A call for transparency

[Mack]

Yea ok but I'm pretty sure they are past "salvaging their customers" so to speak...I mean say there are 30k players atm playing the game, that's a hefty number but I'm sure SE is looking for somewhere in the 500Ks or even 1000Ks...just saying they don't care nearly enough to "piss off" anyone because everyone is already pissed off, even those who stuck it out.

[darkstarpoet1]

Yea ok but I'm pretty sure they are past "salvaging their customers" so to speak...I mean say there are 30k players atm playing the game, that's a hefty number but I'm sure SE is looking for somewhere in the 500Ks or even 1000Ks...just saying they don't care nearly enough to "piss off" anyone because everyone is already pissed off, even those who stuck it out.

my response wasn't about the number of players playing currently. i am referring to the them and the thousands wanting to come back. they wait on a patch and come in to test the new stuff out and because it is done half way with no feedback in advance it is in horrible shape. that causes those players to leave again within a few days.

those players leaving again go back to whatever game they are playing and tells potential customers the new stuff is horrid and not to bother playing yet. so no by doing that they are not just hurting the few players left, but the ones waiting on it to get better and future potentials as well.

[Neptune]

my response wasn't about the number of players playing currently. i am referring to the them and the thousands wanting to come back. they wait on a patch and come in to test the new stuff out and because it is done half way with no feedback in advance it is in horrible shape. that causes those players to leave again within a few days.

those players leaving again go back to whatever game they are playing and tells potential customers the new stuff is horrid and not to bother playing yet. so no by doing that they are not just hurting the few players left, but the ones waiting on it to get better and future potentials as well.

Very well said as usual, darkstarpoet. This is precisely why they had to adjust the targeting system 3 times, and in the last case, a patch that took all day to download just to tweak the targeting system. With a test server, the targeting system would have been worked out well in advance of an official release.

[darkstarpoet1]

Very well said as usual, darkstarpoet. This is precisely why they had to adjust the targeting system 3 times, and in the last case, a patch that took all day to download just to tweak the targeting system. With a test server, the targeting system would have been worked out well in advance of an official release.

well on the test server they could have done the tweaks on there and nobody in the actual game would have known they had issues more than a simple post in a producers letter saying it was being tested on the test server and to try it and give feedback. they do not do this in game. they add what they want without asking anyone what they thought about the direction.

[Neptune]

It was already explained that in the game development's current state, test server is not practical. I wouldn't be surprised if the game in development is completely unplayable right now, or at least offline state.

Link or it didn't happen. You have done a good job imagining what the dev's version might play like, but that is not the same as a test server. I don't know why people are so religious about SE. A test server is a stable release of software with updates to try out.

. they add what they want without asking anyone what they thought about the direction.

Exactly. That's what I would like to see no more.

[Betelgeuzah]

It was already explained that in the game development's current state, test server is not practical. I wouldn't be surprised if the game in development is completely unplayable right now, or at least offline state.

XI is getting a test server soon, so for XIV team it's only a matter of getting the game to a state when they can open a test server. We can not test a game where AA doesn't function, the server hardware and code is constantly being tweaked and the game engine adjustments might break something.

Why do MMO devs only start beta testing their games after years of development and not asap? Because it's not practical or even possible. SE is keeping their live servers up while performing tasks that are usually done before beta even begins. Which is why they won't be implemented so soon either.

[Mack]

I've seen him post...he's hardly religious to SE.

[Rowyne]

Having a PTR (Public Test Realm) in that 'other game' works very well. PTR patch notes are released in a timeframe not unlike when we got the list of upcoming battle changes. They're put on the PTR, and players can copy their characters there and try it out, so they are in essence beta testing each major content patch. The players pre-test the patch, so there is smoother implementation when the patch hits the live servers and fewer post-patch hotfixes. And the die-hard players have a chance to get a feel for upcoming changes. It's a win-win, both for the devs and the player community.

You shouldn't use your live servers for beta testing. But... yeah, that's basically what we're doing atm.

[Asmeret]

With major things being implemented and removed, we're pretty much playing on a glorified test server as is.

[Neptune]

With major things being implemented and removed, we're pretty much playing on a glorified test server as is.

And that adds to the discussion how?