What's with the lack of interest with the PTS?

[LanceCorporalDan]

If I thought they would listen to feedback then perhaps.

[Grayseven]

Well you see if more people started testing then they wouldn't be able to QQ incessantly about the new patch not being tested enough when it goes live. So really the only people we have "testing" are those that run fansites and want a first look, or super hardcore guilds that can't be bothered to learn a fight on the live server. If you look into the PTS section you'll see they actually ridicule people who test out the SM operations; about what you'd expect from them I suppose (raiding guilds that is).

 

It's beyond pathetic how many of you demand incentive/ reward to play on the PTS, but are then just as quick to come here blaming BW and QQing about every little bug that arises on patch day. If BW were to add incentive people wouldn't be testing 2.4; they'd be "testing" the quickest and easiest way to get said rewards.

 

To create a system that would regularly provide what you guys call "incentive" would be an obscene waste of resources for QA testing purposes. The way this community is BW would have to continuously expand on that system with every patch. No thanks.

 

Edit- Look at it this way; you can either spend a couple days going over things on the PTS to avoid bugs, or you can wait a couple days for BW to iron out said bugs when they go live. It's as simple as that, no reason for all these obnoxious demands.

 

I am a customer, not an employee. It isn't my job to make sure EA/BW isn't releasing a bug filled mess. Your ignorance is astounding. The only thing obscene is that you believe the consumer should in some way be responsible for fixing the product.

 

If you want to work for free, then go right ahead. I play this game to have fun, not fix the companies problems. Let them take some of that CM cash and use it to hire professional play testers if its so damn important to have the PTS staffed.

 

If they want me to work for them, they have to pay. It can either be through incentives or real cash but otherwise it is all on EA/BW to fix their product.

[LordArtemis]

Looks like you have your answer. This is a situation that Bioware created by ignoring feedback early on. It's not fair at this point, since they do tend to listen more now, but first impressions are lasting ones.

[FlyinSpaghetti]

LOL...

 

Does anyone really think that players will start running toward PTS by simply calling them lazy? Do you believe that a lack of interest in PTS is laziness?

 

No obviously they wont start running, however the fact you pointed out that the player base is getting more casual might actually mean there's more people who simply can't be bothered to go the extra mile even if it only means installing the PTS client or transferring a character over. Yes it is a complicated process that should be simplified and yes bioware should sort any issues with people actually getting on the pts however the fact that the population is so low suggests people are either too lazy to even log in, given up hope due to certain opinions not being listened to or feel like they should be entitled to something.

 

The way thing are going bioware might as well just close the open test server and give those few guilds who are actively testing it closed server access. The rest of the community just seems uninterested and people bury their heads in the sand until the changes hit live then rage on the forum about them.

[Nemmar]

If you ask me, the answer is simple.

 

Because we feel like it doesnt make a difference. Bioware doesnt listen to any feedback, so why bother?

 

Actually the devs seem to avoid the forums like the plague, even though they are much better than they used to be in the first year.

Edited September 7, 2013 by Nemmar

[AlrikFassbauer]

If I had more HD space, then I would've been on the PTS weeks ago.

 

TL;DR : The PTS is simply too big.

 

Another point is very simple : I just don't want to be spoiled. I want to learn to know the new things when they are live and fixed.

Edited September 7, 2013 by AlrikFassbauer

[ceelaniri]

If I thought they would listen to feedback then perhaps.

 

QFE

 

5char

[Gnoblesse]

If I had more HD space, then I would've been on the PTS weeks ago.

 

TL;DR : The PTS is simply too big.

 

 

In fact you have a very easy answer:

 

1. The 3 hours PTS download to play the same game that you already have for play Live servers, doesnt help much.

 

These two posts have it right, IMO. Combined with bugs which WERE found and WERE reported extensively making it to live anyway - bolster bug, for example - I can understand why many find it more trouble than it's worth.

