Discussion: Beta First Impressions

[Aserii 68]

6 minutes ago, MrChan said:

Should I ask why people want to run potato resolution?

the same reason you don't, preference

[Arcane 33]

Launch it, im sure more issues will pop up once larger playerbase tests it.

[spher3 40]

1 minute ago, Mystical said:

Launch it, im sure more issues will pop up once larger playerbase tests it.

cant stress this enough, need a larger pool of players to find issues faster, and finding the issues faster means timeframe til it is live grows shorter

[Arcane 33]

39 minutes ago, spher3 said:

cant stress this enough, need a larger pool of players to find issues faster, and finding the issues faster means timeframe til it is live grows shorter

This. Also some people don't seem to understand what is the purpose of beta, its not meant for regular gameplay what you do in live. The purpose of beta is to find many bugs as possible before it goes to live.

 

Edit: By regular gameplay i mean expecting the game to work without issues.

Edited June 14, 2020 by Mystical

[ticcitobygaming1 5]

I mean its in beta, of course its gonna have issues, but those can be worked on while peeps play the beta

[VahidkinG 1]

8 hours ago, MattScott said:

For those that have asked, the Open Beta will run in a completely new environment. So it will be completely optional, and not interrupt APB 1.20 (Live).

Hey There, 

as long as it's running independent from Live so we can switch back to Live, and clearly states that it might include game breaking bugs at times, Then by all means do it and give us the new engine to test.

I don't suggest any advertisement ATM, tho. 

Edited June 14, 2020 by VahidkinG
some spelling

[Mobbet 0]

I'm on the side of launch it, if need be do it in closed beta waves to see how it is with more and more people. Until it is open beta granted might the player base seems relatively small right now I know a good portion of players who are just waiting for the engine upgrade release in that case might not help with an open beta, and might push some of those players away when trying it at full launch. It more of a worry on the players who are not here rather than the players who are here.

Edited June 14, 2020 by Mobbet

[Hiz 14]

10 hours ago, MrChan said:

Should I ask why people want to run potato resolution?

For uh.. reasons 

[R3ACT3M 489]

12 minutes ago, Hiz said:

For uh.. reasons 

 

 

yeah...reasons

https://images.samsung.com/is/image/samsung/p5/nz/family-hub-refrigerator/hero/hero.jpg?$ORIGIN_JPG$

[Lign 361]

According to the hate to valorant for being too empty and for having some problems DURING CLOSE BETA I feel like rushing 2.1 with all its problems might not be a good idea

[Farbon Ciber 65]

Release it now, slap a beta message on it and lock it to existing users only until it releases

 

That way it is understood that it is beta and not the final shipping product

[AxeTurboAgresor 268]

I would LOVE to test it in OTW. I mean, every single person that has more than just one brain cell expects bugs, and crashes while testing beta version.

[neophobia 216]

On 6/14/2020 at 4:28 AM, Flight said:

1. Input lag from Windowed Fullscreen (Exclusive fullscreen was removed due to lacking DX12 support)
2. Visual and audio bugs
3. Doors getting out of sync with the server and showing open when they are closed or closed when they are open
4. Issues with Field of View and mouse sensitivity in Marksman mode. The more zoom, the more problematic this becomes.
5. Possible bugs in the UI that are slowing down FPS
6. Issue with stutters that was cleared after rebooting

1. Input lag really depends on how bad it is. Is it the usual additional 4-5ms or like an extra 50ms?
2. Audio bugs can really annoy anyone - even more so visual ones. But that always depends on the extent of these bugs.
3. How often do the door issues occur? Probably often enough if it was encountered during playtesting.  Will really mess with gameplay, especially if the door state is different for everyone in the same mission. Should probably be fixed asap - this is worse than LoD fade ins.
4. Eh - just as always, it depends how bad it is, lol. Is there still the additional MM-sensitivity slider?
5. The dimensions would also be interesting here. How much of a performance hit are we talking? People were looking forward to EU for performance upgrades - I do think this can wait till beta though.
6. Rebooting... the whole PC? This... sounds pretty bad.

 

Issues 3. and 6. should probably be fixed before you push an unenjoyable product that makes your whole PC stutter into Beta. Same goes for issue 2. if those bugs are severe.

