No wonder more ppl don't come to test

[Floridasmb]

<div>I decide I would like to try out the new live update on test.  So dbl click the "TestEQ" icon.</div><div> </div><div>I have a cable modem that gets very fast downloads.  EQ is saying it is going to take 12+ hours to download all the data.</div><div> </div><div>Are you kidding me?  I this right or did I do something wrong?</div>

[your savior]

Copy all of your files in the EQ2 folder into the test folder, excluding the test folder, and try again.  It will drop from 12 hours to 12 minutes.<div></div>

[Paradigm]

<div></div><div>Might want to start by copying all the current files in your regular eq2 directory and paste them into the test folder...</div><div> </div><div>That will cut the download time by a good 99%....</div><p>Message Edited by Paradigmer on <span class="date_text">01-19-2006</span><span class="time_text">09:44 AM</span></p>

[Pins]

<div>You didn't read the instructions, hence why it's going to download everything required, which in the case of you not copying the files over is the entire game.</div><div>Go to this file, C:Program FilesSonyEverQuest IITestServerTestServerHelp.txt, and read it, it will explain exactly what you need to do to make the installation of EQ2 for the test server a lot faster.</div>

[Fe]

<div>yeah you ca leave out the cache and logincache folders too</div><div> </div><div>it,s all in TestServerHelp.txt in the TestServer folder</div>

[SniplenButterfigs]

<div></div>Yeah no wonder more people don't go to test, gotta read the instructions first.:smileyvery-happy:

[Moorgard]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Feda wrote:<BR> <DIV>yeah you ca leave out the cache and logincache folders too</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>it,s all in <STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000 size=6>TestServerHelp.txt <FONT color=#ffffff>in the</FONT> TestServer <FONT color=#ffffff>folder</FONT></FONT></STRONG></DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Emphasized for clarity.

[Vulking]

<div></div><div><blockquote><p>__________________</p><p>Moorguard wrote:</p><p></p><hr>Feda wrote:<div>yeah you ca leave out the cache and logincache folders too</div><div> </div><div>it,s all in <strong><font color="#ff0000" size="6">TestServerHelp.txt <font color="#ffffff">in the</font> TestServer <font color="#ffffff">folder</font></font></strong></div><hr></blockquote>Emphasized for clarity.</div><div>_________________________</div><div> </div><div> </div><div><strong><font color="#6666ff" size="5"><font color="#66cc00">LOL!</font>  I thought I was the only one that did that!</font></strong></div>:smileytongue:

[jb-]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>SniplenButterfigs wrote:<div></div>Yeah no wonder more people don't go to test, gotta read the instructions first.:smileyvery-happy:<hr></blockquote><strong>LOL :smileywink:</strong>

[ArivenGemini]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Moorgard wrote:<div></div><blockquote><hr>Feda wrote:<div>yeah you ca leave out the cache and logincache folders too</div><div> </div><div>it,s all in <strong><font color="#ff0000" size="6">TestServerHelp.txt <font color="#ffffff">in the</font> TestServer <font color="#ffffff">folder</font></font></strong></div><hr></blockquote>Emphasized for clarity.<hr></blockquote>What would it take to have the program executed by the testserver icon to check to see if the testserver folder has had the files needed copied already and offer to do so for you?</span></div>

[Rene]

<div></div><p>I too have thought that the system is set up to be overly complicated.  Wouldn't it be fairly simple to ship the game with a little program added to the beginning of the Test Server Launcher, that asks you if you have played on test yet, and if not, if you would like to copy the etc... files over to your Test Folder... with all the warnings etc.  Leaving an advanced option there for people who are really computer savy and want to install it a particular way.</p><p>Just a thought.  Make it a little easier and you might end up with more people who try out test.. and some who end up finding out the really enjoy it.. and become great testers.</p>

[Throbus]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Rene wrote:<div></div><p>I too have thought that the system is set up to be overly complicated.  Wouldn't it be fairly simple to ship the game with a little program added to the beginning of the Test Server Launcher, that asks you if you have played on test yet, and if not, if you would like to copy the etc... files over to your Test Folder... with all the warnings etc.  Leaving an advanced option there for people who are really computer savy and want to install it a particular way.</p><hr></blockquote>LOL! With so many people griping about "dumbing down" the game, this sounds like "dumbing down" reality. LOL!I'm not flaming. But, it really struck me as funny. <span>:smileyvery-happy:</span></span></div>

