There are enough threads about what a horrendous, unplayable, unenjoyable experience the Unity version is. I don't want this thread to become another list of gripes about the live game (although some will be unavoidable). What I want is to encourage a discussion about the purpose of the Test environment, how it relates to the live game and specifically whether that needs a rethink
I've seen comments about how bugs were believed to have been fixed on the Test server and yet have reappeared now and it made we wonder a few things:
Just how many players actively PLAY test - not just log in to spec out the next event, but actually build an island, play adventures, trade etc... without just gemming everything. (I don't for reasons I'll list below).
Compared to the live server, how many player/game hours are spent on test?
Back in the early days, players would be invited to the test server for specific purposes: generally it was about making sure new features would hold up in a scaled up situation - i.e. not just on the developers' hardware.
We would be informed what was happening and specifically WHEN a load test would take place or WHAT features we should be focussing on.
We would get an invitation specific to that purpose.
We would be rewarded for joining in, with small in-game rewards for our live game accounts.
That all changed.
The latest debacle just indicates to me how unfit for purpose the test environment now is.
It is an incredibly tedious experience. Islands are reset with most new versions
The quests (and endless quest completed arrows when you level up to anywhere useful) are tedious.
There is no incentive to stay and report bugs - in fact there is an overwhelming feeling, at least on the non-German servers, that our bug reports are ignored (and the apparent deluge of complaints on the German forums suggest maybe its universal)
Where is the incentive to test a bugged game?
A few ideas:
1. Remove the quest chains - unless it's actually under scrutiny it is just tedious to constantly click quest complete and I doubt anyone who instantly jumps from level 1 to level 50 plus bothers with them or claiming all the rewards
2. Offer some kind of ability to export/backup (locally) your live island and import to test. or at least to preserve your lovingly, painstakingly built test island between version tests.
3. Re-introduce the idea of specific test targets and reward players for participation.
We're all mightily peeved atm. Let's try to be constructive in the criticism please