Now You Are In | MMORTS Gamers Guide to BETA Testing | Gaming Articles

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Now You Are In ....
Make sure you install the Software fast
The first bug test and typically the most important at the start is the install. Developers wish this most mundane task to be over asap and get onto the game they have been crafting. Help them by collecting error reports, events, observations, and especially send them a dxdiag report with your first support request. They may have other requirements and wish them to be in a ordered format. Adhere to this as it will help them trace and archive the issues properly. Try and examine your own drivers, chipset, ram, swap file size, and anything else that may be sitting right in front of you. Most gamers get blasé about their machines and specifications change.
Anything That Doesn’t Work As Expected Is a Bug
If you attempt to use an aspect of the game or a control, and something unexpected or incorrect happens, but the game continues, report as a bug. Try to describe everything you did leading up to it as bugs have to be replicated to crack them. It goes without saying that the crash/error screens or windows need to be copied and sent along with a crash report. As before, try to describe enough to allow the developers to duplicate the crash.
PLAY the game... really play it
Try and play the game as you would normally or however the developer’s request. Try to observe graphical issues or menu issues and report. A screenshot utility would be useful to have installed at this point as sometimes it’s hard to describe glitches. Try to replicate bugs yourself at this point before raising them, unless it’s an already raised issue, whereupon you can confirm the issue.
Take me, break me..
The most loved testers are typically the rare geniuses who stretch a game to its limits and break it. Developers really want to know this stuff early before they implement more complex or overlapping game elements. So where you’re asked to type in a word into a dialog, type in a load of numbers. Or don’t type anything in at all. If you’re asked to keep a password between 6-10 characters, type in 2. Or 50. Or nothing. Play it like it’s NOT meant to be played. Once begun upon this path, mundane testing fades into the background it seems and you acquire a dark glow that others begin to notice...
Follow those breadcrumbs
If you notice behaviour or issues dealt with previously after a new build or patch, follow the breadcrumbs. Go back to the previous report and duplicate the stages that led to the initial bug. Some issues are buried not solved and developers can lose track and assume it’s fixed. New game elements can uncover these bugs and need dealing with before submerging again.
Good luck with the BETA you try, encourage developers to engage the community as early as possible by showing them what we can do. Dont forget - they are not just another FREE game.