I'm sort of split on this actually, because i am aware that there are people out there who are key farming in hopes of selling an Alpha key.
One part of me feels that everyone should have an equal opportunity, while another part of me wishes that there was an Alpha testing application that people would have to fill out in order to qualify to be chosen as an Alpha tester, and not just a simple post.
In my game testing experience, Applications with a lot of in-depth questions tend to generate the type of testers game developers are looking for, and act as a decent deterrent against Key-farmers.
k44mosMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited January 2013
Well, although I will not get a key because that's my usual luck concerning this stuff, all of the "veterans" of the forums should get invited because they actually worked for the game in their own way.
First of all, I don't know how many users they might want for the alpha but I think they would have been better off inviting those that actually did something here.
Second, don't invite random people to an alpha test.
Some people don't like forums and forum communities but are active in the games' communities and would make excellent beta testers due to their age and experience with games, specially MMOs. Just saying, I think the idea of forum communities is dumb, because I don't spend my time here reading your subjective non-sense, but that doesn't mean I deserve a beta key any less than you do.
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shiaikaMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, SilverstarsPosts: 0Arc User
The alpha key give away showed us how people are still looking forward to Neverwinter. But I have to say I'd like to see a bit of fairness when it comes to the give away. Join date and activity should have a lot to with who gets a key. People such as Andre should be guaranteed a key. And anybody with a join date of January 2013 should be thrown to the bottom of the list.
It will be interesting to see how many January 2013 members read and post in this thread ^^
Favouritisms suck. Just check the moderators' candidates back a while and the so many hurt butts in some old timers here. Stupid and useless.:rolleyes: Plus an ancilla from the Co-op RPG Era may be as useful (skills/devotion-wise) as the neonates from MMORPG PW Era.
Forum activity and length of membership should have no place in determining contest winners. The entire point of opening contests is usually to generate interest and hopefully gain new faces in the community. "Rewards" for long time activity come in the form of community recognition and respect.
We're all here hoping for a good game and a good time, no matter how long we've been around.
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muzrub333Member, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited January 2013
I love the marketing on this. Lets call one of our closed beta stages "Alpha". People will think they're getting something special, and it will create hype. Oh well, it's not like marketing types don't stretch the meanings of things all the time, and it is creating hype, which is a good thing. Bravo!
I love the marketing on this. Lets call one of our closed beta stages "Alpha". People will think they're getting something special, and it will create hype. Oh well, it's not like marketing types don't stretch the meanings of things all the time, and it is creating hype, which is a good thing. Bravo!
As far as the poll, it should be random.
Marketing ploy or not, we dont actually know how far into testing they actually are. Im hoping they are just renaming a closed beta stage because that would mean an earlier release but who knows.
I think they should datamine their user database and start with the person who has filed the most bug reports, and work their way backwards until they either have the number of users they want or run out of people who have filed bug reports. If they are still short, they should pick randomly from people who didn't participate in CO or STO beta; because even randoms are more valuable than people who participated in previous betas and never filed a bug.
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muzrub333Member, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
Marketing ploy or not, we dont actually know how far into testing they actually are. Im hoping they are just renaming a closed beta stage because that would mean an earlier release but who knows.
This is my guess, and be aware I am just guessing here, as I don't have access to the real info; I figure they are actually through with the real Alpha, and probably have had a few months of an F&F stage of Closed Beta. FFCB merged with a select Closed Beta for a couple of months, which the 4-5 picked from this event will become a part of until the next stage of CB begins. The next stage will be for people who have keys from signing up here or other PWE deals, and will be the shortest period of CB right before the Open Beta/Stress Test. Then I will take a few days off work, stock up on beer and brisket, not shower for a few days, and figure out the foundry.
Some people don't like forums and forum communities but are active in the games' communities and would make excellent beta testers due to their age and experience with games, specially MMOs. Just saying, I think the idea of forum communities is dumb, because I don't spend my time here reading your subjective non-sense, but that doesn't mean I deserve a beta key any less than you do.
I agree because that's how I am. I mean, Following the game from the start and checking forums (everyday almost) to see if anything new has came about, yet not being involved much with just shooting the ****. There was really noting to even talk about for the longest time concerning this game due to limited info.
