How is Civ:BE tested?

[OldEarthRelic]

Do they have voluntary testers? If so, how do I volunteer?

I worry that balance seems out of whack. E.g. PAC >>>>>> Brasilia - even a straight domination player would go PAC.

I like the game, not the graphics (I play on strategy view), so Marines running in place wouldn't bother me.

I don't think Firaxis would lose anything by having more testers - a contract not to reveal details and someone that pre-orders should be fine. And it would reduce all the bugs that accompany new games (not just Civ - all today's game need patches when they're released).

 

[TheGrumpyBuddha]

Do they have voluntary testers? If so, how do I volunteer?

I worry that balance seems out of whack. E.g. PAC >>>>>> Brasilia - even a straight domination player would go PAC.

I like the game, not the graphics (I play on strategy view), so Marines running in place wouldn't bother me.

I don't think Firaxis would lose anything by having more testers - a contract not to reveal details and someone that pre-orders should be fine. And it would reduce all the bugs that accompany new games (not just Civ - all today's game need patches when they're released).

I would send them a note telling them that you think they're doing things wrong, but you can help them, and wait for them to get back to you.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

They do have player testers. Some of them are quite well known in the community. I don't know how you can get on the team, but I suspect that it is by invitation only. Perhaps you should send a PM to Maddjinn. He has been a player tester in the past.

 

[rastak]

I would send them a note telling them that you think they're doing things wrong, but you can help them, and wait for them to get back to you.

Good advice, that should work perfectly.....

 

[Nikolai II]

There are fan testers. I wouldn't bother Mad, such things are not up to people outside Firaxis/2K. Make yourself a name in the community and hope for the best.

 

[bhavv]

What makes PAC > Brasilia for domination?

Who builds wonders when going for domination?

25% worker speed? About as OP as serfdom in Civ IV which no one ever uses.

And In Civ V, it the similar bonus in Liberty wasn't any better than liberty bonuses were.

 

[DaveMcW]

I don't think Firaxis would lose anything by having more testers - a contract not to reveal details and someone that pre-orders should be fine.

The main problem is trust. Firaxis has been burned in the past by play-testers breaking their NDA.

You can decrease the risk by getting other playtesters to vouch for you. Either become friends with Civ playtesters, or get your name in the credits of another game as a playtester.

Or increase the reward. Firaxis loves to give journalists and YouTubers with a large following early access.

A third strategy is to prove you are a Civ expert. Win a Game of the Month or climb to the top of the multiplayer ladder. Or contribute a bunch of strategy articles.

I personally tested the expansions for Civ3 and Civ4, but I respect the NDA I signed so I'm not going into details on the testing process.

 

[Louis XXIV]

If you have to ask how to become a playtester, you can't become a playtester

 

[Epic Eric]

Who builds wonders when going for domination?

... Seriously?

On topic: a developer won't just let people playtest their games for no reason. If they do it, they have a goal in mind: either getting feedback to improve gameplay, promoting the game (when handing it to famous players and journalists) and the like.

If your main concern is regarding the balancing of a certain mechanic, you can just contact them (even though I'm sure they read these forums and might already have noted down this issue), there's no need to volunteer for playtesting in this case. Besides, they probably already have playtesters who will try these features anyway.

 

[bhavv]

Srsly? You just capture all the wonders.

 

[OldEarthRelic]

On topic: a developer won't just let people playtest their games for no reason. If they do it, they have a goal in mind: either getting feedback to improve gameplay, promoting the game (when handing it to famous players and journalists) and the like.

If your main concern is regarding the balancing of a certain mechanic, you can just contact them (even though I'm sure they read these forums and might already have noted down this issue), there's no need to volunteer for playtesting in this case. Besides, they probably already have playtesters who will try these features anyway.

I'm concerned that Deity will unintentionally be much easier on Civ:BE than BNW, for the following reasons:

Religion - getting a religion on BNW was a big sacrifice (if not a Religious civ), and if you didn't get one, it's a big advantage to the AI;

Wonders - getting wonders on BNW was tough, with a few exceptions. The tech web on Civ:BE (no needing 2/3 BNW techs to get the next; AI on Civ:BE stopping for leaf techs) means you can go further in a given direction more quickly than the AI and get a number of earlier wonders;

Barbarians - these were a much bigger hassle for the human player than the AI (who gets given military units). Civ:BE Aliens can just be ignored (at the beginning).

 

[bhavv]

Barbarians a hassle to human players in Civ V??? Lolno.

Easy gold farming and occasionally workers.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

I'm concerned that Deity will unintentionally be much easier on Civ:BE than BNW, for the following reasons:

Religion - getting a religion on BNW was a big sacrifice (if not a Religious civ), and if you didn't get one, it's a big advantage to the AI;

Wonders - getting wonders on BNW was tough, with a few exceptions. The tech web on Civ:BE (no needing 2/3 BNW techs to get the next; AI on Civ:BE stopping for leaf techs) means you can go further in a given direction more quickly than the AI and get a number of earlier wonders;

Barbarians - these were a much bigger hassle for the human player than the AI (who gets given military units). Civ:BE Aliens can just be ignored (at the beginning).

Your assuming the same difficulty factors.

What if BE Deity AIs get techs for 30% of the research cost? (much more doable)

What if the BE Deity AIs get massive combat bonuses v. Aliens and are programmed to bring the Siege Worms down on everyone.


In any case, I see some things AI will benefit from
1. Automatic Free Unit upgrades (AI could be bad at upgrading their troops, now it is automatic)
2. Promotions less important (AI was bad at keeping troops alive long enough to get good promotions, and bad at using the good promotions..march, logistics, range)
3. No Great people (AI was bad at getting Great people, and bad at using the ones they had)
4. No CS (AI was bad at getting these because it was a cash race, and if the AI was smart, the game would have been unfun): Stations=no longer a 'just buy it' requires a time/trade route commitment (more details needed though)
5. Affinity=simple point system (most benefits come from increasing points, that come from researching technology)


Some things that might hurt the AI
Espionage=unsure

Quests=This one Could be problematic for the AI, hard to tell.. it seems fairly simple though

Virtue Synergy bonuses=also hard to tell

Favor Diplomacy=much uncertainty

 

[bhavv]

Oh yes, and there's difficulty as well. In every Civ game, the AI gets a huge bonus to production, science and other things too.

 

[Louis XXIV]

I'm concerned that Deity will unintentionally be much easier on Civ:BE than BNW, for the following reasons:

Religion - getting a religion on BNW was a big sacrifice (if not a Religious civ), and if you didn't get one, it's a big advantage to the AI;

Wonders - getting wonders on BNW was tough, with a few exceptions. The tech web on Civ:BE (no needing 2/3 BNW techs to get the next; AI on Civ:BE stopping for leaf techs) means you can go further in a given direction more quickly than the AI and get a number of earlier wonders;

Barbarians - these were a much bigger hassle for the human player than the AI (who gets given military units). Civ:BE Aliens can just be ignored (at the beginning).

I also noticed that gold seems easier to get than BNW.

 

[rkade8583]

I wouldn't mind being a playtester. Give them a legally blind point of view. Frankly, they should keep a few of my crippled brethren and sistren on file for things like this. Color blind, low vision, deaf, Palsy, etc.

It doesn't have to be adapted TO us, just enough FOR us to play it more-or-less comfortably.