[Juriel]

I don't have extra free time for testing. The new patch seems about pvp and I don't pvp.

[Transcendent]

History has shown they don't listen to feedback on the PTS and send stuff live with major issues that were addressed during testing. If I am going to have to test the stuff anyway I may as well just do it on my regular character.

 

So this.

[LeMage]

[quote=

Originally Posted by HelinCarnate View Post

History has shown they don't listen to feedback on the PTS and send stuff live with major issues that were addressed during testing. If I am going to have to test the stuff anyway I may as well just do it on my regular character.

 

Transcendent;6732955]So this.

 

This and that they never bother to figure out how studios like Icarus (developer of Fallen Earth) managed to get you from game server to PTS without a massive download of the game all over again. If I thought I was actually doing some good I might but even Beta testing I felt everything I wrote went into the recycle bin (with auto-delete set to every 5 minutes. Bioware must have been reading SOE's operating instructions.

[JLazarillo]

For me, it's because they don't keep it up. If they did, I'd level and keep a permanent stable of characters there like I do on the regular servers. Granted, they never test stuff for below max level so that might not actually help much (except with bug recognition, which they don't really pay attention to), but eventually it'd mean I'd have 50+ characters to test with.

[Tatile]

History has shown they don't listen to feedback on the PTS and send stuff live with major issues that were addressed during testing. If I am going to have to test the stuff anyway I may as well just do it on my regular character.

 

This, also, I'm no mathematician or class guru, so I cannot provide any input on class changes (not that it would be noticed). I'm not in a high-end guild, so I can't help play test up-coming PvE content; can't PvP for toffee (and they're testing a PvP patch - how great would that have been?). It seems like a lot of time and effort wasted for something that doesn't even benefit the end product.

[Eillack]

History has shown they don't listen to feedback on the PTS and send stuff live with major issues that were addressed during testing. If I am going to have to test the stuff anyway I may as well just do it on my regular character.

 

^ This.

 

PTS is practically pointless at this time when concerning its primary function: testing and fixing bugs.

[branmakmuffin]

For a game with supposedly half a million subs left you'd think there would be a lot more people than I could count with my fingers and toes actually willing to test new content especially on a Friday night/evening.

 

So community... why the lack of interest?

If BWEA were willing to compensate me, I'd be happy to.

[alphazoolou]

No obviously they wont start running, however the fact you pointed out that the player base is getting more casual might actually mean there's more people who simply can't be bothered to go the extra mile even if it only means installing the PTS client or transferring a character over. Yes it is a complicated process that should be simplified and yes bioware should sort any issues with people actually getting on the pts however the fact that the population is so low suggests people are either too lazy to even log in, given up hope due to certain opinions not being listened to or feel like they should be entitled to something.

 

The way thing are going bioware might as well just close the open test server and give those few guilds who are actively testing it closed server access. The rest of the community just seems uninterested and people bury their heads in the sand until the changes hit live then rage on the forum about them.

 

Laughable that people think not only should the consumer test the product but also the consumer has no right to complain because "they did'nt test out the product" rotfl.

 

so a game company releases a game filled with bugs and it's. the customers fault because they did give up there time to test the product and tell them about bugs in game. You people have a very poor. reasoning thought process

[gorstram]

I've been on the PTR. My time was spent parsing damage on dummies to test out the new changes for vanguard DPS. I was able to glean the data I needed for projecting my damage in current and upcoming content, therefore, I have no need to join an 8-man hard mode op in order to test out how the new vanguard mechanics work. As for bugs in content, that's a Bioware internal issue.

 

My guild will run the content, find the bugs, and report them when it is live. There is no need for us to stop our current progression to test new content while we prepare (gearwise) for said content.

 

As for learning the new content before it goes live, my guild isn't going for world firsts, nor is SWTOR a game where getting a world first means anything. We will naturally go through a couple of obligatory "wipe nights" to learn the content once it comes out.