 

More issues coming with more players is also what I'd see happening - but that's just all the more reason to fix these issues first before gettings swamped in even more (that will probably not be fixed along the way of those new issues)

 

I know it'd be just a Beta but you'd inevitable get bad press/complaints on forums if the beta is bad. People don't really distinguish between Beta, Early Access and Launch anymore because it has been used as a "free qc", demo (e.g. destiny 2s beta was just that) or marketing thing in the past by publishers - many just expect a polished product there already and not too many changes going into release.

 

I'd say... call it an Alpha if you will - there might be less expectations and more understanding for issues.

Edited June 15, 2020 by neophobia

[Senodus 49]

Launch the open beta early with visible issues. The first impressions matter a lot, yes, but that goes more for the final launch I would say. As long as you make it painfully clear that it's a beta and that things are still being worked on and adjusted it will be fine.

[Mitne 724]

22 hours ago, MrChan said:

Some of us might actually understand what the concept of a Beta test actually is, though.

Oh really?

23 hours ago, swft said:

 

I probably know more about it than you and I'm telling you they should still launch the Open Beta anyway.

OH REALLY?

You two might know it but what about rest of playerbase?

Last thing we need is newbies giving negative press. Of course via Youtube videos, Reddit threads, Twitter shitposts and review bombing.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Mitne

[MrChan 337]

1 hour ago, Mitne said:

O RLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????????????????????

Newsflash Einstein, newbies are already give the game negative press, I'd say it's well gone beyond the point where it makes a difference.

 

Let's say they release Open Beta without any bugs (which is basically impossible in any case, that's why you do an Open Beta). People will still gripe because the mission districts aren't there, or because they don't like the lighting, or they don't like the hospital signage on the walls, or the extra bits added to the outside of the level, or because there should be something in the lore about Luke Waskawi becoming an Ancient God to recreate the world, or because the original login screen music isn't there.

 

If you want to wait until we have a product that no one will find fault with, you're going to be waiting long time. There comes a point where you can't just keep sitting on it and actually have to solicit useful commentary from the elements of the playerbase that aren't morons.

Edited June 15, 2020 by MrChan

[SinistraDelMassa 11]

TL;DR I hope you take some extra time to frame the beta test launch with some infographics and concise language before actually going ahead with it!

 

I think language matters here, and you should potentially consider giving the forthcoming test a special spin - not "Open Beta", or "New Engine", but rather something that will properly communicate what we're getting and what the expectations should be, i.e., this is not the full new Engine Upgrade.

 

It could be "Test Drive 1", "APB Labs", etc.

 

The marketing could give a go at some funny graphics and ads to go with it, as long as it's made clear it's small, it's the beginning, and it's not THE engine upgrade - remember, when APB:R originally opened from Closed Beta to Open Beta, it was pretty much the same game it is now. If you use the same terminology, I think we'll see some disappointed and confused returning players.

 

Furthermore, the test should be clearly framed as something that has the intention of minor extension rather than major in terms of player population. We obviously want players to rush back in, but the fact of the matter is, I'd much rather keep this first test to the existing community rather than disappoint potential newcomers or returnees.

 

It's been proven over and over that there are legitimately tons of players willing to give APB:R another shot, but I don't think this will be the shot they should be taking. I think conveying this matter to streamers is also very important.

 

 

[spher3 40]

8 minutes ago, SinistraDelMassa said:

TL;DR I hope you take some extra time to frame the beta test launch with some infographics and concise language before actually going ahead with it!

 

I think language matters here, and you should potentially consider giving the forthcoming test a special spin - not "Open Beta", or "New Engine", but rather something that will properly communicate what we're getting and what the expectations should be, i.e., this is not the full new Engine Upgrade.

 

It could be "Test Drive 1", "APB Labs", etc.

 

The marketing could give a go at some funny graphics and ads to go with it, as long as it's made clear it's small, it's the beginning, and it's not THE engine upgrade - remember, when APB:R originally opened from Closed Beta to Open Beta, it was pretty much the same game it is now. If you use the same terminology, I think we'll see some disappointed and confused returning players.

 

Furthermore, the test should be clearly framed as something that has the intention of minor extension rather than major in terms of player population. We obviously want players to rush back in, but the fact of the matter is, I'd much rather keep this first test to the existing community rather than disappoint potential newcomers or returnees.

 

It's been proven over and over that there are legitimately tons of players willing to give APB:R another shot, but I don't think this will be the shot they should be taking. I think conveying this matter to streamers is also very important.

