posted 12-31- 01:12 PM
We are just days from the start of the Nations beta test. I'm working on a few details before the start of the test behind the scenes, but one of the key elements to a beta test of course is... beta testers! This will be a closed beta to avoid large-scale OLS problems down the road, but I will open the test to the general community as opposed to previous versions where only Nations members were eligible. The reason for this is two-fold; first, the project has been going on for nearly two years ( 
), and some of the people have already moved on unfortunately. Second, this is going to be the last time new countries are added to the game unless someone can make a really, really compelling argument otherwise. A bit more on this later. Given this fact, and the fact that this version will see a very different set of download options for the end-user, it needs very thorough testing. I already have a list of possible trouble spots that testers will need to go through, but there may be other things that have crept in. If you're interested in signing on for this beta test, please be aware of the following: You will be required to test Nv3 on a fresh install, so patience and a high speed connection (to get PP6.0, 6.1, Patch.10) is recommended. Also, I figure that a beta tester who does a thorough job can expect to spend several hours testing. I won't say how many because some people are a little more efficient than others, but this is not the same scale of testing that is required for a single airplane for instance. Familiarity with the Mission editor is also a big plus, you'll need it.
So, after I've gone and made this sound like a trip to beta boot camp, why on earth would you want to sign on? Well for one, assuming this is tested properly it should get a relatively trouble free release. It's a good feeling being part of the QA on a project like that. Second, since this will become part of the online standard (more on this later), it is important that it be released as bug-free as possible, for the sake of the community. If you care about the community and aren't able to contribute by building planes or objects but would like to, somehow, this could be just the ticket for you.
My target is a dedicated team of a half dozen individuals, give or take a little. If you are interested, please send me an email (my email is at the top of this post on the mail icon). Please indicate in your email what kind of connection you have and what kind of beta testing experience you have had in the past If I get a flood of mail (hehe, yeah right) from people asking to beta test, I will pick those who were a part of Nations first, with beta experience second and high speed connections third. I'm not trying to be a jerk or dictator or anything, this is for entirely pragmatic reasons. Nv1 had a small beta test team, and we caught virtually all the bugs. Nv2 had a big beta test team, and we missed some glaring ones, like the WWIOP loader screen I was using at the time which then 'shipped' with Nv2. I hope everyone understands. 
Regarding online standard... Nv3 full version is going to be big, I won't deny that. We're adding five countries to the existing eight, that's a big increase. Because of this, the end-user will instead download "NCP3" (Nations Compliance Pack 3) and then the sounds, medals and other GUI info on a per-country basis. This way they are compatible online, but only have as much on their system as they really want. This system is more complicated than the old one-file method, so again the need for strong beta testing. Anyhow, for those concerned about the increasing size of the OLS, hopefully this will set your mind at ease somewhat.
Any questions, comments or complaints, please feel free to email me.
Cheers,
Werner
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Werner Molders
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