4 replies to this topic

[Zemious]

Before reading this thread, I'd like to state that I don't want to come off sounding to pompous and superior over anyone.
I like what Nathaniel said to me in an IRC query:

Nathaniel: Well, as a set of guidelines really. What to look for when beta testing, and that all are good to watch for.

This is just a set of guide lines really, so not to the point.


From what I've seen the last few weeks, a bunch of people have been submitting an updated version of the same quest fixing errors. Theres nothing wrong with new versions, but it just seems like he or she doesn't have a beta tester helping out, or he/she is hastely submitting the quest and finding errors later and then fixing it over and over again.


If you need a beta tester, don't be afraid to ask on the forums. People should always solicit there beta testing services.
I don't think I really need to tell people how to beta test, although I like what Nathaniel pointed out to me.

Nathaniel: Not just all the little stuff, but looking at patterns and themes too.
Nathaniel: And even commenting on the overall balance of difficulty.
Nathaniel: Some obvious little things would be slashing every bush you find, trying to enter from one screen to another in multiple ways so as to see if you could get stuck, checking to see if moving from one screen to another shows any graphical anomalies, such as half a tree showing up.

[elise]

I am gonna say the same as I told to Migokalli when he was searching for betatesters , ask around who other questmakers had for betatesters and how they did it , make a list of people you think you want to have as a tester , and ask them if they want to test for you
Every tester has his /her own skills so that way you can get the best team

[Koopa]

A few words on betatesting from the mouth of a Lost Isle/Origin tester ...

Be clear about what your quest is meant to be (easy/hard, short/long, fighting/puzzling) when you apply for testers. The same goes when you submit a description to the quest db.

This one I find especially important.
Always have at least one person that was not involved in the development test it and fully play it through. That way, things you thought were obvious (because you made the puzzles, you know how to solve them) will appear as they would to a player, who doesn't know them. (This is especially an issue if your L1 puzzle is in fact a lot harder than the L9 one to an outsider, or the one order to collect the 10 items that makes your quest playable is not hinted at, or you've hidden that essential item rather too well.)

Good testers do two things. They play the quest through from beginning to end like a player would. They also slash every screen's bushes and try all possible paths and warps to detect missing under combos, misaligned solid combos you scroll into etc. They should also be on the lookout for any errors like treetops and roofs that Link walks over.

It is important to have regular contact with and reports from your testers. This can be via an email address, a topic, of even a forum/subforum of your own. Testers should note anything they find as they play and report it to you. You should keep a note of all bus reported and all bugs fixed - this is especially the case with more than one tester. If you send out updates to your quest during the testing phase, 1. make sure all testers have the newest version and 2. testers should take a peek at their reported bugs to make sure they're really fixed.

At the end of the testeing phase, everyone should erase their saves and play through from start to finish again. Only when a complete such "run" is possible without any new bugs can you consider a quest stable and ready to release (don't worry, there are always bugs you haven't found. Every single time. The best you can do is not release a quest with any bugs you have found but not fixed.)

Due to the chance of getting stuck while testing, it's polite to provide testers with a L4 cheat to get out of any bugs they get stuck in. Of course, you change/remove the cheats before you release.

Welcome your testers' feedback and criticism. They are the first indication about how the public might recieve your quest.

You will need testers that have a lot of time to invest over a short period of time - during this time, it's also imperative that you yourself are around to respond to them.

[Peteo]

Koopa, since you were a tester for Lost Isle (a quest that I was developing), do you think that some things could have gone better or were you satisfied how we handled things with Wolfie? Because I found the experience with you testers very enjoyable and problem-free compared to my first experience with MMDWR which was very awful with unmotivated and unexperienced testers...

[Koopa]

I was very pleased with the testing process indeed; what I mentioned here where mainly things I thought you two did exactly right.

Go better? You can't realistically expect everything to go 100% smoothly, and some of the stuff that did go wrong was to do with ZC betas changing along with the quest. All in all, I think we did extremely well. But then LI wasn't just any quest, either