how to get more people playing on test

[Lunani]

<div></div><a href="http://eqplayers.station.sony.com/news_article.vm?id=50112" target="_blank">http://eqplayers.station.sony.com/news_article.vm?id=50112</a>All Expansions Come to the Test Server!In addition to the other nifty bonuses for playing on the Test server, now anyone playing on Test can also experience all the expansions as well! Simply download all the expansion files by making sure you have all expansions checked when you log into Test and you will be able to experience the entire game.This benefit to all Test server players is in addition to:# Double XP# Ability to test buff your character to 25# All Veteran Rewards regardless of account eligibility# Need only one flagged raid member to enter a flagged areaThe bonus access to the expansions while on Test will not give you access to all the expansions on Live servers though. You will still be required to purchase any expansion you wish to use on a regular Live server.<hr size="2" width="100%">just found this on the eq1 website. I think it's a pretty good idea. free expansions and veteran rewards for those who play on test. If SOE did the same in EQ2 they could get a lot more people playing on test.sure, SOE would lose some money in the beginning, but if more people help testing the overall quality of the game should become better. In my opinion a very good investment if more people are happy with the gamewhat do you think about that?

[Ceruline]

<DIV>I'd be totally in favor.  Actually, all of those EQ1 Test incentives sound as if they'd be pretty good incentives here, without damaging the community.  Granted, it would be better to try introducing incentives one at a time.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think we're even at the point where being able to testbuff to 25 wouldn't really be too harmful to the server.  Now that the level cap is 70, buffing to 25 really doesn't upset balanced much, if at all.   </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The one issue I foresee with doing something like that for expansions is how much larger (In terms of file sizes) EQ2 expansions are than EQ1 ones.  I guess they manage all that bandwidth for Betas, but those are usually closed populations.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>We are sort of getting to the point where we could really use a new population infusion.  I think if they did something like this, especially just prior to echoes with the introduction of a new race and starting area, it could help us a lot.</DIV>

[Sunrayn]

<DIV>If SOE ever did this on EQ2, I would be gone, permanently.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Look, why is it that people have to be handed everything and more just to get them to play on test?  The opportunity is there, all...proddies...have to do is log in.  They dont.  They wait till an update is coming that affects THEIR class then, whine and moan about not being able to copy their live character to test because us testers dont know how to test.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Adding incentives to play on test isnt going to solve anything.  Hell, they could let testers play for free and it still wouldnt bring people to test, at least, not the kind of people we need or would even want.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Test already has a 50% exp bonus, uncontested raid targets, uncontested quest targets, wide open empty zones for soloers and small groups, a population that would give stuff away rather than put it on the broker.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And honestly, does test really want a whole server full of Errrrrrrrrrrrics or Lances, or some of those other annoying people that would flock to test just to be [Removed for Content], permanently?</DIV>

[Ceruline]

<DIV>I understand the concerns, Sunrayn, but the fact is that the population trend on Test is a bit alarming.  Right now we're not even holding constant but we've declined significantly.  CoW left for the PvP servers, others will leave eventually for other games.  We're not replenishing at the rate that we're losing, and if this continues on we become less and less useful as a testing community.  As is, we have a lot of trouble getting through the highest end content due to a lack of population.  We've only just started to manage raiding again, and we're only managing T6 to this point.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>What I want to avoid more than anything else is for the usefulness of our full time testing community to deteriorate to the extent where SOE starts to consider allowing free-for-all copies to the server.  That's the big threat that can kill us, not the small perks which might tilt the scales for someone who had only been considering playing here.</DIV><p>Message Edited by Ceruline on <span class=date_text>05-09-2006</span> <span class=time_text>11:38 AM</span>

[Sunrayn]

