PvtBenjamin wrote: Sat Aug 20, 2022 1:53 pm
Who beta tested this thing?
Stands up and waves "I'm your huckleberry".
I signed an NDA but I believe I can give a general idea of how the Beta Test evolved from beginning to release.
1) We only had 2 months of testing.
2) 1 month into testing, we were informed that release was coming in another month.
3) We had to work through 3 versions of beta. e.g. v0.0, v0.1, v0.2
4) There were a lot of SP testers, and a smaller pool of MP testers. We generated a huge amount of data, bug reports (there were few), input and observations were noted in the Beta Forum.
5) As the newest versions came out, some of us back tracked current SP and MP tests to start again. Some of us (particularly MP testers in long campaigns continued with our matches.
6) A core group of us spent hundreds of hours, doing daily tests that could span 8+hours. There were tests that composed reiterations of a same turn to see different outcomes.
7) A lot of us had the understanding that Fury Software would make improvements post release, as they would need the wider communities input. This, as you well know, this gaming company does with all their titles.
Personal public message to you.
I have been a member of Matrix since circa 2011, when I bought Distant Worlds. In my bio it says I joined July 2020..but that is because I had to merge my Slitherine account with my Matrix account under a different name.
I'm making this point because I have read the forums for years. I noticed that a lot of your posts have been highly rude in the past.
For a great example, in the WiE Forum on AshFall's Research and Intelligence Guide (an excellent and accurate article and a huge amount of work at that) you were condescending and outright insulting to him.Turns out you were proven wrong with your objections to his analysis in his Guide. Funny thing...you redacted 'edited' some really egregious comments to him. AshFall on the other hand was a gentleman dealing with your venomous tirades. Anyone reading that thread now will still read some pettiness from you there...but the stuff you redacted should have got you at the very least timed out. Actually, it was pretty outrageous. I guess since it was in a rather obscure thread, it got missed or ignored.
Anyways, I beta tested this game. Took it on as a fun quasi-job since I just retired from demanding employment and love war gaming. Tested 2 months straight with other MP testers daily. Mirror matches and singlets. Hundreds of hours including writing notes and keeping massive records. Had multiple convos in the beta forum and through PMs on a continuous basis through out those two months, including crunch time before release.
I was one of the harshest critics with the early AI in the first version of SC-ACW. I moved on to MP testing since that's what I prefer. I have to say though that my opinions on improvements with the AI were heard and noted. Even got a thanks after I mentioned I might of been a bit strident with my opinions on the matter. What I didn't include in my initial negative assessments regarding the AI, were nasty little jibes to the devs or other testers who had other views or did not agree with me.
I have been reading this thread daily from the get go. Saw your escalating snide remarks, particularly the above quote...which was some kind of bait. Decided to hold off to see how the community would respond. Well, I wasn't surprised how this thread developed in 24 hours. Warning indeed.