd rather be an orangeshirt since that's now a thing, let me know!
Sound advice. As a longtime tester here, I'll add just a bit.
Very well said what you added, also. :)
Hi. I have played every Arcen game, but was never able to beta test. I am super excited about SBR and would love to help this time. I am not daunted by bugs and a lack of documentation, so any wave is great with me.
Thanks and good luck!
Added you as an orangeshirt! Thanks for the kind words. :)
I haven't gotten a PM yet. Is that because I didn't specify where I wanted to be in the beta?
Yep, it's done in waves, and right now I have you as not any particular color shirt, so it would be after blueshirts. If you want to be earlier, just let me know! Right now we've only had 16 people come in, and we've got 70 and counting (I have a feeling it will top 100 once I finally get through the backlog today) on the list. I'll probably add people in batches of 10-15 over the next month and a half or so.
Hello guys!
I'm also quite interested in beta testing of Stars Beyond Reach. I'm following the game for a long time. I just hope I can help you guys out with anything…
Welcome back! I remember you from past patch notes, too. :) I've added you to the list.
I'd like to test the game at some point, but put me in when it's convenient for you!
Added you to the list!
I would be willing to test. I think I do best being in the very last batch. I've been doing all I can to ignore this as much as possible, so as to come to it with "clean eyes" to properly test tutorials and other learning opportunities.
People like you who are willing to wait until that point are a godsend -- as much as everyone else is, really. But I need people in those last rounds who will take it serious and really absorb those final stray laser blasts just as much as the redshirts who come first out of the airlock. :) Added you to the list with that note!
Where to apply for beta? Is here convenient for that?
Works for me! I've added you to the list. :)
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Not sure whether I can actually start testing this weekend, but I would like to take up the orange as well - if you will have me earlier, that is.
Seems like I need to stand my ground on Mantis ;)...
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I'd definitely like to move to orangeshirt if possible.
Listening to that podcast has me itching to beta test!
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Both of you are now orange!
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I like to chime in for Orange as well, It certainly be fun to find ways to break the game. :)
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I like to chime in for Orange as well, It certainly be fun to find ways to break the game. :)
Painted your shirt orange! :)
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Do we need to register for mantis also?
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Do we need to register for mantis also?
Probably a good idea, since you can't report bugs on Mantis otherwise. :P
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Do we need to register for mantis also?
Probably a good idea, since you can't report bugs on Mantis otherwise. :P
I thought maybe I was missing something, e.g maybe there was a way to use Mantis with forum password etc.
Thanks for clarifying :)
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As of right now, nope. I'm looking into making that happen though!
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I'm impressed this post is still getting replies so many patches ahead (:,
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I'm impressed this post is still getting replies so many patches ahead (:,
Some of us have been avoiding other threads so as to have an unbiased first impression of the game. :-)
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Testers added on May 5th (Orangeshirts!):
jerith
Shrugging Khan
MaskityMask
donblas
Drakonis
tombik
Timfortress
UsF
YoukaiCountry
Mayjori
nas1m
Eternaly_Lost
Endymion
Zebeast46
You should all have PMs from me at this point. If any of you are missing one, let me know!
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Like an idiot, I sent all you guys AI War keys instead of SBR keys. If you don't have AI War already, by all means enjoy. But I sent a followup PM that has a proper SBR key. Sorry about that!
If I messed anything else up there and you didn't get a second PM from me, I'll have to correct it in the morning, I really need to go right now. But I am 95% sure I did it right this time. If I missed you, though, it was totally a fat-finger on my part, not intentional!
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god dam I didn't get a free game with my invite! ??? (favouritism tut-tut-tut)
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god dam I didn't get a free game with my invite! ??? (favouritism tut-tut-tut)
...you did.
its just not totally finished yet :P
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hu? I thought I was going to have to pay to keep playing this when It was fully released?.
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hu? I thought I was going to have to pay to keep playing this when It was fully released?.
No, it's yours to keep!