<DIV>Gah, sometimes I wish I could put thoughts into words without saying something that I know will offend someone or get me banned but, I am a country boy who doesnt mince words or sugar coat anything...so here goes and may the mods be merciful.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Dedicated testers are like pioneers, we like seeing new things, breaking stuff.  We can handle adversity and overcome it.  We LIKE it hard.  Thats why we are here, living on the test server.  We dont care about server firsts, uber lists, KvD ratios, being number one in everything.  What we do care about is seeing Igram and Venos smiling as they kill us over and over again testing something.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Offering even more perks for making test server home wont bring pioneers.  Remember the...perk....during the spire building?  The insane exp that devs left in as a 'reward'.  Remember how people flocked to test from live to exploit it and level to 55+ in just a couple days?  Where are they now?  Yeah, gone.  Gone back to live the day that update went live.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Remember /testbuff hitting EQLive?  Remember proddies coming to test when live servers went down, /testbuffing, then standing around begging for money?  Then soon as live servers were back up, they all left.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The point I am trying to make is, offering free expansions, /testbuff, 200% exp bonus, free play on test, whatever else SOE comes up with, is not going to bring testers to test.  All it will bring is /bug...You NERFED my class, fix it.  /bug...this quest is broke, fix it now', 'OMG, this server suxx0rs', and other IQ dropping comments.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>That sort of behavior is what will kill the test server.  When the devs get sick of filtering through all the crap, whining, moaning, leet speak bug reports and feedback.  Sure, we may get a few people that are serious but, they will be lost among the hundreds of less than desireable people that will come.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The more perks that are offered to get someone to do something directly affects the quality of people that sign up for it.  In other words, the more you offer, the lazier and greedier the people are that accept that offer.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Yes, I do agree that our population is dropping.  The population of EQ2 as a whole is dropping.  I feel it is due to mistakes that SOE is making with the Un-vision they have for this game.  I just feel that bribery is not the way to fix our population.</DIV>

[Kadurm]

<P>I'm kinda seeing you both as right, sure the test server could use some more <FONT color=#ffffff><FONT color=#ffff00>TESTERS</FONT><EM><U><FONT color=#ffff00> </FONT></U></EM></FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ffffff>But</FONT><FONT color=#ffffff> what we dont need is what Sun was pointing out is a massive influx of doods and phat lewters. I think some sort of incentive might be nice, just to maybe draw attention to the existence of the server for a few that it might otherwise go un-noticed. </FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ffffff>I dont think that some massive amount of bonuses and whatnot is the answer. Maybe a reduced monthly cost. or even the free expansions.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ffffff>We will of course get some of the un desireables but we might also weed out some ppl that will become an asset to the server. How many of those *Spire babies* actually stuck around after finding out that the population on whole was fairly nice and good ppl. Some might have stayed for the low population for soloing. I think we got several long timers out of it..who knows.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ffffff>And no matter what happens..the test server will always be the brunt of offensive remarks and the cess pool of proddies with down servers and forthcoming patches. Its part of test, might as well accept that.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ffffff>We have some really REALLY good ppl on here...and with the recent readmittance of raiding, hopefully even better things on the horizon.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ffffff>We can only offer our feedback and heart felt thoughts reguarding our home.</FONT></P> <P><FONT color=#ffffff>What we dont want to do is tread down that * Elitest* tag we have been given by some.</FONT></P> <P> </P><p>Message Edited by Kadurm on <span class=date_text>05-09-2006</span> <span class=time_text>06:17 PM</span>

[Deila]

<P> </P> <P>Perhaps more advertising that Test is here, what we do, how we do it, and what the benefits are would help - my guess is that there are people out there who would be interested in contributing, but just don't know about Test, or somehow don't feel 'qualified'. I think that the general perception of Test out there is that it's solely for the most knowledgable, highest experts of EQ2 - which in part is where the 'elitest' preconception comes from. Some good information about what really goes on here on Test, put together in an easily accessable page from the EQ2 official site/forums, might go a long way - and could attract a more targeted audience than gameplay perks alone. Market Test, and market it to the intended audience. Shotgun marketing won't work in a desirable fashion.</P> <P>I agree that really both Cimee and Sunrayn are right in their ways. The real question comes more down to - how to attract more <EM>testers</EM> to Test, rather than just attracting <EM>people</EM> to Test. When attracting people in numbers, there's a chance that you'll retain some (usually small, in my experience) percentage of the constructive ones that want to help. The rest create so much noise that the good feedback can get lost though.</P> <P>Take, for example, my experiences on the SWG Test Center. One thing in particular - devs wanted to test a lot of stuff out in short order a few times, and wanted to get a lot of people there, so they installed the Blue Frogs (for those not familiar with the froggies, they were statues that you could click on to get skills for free, up to total full-template mastery, equipment, resources, vehicles, etc.). Rather than getting <EM>testers</EM>, yeah - they got <EM>people</EM> instead, interested only in 'testing' new skills templates for PvP, and did so constantly, and in mass. It got so bad at times that they had to outright ban quite a few people for flat out not listening when constantly told to stop PvPing in the cities, around the frogs, everywhere. Nothing that was to be tested really did get tested - too much noise from the goofballs who only came for the free leveling perks, filing reports about how such and such a template needed nerfed, and keeping the devs busy mostly just trying to maintain some semblance of control.</P> <P>Granted, without open PvP on EQ2 Test, the same scenario wouldn't occur. But the poor reporting creating noise and other warnings mentioned likely would.</P> <P>That's why I'm skeptical about offering too much in the way of real gameplay perks to entice players to Test. Those who are of a constructive mindset, who want to find the sneaky, hidden problems in the game that had gone unnoticed, aren't always so enamored with fast leveling and such. The current 50% bonus makes a nice perk for those choosing to reroll here, as I did, without being enough of a 'gimme' to bring power levelers or loot hunters with no interest whatsoever in the health of the game as a whole.</P> <P>Especially nervous about things like free expansions. Expansions are currently account-based. If Test players got free expansions, how many 'Test players' would we see here only looking to activate expansions for free, so they then could return to the new content on their live servers? Heh, you see the point.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Anything at all that was account-based would offer a reason to pretend to be a Test player to gain those benefits to their live server gameplay. Reduced monthly fees would certainly have the same effect. Only way I could see the reduced fees or free expansions work is if somehow accounts could be chosen by the player to be Test only - meaning they could not create characters on live servers on that account - so that the Test perks are really being offered only to those choosing Test as their home. And even that may be too restrictive for even dedicated Test players' tastes.</P> <P> </P>

