BruceVC Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 Eh, Alpha/Beta access is not something I typically find interesting.... There are some game types I don't mind beta testing, but perhaps for obvious reasons doing the same for another Fantasy RPG is not exactly what I am hoping for I am one of those people who have absolutely no interest in Beta testing a game, in fact I can't understand why people would do it as I believe it ruins the excitement when you play the full releases. But of course I appreciate people that do Beta test and allow for the game to be more stable "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela
alanschu Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 Effective beta testing is mostly making sure you have absurd amounts of telemetry hooked up, since you can pretty much count on the percentage of participants actually reporting meaningful issues to be very, very small.
BruceVC Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 Effective beta testing is mostly making sure you have absurd amounts of telemetry hooked up, since you can pretty much count on the percentage of participants actually reporting meaningful issues to be very, very small. That interesting, I was always under the impression the main reason for Beta testing was to report bugs to the Dev's. But I have never done it before so what you are saying also makes sense. "Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is and saw Virtue in her shape how lovely: and pined his loss” John Milton "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” - George Bernard Shaw "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" - Nelson Mandela
alanschu Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 Ehhhh, it is to report bugs. It's just many people (especially in a public beta) don't. For most, beta is nothing more than "ooo I get to play the game early!" If the game is rough around the edges, many people just tolerate it, or go "eh, not ready" and move on. Some of the more egregious issues will get filed (because if there's something widespread that prevents people from playing, people go "Hey I can't play!"). By hooking up telemetry, the development team is able to glean a lot about the way people play the game and so forth. Heat maps can exist to show where people are spending their time, where (and how) they are dying, and so forth. In that sense, if you have well thought out telemetry, you can get a lot of information from the people that are simply playing your beta, even if they don't report very much. It's easy to get all jacked and go "oh yeah I want to help make this game awesome." But it's actually a non-trivial amount of work, and some bug reports such as "This is broken" are so close to meaningless that it's another situation where the developers need to hook in so much extra to help make sense of that issue. Things like player location, which direction the camera is looking in, current plot state, etc. etc. to help make context. Is it something weird or random, or can we see that it's something specific and consistent across multiple playthroughs. For instance, on DA2 there was a weird shader bug that would occur on the PS3 (and only the PS3) that was causing us issues with passing certification. We were able to get it to consistently crash in one location, but looking closer at the bug sentry auto filer we had set up, we were able to discern that there was one thing specific in the background that had a chance of having bad data. so that one small thing could be anywhere on the screen and have it happen, and we were slowly able to isolate the potential entities, which then lead to a programmer investigating the potential culprits and finding the issue. 1
LadyCrimson Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 It's easy to get all jacked and go "oh yeah I want to help make this game awesome." But it's actually a non-trivial amount of work, Truth. It's why I never care about/actively pursue getting into betas. I'm not very good at bug reporting, and I'm also not very fast, so even if I do notice something, by the time I notice it's likely been reported 1000 times already. ... I'm still amazed by how many people will just type "My zoom button doesn't work, need to fix please" and that's it. No details, no hardware info, no logfiles, nothing. If I do have beta access, it's largely an accident. Then I'm mostly just in the "oh, cool, I get to see it early" camp, if I care to bother to download it. I'm finding the Planet Explorer's alpha's a bit more interesting however, since it's in a much earlier phase than I've dealt with before, and they're somewhat open to actual gameplay suggestions vs. only tech stuff. I still have little to say, but it's more interesting to see what others are saying and know what they're referring to. “Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts
MichiGen Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 Jesse Cox - OMFGcata plays with Swen (founder of Larian Studios) "Swen tries to walk me through it with the patience of a saint I attempt to test that patience :P" :D
IndiraLightfoot Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 @Michigen: Yup! That is one fun playthru! :D And some other fantastic playthroughs are up:AngryJoe's with Swen:http://angryjoeshow.com/2013/04/divinity-original-sin-preview/ Ohmwrecker's with David:Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch…Part 2: *** "The words of someone who feels ever more the ent among saplings when playing CRPGs" ***
Pope Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 If the last 3 days are as good as the first 3 then 800,000 is still within reach.
