利用者:Lmenscf

Some of you probably already heard about our plans to set up some kind of development servers to try out and finetune features which have not been released yet. We already shared a rough concept with the PvP focus group to hear what they think about it. Since our plans have started to take more shape lately, we would like to present and explain the concept to you, provide some information on our reasons behind the idea, and inform you about what you can expect, and when.

Usually, major game updates are preceded by a private test with selected player groups, e.g. tutors, and a bigger public test follows later. Many players enjoy these tests since they give them a chance to try out new content and features before their release. They already get a first impression on what will await them after the next update or patch.

Especially during the private test, dedicated players help us to identify bugs or imbalances that have been missed during our internal tests. They provide valuable feedback about technical issues but also about design issues relating to new gameplay features or content.

Nevertheless, due to the voluntary and rather unfocused nature of private and public tests, their limited duration and artificial test environment, they are usually less satisfactory when it comes to predicting long term effects, and providing extensive feedback about controversial feature sets and game dynamics such as in PvP or vocation balancing, topics on which opinions often differ widely or sometimes even clash directly.

During public tests, there is often a conflict of interests between players who would like to test new content and features without being interrupted, and those who are mainly looking for PvP fights and fun. Furthermore, there are certain aspects and complex constellations which cannot be simulated sufficiently in tests because they only exist on live servers, e.g. the house system or the guild system. If you have already joined a test once, you may have experienced that many players are also inclined to take more risks since you hardly lose anything there in case of death. Experience and skill loss is considered secondary since it does not affect your "real" characters on live servers, and test server assistants provide you with money. Also, you can find lots of rare items scattered around in cities since they are practically of no value. Considering these aspect, the behaviour of players during tests obviously differs from that on live servers, and thus, is not really representative on a larger scale.