[Tallika_Runwithbears]

everyone wants their hand held or else their reading comprehension skills are really low.<div></div>

[Miracole]

if i were you i'd delete this post since you have embarrassed yourself enough already<span><blockquote><hr>dndcompany1 wrote:<div>I decide I would like to try out the new live update on test.  So dbl click the "TestEQ" icon.</div><div> </div><div>I have a cable modem that gets very fast downloads.  EQ is saying it is going to take 12+ hours to download all the data.</div><div> </div><div>Are you kidding me?  I this right or did I do something wrong?</div><hr></blockquote></span><div></div>

[ArivenGemini]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Tallika_Runwithbears wrote:everyone wants their hand held or else their reading comprehension skills are really low.<div></div><hr></blockquote>Why does it count as having their hand held if it behaved as the regular icon does.. i.e. "just works"....   why do people have to search through more directories and hunt down special instructions either there or on the forums instead of just clicking the test EQ icon that is given to us?Why do you have to be so condescending of other people who are genuinely interested in testing things out but who happen to not want to go to the extra effort when it could be automated and made easier for everyone involved?The whole idea of a computer is to automate the reptitive tasks and drudgery, not make people jump through hoops to participate..    you want a higher turnout on test, then make it seemless.</span></div>

[KBern]

<div></div><p>Yes god forbid things are made more user friendly.</p><p>I thought after reading this title it would be something about the inability to copy to test....that is prob one of the biggest reasons people dont go there.</p>

[Sarkoris]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>Ariven wrote:<div><span><blockquote><hr>Tallika_Runwithbears wrote:everyone wants their hand held or else their reading comprehension skills are really low.<div></div><hr></blockquote>Why does it count as having their hand held if it behaved as the regular icon does.. i.e. "just works"....   why do people have to search through more directories and hunt down special instructions either there or on the forums instead of just clicking the test EQ icon that is given to us?Why do you have to be so condescending of other people who are genuinely interested in testing things out but who happen to not want to go to the extra effort when it could be automated and made easier for everyone involved?The whole idea of a computer is to automate the reptitive tasks and drudgery, not make people jump through hoops to participate..    you want a higher turnout on test, then make it seemless.</span></div><hr></blockquote><p>It does just work as you requested. But if you will not read the instructions (not a good start for someone wanting to test new changes) then sit through the automated 12 hour+ download. And no I am not trying to be condescending here, but you do realise that even copying the files from live to test folder can take 30+ minutes and may worry the computer noice when there machine stops responding for that length of time.</p><p>So is summary it does work automatically, just not as fast as the non automated method.</p><p>Sark.</p><p> </p>

[Throbus]

<div></div><div><span><blockquote><hr>Ariven wrote:<div><span><blockquote><hr>Tallika_Runwithbears wrote:everyone wants their hand held or else their reading comprehension skills are really low.<div></div><hr></blockquote>Why does it count as having their hand held if it behaved as the regular icon does.. i.e. "just works"....   why do people have to search through more directories and hunt down special instructions either there or on the forums instead of just clicking the test EQ icon that is given to us?Why do you have to be so condescending of other people who are genuinely interested in testing things out but who happen to not want to go to the extra effort when it could be automated and made easier for everyone involved?The whole idea of a computer is to automate the reptitive tasks and drudgery, not make people jump through hoops to participate..    you want a higher turnout on test, then make it seemless.</span></div><hr></blockquote>I want to reinforce what Sarkoris said. Double-clicking that icon right away DOES work as expected: BIG LONG PATCH! Anyone with the wits to find the testserver folder should have the wits to see and read the TXT file sitting in there.Ironically, if they rewrote the TestEQ launcher/patcher as you suggest, the forums would be afire with complaints of "Why are you wasting time re-coding the @#$^& launcher instead of fixing the existing problems?!?" If you peruse these forums much, you know what I mean.<span>:smileywink:</span>If you suggest they should have done this from the beginning, I say the same thing applies. I'm not a programmer; but, based on the way the TestEQ launcher works, I'm pretty sure it's identical to the regular launcher, except points to a different starting point for servers, characters, etc.</span></div>