But if people were even slightly interested in Neverwinter, they should still sign up on the forums/enter for beta key, and if you didn't, to me, that shows lack of interest in taking part at all. That's why I think those who have shown interest for the last 1-2 years waiting patiently should be considered and that's a fairly small pool of people I believe.
This is my guess, and be aware I am just guessing here, as I don't have access to the real info; I figure they are actually through with the real Alpha, and probably have had a few months of an F&F stage of Closed Beta. FFCB merged with a select Closed Beta for a couple of months, which the 4-5 picked from this event will become a part of until the next stage of CB begins. The next stage will be for people who have keys from signing up here or other PWE deals, and will be the shortest period of CB right before the Open Beta/Stress Test. Then I will take a few days off work, stock up on beer and brisket, not shower for a few days, and figure out the foundry.
Yes. From what Truth said "the games more polished than people think". That leads me to believe these so called "alpha key giveaways" is nothing more than hype for the Closed beta, and I bet CB starts in the next week or two.
Random ofc. Why do it any other way? It even says its random.
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ambisinisterrMember, Neverwinter ModeratorPosts: 10,462Community Moderator
edited January 2013
Regardless of any of your personal opinions the game is still very much in Alpha. It's not really a marketing ploy.
My best guess is that they wanted language testers for the French and German translations...
However as you all duly noted it was not in any way fair to all of the English players so Cryptic also extended the give-away to the English Community as well.
Giving Alpha Keys away to the English Community is the fair result of the need for foreign language testers. You shouldn't read that much more into it because there isn't much more into it.
And for the love of...
Alpha isn't some made up term! It's actually the longest stage of game development but is often only open up to select few outside of the company. Certainly Beta is drawing closer but they are not delaying the release of Closed Beta for laughs...
everix92Member, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 4Arc User
edited January 2013
My personal opinion is that alpha testers should be chosen in a similar fashion as selecting job candidates. They want people testing who are actually going to help uncover bugs and problems with the game. However, this is completely unreasonable because it would just take too much time to actually find ideal testers. Therefore, it's probably best to just do it randomly.
wow! There was a time when game devs had to look high and low for volunteer testers - infact they didn't find such species then even when they tried to search.
Now it seems like a "esteemed thing" to do with many people fighting for it.
I guess this era can truly be called the era of upheav... I mean era of games.
I do miss the days of filling out a long application for Beta including your dxdiag info and other things that would help qualify you for the actual testing stage, now its just giving out keys on 3-6 forums and generating as much marketing as possible.
I see this as a benefit for a F2P game such as this, as most Free to Play games have such a stigma attached to them in terms of Cash Shop/Pay to win along with sub par gaming experience.
This doesn't sound very DnD like. Just because you've been playing DnD for a long long time doesn't mean you are guaranteed a crit roll
My d20 of Rolling 20s disagrees with you. Do you know how long I had to play to get through all the realms to finally get to fight the God of Gods and defeat him to get this magical device? Do you realize how high of a UMD it has and I am here a simple Barbarian
My d20 of Rolling 20s disagrees with you. Do you know how long I had to play to get through all the realms to finally get to fight the God of Gods and defeat him to get this magical device? Do you realize how high of a UMD it has and I am here a simple Barbarian
Since everybody has had the ability to join and post for years.
Some just have better things to do than hang around on game forums, typical basement sloth post "my join date and post count is this, im more entitled"
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klangeddinMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 882Arc User
edited January 2013
Completely random.
People who put time and effort into the community of a project such as this tend to develop some form of attachment. This attachment leads to having a too positive feedback (also known as fanboysm) with a small minority of people who provide an excessively negative feedback because some of their expectations (usually unrealistic) were "crushed". And between these two extremes you usually have no middle ground at all.
In my opinion, of all the types of aggregate feedback you can obtain, the least biased is the one obtained from a random audience (of people who are interested in this genre of videogames, of course...).
But anyway, as I stated before in another thread, for me a large closed beta with NDA has no purpose anymore in this day and age from a testing/feedback point of view. Even less in case of a F2P game such as this one. We're all bound to play it (if we are even remotely interested, of course) and provide feedback at some point.
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ambisinisterrMember, Neverwinter ModeratorPosts: 10,462Community Moderator
edited January 2013
Well said Klangeddin.
