Being a tester seems out of reach..

If you legitly care about starbound, and show so, then you're as far as you can probably get.

 

Two things I like about this thread and this community.
A: I didn't expect so many replies
B: The responses are mature and logical I think in this day I am way to used to the comments in youtube and such, if anyone comments "1st" on this site I will instantly hate them, just saying.
Yes I agree to most people it's just early access to the game but I would like to participate in the testing for the testing experience, the very few I have had a role in I have enjoyed. (No I do not include the likes of minecraft in those few)

 

First!


Ahem.

I don't care for beta testing, especially long beta tests. Tends to be terrible for both the people waiting for the game to leave beta and for the people in Beta since it becomes monotonous. I'd love if the game would skip directly from alpha testing to release, but for realism's sake I can stand a small beta with a small squad of beta testers.

Also, beta testing is less fun than it might seem. Walking into every single wall and random object just to see if you can cause a glitch and spamming commands, doing utterly insane things that you would likely never do in-game, and whatnot for the entirety is exhausting.

Full game please!

 

For explorers of every bloody nic & cranny, who push buttons just because they're there, who spend 200+ hours on Skyrim and havent' even visited all the main towns yet, who turn over every rock , over & over, looking for the rattlesnakes underneath... and then like telling how/why/when in an entertaining educational detailed yarn... Beta testing may just be for you.

*sigh* 200+ hours.. really need to hit up Rorikstead one of these days

If you just want the "hey look at me i'm in before the rest of the rabble rousers", it may not, and seems you are not.

If/when they decide to choose, I'm sure they will do what's best for the game & choose wisely, So far, so good, 'eh?

 

You seem to be, probably, exactly what they'r looking for (assumption), and we need more people like you.

 

I have been interested in hearing about news of the beta also. It sounds like a fantastic game and having spent 170+ hours on Terarria, a game that I can get into. Though I think I have one other interesting quality...Children!

"But SyberSmoke, How can children help in a beta test?" Blankly looking back at you "Glad you asked, IF my 8yo and 5yocan play it...then any one can. Plus I play with them over the home network...so plenty of ways to test the connectivity."

Any way, My interest is in helping to break the game, figure out how I broke it, break it again...then tell the developers just how I broke it in the first place so may be...it will not break at all for any one else. After all...beta testing is a privilege...one that to many do not take seriously then whine about when things do not work right. Now...where did I put that digital monkey wrench...

 

This thread seems to have become a place for people to plead for access lol nah its good to see so many people as excited as I am

 

I don't actually see anyone pleading? There is another Beta conversation : here : that had that in it. So far, I just see a conversation about what it might take and why just a select few of the player base would be selected

 

Beta testing is a standard process in game development. All it means to me is that the devs are getting closer and closer to being done. I'd help if asked, but all I'm interested in mainly is sharing my thoughts and ideas on the forum, since that's what it is here for.

 

IF there is a beta, just please don't allow videos of it. The things most people hate the most are massive spoilers.

 

I find it funny as those most people are also the ones that usually seek out videos of new content. I'd rather have some promotional material out of beta, that maybenefit the game itself by drawing interest. Those who do not want to watch such, probably won't be forced to.

 

The logic is we want to see SELECT content, such as random stuff.
Compare a Terraria Lets Play to the Trailer

The Lets Play does everything leading up to the point we want to see, thus spoiling the discovery AND the result.
The trailer spoils the result and has you going "oh god, want." and then YOU figure out the way to get to the result.

There's a large difference if you look at various different videos.

 

Beta testing is an important step that is all to often treated as a marketing gimmick. People that test a game need to know the reason for it. How to help the developers when they find an error. And how to properly document an error including the time to replicate the error as thoroughly as possible.

Sadly thanks to MMO's and games like Diablo 3, people have come to see beta as a form of early access. When they do get into a real beta, the bitch, whine, moan, and roan cause the game crashes, has glitches, and just is not finished. It is sad really cause all the complaining does not help to make the game better and only creates allot of noise that obscures people that are really trying to find bugs.

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As for spoilers, they are not a bad thing. Yes, you do not want to give away the plot of a story, but even books have text on them that tells you a general plot. What a spoiler can really do is help to moderate the natural excitement people get. Think about it, with or with out a huge marketing push people will get into a game idea and their minds run wild.

By releasing key information (spoilers), you deflate those unrealistic expectations and bring them down to reality. This has an interesting effect of actually increasing enjoyment instead of decreasing it. In fact there was a study on how spoilers do not really spoil anything (Article) because each persons perspective is different and we will all advance in a game at our own pace. All we will know is what to expect and how it can be done...like a tutorial.

 

I don't mind spoilers at all. If I'm told X dies or Y happens in the story of a game, even if it's some key moment, it won't kill my interest. More than anything I'll want to play just to see how that event comes to pass.

What would tick me off is if someone ruined something's story for me in detail, more than just "Oh X died.", something more like "X died because Y killed him to stop Z from happening to X, which A B and C had been planning to do since 7 ate 9 in chapter 3."

 

I agree with this. That is why if a long trailer were to be done, it should stay away from, or may be only cover an early plot point. Kind of like the 10minute Watch_Dogs video from E3.

 

If there is a beta I just hope it doesnt get too spoiled, I dont mind waiting for the full game. I mean if I get in on it, spiffy. If I dont, I'm not going to cry since I test software as a job already (just not as cool software). I rather doubt my occasional comments are likely to get me into a beta in any event, since I mostly lurk. But there is a difference between posting a hundred pointless posts a day and being a productive member of a forum. I doubt post count will be the measure they use to invite people.

 

What I moreso mean is that, an NDA (and thus no lets plays) agreement, would help keep unfinished content hidden away. Spoilers/Teasers are fine, like you said, but a lot of people enjoy finding out how to start an event, and don't mind if the actual event is spoiled for them.

 

That is in truth a fallacy, yes an NDA is a binding agreement that is mean to prevent people from talking about things. But in truth they are exceedingly hard to enforce, especially if the user takes the time to be anonymous. A new free e-mail, a new youtube channel, changing names in game...and so on can all obfuscate who the leak really was. The reason people are caught is because they think they are better and can not be caught. But in the end, if some one wants to breach an NDA...there is nothing at all to stop them.

 

True, but it discourages others from attempting it, which I beleive is the big idea behind it.

 

Kinda like locks. There to keep the honest people honest.