 

As for your thoughts on the lack of interest on the PTR, I think people have adequately voiced their concerns regarding the matter quite eloquently. If anything, the content and tone of your prose indicates that you are frustrated with not being able to find sufficient candidates for your PTR operations, which is frustrating, I am sure, but does not warrant the kind of vitriol and contempt that you are showing the people of this forum.

 

I would suggest that you take a break from the game for a bit, so you can find some perspective. That way the next time you come here, you won't sound like an addled git.

[LordArtemis]

LOL! Ironic you would bring up anyone's post history when yours consists of sitting on the fence "throwing mud" at everyone who disagrees with the popular opinion at hand.

 

I will put my post history up against yours any day of the week Inflicktion. I'll leave it the community to judge who flings mud and who contributes to the forum.

 

Edit- And I just looked at my history. You really have to do some digging to find what you claimed as this has been as disagreeable as I've been in weeks. And that's only because this topic has become incessant with you divas. If by "slippery slope" you mean that I respond to the defense force more than I should you're spot on!

 

"You divas"... Listen to you. Do you even read your own posts?

 

I am spot on. But not for the reasons you allude to. Some introspection might be in order.

Edited September 7, 2013 by LordArtemis

[g_land]

Downloaded the patch, went to oricon... It was unplayable on the default graphics setting, changing graphics to absolute minimum made it worse (moving lava flows and fire = cool look but bad idea). Actually got a headache from trying to play and had to turn it off, take some exedrin, and go to bed

[HunchaBoes]

Here's my issue with the PTS.. it echos all the way back to Selective Beta Testing during the game's over-hyped months in 2010/2011.

 

Everyone was chomping at the bit to get into beta testing. Not just weekend testing but normal beta testing. Everyone that I knew that got invitations said that initially, for the first few months, they did all the feedback they could to help fix things involved in the game, but the developers never responded, and the new builds never showed much in the way of correcting the more reported bugs.

 

If I am going to commit my time on the PTS, i'd like to think that it would be going towards making the game better with the new content. Since there is very little reward for doing anything on there, there is no incentive to test their game. It forces them to do it themselves and actually play the game they develop.

[Kendaric]

For a game with supposedly half a million subs left you'd think there would be a lot more people than I could count with my fingers and toes actually willing to test new content especially on a Friday night/evening.

 

So community... why the lack of interest?

 

Is there something fundamentally wrong preventing you from actually taking part or don't nobody actually care about the state of content until it hits live? I thing I don't get is in other games, most communities are willing to trade their kidneys just to try out new content but here even though anyone can sign up to test server there seems a lack of enthusiasm for it.

 

Is this something bioware should improve on? Maybe better ways to encourage/motivate people to try stuff out? Maybe so but at the end of the day it's the user not them that has to log on to the test server, IMO the community needs to do a lot more than it is now rather than waiting for bugs to hit live then raging on the forums about them.

 

In my case it's pretty simple:

 

I don't care about PvP or Ops at all. As that is most of the stuff on the PTS, there's absolutely no reason for me to go there except when major changes are incoming.

[FlyinSpaghetti]

I've been on the PTR. My time was spent parsing damage on dummies to test out the new changes for vanguard DPS. I was able to glean the data I needed for projecting my damage in current and upcoming content, therefore, I have no need to join an 8-man hard mode op in order to test out how the new vanguard mechanics work. As for bugs in content, that's a Bioware internal issue.

 

My guild will run the content, find the bugs, and report them when it is live. There is no need for us to stop our current progression to test new content while we prepare (gearwise) for said content.

 

As for learning the new content before it goes live, my guild isn't going for world firsts, nor is SWTOR a game where getting a world first means anything. We will naturally go through a couple of obligatory "wipe nights" to learn the content once it comes out.