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My game seems to be stuck in an endless loop where I cannot access the save menu function anymore and the next turn button does not appear. How would I go about reporting such an issue/bug? Is there a debug functionality to see what is going on? Maybe a logfile or console output that I can report?
Edit: If needed, I could start a Steam Broadcast of this issue. :) Will keep it up to wait for a reply for some time.
Edit2: Asking this, because I cannot generate a savegame as needed from it and wondering if it would be reproducible.
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My game seems to be stuck in an endless loop where I cannot access the save menu function anymore and the next turn button does not appear. How would I go about reporting such an issue/bug? Is there a debug functionality to see what is going on? Maybe a logfile or console output that I can report?
Edit: If needed, I could start a Steam Broadcast of this issue. :) Will keep it up to wait for a reply for some time.
Edit2: Asking this, because I cannot generate a savegame as needed from it and wondering if it would be reproducible.
Ah! Yeah, MaskityMask just reported this also, turns out. I just pushed a new version that should no longer have that problem. So strange that only the two of you have run into this! The code I fixed seemed to be quite old, so it must have been something about the wind conditions being just right in order to invoke this bug. Anyway, I 100% definitely saw what it was in the code in MaskityMask's case, which was reproducible from a savegame he had extremely reliably, and now is fixed. So that should also fix yours. Sorry about the savegame loss issue!
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Ah, you mean the problem I had where if I didn't destroy my cultural buildings I would have had eventually been forced to get devotion from skill tree to end the turn and start transdence end game? (I don't remember having problem where I couldn't save so not sure if this is another save I have sent <_<)Thats fixed now? :D Yay!
(Though it turned out that I wouldn't have needed to destroy my cultural buildings since thoraxian ai seems to lack aggressiveness right now. That or they like me too much. Either way, they never seem to attack even with devotion picked. But neverthless, at least when thoraxian ai is done, yay I don't have to force them to zerg me!)
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Testers added on May 22nd (Blueshirts!):
Aklyon
Cinth
Cyborg
Mick
Darloth
Zalrus9
Kizor
steelwing
Utrick
Stilgar
Vacuity
notagreatgamer
Physicaque
Deekay
Paps
tadrinth
SugeBearX
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Huzzah!!! Already logged a decent amount of hours and the game is fantastic so far. :) My first batch of reports will be incoming as soon as I register to Mantis and make sure I am not duplicating previously reported issues and suggestions. Thanks for letting me help with the beta...believe me when I say it's an honor to be able to help with your game in some small way. Cheers! 8)
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Huzzah!!! Already logged a decent amount of hours and the game is fantastic so far. :) My first batch of reports will be incoming as soon as I register to Mantis and make sure I am not duplicating previously reported issues and suggestions. Thanks for letting me help with the beta...believe me when I say it's an honor to be able to help with your game in some small way. Cheers! 8)
Should have responded sooner, but just saw this. Thank you! But you already know that from other threads, I suspect. :D
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I am about to start sending out the PMs. If your name is on here and you don't get a PM from me within the next few minutes, then let me know!
Testers added on June 1st (Yellowshirts):
mooncows
Billick
P3X-639
TheokGrundor
Animorganimate
kasnavada
EzekielMoerdyk
skanx
stblr
MayhemMike
MooN
satoru
Elijah
DreadnoughtShanor
Azurian
Lysenko
eOSO
tim1983
Magus-k
Vordrak
Hampsmaine
Huw
FroBodine
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Also now added to the yellowshirts: Razer98K
I had added him in another thread, but somehow mis-marked him on the spreadsheet, and so missed actually adding him to the game. I'm really glad that he spoke up and let me know, and it's not a bother to me for anyone who does that. Please do so! If I miss anybody, it's always an oversight and not something intentional -- there's just a lot of people and a lot of data! :)
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Ack! Two other people I had said would be in late May builds a long while back, and I missed adding them to the yellowshirts wave:
wwwhhattt
iozay
But now they are.
