This is the reason they ask people to come to test. If you don't go to test then you don't have any reason to complain. But this wasn't this easy on test either from my experience so I don't know what changed between test and here.
But I guess they will get it straight 🙂
People can complain if they don't test. There's no requirement to test for a company.
This exactly. I've literally never worked for a company in my 20+ year in software that didn't test their own software. They are making the players test for them, are the players that participate in the testing being paid?
I'm paying for this service. This just feels like slavery, with extra steps.
This is absolutely the worst take on this I have ever seen. Have you ever played any other MMO before? Test servers that receive content patches first is 100% the norm for live-service games. You cannot effectively test what hundreds or thousands of people are going to do vs internal testing/tools.
I'm sure if companies developing standard software could put out an "alpha" version and have people excited to look at it for them, they would. "Yo homie, the new Quicken 2025 edition just dropped to Alpha, we gotta check that out ASAP!!!!"
Actually, Steam already does this with "Early Access" games, that you have to pay full price for, for the "privilege" of playing a buggy game that is still in development, with no guarantee the full thing will actually be released.
But guess what, other software has patches to fix bugs. I'm sure as someone in software for "20+ years" would realize that.
It is such a toxic mindset to have that just because the content went to TC1, it must mean nothing was tested beforehand.
Let's see, outside of adjusting the drop rates after feedback this was the state of event content:
- Treasure Hunting - Worked
- SOS's - Worked
- Pirating - Worked
- Plunderbeacons - Worked
- Cargo Ships - Worked
- High Seas Bosses - Worked
- Void Pool - Oops, missed people getting rewards without actively participating.
Hmm, guess that must mean nothing was tested! Slavery! Pitchforks! Rabble Rabble!
I guess no other software in existence takes feedback from users on how things could be made better or improved. It's just those damn lazy UO devs right?
I can appreciate the fact that you are triggered and feel the need to attack me personally, saying I have a toxic mindset, as well as trying to belittle my professional experience, so allow me to respond to your allegations.
"This is absolutely the worst take on this I have ever seen. Have you ever played any other MMO before?" - Yes, I used to play MMORPGs until about 2005, when I lost interest. Haven't played much since then until I got back into UO about a year ago. In those days, beta tests were always associated with some sort of participation award or incentive. Does UO have a program like that?
"Test servers that receive content patches first is 100% the norm for live-service games." - If this is truly the norm, I would call it out as bad practice. Just because other people do it, does it mean you have to as well?
"You cannot effectively test what hundreds or thousands of people are going to do vs internal testing/tools." - This is absolutely false, have you ever heard of a VM? A single person could easily script out or automate several hundred VMs to do basic functions inside the game. Automation tools are so easily accessible these days I would be shocked if they are not being used in UO's development.
"I'm sure if companies developing standard software could put out an "alpha" version and have people excited to look at it for them, they would. "Yo homie, the new Quicken 2025 edition just dropped to Alpha, we gotta check that out ASAP!!!!" " - You're right, there's lots of people who do this. This is also something I wouldn't do. Similar to Tesla FSD, I wouldn't put my trust or something valuable into something that hasn't been properly tested yet.
"Actually, Steam already does this with "Early Access" games, that you have to pay full price for, for the "privilege" of playing a buggy game that is still in development, with no guarantee the full thing will actually be released." I never buy early access games, for the reasons stated above. I am not going to pay to have the "privilege" to test something for someone. Once again, just because someone else wants to do it, doesn't make it right.
"But guess what, other software has patches to fix bugs. I'm sure as someone in software for "20+ years" would realize that." - Yes... This is a difficult position. Of course software has bugs. They are generally delineated into severities. Nice to have, cosmetic, quality of life, problems, major problems with workarounds available, and major problems with no workarounds available. The bug that occurred caused a shutdown and small rollback for the server. This would likely fall into something that is viewed as "catastrophic, no work around available". Kyronix is likely incredibly aware of how impactful this was, and likely takes his work very seriously. When something gets by that requires that level of quick reaction and that big of an impact to their active customers... It sucks, it hurts. It feels personal.
This brings me to the conclusion, of which, you entirely missed the point. The feedback system *worked*. The players testing *worked*. The players, who have 0% ownership stake in the success of Broadsword and EA, helped to eliminate MOST of the problems identified with the publish prior to releasing on a live server. This is not their job. This is not their responsibility. This is not what they are PAYING to do. They are paying to play a game, not to test it and verify it works properly. The fact that some of them got a unique drop through means that probably shouldn't have been in..... My take is, honestly.... Let them keep it. Let it be their reward for continuing to beta test the patch. Or, if that isn't an option, find another way to reward those who actively participate and provide constructive feedback on the new publishes. This way, more people would be inclined to help. They obviously cannot afford to pay for it, otherwise there would be more than one developer. So they rely incredibly heavily on the community. At least set something up to make them feel their efforts are appreciated.
Anyhow, I haven't played the event yet @ Kyronix, but it sounds like it is going to be plenty of fun and incredibly enjoyable. Thanks for all your hard work on it, and, your humility to admit something went unexpectedly and your commitment to correct things appropriately. It takes a lot personally and professionally to do all of those things.
@ MinocMiner, perhaps there is some family history, past experiences, personality quirks, or other things that might have led you to personally attack me. I don't know, everyone goes through their own things at their own times, and some feel the need to lash out at others. That's unfortunate, and I wish you well.