[EtoilePirate]

The last real wave of new players to Test, as best as I can remember, are now all themselves in T7.  Pond's right; we're shrinking fast.  When I started on Test in February 2005, a /who all usually gave 90-100 players.  Over time, we started to hold steady at 75-80.  But I haven't seen a /who all return results greater than 65 since... um... before I went to the KoS Beta.I hate to concede anything to the masses, but they're right that we're running into some real population issues.  The people we have are teriffic people but there aren't enough.  The sad part is, Cimee, Sun, Pond, and Vyv are all right.  Truth be told, I hate paying $30 every time there's more content (who doesn't?) but I don't want it free on the Test server.  Also, EQ1 has, what, 10 or 11 expansions?  Many, at least.  EQ2 has two, and one now comes bundled with the base game.  We've heard of our 3rd but it won't even be in beta for a while yet.I think the best thing we have going for us is not the 150% experience.  Nor is it even the community.  Well, it is, but not by itself.  What we really have going for us is communication.  Igram and Venos are teriffic about getting our /bug and /feedback reports where they need to go, and about relaying us back what information they can.  We've also all gotten to know a few designer-types who show up from time to time to make things generally better.  (And amuse us a bit in the process.)Our real perks come from contribution.  I know many of us have been invited to and/or participated in the two expansion betas.  And I have seen for myself how something like Venos saying, "who wants to die?" in the Test channel gets about thirty responses.  "Who can help me with...?" never fails to elicit a response, because we all want to be part of making the game what it is.I think there are other people out there who really would relish the experience, but I think we need to... well, to market ourselves better to the [EQ2] world.  They think we're a bunch of elitist jerks who hate the Live servers -- the vast, vast majority of the playerbase!  And sometimes, really, we are.  That's to our shame, or should be.  So what if they really are a bunch of jerks?  If we want people to come play on Test -- and I agree, we badly need new blood -- we need to change our image.The community will be what it will be, and 50 or a hundred new players will not change that.  The Test community, in many ways, does not change, no matter who's in it.  And that's great, up to a point.  But going to long without change is called stagnation.  And we really, really, really don't want that.  Vyviel's disctinction between "players" and "Testers" is right on the money.  Pond is also right about the big threat.  Lately I've felt like that's a shoe just waiting to drop, regargless of what's been said in the past.So I guess my suggestion is outreach.  We get 6 (or 10) EXTRA character slots, to play on Test.  If you use all your Test slots and all your Live slots you can have 20 toons.  The people that would totally dig that are the kind of people who like to explore and try new things, and THOSE are the people we want on Test.  So that's an angle.  Then there's the chance really to be part of the process.I went out on the "In Testing Feedback" forum maybe a year ago and, in frustration, embarassed myself challenging players, "Why NOT play on Test?" I got back a lot of interesting answers.  (And my own fair share of the antagonistic crap I expected.)  But after working through it logically, three people came to test and sent me tells when they got there, saying that I was right, they had no good reason not to.  So that's another angle: what do they have to lose? Nothing.  And everything to gain.So many people complain that SOE doesn't listen, that they have no part in the process, that things simply <i>happen </i>without a process.  Those people are wrrong, and we know it.  So how can we (GENTLY) point out to them that here, right now, is the opportunity to be part of the solution?<div></div>

[Kethaera]