LordCrash Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 (edited) Update #24 : Announcing the Final Countdown Apr 23, 2013 Incoming! We have been very busy the last couple of days. I know, as if we couldn't get any busier, right, but we took it to busiest! We've been playing a pre-alpha version of the game together with many a journalist, and the results start coming in. Not only does this help our Kickstarter campaign, it also spreads the word about Divinity: Original Sin. Another huge morale boost if the pickiest of gamers actually like the game! Jesse Cox, One Moderately Funny Gamer, but also pretty famous Youtube star, was bent on trying about anything: "Swen tries to walk me through it with the patience of a saint. I attempt to test that patience :P" See whether he succeeded here: Angry Joe, featuring even spikier hair as usual, said: "I went from not interested to CAN'T WAIT". Watch his unbridled enthusiasm as he tries to take on one of the toughest fights in Cyseal, and screams in horror as the undead gather around to tear him limb from limb: Jamie Dalzell wrote a hands-on report on games.on.net. "A developer, its Kickstarter backers, and the challenges of niche development. Hand in hand, 'til the end." A good read! http://games.on.net/2013/04/hands-on-with-divinity-original-sin-an-impressively-free-form-rpg/ Announcing The Final Day In the final four hours of the Kickstarter campaign, Swen and David will be playing Divinity: Original Sin together, live on twitch.tv. Will they co-operate? Or compete? They will listen to your suggestions and take your questions while playing! After the live playthrough of Divinity: Original Sin, Larian Studios will host a small party to celebrate the success of Kickstarter, featuring Kirill Pokrovsky playing live. We will keep the twitch.tv cameras rolling! Tune in to our twitch.tv channel this Friday, at 13:00 GMT, 14:00 CEST, 5:00 PST, 8:00 EDT Swen and David will be playing for four hours. The celebrations, with Kirill on the piano, will start at 17:00 GMT, 18:00 CEST, 9:00 PST, 12:00 EDT Reminder: Twitter AMA Don't forget: later today, Swen, David and Jan will be hosting a Reddit AMA at 18:00 GMT, 19:00 CEST, 10:00 PST, 13:00 EDT. David didn't want this picture to be used, but it's actually the best one there is... Which is saying a lot ) In Closing If I see someone running around with a fishing rod in Divinity: Original Sin, I'm sure they don't want to use it as a weapon. . There will be another update later today featuring...! Edited April 23, 2013 by LordCrash 1
LordCrash Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 (edited) Update #25 : 72 hours left, Stretch goal 2 achieved!!! New goal announced! Apr 23, 2013 Congratulations! We've been keeping an eye on our paypal counter today, and together with the Kickstarter total, it looks like stretch goal 2 was just unlocked!!! Personality traits & talents are now confirmed, and it'll come as no surprise that we're extremely happy that we can add the traits & talents gameplay system to Divinity: Original Sin. It wouldn't have been the RPG we wanted to make without them, and we're very grateful that you made this possible. To celebrate, here's a video showing how we'll go about including traits and talents. To be specific, it's a video about a prototype for the trait curiosity and the sixth sense talent, and while the actual implementation may vary, it should give you a good idea of how it'll improve the gameplay and bring more depth to character customization. It's going to be awesome! New Stretch Goal Announced So many people were touched by Kirill's magical performance that we wanted to do something special. Therefore, without affecting any of the other stretch goals, we'd like to give Kirill something he's also wanted i.e. a live orchestra for him to fool around with and record the game music with. So, at 700K, there is now a stretch goal that unlocks a live orchestra for this man: You want this. You really want this. It seriously will be awesome! The Next Stretch Goals Obviously with a stretch goal unlocked, it follows that we start looking at what the next stretch goal is going to be. At 666K already, we'll reach a new secret stretch goal in which we'll lift a tiny bit of the veil that covers a well-kept secret. Don't expect big announcements, but do expect some of the lore surrounding this particular secret to be released. You can also expect more on THE HINT. At 700K, there's of course our newly announced stretch goal, in which Kirill gets an orchestra, and then at 800K, there's a very big one: Henchmen become companions. While our henchmen will have more background than what you've seen in the gameplay videos so far, upon unlocking the 800K stretch goal full blown companions will be unlocked, featuring complex storylines and adding gameplay to our gameworld. This is a pretty important stretch goal, so we'll soon do an update to illustrate exactly what it is we want to achieve. Stay tuned! Ohmwrecker Plays Divinity:Original