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A few words for the attention of the lost Beta-testers
Participate in a game beta-test is a critical and exciting experience, yet with it comes great responsibility for the user. Let's imagine that a game is an egg. Then the Alpha release would be the time of fertilization where the most essential features are implemented. The Beta will then check that the skeleton of its features are reliable enough. When the core game has been validated by players, we may proceed towards more and more interesting features. However, without feedback from the users, quality is impossible. From our point of view, there is no pleasure taken, even in developing if no exchange is permitted.
You the gamers, the users, have the power to better the game. You are our guide to a more exciting game experience. You materialize what we have dreamed and conceived. Your mission is to help us improving the fun and the quality of the pleasure you take each time you take a step in the RŪNES universe.
How ?
We do not ask you to change the game directly, that would be our job. But only when we receive feedback or a bug report will we know that something needs to be modified.
That's great, but how do we recognize a beta release exactly ?
Whenever everything works perfectly fine when you are running an application, you have all the reasons in the world to think that it is not a Beta release. Still, while exactly the opposite, the goal of a beta release is to help giving you that kind of experience. By helping us to identify the problems that may occur, whatever they may be and whatever the cause, you allow us to perfect this living sculpture that a game is, refining it with an outlook when are not capable of: the one given by thousands of users.
When a player connects to a Beta-release and start whining all over about the game because this or that has not yet been implemented, or that a dungeon just “doesn't work”, we may wonder if he understands what he is using. Most often, the answer is “no”, and there are odds that such a user has not realized that he may make a better use of his time by, for instance, helping the community sending us information about what impairs his enjoying of the game via our three “debug hot-lines”.
“Call to HQ : Need Air Strike”, or how to join our charming debug hot-line hostesses.
You are trackers, we are killers. You are Blade Runners, and your job is to report us any anomaly you encounter. And there are many ways for you to do so.
The Bug channel
On this in-game chat-box channel you may report and describe the disturbance you may face while playing, may they be badly integrated pictures, missing interface controls, unfitting fonctionalities or above all game crashing or unexpected responses from the game (if an orc gives you flowers, it may most probably be a joke from our scenarists that you are missing and not a bug... ;) However a black screen or a crash down after you softly brushed against a nice and innocent looking “OK” button have all the symptoms of bugs. And the only good bug is a dead bug. Spread the word!). Everything you write on this channel is directly saved and sent as logs to our developers. There will be no direct answer unless a developer is logged in at the time. Try to be concise and precise to help the RŪNES team gain some time. If we need more details, we will contact you. :)
Official forum
On the official RŪNES forum, you will find all of our community management dedicated team. The ideal place to talk for hours about the infinite possibilities offered by the development of a game such as RŪNES.
The forum allows you to discuss every possible subjects, besides the technical lacks that may be noted during beta-testing, in the spirit of conviviality. But it is also useful to you, as you will find there a complete list of all reported bugs, taken care of or still being processed.
How do we report a bug via the forum? As the process may still be subjected to modifications, we suggest that you visit the link : http://runes-mmorpg.com/Forum
After you sign up, you will usually be prompted to enter the forum linked to your problem and to describe the encountered bug with as much vocabulary, detail (Where were you? With whom? Why? Just kidding... :p), and if you have, screenshots (Where were you? With whom? Why? No kidding there ;p).
E-mail to
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In a bug's life, it ends sooner or later on support. If you think that you have a good understanding of your bug and that you can explain it – or if it is easier for you to send us an e-mail – then
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is made for you. Do not expect an answer here as well, unless your e-mail is filled with the winning numbers of the national lottery – in that case we would at least thank you. However, if your e-mail holds no lottery and no winning numbers, and even if we do not answer, we nonetheless thank you all for reporting us as many bugs as you encounter while playing this beta version of RŪNES. And if by any chance you have the time to check whether we are currently working on the bug you want to report or not, we will thank you all the more, since worst than a bug is losing time when you are an overworked developer. ;)
Beta know your foe!
A beta test is a terrible thing. A fierce and merciless war against the bugs that have crept in your favorite game. Like us, show them no mercy! The following are what you should be expecting while beta testing:
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Surrounded by bugs. A bug, a handful of bugs, still more bugs, bugs everywhere! Here what is to be expected in this war. Call it Bugship Trooper if you want. An ominous swarm of bugs and a small fellowship of beta testers to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. You enter a mysterious and captivating world, and as soon as you feel at your ease... Pow, zzzzzwap, bam! Bugs will pop and kick your eyes. From that moment, there is only one solution : track it and report it to our Hitmen.
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The bugs bully. I confess, I know that it can lead to madness. But do not fall into despair, our forums are there to regain your strength with the other bug hunters. You will see that, sometimes, for no reason – and there might sometimes really be none – a Rūnes combo will trigger the death of all the characters, a server crash down followed by a database wipe-out. Admittedly, if it comes to that point and a spontaneous combustion takes place in our building due to your handling of the game, unrepeatable (there is justice), we will think of hiring an exorcist. To make it short, nothing works as expected during a beta test.
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The bug wants you expelled. The worst thing is, when after an infinite number of small bugs impairing your game experience, when after being expelled from the game often, when all of this has happened and you can't connect to the game at all. Should that happen, it may also be a bug. If you were to be in that situation, keep cool and describe us everything that may be related to help diagnose the sickness. Those bugs are our number one enemies, and we treat them in priority so that they remain few and short-lived.