Your wisdom shines like a beacon of light through impenetrable darkness.
antheman5Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited January 2013
Personally I'm for doing a personality test to decided how likely it is that you're gonna be a usefull alpha tester. Of course you should then take in account: age, years of gaming experience, type of gamer, and tolerance level for buggy games. Of course a full back ground scan should be done on all contestants to check for criminal records, to avoid stealing any ideas, but also for possible flamewars where that person may have been in. Furthermore I'd like to propose an essay in which you ask the top 50 persons to write about a very bad game feature to see if they are able to give constructive feedback.
Personally I'm for doing a personality test to decided how likely it is that you're gonna be a usefull alpha tester. Of course you should then take in account: age, years of gaming experience, type of gamer, and tolerance level for buggy games. Of course a full back ground scan should be done on all contestants to check for criminal records, to avoid stealing any ideas, but also for possible flamewars where that person may have been in. Furthermore I'd like to propose an essay in which you ask the top 50 persons to write about a very bad game feature to see if they are able to give constructive feedback.
But random is quite fine with me too :-P
Can we check and make sure they are eligible for a housing loan as well and make sure all debts have been paid off?
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theragmannlMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited January 2013
Random would work best i guess, although in PW's/Cryptic interest people with beta key's would have priority so they can give proper feedback. Or at least have the opportunity to proper feedback ;P
We are trolling the forums here in anticipation of a key anyway, aren't we?
It gives us something to do while we wait.
When someone breaks NDA a hundred kitties somewhere die.
Seriously, I mean it is annoying when you are trying to tell others (also impressing them with your knowledge) and someone comes with a half-HAMSTER footage of alpha which is not complete and makes comments as if it is a finished product. It is such an off thing.
Not only is it detrimental to game, it may win you 15 mins of fame, but after game comes out and it is proven that alpha footage was incomplete and your leaking didn't actually matter - it also destroys your credibility. But I don't think any credible person would break NDA.
It is one thing to privately tell family about alpha getting them into confidence, another thing altoghether to release the videos.
When someone breaks NDA a hundred kitties somewhere die.
Seriously, I mean it is annoying when you are trying to tell others (also impressing them with your knowledge) and someone comes with a half-HAMSTER footage of alpha which is not complete and makes comments as if it is a finished product. It is such an off thing.
Not only is it detrimental to game, it may win you 15 mins of fame, but after game comes out and it is proven that alpha footage was incomplete and your leaking didn't actually matter - it also destroys your credibility. But I don't think any credible person would break NDA.
It is one thing to privately tell family about alpha getting them into confidence, another thing altoghether to release the videos.
*Gnashes his teeth*
Hmm....someone does not like NDA breakers me thinks..
On another note Im wondering if someone breaks the NDA what would be the repercussions? Simply removing them from Alpha/Beta or a ban on the Email Address/IP Address? I understand they dont want any leaks or anything of the sort but they also dont want to be losing potential customers when the game goes live.
Hmm....someone does not like NDA breakers me thinks..
....
Was talking on mmorpg about game and suddenly comes in posting links to videos saying its a lobby game(?) [although I don't know what it means]
I mean come on, we have already seen open world in videos released in conventions. We already know it is instanced+open world. A low resolution bootlegged NDA breaking videos is the same as watching a pirated movie and complaining about its print.
Comments
One part of me feels that everyone should have an equal opportunity, while another part of me wishes that there was an Alpha testing application that people would have to fill out in order to qualify to be chosen as an Alpha tester, and not just a simple post.
In my game testing experience, Applications with a lot of in-depth questions tend to generate the type of testers game developers are looking for, and act as a decent deterrent against Key-farmers.
But that is just my opinion.
First of all, I don't know how many users they might want for the alpha but I think they would have been better off inviting those that actually did something here.
Second, don't invite random people to an alpha test.
Equal chances or bust.
We're all here hoping for a good game and a good time, no matter how long we've been around.
As far as the poll, it should be random.
Marketing ploy or not, we dont actually know how far into testing they actually are. Im hoping they are just renaming a closed beta stage because that would mean an earlier release but who knows.
This is my guess, and be aware I am just guessing here, as I don't have access to the real info; I figure they are actually through with the real Alpha, and probably have had a few months of an F&F stage of Closed Beta. FFCB merged with a select Closed Beta for a couple of months, which the 4-5 picked from this event will become a part of until the next stage of CB begins. The next stage will be for people who have keys from signing up here or other PWE deals, and will be the shortest period of CB right before the Open Beta/Stress Test. Then I will take a few days off work, stock up on beer and brisket, not shower for a few days, and figure out the foundry.