[ArivenGemini]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Sarkoris wrote:<div></div><blockquote><hr>Ariven wrote:<div><span><blockquote><hr>Tallika_Runwithbears wrote:everyone wants their hand held or else their reading comprehension skills are really low.<div></div><hr></blockquote>Why does it count as having their hand held if it behaved as the regular icon does.. i.e. "just works"....   why do people have to search through more directories and hunt down special instructions either there or on the forums instead of just clicking the test EQ icon that is given to us?Why do you have to be so condescending of other people who are genuinely interested in testing things out but who happen to not want to go to the extra effort when it could be automated and made easier for everyone involved?The whole idea of a computer is to automate the reptitive tasks and drudgery, not make people jump through hoops to participate..    you want a higher turnout on test, then make it seemless.</span></div><hr></blockquote><p>It does just work as you requested. But if you will not read the instructions (not a good start for someone wanting to test new changes) then sit through the automated 12 hour+ download. And no I am not trying to be condescending here, but you do realise that even copying the files from live to test folder can take 30+ minutes and may worry the computer noice when there machine stops responding for that length of time.</p><p>So is summary it does work automatically, just not as fast as the non automated method.</p><hr></blockquote>No it does not "just work"   it works how the main launcher does.. it does NOT offer to take care fo that administrative detail that cuts down the download time...  "just works" being in quotes is intended to signal to you (the reader) that it works as it should not as it does now...  adding extra downloads like that to the mix adds extra consumption of bandwidth to SOE and the end user unlucky enough to not figure this out..    mucking about copying files en masse like this should be done automagically for the end user and NOT manually by them...You would see more people in test, and I am not saying a LOT more but definately more if it was made easier to work with and get involved with the system.   And as we all know having a larger test population means more testers who might catch things and a better ability to catch volume of user related issues.So in summary, it should work automatically in the most effective and least bandwidth consuming method..  with the least intervention by the end user possible.</span></div>

[ArivenGemini]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Throbus wrote:<div></div><div><span><blockquote><hr>Ariven wrote:<div><span><blockquote><hr>Tallika_Runwithbears wrote:everyone wants their hand held or else their reading comprehension skills are really low.<div></div><hr></blockquote>Why does it count as having their hand held if it behaved as the regular icon does.. i.e. "just works"....   why do people have to search through more directories and hunt down special instructions either there or on the forums instead of just clicking the test EQ icon that is given to us?Why do you have to be so condescending of other people who are genuinely interested in testing things out but who happen to not want to go to the extra effort when it could be automated and made easier for everyone involved?The whole idea of a computer is to automate the reptitive tasks and drudgery, not make people jump through hoops to participate..    you want a higher turnout on test, then make it seemless.</span></div><hr></blockquote>I want to reinforce what Sarkoris said. Double-clicking that icon right away DOES work as expected: BIG LONG PATCH! Anyone with the wits to find the testserver folder should have the wits to see and read the TXT file sitting in there.Ironically, if they rewrote the TestEQ launcher/patcher as you suggest, the forums would be afire with complaints of "Why are you wasting time re-coding the @#$^& launcher instead of fixing the existing problems?!?" If you peruse these forums much, you know what I mean.<span>:smileywink:</span>If you suggest they should have done this from the beginning, I say the same thing applies. I'm not a programmer; but, based on the way the TestEQ launcher works, I'm pretty sure it's identical to the regular launcher, except points to a different starting point for servers, characters, etc.</span></div><hr></blockquote>No, it does not work as expected... expectations are that it works, works well and works right...   it does not work well if it addes tremendous download time that it just does not need to do.Plus the concept that people will complain if it gets fixed causing people to complain is irrelevant.. it is something that -should- be done if they wish to have more people playing on test..</span></div>

[Sarkoris]

<div></div><p>Sad to say I think this is a moot point as what one person considers fixed will not be enough for others. The bottom line is that if you follow the simple procedures documented in the test folder you get a short update of the files different from live. If you click the testeq icon it downloads the files for you. Yes you can expect them to make it more user friendly, but as I said above, there will always be the next person that doesn't like the way it works and wants something else changed.</p><p>If you spend all your time trying to please everyone you end up pleasing noone.</p><p>Sark.</p>

[EvilIguana9]