Beta Testers, what is your profession ?!?
According to the famous website Ten Ton Hammer, Beta Testers can be classified under three categories. I will take that classification to my advantage with homemade snake oil added.
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The Soldier, the one who answers seriously to the beta test mission. He send feedbacks regularly and is sincere in his desire of making the game better. He comes to help. He will probably be the one who enter constructive debate with the developers thanks to his precious contribution. Why is it so precious? Because the information he gives is accurate and useful. Without him, a beta test is useless. Were we to make a beta test prize, he would be the one to get it.
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The Tourist. He has come in part to take advantage, and mostly for sightseeing. He got a beta key and thought that he might discover something fun. Sadly, he probably did not read this small guide and ignore entirely the purpose of a beta test and what his mission is. Unsatisfied the Tourist may prevent the Soldier from correctly doing his job, while superbly ignoring the NDA. What's more, the tourist may well shoot down Rūnes because of his misunderstanding, but still we must admit that we need him even when we do not endorse his attitude. Because the deal of the beta test is simple : Since we provide you a way to check that the game is progressing correctly, we hope that you as a counterpart help us better what is still lacking.
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The Mutant. He does not know, but the mutant is cross-bred from the two above categories. There are two kinds of mutants : the young one, and the old one. As you may guess, the young mutants are far more numerous, but they are less harmful than the old ones. They come into the game with the idea that they will participate in a beta, but their lack of experience or consistency, they slowly become Tourists (that we may in some way call Super Mutants...). The old mutants however are usually Soldiers who, weary or disillusioned, slowly abandon themselves to the dark side of the force.
I hope that these depictions will help you know where you stand among those three stereotypes and be a better beta tester, if not a front line Soldier in the war against bugs.
Target acquired. Requesting authorization to use brute force.
Now that you know how to report a bug, we will now show how to present it. A good example of bug reporting would be like that :
“DeuxAmes>Bug Channel: Hi! I have a client crashdown each time I click on the Factions button in Towns. T_T My phone is an Android HTC Hero. Every attempt to reproduce the bug have been... successful. O gods of Rūnes, if you hear be, may your names be blessed!”
And, following, here are two examples of totally worthless and unneeded “reports”:
“Bl4ckW4rri0r666> Bug Channel: this g4me suxxxx fix it plzzzzzzz”
“PuriT”> Bug Channel: I don't seem to understand, but the game is shutting down on its own.
To make it simple, be detailed when reporting a bug. Explain what triggers it, how it manifests. What is your understanding of the bug itself. If possible, try to reproduce it before contacting us, it guarantees the reality of the bug.
“I'll be back” The war on bugs never ends, neither do the tests.
Test the bug until death or the end of the beta ensues. But beware, the end of the beta test is not the end of the war, merely a truce. But still a victory that would not have been possible without your help. New features updated after the end of the beta test period will require new tests, let's this be known.
“My name is Test, Beta Test”, or why is a beta tester also a secret agent.
What is a Non-Disclosure Agreement, more commonly resumed as NDA?
Before anything else, you should know that by signing in to the beta test, you also agree to the terms of the NDA. This means that you understand and agree unconditionally every article of the NDA, which can easily be summed up.
In some way, you are a secret agent that will help us organize an operation, which would be to create a better game that as many people as possible will like. You are therefore not free to speak as you please, notably when it comes to the most confidential parts of the game.
In practical terms, what are we talking about? Well, since we are still improving something that is not perfect, why should you speak of insignificant improvements and abnormal problems? I mean, it is a beta test and bugs rule supreme.
When you say that the ship is sinking whereas it is still docked for repair, will you incite people to board it? I seriously doubt it. People should board when all the repair process is complete.
Moreover, there are two critical time in a game's life when it may suffer from unwanted information leaks : when it is put into service, and when comes the time to choose a destination. Let's keep our naval metaphor. If the people of good will that help the scooping sailors begin spreading negative rumors in the nearest tavern, who will think that the boat will one day take to the sea? And what of facing storms? In short, let's not anger the 7 seas gods and let's wait a ship looks like a ship before thinking it will not go anywhere.
And a bad departure also changes the destination of a ship. Apart from the disappointed sailors, passengers will not be pleased to discover that there are more stop overs or that the cruise is simply shorter than was announced. And all of this may come from a bad reputation at the tavern.
Your NDA is meant to remind you that you are the Game's James Bond fighting bugs. Locate the bug and identify it. Stay shrouded in darkness and stealth. When the SS MI6 will take to the sea, everybody will know that nothing would have been possible without your discreet efficiency.
“To the Fun and beyond!”
OK guys, beta testing is no pushover, especially if you do it correctly. But, still, we are talking about video gaming here. We hope above all for your feedback on your gaming experience. Basically, everything that prevents you from getting a kick from playing is our priority. Fun gets first.
If you think that beta testing Rūnes is not fun enough for you, we will hold no grudge. But please, before leaving us, try telling us why you thought it was a negative experience.
Finally, never forget this. In this war against bugs you are not alone. There are supplies and reinforcements. Let's call it a Patch. The Patch can completely change your gaming experience, mostly if it is focused around a particularly negative point. Sometimes, all that is needed to go on with renewed spirit and fun is a bit of patience. And there is a day when we stop waiting for a patch to resume testing, as there seems to be no need for it anymore. When that time comes, we are not too far from... the Final Release. ;)
See you soon in game, and thanks to all for your help!
DeuxAmes |