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Testers added on June 15th (Blackshirts)
Rekka
Taravassal
doctorfrog
Chthon
LordStryker
MishTheFish
ghgl090
kokonut
qrter
dersquatch
DrGonzo
Valectar
Parmenides
Tormodino
greywolf1991
EvilMonk3y
Chriamon
AlgaeNymph
Vinco
Orelius
Jerebaldo1
rallythelegions
Teal_Blue
Tolc
Gwmngilfen
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These are the old notes from the original post, haha. I'll just save these here for posterity. ;)
There are no spoilers in here, and I'll be brief (well, brief for me ;)).
Current Status:
This is the very first batch, the valiant "redshirts," who will go forth and impale themselves on the worst of the bugs and confusion for the benefit of all those who follow. I should have keys PMed to all of you within a few hours (waiting on a batch of keys from Steam, which I completely spaced out on and forgot to request until an hour or two ago).
Beyond that, specific things:
1. The new HUD is not in place yet. The existing one will probably only be something you have for a day or two max.
2. I have a number of other things I'm working on, as does Keith. A lot of your stuff regarding usability and the early game we'll get to as soon as possible, but I'm
also going to be extra slow in the next few days as I get some of the documentation done and things like that. Please see the "Chris: For Soon" and "Chris: For A Bit Later" sections here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/14XQ61PpOfTHiusfdy0D6Vjq2OjNN04GkKddpYV7ZrJE/edit). I'll be doing most of the "for soon" stuff before I get to much of your feedback, and then the "for a bit later" stuff while getting to some of your feedback, and then beyond that your feedback is the primary thing.
2.a. Note that my options were basically to wait and finish those things and keep you out of the beta until then, or be a bit distracted from you at the start of the beta. I figured the latter was preferable, all told. I will still be reading all the mantis tickets, though!
3. The early game balance is something I've tested quite a lot, and I'm reasonably happy with it. The midgame balance I've tested some, and there are some spotty bits I'm already aware of. The endgame balance I have not tested yet at all in a "real" playthrough scenario, and there are various clarity issues with the various endgames. All the pieces are there, but they are incredibly disorderly and not documented, just FYI.
4. I haven't yet run this on OSX or Linux, so it's possible this first build might not even launch on them. If you can confirm whether or not those do work, then I'll fix it tonight if there is a problem.
Where To Give Feedback
On mantis, which is here: http://www.arcengames.com/mantisbt/
Key notes:
1. Please only report one issue per mantis ticket. That way we can close the tickets when they are done, versus having half-done tickets all over the place.
1.a. That said, if it's something like "here are 30 typos," obviously that is one mantis ticket. It's a judgement call on your part, but if you think that we're extremely likely to address the entire set of issues at once, then it's one ticket.
2. It is possible to upload files on mantis, though some folks miss that. It's there in the middle of the page after you make your initial submission. You can continue to submit more files as much as you need as discussion continues.
3. Please please please include a savegame and steps to replicate where relevant. :) It's almost always relevant. We don't need screenshots or video unless it's something really strange that you think we won't be able to easily observe another way. But a savegame and instructions lets us just pop into your game, see the problem, fix it, test it, and then mark it resolved. The observation and testing steps take 90% or more of the time for us if you don't include savegames.
Anyway, thanks. :)
What Sort Of Feedback?
Honestly, whatever you want to tell us. If it's feature suggestions, then sure. We might not do them or might not do them until far into the future, but it never hurts to submit if you've got an idea and you think it's cool. If I do wind up closing a lot of your tickets as "won't fix" or "working as intended," please don't be disheartened. I'll leave a brief comment to explain why, and the fact that you have a lot of closed tickets does not reflect in any way badly on you. It's all good! No pressure, really.
Now, the one exception: really long stream of consciousness narratives. Those tend to be very hard for me to read quickly, and me being able to parse information quickly is a pretty important thing when it comes to moving through the beta. You guys will outnumber me hundreds to one, literally, by the time this is over. If you want to share longer narratives with other players in the forums and have a long discussion with them, absolutely! No problems.