Personally one of the reasons I have never tried out the test server is the requirement to basically souble the size of the EQ2 directory.  I very much understand that test uses different versions of the gamedata than live, but I'm also rather certain that the vast majority of the datafiles are identical.  I can't help but think that it would be a reasonably simple process to make the test server update check consistency against the live directory and then only download files to the test directory that differ from the live game.  FPS games typically have a heirarchal file structure like this, whereby when the game loads the data for a particular mod it loads everything it needs from the base game except things that are superceded by the mod data, which it pulls from the mod directory and loads in place.  That way 3rd party mods don't have to reproduce EVERYTHING from scratch or go to the trouble of duplicating necessary gamedata files in a different directory.  I see no reason why EQ2 couldn't do the same thing.  It would make trying out the test server a bit less of a hassle for people.<div></div>

[Louis_M]

<div></div>i figured it was an iq test..and only the smart ones read the obivous txt file in test folder wich does offer clear instructions on how to quikly play on test server..plus only 2 files in testserver directory on is testserverhelp.txt and the other is the testeq2.exe..not to mention their is at least one FAQ on the forums for playing on test and is also hotlinked on another section of everquest 2 website that links to server status page and the like..i don't think SOE needs to explain the procedure more then 1 and they have it in 3 seperate places..it falls under the old computer slang for techs as RTFM

[salerene]

<div></div><p>hate to say it, but fact is most computer users have NO idea how to go into thier hard drive or what a hard drive is. let alone copying files from one folder to another.</p><p>Not everyone that plays online games is computer savy enough to do this. the idea that was stated is a great idea. I know several people that I work with that use computers all day for several years have no clue how to defrag thier harddrive or copy a file from one folder to another and others that couldn't tell you how big thier hard drive is. They always say that its like 1gig or something.</p><p>just because some of us understand computers better doesnt mean everyone  that plays does.</p>

[agentsix]

the test server should require some extra thinking to setup and log in. if you can't figure it out you should be testing anything. how can you troubleshoot an in-game problem with a gm if you can follow 4 or 5 simple steps?<div></div>

[Mathe]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>EvilIguana966 wrote:Personally one of the reasons I have never tried out the test server is the requirement to basically souble the size of the EQ2 directory.  I very much understand that test uses different versions of the gamedata than live, but I'm also rather certain that the vast majority of the datafiles are identical.  I can't help but think that it would be a reasonably simple process to make the test server update check consistency against the live directory and then only download files to the test directory that differ from the live game.  FPS games typically have a heirarchal file structure like this, whereby when the game loads the data for a particular mod it loads everything it needs from the base game except things that are superceded by the mod data, which it pulls from the mod directory and loads in place.  That way 3rd party mods don't have to reproduce EVERYTHING from scratch or go to the trouble of duplicating necessary gamedata files in a different directory.  I see no reason why EQ2 couldn't do the same thing.  It would make trying out the test server a bit less of a hassle for people.<div></div><hr></blockquote><p>Mods are very different programming structures and functions than a Test server, it is not an applicable comparison.</p><p>The reason they have everything seperate is because it is Test, things can go wrong, that is why there is a Test server. What if a change, say wipes out a group of files by mistake, well if it wasn't seperate you would have to completely uninstall and reinstall the game, not exactly something most people want to do. While not likely, it is possible for crucial game data to be somehow overwritten to make the game unplayable. Before arguing that they should test that before hand so that won't happen, the point of Test is to test to make sure that doesn't happen before putting that on the test server.</p><p>Besides before you copy data into the Test server folder, there are only 2 files in the Test Folder, the program to start it, and the Help text file, considering they though to put that in there, I don't see why it is so difficult to read, it is only a couple of paragraphs.</p>

[fishf]

<div><font size="2">Well some of us did read the instructions and still cant get on the bloody test server ! I did all the instructions say (took about 20 mins to update) and it just loads up with "trying to connect to login server #1 ".. then it says it cant because it might be busy blah blah..... i have been trying for at least 5 days now 3 or 4 times a night and absolutely no luck ! I have even deleted the directory and started it all again but no luck.. So what the hell am i doing wrong?????</font></div>

[retro_guy]

I had a few issue setting up Test as well, after reading the instructions over on 4 separate occasions, I read them PROPERLY and figured out what I was doing wrong LOL2/10 for reading comprehension<div></div>