 

 

The thing is, the tons of players willing to give apb another chance are also the same playerbase thats next to nonexistant in live, and they'd rather focus on playing the broken shit that is beta because the faster beta comes to the masses the faster all underlying issues can be found and adressed, i myself have 3 different rigs, 4 if we count the shitty laptop from 2013, and i only play apb on my best rig, which wont play APB at all comes tomorrow tuesday, when my turing gpu arrives, since live has an issue with driving the game with that architecture. but i would in fact install the beta on every single one of those machines and frantically report issues both in-game wise and performance wise. the lot that are burning for this game to actually break even and finally go good again are far more dedicated than the little bunch of silvers crying hacks everytime they loose in bronze districts.

2 hours ago, Mitne said:

Oh really?

OH REALLY?

You two might know it but what about rest of playerbase?

Last thing we need is newbies giving negative press. Of course via Youtube videos, Reddit threads, Twitter shitposts and review bombing.

reddit threads? who tf follows apb on reddit these days? and review bombing? if you are thinking review bombings are something done by punny youtubers youre way out there. review bombing wont happen since individuals that understand the true concept of reviewing should be well aware of a beta branch of a product.

[Nagletz 215]

2 hours ago, Mitne said:

Oh really?

OH REALLY?

You two might know it but what about rest of playerbase?

Last thing we need is newbies giving negative press. Of course via Youtube videos, Reddit threads, Twitter shitposts and review bombing.

You saying like such posts/videos/reviews having millions of views, lmao.

Rest of the world don't care of apb, only it's players do. 

[Keshi 436]

thing is regardless of when you push this beta there WILL still be bugs, even those we will find when having full asylums and stuffs. thats what beta is for...to TEST

So do it matt

[swft 356]

5 hours ago, Mitne said:

Oh really?

OH REALLY?

You two might know it but what about rest of playerbase?

Last thing we need is newbies giving negative press. Of course via Youtube videos, Reddit threads, Twitter shitposts and review bombing.

 

And that's why it's going on OTW before LIVE. It will only get bad press if LO starts marketing.

 

I don't think we need to wait another 2 months for these issues to be fixed before we're allowed to test the game. Plus a lot more issues will be found when you got more than 20 testers playing the game.

[striker891 6]

Who even cares about 1024x768 resolution? That must be 0.1%. Just release it.

[REZJailBait 19]

In my opinion they should get it right before they ever think of releasing anything to the public for testing, even if its "just a beta".
People have been waiting far to long for something to happen, and to get their hands on something new, me included. 

But i think it would be crucial for the reputation and faith people have to the DEV team/game that they get it right or as close to right as possible before they push it out for public testing. 

 

The population of the game fluctuates a lot between updates of the game, and it made me really happy to see the activity in game after the beta stream.
This has given me new faith towards the game population increasing once the beta is out. You would think that the game from 2011 is dead, but the community keeps coming back, as there is no other game that gives us the pleasure that APB does. 

 

Ill happily wait for the beta, instead of it being the biggest disappointment in the games history. 

Love the work that has gone into it so far, keep it up !  

[spher3 40]

22 hours ago, Aseri said:

the same reason you don't, preference

the preference to run on 1024x768 is ancient hardware. why would you ever play that resolution if you could have high fps on something that doesnt net you black bars on any screen of this day and age, we have come a long way since 4:3 and CRT monitors

 

EDIT: Dont press dislike because of the truth please
https://gs.statcounter.com/screen-resolution-stats/desktop/worldwide
it is the absolute least used resolution worldwide, falling slightly behind 1280x1024

Edited June 15, 2020 by spher3

[Hiz 14]

51 minutes ago, spher3 said:

the preference to run on 1024x768 is ancient hardware. why would you ever play that resolution if you could have high fps on something that doesnt net you black bars on any screen of this day and age, we have come a long way since 4:3 and CRT monitors

 

EDIT: Dont press dislike because of the truth please
https://gs.statcounter.com/screen-resolution-stats/desktop/worldwide
it is the absolute least used resolution worldwide, falling slightly behind 1280x1024

There are some good uses of 4:3 res in some games, like CS:GO, and CRT monitors can be better than LCD/LED, since they have no latency issues, the image quality can be as good or even better and they can have really high (i mean REALLY HIGH) refresh rates, speacially at lower resolutions.

I do understand and agree that is ancient tecnology, and has no place nowdays, but still, this is a 2010 game, where 4:3 was accepted, and LO could add some form of customization for the HUD, since that seem to be the problem, with "more text".

EDIT: More information, not "text".

Edited June 15, 2020 by Hiz