If you come to some sort of consensus, or if you want to float specific ideas past me either way, then please just make mantis tickets that are specific potential action items. Or that are specific problems that you had (confusion here, bug there, balance there, etc). I'll take part in some longer discussions, but I won't have time to read most of them just because I'll actually be working on the game, but I will read every last mantis ticket that's in the style requested above.
These are just some guidelines on what to expect based on what has worked in the past.
Oh, Please Do Remember I'm A Human
If something sucks, I want to know about it. But! I'm not a robot. So if you can tell me it sucks -- clearly, so that I know you mean it sucks -- without bludgeoning me emotionally, that would be best for all of us. When I get worn down emotionally by overly-negative stuff, I get slower.
Basically think of it like this:
Healthy feedback: "Thing A is no fun at all, or is broken or whatever, and probably needs attention. Possible resolutions might be XYZ, or I don't have ideas but what specifically is bugging me is 123, and addressing that would probably make this fun/functional/whatever."
Toxic feedback: "Thing A sucks, I don't know what you were thinking. I'm not having any fun at all." (NB: Even if you're not having any fun at all because of some issue, a better way to say it is "I can't get past this issue to really evaluate the rest of the game, because this one thing is bothering me so very much.")
TLDR: I can take the heat, I'm open to all feedback, but only when I feel like you're on my side. If I feel like you're going "this Chris guy is actually an idiot, why was I ever excited about this," then I start going into a death spiral if that happens enough. Past a certain point in the beta I get a lot more confidence and that becomes less of an issue, but whenever I'm first unveiling a new game it's a really emotionally tense thing for me. Don't hide the truth from me or say things you don't mean, but if there's something you hate then please give me the benefit of the doubt that we can work through it together, and approach it from that angle. It will be a lot happier for both of us that way!
What Are We Doing Right Now?
Mantis is where you make your submissions of ideas to us, and I categorized them and so forth there. However, I then pull those into a "list backlog" that is a more short-term todo list in an order that shifts around from day to day based on what new information comes in. That list backlog has always been private in the past, but this time we've decided to share it with you so that you can get a better idea of what is coming: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14XQ61PpOfTHiusfdy0D6Vjq2OjNN04GkKddpYV7ZrJE/edit?usp=sharing
So, whenever "now" is, that page lists what we're doing. :)
What's Changed Lately?
Whatever it is, you can read about it here: http://arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Stars_Beyond_Reach_Beta_Release_Notes
Tips
You don't owe us anything for being a part of the beta, in fact my view is that we owe you. The free copy of the game that you get is a small token that we're able to give back to you. Your feedback really is what takes the game from being pretty rough at first beta, and then getting to fully polished at 1.0. That said, if you want to leave a tip, we do have a way for you to do that: http://arcengames.com/tips/
Giving us a tip is not required to get into the beta, nor will it get you into the beta -- though getting into the beta honestly shouldn't be a problem for you anyway, at this point, if you have the interest. We're only taking a certain number of people per batch, but you should have no problem getting into one of the batches. My honest preference is that if you do feel inclined to give a tip, you actually wait until you're in the beta and make sure you still feel that way. ;)
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Testers added on September 24th (Redshirts V2, previously going to be known as Greenshirts)
Traveller
Tomasdk
ElektroSMF
Nubbify
Tridus
donlol
darkarchon
hadberz
Genomic
gnosis
Firemad
hapexindustries
Torchwood202
Peons
Rendon
Diji
Paracosma
Despayre
bobsky
mrvole
Ingros
Greywolf22
KaidenOZ
Genosse
dfinlay
SashaNein
d10sfan
Ravachol
Entvex
rjblackwolf
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Testers added on October 1st (Blueshirts V2)
Smithgift
tassadarpaladin
YukaTakeuchiFan
NullDragon
Panzeh
Groomy
Cyprene
Pluto011
Rythe
Julius
Morslok
Turbokretzsche
jaxxa
anastase
ElOhTeeBee
Mal
ajhager
Vesson
mightymike2035
Grey-fox-13
gia
jabbawocky
Chazn2
DFox83
Matt Damon
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This is really nice. Thanks for the information.