Would you pay to help test Civ5?

[Janig]

Would you pay to help test Civ5? In this circumstance you would have no more rights than the average tester as in there would be a NDA, and if you wanted to play the final release youd still have to pay for it.

Id certainly pay to become a Civ5 tester. I may need to build a new computer to play it but hey Im that enthuisiastic. Concerning price I would pay $10-20 for sure but if we're talking big money no thanks. So what about you?

 

[mattigus]

Why not wait 5 months and pay to own the final game like any reasonable person would?

 

[Janig]

I think Civilization is a great concept, I may not have the time in 5 months and Id like to help out. Is that a crime ?

 

[Chalks]

No - it's a test. If people pay for it they feel entitled and they're not. If you test the game you are there because the developers want to use you in the way that you get used - not for the lulz.

 

[xmen510]

For a chance to get an early look and help out with finding the bugs? Sure, for a very small price, why not? Especially if they ended up giving a copy to those who helped out! Sort of like a 50% off deal.

 

[Janig]

Chalks in the same way you pay to have intercourse with a prostitute but not to make children. for clarity one of the key words in my question is help

good choice xmen !

 

[colonelmustard]

If you want a great game in the end, you probably want folks who can do a good job with the required work - not necessarily just someone with $10.

 

[Andvare]

Proper beta testing is mindnumbingly boring.
Why anyone would pay for it, is beyond me, and they probably wouldn't if they knew how beta testing works.

 

[Janig]

guess who we dont want on the team

 

[bonafide11]

I'd do it if I got paid to, but I wouldn't pay to do it. It'd kill Civ V for me when it comes out. I'd already be bored of it from playing the buggy version as a tester.

 

[Danielos]

How are betatesters recruited in the first place? Are the developers asking around on forums like this, or what?

Considering how buggy games usually are when released nowadays, I´m sure Civ 5 could need some proper testing. However, I would certainly not PAY for doing their work. If I get properly paid, perhaps...

 

[Chalks]

Chalks in the same way you pay to have intercourse with a prostitute but not to make children. for clarity one of the key words in my question is help

That sure is a cool word. I have some too: idea, terrible.

If you're wanting to pay for real beta testing then you don't understand what it is.

How are betatesters recruited in the first place? Are the developers asking around on forums like this, or what?

I'm interested in this too. I have a fair bit of beta and alpha testing experience, but it's all either been with MMOs or via a closed group (selected because I am already part of a group of people who does beta testing). I have the feeling that this game will be the same - testers being hand picked or employed rather than a public beta test.

I'd certainly be interested in applying for a public closed beta though if there was one.

 

[Janig]

If you're wanting to pay for real beta testing then you don't understand what it is.

How are betatesters recruited in the first place? Are the developers asking around on forums like this, or what?

I'm interested in this too. I have a fair bit of beta and alpha testing experience

Chalks feel free to make a topic about it so I can write about how much more experienced I am Seriously though I asked a simple question Im not so interested in other stuff. thx for the input

 

[Chalks]

Seriously though I asked a simple question Im not really interested in

People disagreeing with you?

 

[Rusty Edge]

I'd gladlly contribute time and money to the cause, because it is my hobby, but after reading the transcript of Sid's presentation in San Francisco, I realized that I'm a bad beta-tester candidate.

I accepted , if not like liked all that bad-luck stuff in the game, as long as it was balanced in the long term. You know, riots and revolutions, floods in the original Civ, volcanoes in III, random events in IV, Plague in the scenarios. Unpredictable realism adds excitement for me . It may set me back, but it may happen to Shaka, too. I'm over 50, I've watched the world change, I've read history, I've played sports, I've had my own business, I've learned that you cannot expect or control everything, that being prepared for an emergency and being able to adapt matters in the long run.

Apparently, the typical player doesn't see it that way.

It's best as it is. I make suggestions and debate proposals on these forums, firaxis reads them, tries them ( Phalanx UU as an axeman with a march promotion), changes them into something better balanced. It sounds like they'll introduce some of my most requested changes in Civ V ( hexes, a better map making tool , navigable rivers, ranged bombardment, doing away with SODs, etc. ) and others who better represent the market will play-test them and give feedback.

 

[Janig]

People disagreeing with you?

cmon this topic isnt about me I want to know if you guys would pay to help test Civ5. how can anyone disagree with me when Im asking an entirely personal question?

Thanks for your honesty Rusty!

 

[mattigus]

Game testing, as well as any software testing, is a soul crushing job, from what I understand. It's not like they send you a free copy of the game and let you play to your heart's content. I'd imagine you would be sent a spreadsheet with a list of jobs you need to do, like "open and close the Gandhi diplamoacy screen 150 times" in order to make sure the panels draw correctly. You're not playing the game, you're purposefully trying to find some obscure combination of circumstances that cause the game to break.

 

[Rusty Edge]

Of course, for BTS, it got released a couple of days early in Australia, and they got to be the "Beta test continent", and got to document the bugs for the first patch.

Getting a first look is more exciting than fun.

 

[Hypernova]

I wouldn't even test it even if I was paid. Not that I don't love what I'm seeing, but precisely because I love it I want my first experience of it to be in its full glory. And as Andvare already said, real testing is boring, you're not there to have fun.

 

[Andvare]

cmon this topic isnt about me I want to know if you guys would pay to help test Civ5. how can anyone disagree with me when Im asking an entirely personal question?

Thanks for your honesty Rusty!

Because the question is actually misleading.
Beta testing of any game that isn't on a server is very tedious.
Beta testing is done to iron out problems that occur with different computer set ups, finding things that have been overlooked, and to stress-test the program. The last part isn't that important with non-server games, which means you are looking mainly for CTDs. This also mean that, if done properly, you will be playing the same thing a gazillion times, just to make sure that the CTD is reproducible and/or that it wont happen.
You will also have to play a certain way, i.e. try all the civs with advanced start, or whatever.
Most people don't know how beta testing is done. And while an open beta of, say, WoW can be fun, beta testing Civ is an entirely different beast. With the WoW open beta, you were mostly stress testing, which means that you actually got to play the game.

You do beta because you want to help with the game and see what it offers ASAP, not to play it nor have fun.

This, and what Chalks said, except I don't want into Civ beta, as I simply don't have the time required anymore (or they would have to pay me a fair bit more than what I make now).