[EvilIguana9]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>Matheau wrote:<blockquote><hr>EvilIguana966 wrote:Personally one of the reasons I have never tried out the test server is the requirement to basically souble the size of the EQ2 directory.  I very much understand that test uses different versions of the gamedata than live, but I'm also rather certain that the vast majority of the datafiles are identical.  I can't help but think that it would be a reasonably simple process to make the test server update check consistency against the live directory and then only download files to the test directory that differ from the live game.  FPS games typically have a heirarchal file structure like this, whereby when the game loads the data for a particular mod it loads everything it needs from the base game except things that are superceded by the mod data, which it pulls from the mod directory and loads in place.  That way 3rd party mods don't have to reproduce EVERYTHING from scratch or go to the trouble of duplicating necessary gamedata files in a different directory.  I see no reason why EQ2 couldn't do the same thing.  It would make trying out the test server a bit less of a hassle for people.<hr></blockquote><p>Mods are very different programming structures and functions than a Test server, it is not an applicable comparison.</p><p>The reason they have everything seperate is because it is Test, things can go wrong, that is why there is a Test server. What if a change, say wipes out a group of files by mistake, well if it wasn't seperate you would have to completely uninstall and reinstall the game, not exactly something most people want to do. While not likely, it is possible for crucial game data to be somehow overwritten to make the game unplayable. Before arguing that they should test that before hand so that won't happen, the point of Test is to test to make sure that doesn't happen before putting that on the test server.</p><p>Besides before you copy data into the Test server folder, there are only 2 files in the Test Folder, the program to start it, and the Help text file, considering they though to put that in there, I don't see why it is so difficult to read, it is only a couple of paragraphs.</p><hr></blockquote>I disagree.   I see absolutely no reason why the test server could damage live files in your one example but not in the other.  I think the comparison is quite applicable.  I personally am quite capable of getting the test game working, it's just that I'm not a big fan of multiple gigabytes of totally redundant files, not enough of a fan to overcome my other reservations</span><span></span><span> at least.  I'm sure I represent a rather small portion of the overall playerbase of course, I'm just thinking of small ways to make test server playing less of a hassle.  Really the biggest help would be the ability to copy a live character over to test, but that would cause far too many problems to be a real possibility. </span></div>

[TeflonS7]

I think what the previous poster said was perfectly clear.  The reason why Test files don't bugger up Live files is BECAUSE they are separate.  If they used the same files, he is absolutely right that something that they are testing could [Removed for Content] your regular installation.  Not to mention the fact that you would need to d/l back to the original files when moving back to live.

[EvilIguana9]

<div><span><blockquote><hr>TeflonS7 wrote:I think what the previous poster said was perfectly clear.  The reason why Test files don't bugger up Live files is BECAUSE they are separate.  If they used the same files, he is absolutely right that something that they are testing could [Removed for Content] your regular installation.  Not to mention the fact that you would need to d/l back to the original files when moving back to live.<hr></blockquote>Wrong.  The game would not touch the live files at all.  If there is a newer version of said file on test the game would download it into the test directory and use it instead, if not then it just reads from the live directory.  The only process performed on the live files would be loading them into memory when no updated version exists in the test directory.  Any bug that would result in corrupted live files is just as likely to happen with the current test setup, or when playing the live game.  Lots of other games do this just fine, and all manner of changes can be made to the game mod data and code without touching the data in the base directory or other mods.  As long as the game engine is sound there will be no problems at all. The test directory will still exist, it will just ONLY need to have files that differ from live.  The vast majority of the game data is unchanged, including many hundreds of megs of voiceovers, 3d meshes, textures, zone files, and so on and so forth, so it doesn't need 2 unmodified copies. </span></div>

[Purg]

<div></div><p>also note if you COPY the testserver start icon to the desktop, not make A SHORT CUT, it will try and install the game on the desk top and hence download all the 4gb of files again.</p><p>Bare in mind the data size of have two copies of the game is very large, so by copying, and warning people in the help file it warns people what is about to commence.</p><p>It is simple enough if you can follow the instructions.</p><p>The test server in my opinion should be kept as similar to the live server as possible as to faciliatate testing.</p><p>Also if it is automated, what would happen if some one did a custom install or had modified the file location etc.</p>