 

As for your thoughts on the lack of interest on the PTR, I think people have adequately voiced their concerns regarding the matter quite eloquently. If anything, the content and tone of your prose indicates that you are frustrated with not being able to find sufficient candidates for your PTR operations, which is frustrating, I am sure, but does not warrant the kind of vitriol and contempt that you are showing the people of this forum.

 

I would suggest that you take a break from the game for a bit, so you can find some perspective. That way the next time you come here, you won't sound like an addled git.

 

First off motives for my post is not just about having more people for new operations, it's about highlighting the fact the public test server isn't serving it's purpose as a whole with such a low population for all content and I'm just wondering where is everybody? This is meant to be a AAA game is it not yet I've seen bigger pops on test servers for small indie games, this is unacceptable especially on a quite large patch with such a variety on content and I just want to know why?

 

As for my language, I think "lazy" might sound harsh but it was a correct term. To put it in a more politically correct format the installation/signup process for the PTS is "not simple enough for some people to have the motivation to complete". I'm not knocking people who can't be bothered to go through the process and I agree it should be simplified but it is a tad lazy if some can't be bothered to transfer an alt and spend an hour or two downloading the client, it's not going to kill them.

 

As for thinking people shouldn't be entitled to something/get paid to publicly test... they shouldn't. You'd think people would get all hyped up about trying new content and revel in it like it's Christmas come early but most seem to dismiss it like it's some nasty disease and demand handouts like it's the job centre. People should be motivated to try out new content purely for the fun of trying new stuff itself not on any titles or trinkets bioware might or might not give out. To me there seems no enthusiasm to try out something new... are the two new operations, new daily planet and PvP arenas really not worth spitting on?

 

As for progression I didn't really touch on this (although I seem to have hit a raw nerve somewhere with the addled git response I got), but lets use what you said for example. A lot of guilds seem to hold off PTS testing due to the fact it might actually discredit them from getting ranked on a spreadsheet if they cleared the op before it went live (despite the contrary to what you said about world firsts, I suspect this is what your guild is doing). To me this whole world first malarkey does put a noose around the PTS populations neck in a way, with guilds wanting to get their first kill legitimately on a bug free/balanced boss on live and not get called out because they've downed a PTS version beforehand.

 

Some even argue why operations should be on the PTS in the first place but my case that is just take a look how the second boss of dread fortress was last week, imagine if it was released on live servers in that state I bet your guild wont just be bug reporting but threatening to quit the game in a massive forum rage!!! This is why it is important to test not only operations but all content publicly as it seems biowares internal QA don't know their heads from their backsides. While not everything fed back will probably get fixed I do feel it's important to have many people on the PTS as the last line of defence mentioning possible game breaking stuff before it hits live, however with the current pop that's a bit bleak.

[LordArtemis]

I believe Bioware created this problem, and only Bioware can fix it. I don't think it requires paying folks...it requires a change in reputation on Bioware's part.

 

There were plenty of folks to test the game early on. They ended up getting disgruntled by getting ignored by the prior dev crew.

 

The only way to shake that rep is to actually demonstrate things have changed...and that means documenting changes that are due to feedback. Let forum members see that and see the changes were made and then things might change.

 

Your actually directing your complaint to the wrong folks. It needs to be directed at Bioware IMO. This is not something that would be difficult for them to do.

 

Do that, make sure the download process is working properly, make sure the player copy system is up to snuff and offer frogs and you would probably have a deal.

[spectreclees]

I would guess it's because there really aren't any rewards for the PTS. Any armor, items, etc you gain are stuck there and are worthless on live. I usually try all the content on the PTS once but that's about it.

 

Kind of irrelevant when on the WoW PTS it has zero rewards either, yet those are always full of people testing things or checking them out.

[LordArtemis]

Kind of irrelevant when on the WoW PTS it has zero rewards either, yet those are always full of people testing things or checking them out.

 

The difference is Blizzard makes changes during testing based directly on testing feedback from players, sometimes inside the same day the problem is discovered.

 

Bioware, undeserved or not, does not have that reputation.