We are getting closer...

posted on September 22nd, 2008, 7:10 pm

The sort of thing that TanEdos and Skitzeh have expressed is the same thing I posted earlier in this thread. Why just donaters? Is that really a fair representation of type of people who can balance FO? ... or will they get first dibbs and later on others get to state how they feel the game should play?

If multiple patches are planned, then hopefully this will address the above issues... otherwise, it could possibly end up imba

posted on September 23rd, 2008, 12:00 am

[...]otherwise, it could possibly end up imba

I think you miss the point. FO beta tester will only play the game and won't be able to change settings directly. I am quite sure the FO staff will play their game theirself, but want to hear some more opinions.
Being nervous the game could get imbalanced just because beta testers will be recruited from donators is definitly not logical. There is no proof or disproof the donators won't be capable enough testing the game.

At the beginning of this thread I hoped and believed that there won't be no flaming, whining or arguing at all. The beta key is something like a reward for me, something the donators get because their financial support show high interest in the game. In fact, there is no real flaming or whining, yet. But I am curious about the next 20 posts.

Now, the arguing begins. "Ooooh, I am so damn nervous, maybe the game will suck. This would be awful, because...aeehhh....hmmm...to be honest - I haven't paid for the game. I didn't even have to go to the game store to get the game. I just downloaded it. Fast and easy. Hmmm.
Nevertheless - I do have  significant arguments why not only donators should get a beta key."

Oh man, these guys are developing this game for years. The balancing in V3 wasn't perfect. Neither was it a disaster.

Did you trust the staff so far? Trust them now! I do.

The staff's decision is absolutly fair.
Oh, and there will be support für V3, as they mentioned. Problems will be solved with a patch, for sure.

posted on September 23rd, 2008, 1:09 am

I am new to the message boards but i have been following this mod ever since its first beta released and i would love to test it. I have the time i would be glad to donate, it would be like buying a game to me just tell me how much and i would need help setting up pay pal. My msn is gamewiz86@hotmail.com. I know i know i will be critisised for donating just for testing but i have the spare time to do it if u guys need me.

posted on September 23rd, 2008, 2:25 am

There is an absolutely MASSIVE point of debate within RTS communities about how a game should be balanced, whether they should be balanced from the "top-down" or tailored towards lower skill players.

Communities currently lean quite heavily towards being balanced from the "top-down" (by the BEST players) as they have the clearest perspective of units and abilities within the game.

posted on September 23rd, 2008, 3:18 am

to be fair i dnt think that fo will ever be balanced to everyones standards but the testers are really to check bugs or major imbalancement like a typo in a ship stats that make an venture more resiliant than a sovereign

posted on September 23rd, 2008, 7:48 am

[...]
The balancing in V3 wasn't perfect. Neither was it a disaster.
[...]

bruhahahahahahaha; sry for that but bruhahahahha; nothing against doca and optec but it is better not to speak of the V3 PR balance;

though I also hope this won't end up in a flame fest, but given from my personal experience it will;

regarding the "you didn't pay for it and the download is fast as well":: as a small reminder Star Trek is dead. LegaCrap was the last twitch a dead horse made and it was an awful twitch. It is true that I didn't donate anything, but I still want to see a polished fun to play product and not a game were the only "intelligent" choice is to pick race X cause their destroyer Y is to cheap given the power it has.

while I don't say that the donator's are all silly hats, I somehow believe that there is a real difference how a Play4Fun and a Play2Win player plays and sees a game. Be it the way he plays the game or otherwise.

posted on September 23rd, 2008, 3:55 pm

First of all: This is a great news for all of us. Finally FO will be released soon!

Now about the beta testers: It is FO teams right to choose the beta testers any way they want it. If they want to repay the donators in this way, thats great and if in the meantime they incurage some more donators even better They have been working hard on this mod and they have not received much funds from it, so I do understand them. Also if a person has donated this means that they must be interested in the mod and so will do everything they can to test it. If other people would do a better job at it I do not know, what I do know is that some people might not have any money to donate and they can be just as passionate as the ones that have donated. What I also know is that the word donation means that you give your money to some cause and you, personally, usually do not get anything back for your money, basically you are doing this for the greater good

Of course this choice is the one that the FO team made, not everyone will probably agree with it. Honestly I cant blame them for the choice, it is a pretty logical one. I just hope the donators do the proper beta testing, for the sake of all of us

BTW: If u find a place for a non-donator Id love to help, especially now that I have time with the school only about to start

posted on September 24th, 2008, 2:27 pm

BTW: How will you guys choose which donators will be beta testers? Or is that already decided?
Also it would be nice if you told us who are the beta testers (once they are chosen ) - so we can squeeze some info out of them 

posted on September 24th, 2008, 2:34 pm

every donator can participate in the beta test if he or she likes.
there will be a thread where you just give your agreement to some (standard) guidelines for the closed test. after that i will send out emails to the testers with a personal download link.

posted on September 24th, 2008, 5:11 pm

Khmmm thats a lot of beta testers....

The more the better it is for us I guess

posted on September 24th, 2008, 6:20 pm

It sounds good I cannot wait.

posted on September 30th, 2008, 3:40 pm

So tommorow some of you guys are going to get just about the most anticipated mod in the world right now. Lucky bastards

I hope at least you can post some general impressions after a few games.

posted on September 30th, 2008, 3:46 pm

So tommorow some of you guys are going to get just about the most anticipated mod in the world right now. Lucky bastards

I hope at least you can post some general impressions after a few games.

Aye. But I guess the donators aren't allowed to spoil too much are they?

posted on September 30th, 2008, 5:26 pm

So tommorow some of you guys are going to get just about the most anticipated mod in the world right now. Lucky bastards

I hope at least you can post some general impressions after a few games.

Ill promise ill spoil as much as i can to you Aslong its allowed that is I called myself in as sick for tomorrow xD

posted on September 30th, 2008, 6:17 pm

We are the borg prepare mod for assimilation           

im getting a warm fuzzy feeling