Diary of A Beta Tester
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
We’re all beta testers.
You might think, “Huh?” But we are, because of that little tab next to the Home logo that says so when we log in each time. I recently got called to become a beta tester for two totally different types of products here on the PlayStation Network. One is a PSN game called All-Stars Battle Royale, which was shown at E3, and the other was for Mercia right here in Home. I was thrilled to be in what I consider to be my first real beta, as these are closed or private, not wide open like Home has been for many years now.
The primary difference between these is of course the ability to talk about your experiences in them. When signing up for a closed beta you can only speak about it to other testers and on the forum that is created for information exchanging between you and the company involved. Without the freedom that open beta allows, this magazine wouldn’t even exist.
Within a closed beta you are encouraged to give as much feedback as you can to the developers as that is why you are there. I think this is a marvelous way for companies to get crucial information from their consumer base before a products actual launch. It also allows for potential bugs to be eliminated ahead of time which makes for a much happier customer once it comes out.
I have to admit I was envious of the people who were invited to the Hub closed Beta that occurred when they replaced the Central Plaza. I didn’t know that you have to set your notification preferences in your account management in the XMB to allow them to contact you and offer these things. When I found that out I changed them immediately; here we are several months later and I have been asked to participate.
The Oracle, one of the quest givers.
Day One: I downloaded the “gateway” to Mercia and had to laugh because it is actually a “gateway” that looks exactly like the ones in the game. This is an active item, of course, which makes it hard to use too much in my spaces, mostly because they are all furnished just the way I like them right now and it takes away too many slots. But luckily my Midnight Glade space had room, as I have never really been able to figure out what to do with it except put out fireworks. I set it up there and I must say that it looks really neat because it is dark and the gate is lit up quite well.
Once it was installed I put on my Mercia gear and dove in, but to my chagrin it wouldn’t load. It turned out this was a universal issue that they had to rectify so all of the testers had to wait. The forum was full of whiners about this, but I just made my report on the forum and waited, as I knew they would be fixing it asap.
Day Two: Same issue as the day before, couldn’t load the screen so I went to work and when I returned it was finally working. I went through the portal and immersed myself in the world of Mercia. It is visually as beautiful as the hints from Lockwood had shown us. Got into the game and found my first bug to report about, so I went to the forum and did so. The bug wasn’t letting me progress in the game so I found other things to do until they worked on it.
Day Three:Finally got some real game play time as it was the weekend. Spent much of the day there, enjoying running into a variety
of people I knew, some on my friends list and others who I have met along the way in my meanderings on Home. It is a real hoot to be able to play the game with others and be in your avatar as you are attacked by the various monsters the game provides. I am enjoying myself immensely and the rewards being given are very nice. I am learning the in’s and out’s and finding the things I like and don’t like in the game. I have also met and spoken to other players I don’t know and think this game will be a great place to meet and friend others. You can form alliances while in the game and talk on your headsets in a group while you play; very fun.
I go to the forums several times a day and see what others are saying about the game, but I am sorely disappointed in the participation there. It seems that when people have something to complain about, like when it wouldn’t load, they can find the time to post. But when it comes to giving the feedback that the developers want to fix things, they can’t be bothered. I only found a few people besides myself who were participating; strange.
Magic and swords, it doesn’t get better than this!
Day Four: Cleared my cache this morning before going in and it worked wonders. The game loaded much more quickly and I haven’t run into any bugs yet. Been having fun buying upgraded weapons with the in game gold you can get from selling your loot. I think this game is going to be a big hit with everyone, I wish that I could buy better armor, but the store is not online yet, though that is to be expected right now I guess.
Encountered some issues later in the day but I am progressing quite well in the game so I am satisfied with it so far. Not sure how many levels are in it but I may be reaching the potential allowed for closed beta. I looked at the forums once again and was still disappointed to see little participation there.
Day Five: Went in early this morning to see if there had been any fix for the game’s problem. There wasn’t, so I posted the issue in the forums and wasn’t surprised to find no one else has done the same. I found a link to send a message with a “bug form” in so I used it. Still doesn’t seem to be many people involved in the forum itself though. Later in the day I was able to access the game and play a bit more. Had fun playing with a friend for awhile.
Day Six:I have now reached fame level 26; I am not sure how many levels are available for this game, but I assume that level 30 is the
I got a BIG bow!
top for the closed beta, but I guess I will find that out when I can’t level up anymore. The game is awesome for the most part, the graphics are incredible and even with the occasional glitches it is a lot of fun. There are only two dungeons available right now but the list looks like it has room for many more and I imagine that Lockwood has a great deal in store for us in the future. Was happy to see a bit more in the way of posting on the forum from others.
Day Seven: Went in once again, I am loving this game. It seems the enemies get stronger as you level up and of course the amount of experience you need to level up gets to be much more as well. Forty or sixty thousand experience points hardly make a dent now in the bar that shows you how close you are to your next level; that means as you progress it will take a lot more time and quests to add to your levels. There are still a few of the same bugs happening, but I think that what is needed most as a beta tester is patience, something I have already seen can be in short supply in here with some people. They complain as though this was a finished product.
Day Eight: I am nearing my beta testing end. I have almost reached the highest level available, which I have now confirmed is level thirty by speaking to others who have obtained it. I have a lot of unanswered questions about what happens to my accumulated levels and weapons, gold and the like once this beta testing is over. I assume they will let us keep all of it since this isn’t a competitive game, but I could be wrong.
Mercian encampment, great rewards!
I have built a Mercian encampment from all of my rewards in my Midnight Glade personal space. Not only does the gateway look great there because it is dark, but it seems to be appropriate as it too is a Lockwood product. I built a bit of a Stonehenge from the pillars up on the hill there as it looks almost like a mound that archeologists might dig into. I love all of the rewards they have given, Lockwood has once again proved to be very generous in their giving back to the community.
I believe that this game is a real “game changer” for Home and the community. They have made it single player yet you can join forces with friends and go hunting within its confines as well. The choice has been left up to you as a player, and people love to have choices. I have had fun playing this both by myself, with friends and even with a few strangers I met along the way.
They shut us out for a few days, and though I thought it was over, I was delighted to find they had been fixing what needed fixing so we could test for another week before the public release. The downside was we were all reset to level zero and had to start over in the tutorial, but I felt fine with that as it gave me a second run through. This time we will keep our levels and weapons we have bought when it goes public. I must say that though there are a few things that need fixing still as I progress through the game they have made it tougher and it has more playability. I am totally loving this game and am finding it addicting.
The game is visually stunning, graphically amazing, and the game play is simple enough for even the most amateur RPG player to understand very quickly, I know this because one of my friends who never plays them caught on very quickly and liked the game immensely once he got into it. I hope that Lockwood continues to add new content to this as time goes on. The items in the store we can buy will open new items and quests it seems, it says so in some of the descriptions. I know that I for one will gladly pay to play this game, and I think I am only one among many who feel this way about it.
August 30th, 2012 by Burbie52 | 2 comments
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
Wow! You guys unleashed a storm of Mercia articles today! lol
Oh, and that’s pretty cool looking what you did with your Midnight Glade.