PTR

[Alvarion]

Please, please incorporate a Public Test Realm. So many of the problems that crop up could have been foreseen and fixed prior to launch of any content.

[Tupsi]

Please, please incorporate a Public Test Realm. So many of the problems that crop up could have been foreseen and fixed prior to launch of any content.

By "Public Test Realm" you mean "Let us play around with updates earlier than the project release date"? Then we don't really need em - Look back to Beta, how many people actually offered beta feedback and bug reports compared to people who treated every phase as a demo? They said test servers will open eventually but we all know people don't really use them for bug finding lol.

Many of the bugs and problems that pop up will be there regardless, no MMO releases bug free patches even ones with public test server because they still have deadlines and priorities on development.

[SirGazuntai]

The majority of people who go into a BETA don't do it to help the game, they go in to test/play the game. Not to mention the pretty large group of players who'll look for glitches they can abuse when the game is released to gain an advantage. There's also the people who play just to get reviews or let people see how the game looks.

A very small percentage of people who play in any form of BETA actually bother reporting anything they find unless it hinders the fun they're having in said BETA.

[Enok]

Test server. No thanks. Let them have closed test servers in house, or through private means. With a Non disclosure agreement. Don't need the public eating all the content before its released. If it is broken when released then we can speak with our wallet, if it is not fixed in a quick manner. I know MMO's have a tendency to have errors, its how quick the devs respond to those problems that holds value/and if they can minimize those problems upon release. MMO gamers are probably the most versatile gamers of all gaming, our methods of use can only be guessed at best, even if they try to force a certain mechanic, the community will find other means of using that content. Basically we show the weakness/strengths of the system/content they have in place. Real world testing is unpredictable. Many players develop outside of the box tactics that developers didn't even assume was possible. Sometimes they just write poor code or conflicting ideas that don't pan out the way they envisioned.

[jmdatcs]

In swtor, they had this, along with a function to copy your character to the test server, eventually, so you could immediately test new content. It worked out great. While I am sure many just used it to try new content sooner it did result in better released content. I can't say how many in-game tickets were filed, but the test server forums were very active with both bug reports and general feedback. I only participated in the test server for a couple major updates, but I can say that for those I did participate in, the released update was far better than what I tested. Having 10-30k people testing for a few weeks in invaluable even if only a small percentage are being diligent with reports.