I agree because that's how I am. I mean, Following the game from the start and checking forums (everyday almost) to see if anything new has came about, yet not being involved much with just shooting the ****. There was really noting to even talk about for the longest time concerning this game due to limited info.
But if people were even slightly interested in Neverwinter, they should still sign up on the forums/enter for beta key, and if you didn't, to me, that shows lack of interest in taking part at all. That's why I think those who have shown interest for the last 1-2 years waiting patiently should be considered and that's a fairly small pool of people I believe.
Beta should be just around the corner so rejoice
Yes. From what Truth said "the games more polished than people think". That leads me to believe these so called "alpha key giveaways" is nothing more than hype for the Closed beta, and I bet CB starts in the next week or two.
My best guess is that they wanted language testers for the French and German translations...
However as you all duly noted it was not in any way fair to all of the English players so Cryptic also extended the give-away to the English Community as well.
Giving Alpha Keys away to the English Community is the fair result of the need for foreign language testers. You shouldn't read that much more into it because there isn't much more into it.
And for the love of...
Alpha isn't some made up term! It's actually the longest stage of game development but is often only open up to select few outside of the company. Certainly Beta is drawing closer but they are not delaying the release of Closed Beta for laughs...
Now it seems like a "esteemed thing" to do with many people fighting for it.
I guess this era can truly be called the era of upheav... I mean era of games.
I see this as a benefit for a F2P game such as this, as most Free to Play games have such a stigma attached to them in terms of Cash Shop/Pay to win along with sub par gaming experience.
My d20 of Rolling 20s disagrees with you. Do you know how long I had to play to get through all the realms to finally get to fight the God of Gods and defeat him to get this magical device? Do you realize how high of a UMD it has and I am here a simple Barbarian
Plus pboar is a 50th Level Dungeon Master
Anyone still searching for guilds you can check out HCG Hardcore Christian Gamers.
NW FAQ | HCG NW Host Site
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Well I didnt want to say anything, but you caught me .../blush
Some just have better things to do than hang around on game forums, typical basement sloth post "my join date and post count is this, im more entitled"
People who put time and effort into the community of a project such as this tend to develop some form of attachment. This attachment leads to having a too positive feedback (also known as fanboysm) with a small minority of people who provide an excessively negative feedback because some of their expectations (usually unrealistic) were "crushed". And between these two extremes you usually have no middle ground at all.
In my opinion, of all the types of aggregate feedback you can obtain, the least biased is the one obtained from a random audience (of people who are interested in this genre of videogames, of course...).
But anyway, as I stated before in another thread, for me a large closed beta with NDA has no purpose anymore in this day and age from a testing/feedback point of view. Even less in case of a F2P game such as this one. We're all bound to play it (if we are even remotely interested, of course) and provide feedback at some point.
Your wisdom shines like a beacon of light through impenetrable darkness.
But random is quite fine with me too :-P
Can we check and make sure they are eligible for a housing loan as well and make sure all debts have been paid off?
We are trolling the forums here in anticipation of a key anyway, aren't we?
It gives us something to do while we wait.
CU IG in half an hour ;P
Seriously, I mean it is annoying when you are trying to tell others (also impressing them with your knowledge) and someone comes with a half-HAMSTER footage of alpha which is not complete and makes comments as if it is a finished product. It is such an off thing.
Not only is it detrimental to game, it may win you 15 mins of fame, but after game comes out and it is proven that alpha footage was incomplete and your leaking didn't actually matter - it also destroys your credibility. But I don't think any credible person would break NDA.
It is one thing to privately tell family about alpha getting them into confidence, another thing altoghether to release the videos.
*Gnashes his teeth*
Hmm....someone does not like NDA breakers me thinks..
On another note Im wondering if someone breaks the NDA what would be the repercussions? Simply removing them from Alpha/Beta or a ban on the Email Address/IP Address? I understand they dont want any leaks or anything of the sort but they also dont want to be losing potential customers when the game goes live.
Was talking on mmorpg about game and suddenly comes in posting links to videos saying its a lobby game(?) [although I don't know what it means]
I mean come on, we have already seen open world in videos released in conventions. We already know it is instanced+open world. A low resolution bootlegged NDA breaking videos is the same as watching a pirated movie and complaining about its print.