Would you pay to help test Civ5?

[thungrim]

I figure I "tested" Civ3 for long enough. As soon as they fix that wreck, then we can talk about paying me to test Civ 5.

 

[Janig]

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.

Ive had time to read this and its nice that our feedback is noticed! However there is little feedback we can give on Civ5 until we get to play it, and its Civ5 that this topic concerns.

colonelmustard the money would be an incentive but not reason to increase the playtesting base. No doubt it would be essential for professional testers to continue their work, only those who are prepared to pay could give something more.

I think a lot of guys in this topic have misconceptions about what games testing involves, you included thungrim

 

[White Elk]

I paid to test Civ4... everyone who bought the game did!

 

[Thormodr]

Considering I have much of July and August free, I might be silly enough to do that. I'd like to feel like I contributed to the makings of what is sure to be an epic game.

I'm sure it wouldn't be exactly fun but I'd like the experience nonetheless.

 

[LiDDiS]

No, but I'd beta test it if they paid me!

 

[r_rolo1]

^^Pretty much my position ... hey , I will even do it for free But i don't see the point of paying twice for a game ...

 

[ArataWata11]

am so excited and really cant wait to play the new CiV but not to the point that am going to pay to have temporary glimpze of the civ. rather wait for the official release which is just a few months from now. . . so voted NO

 

[Rusty Edge]

Ive had time to read this and its nice that our feedback is noticed! However there is little feedback we can give on Civ5 until we get to play it, and its Civ5 that this topic concerns.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=328765 - that Civ V thread was started to consolidate ideas from concluded discusions in other Civ V threads at the time- to make it easier for Firaxis to find when the time came. It had input from civ III diehards, not just IV fanatics. You can see some of my opinions in posts #3 and 5.

They read our input, and they experiment with it. I really appreciate it!

As long as the game doesn't become too tactical, I'm sure to love Civ V,too.

 

[Sparthage]

I voted yes but I wouldn't be willing to pay any more than $20 for a test copy.

 

[UKScud]

I paid up early to help test out Star Trek Online...

Whilst that didn't turn out to be too impressive a product...and probably won't be for some time (if it lasts that long) I did enjoy the experience.

One thing I did learn though is that for every person suited for product testing there are nine that aren't who try as they might, don't realize they are actually testing a product, and let negativity pour out.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

I paid to test Civ4... everyone who bought the game did!

Not everyone. Only the people who bought it before the third patch was out, including me .
Never again .

 

[mjs0]

I would probably pay a small fee to participate.
I have participated in and helped run several beta tests myself and I have always enjoyed the challenge.
Besides, right now I'm highly motivated because my 9 year old just got picked (today!) to participate in the closed beta of the Lego Universe MMO, so I'm having issues with jealousy.

 

[Ramesses]

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

Apparently almost a third of the people here are NOT reasonable.

 

[mattigus]

If anyone wants to know the kind of work game testing is, they should read this article.

http://www.seattleweekly.com/2007-0...-harder-than-an-afternoon-with-xbox-right.php

When you're testing a game, chances are your suggestions will be ignored. They only care about whether the game crashes or not. When you're testing a game, you can't just play the game to enjoy it, or even to evaluate and make suggestions about what will make it better. You have to do monotinous actions in the game in order to break it, then hand in a detailed account of the circumstances that caused the game to break, so the programmers can fix the problem. It's a job I wouldn't even want for minimum wage, much less actually pay money to do it.

 

[mattigus]

Apparently almost a third of the people here are NOT reasonable.

I was expecting more than half of the people here to vote "yes," although not because I think everyone is unreasonable here (there are a few, though).

Most people have strange idyllic fantasies when it comes to game testing. Everyone hears that job and thinks it has to be the greatest thing in the world. But, the fact is that software testing is a horrible process, one that I have to do every once in a while in my job. If the software I had to test was a video game, it might be a little more interesting, but it would still be a colossal pain.

 

[croxis]

It would actually be a great way to test the game on all different hardware and OS configurations, which is almost impossible to do in house.

 

[Jamuka]

I'm a game tester in real life and can fill you all in a bit. Tester jobs vary from fun and exciting to incredibly boring. You spend much of the time installing games, re-installing games, restarting computers, and getting blamed by developers. Then there's the 'try this 50 times and see if it stops working'. But despite all this, for every game, there comes a point when someone needs to actually play through the game as if they were a consumer who just bought it. That's the fun part, and fortunately, most of what I do.

But there are 2 parts about game testing I will warn you about.
-No one cares about your opinion on game balance or features.
-Testing a game often ruins the actual game for you when it is released. The 'illusion' that you are a gang member, pirate, soldier, or whatever, is totally broken because you saw the game in such an unfinished state. Because of this I wouldn't want to test Civ5 unless it was at least in beta.

 

[Janig]

nice response jamuka but would you pay to (beta)test? youve totally missed the point! and thx for the heads up msj0, now I know what Im up against thx for the votes everyone

 

[Jamuka]

nice response jamuka but would you pay to (beta)test? youve totally missed the point! and thx for the heads up msj0, now I know what Im up against thx for the votes everyone

If it was an actual beta, which means that the bugs are almost all gone, and the testing is mostly for balance, and finding those last few bugs that can't be reproduced in-house.. Then yeah, I'd pay to play.

 

[ThERat]

I paid to test Civ4... everyone who bought the game did!

Precisely what I was thinking. I remember Ginger Ale putting up this nice list of bugs we found...let me think...it started with health indicating before a battle what outcome there would be...stacks of units not being displayed properly...ah just check that list, it goes on and on.
These days we players at civfanatics especially are the second wave of beta testers. And you guys want to pay for that and later buy the regular game again? Nuts