Sin More youtube goodness. Ohmwrecker did two videos of a playthrough with none other than David, our singing producer and you can follow all of their adventures! REDDIT AMA in a few hours! You can ask anything you want about Divinity:Original Sin and even get an answer on our Reddit Ask Me Anything, at 18:00 GMT, 19:00 CEST, 10:00 PST, 13:00 EDT. That's in just a couple of hours. Your correspondents will be these nice people: They promised to type as fast they can We will post the exact link in one hour. New Reward Tier The $500 and $550 tier are sold out, so we introduced a new limited $600 tier. In Closing I don't know, but for some reason I now have to . It may have something to do with the above picture. Listen to it. Because... Just like the Reddit AMA, starting in one hour and a half! Edited April 23, 2013 by LordCrash 1
Keyrock Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 (edited) So that means they have about 15k from PayPal. Assuming that Kickstarter and PayPal continues to come in at the same ratio and knowing that PayPal didn't open up until they reached 400k, they'd need about 775k from Kickstarter to get to the 800k stretch goal. We can do it, yes we can! Edited April 23, 2013 by Keyrock 1 RFK Jr 2024 "Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive." - Bill Hicks
MichiGen Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 It's going great, hope it'll endure 800k goal is a must! BTW honestly I don't understand why there is more than 200 people at $28 tier and more than 500 people at $35 tier. At $40 tier you'll get a second copy of Divinity: Original Sin, another kickstarter potion and a soundtrack. Another copy for only 5 bucks is not attractive enough for those who are at $35 or what? Everyone who is really looking forward to this great RPG should start at least at that tier.
Keyrock Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 The Reddit AMA is going on now. If nothing else, people should take the few seconds to head over there and upvote it. RFK Jr 2024 "Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive." - Bill Hicks
HoonDing Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 To think these guys are only asking for 0.5% of Bioshock:Infinite budget. 1 The ending of the words is ALMSIVI.
marelooke Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 There weresheep have officially made it into the game lore! 1
LordCrash Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 Beware of the weresheep! Beware of the court of Andavale! 2
marelooke Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 Beware of the weresheep! Beware of the court of Andavale! I can't help but wonder what/who Andavale is a reference to...
Keyrock Posted April 23, 2013 Posted April 23, 2013 This is ridiculously funny. Wow. Just, wow. RFK Jr 2024 "Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive." - Bill Hicks
Blackfalcon Posted April 24, 2013 Posted April 24, 2013 Beware of the weresheep! Beware of the court of Andavale! Beware pff it's ruined Lord Crash ! Not a beer to be found ... baaaaaaaaaaaaah 1
IndiraLightfoot Posted April 24, 2013 Posted April 24, 2013 "And Lord Crash was never seen again..." NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Let's hope Falcon Black will live to the tell the tale of that one. Btw, there's just like 4K left till $700K, so that Kirill gets his orchestra, which will be very lovely indeed. 1 *** "The words of someone who feels ever more the ent among saplings when playing CRPGs" ***
Sacred_Path Posted April 24, 2013 Posted April 24, 2013 Backed this at a low tier, but with projects like P:E, TToN and others, I somehow can't muster up much enthusiasm about this one. Halp?
Tigranes Posted April 24, 2013 Posted April 24, 2013 In all likelihood, you'll be playing it months before Wasteland 2 and years before P:E & TToN = RPG goodness in the interim is assured. It has quite different design goals from any of those, so isn't more of the same. +$40 Dragon Commander is not a bad deal, see http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=8925 Gragt's preview, second half. Let's Play: Icewind Dale Ironman (Complete) Let's Play: Icewind Dale II Ironman (Complete) Let's Play: Divinity II (Complete) Let's Play: Baldur's Gate Trilogy Ironman - BG1 (Complete) Let's Play: Baldur's Gate Trilogy Ironman - BG2 (In Progress)
WorstUsernameEver Posted April 24, 2013 Posted April 24, 2013 (edited) Backed this at a low tier, but with projects like P:E, TToN and others, I somehow can't muster up much enthusiasm about this one. Halp? Watch one of the many video previews that show footage played co-operatively. IMO they do a good job pointing out how Divinity: Original Sin is different from the various KS projects that have been funded so far. That said, this is a campaign for extra funding so you can just wait for the game's release, which is all but assured, and judge then. Edited April 24, 2013 by WorstUsernameEver
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