I think Vyviel has a good point when she stated that some people may not feel "qualified" to be testers. I know when my husband first suggested that we try the Test server, my initial reaction was "I can't test!" I'm only an average woman, playing my first MMO, and I had no background in testing anything. Nevertheless, he managed to talk me into trying it, and six months later I'm still here. I found out I CAN test and I ENJOY testing! Vyviel and Kella are right, marketing and exposure of the Test server are the key. I really don't think we need any other incentives for the reasons others have pointed out. People have gotten the wrong impression of us, and that's at least partly our fault. We tend to only come out of isolation when we're being attacked, and then we get labeled "elitist," and not without due cause. This thread is a good example of the Test community that I know and love. We know there's a problem with low population, and we're coming together to see what can be done about it. Although we may not always agree, we try to work together for the most part, and we have a desire to be a part of improving the game. I wish more people could see that side of us.<div></div>

[shenker]

First off no need to jump off the deep end with what you think will happen to the server if those things were to happen. I have the station pass so I play both EQ1 and 2 and my play server on EQ1 is the Test server. I have been on EQ1 Test since before the wipe but not on my current toon. Just as a little base info about me. Those things that were done have only increased the population by around 16% on avg (this info comes from a dev btw). It has however made things a lot easier for new folks for a very underpopulated and tough server to get started on. If things like that were to happen sure folks would complain about minuscule stuff like OMG I feel so cheated or OMG I wasted my time doing this or doing that ect. Basicaly folks screaming the sky is falling when it is not. You play on a test server and not a live server though. Sometimes things need to be done for the health of the test server as a test server. The vast majority of folks playing EQ2 won't come here even if that stuff were to be done and I think most people realise this. However if you can even get another 100 solid players here that would make a rather large difference for the server both in testing ability and just doing whatever happens to come up. I'm not saying yay or nay for that stuff but just posting some opinions from someone on the EQ1 Test server and also a EQ2 player. <div></div>

[madbx]

I see population as a huge problem right now which is multipled for myself since I play strange hours (Due to living in Australia)For example generally during my peak playtime on weeknights (eg right now) /who all shows 9 people... and not one of those over level 50, basically unless I want to solo during the week there is no point playing.I find myself now only albe to play on weekends when the majority of the server is online and even then there is only a couple of groups at most on the server and normally full by the time I can get online.I also played EQ1 test for a number of years and the population there was small but even still it was way way higher then eq2 test has ever been, even back in eq1when they allowed /testbuffies to join the server it was bad for a while but the people who didn't fit in soon left and a few months later we had a fantastic new pool of dedicated testers.Since I have played on eq2 test since the day the server opened I have also seen the decline in numbers and to be honest it worries me, it also gets worse each time an expansion beta test comes along as it splits the playerbase 50/50 while beta is running.Althought I dont really know what the best solution is I definately think SOE needs to do "something" to help the server survive.-Nelib<div></div>

[Deila]

<P> </P> <P>I do think that some kind of a splash page, high-profile and easily found, would help things. Such a page would have to be 'official', informative about how the Test server really works (y'know, things like 'we're not all here working all the time for free, solving bug issues - we mostly play the game, and volunteer to focus test as requested, also taking personal responsibility that when we find something not working right, we try to figure out why, then <EM>let someone know</EM> about it') as well as highlight a few kind of marketing perks, targeted towards those who would like to be a part of the process.</P> <P>If I were to market the Test server to EQ2 players, here are some of the 'benefits' I'd be announcing:</P> <UL> <LI><STRONG>Active conduit for feedback, opinions, and bug reporting, via the QA team:</STRONG>  QA representatives are active in serverwide channels, frequently soliciting feedback, answering questions, and looking for volunteers to test specific things, as requested by the dev team. Your involvement and participation can be part of a direct line to decision making for the development of EQ2;<BR><BR></LI> <LI><STRONG>Cooperative player base:</STRONG>  Test players are more interested in the overall health and fun of EQ2 than in being <EM>better</EM> than each other. We work together to complete quests, discover not just if something isn't working right, but <EM>why</EM> it's not working right, and generally just to have fun too. Test's playerbase function more as one big guild, though individual guilds do indeed exist, often sharing out loot, equipment, harvests (yes, even rares) and master spells to others to help them better play and test content;<BR><BR></LI> <LI><STRONG>Permanent 50% bonus XP:</STRONG>  In addition to Vitality, the Test server has a permanent 50% XP bonus, for both adventuring and crafting.</LI></UL> <P>The first really is the strongest hook, I think. That one reaches out and grabs the attention of someone wondering if they really could help to make a difference. Second may seem like a bribe at first glance, but I think it appeals to those who get sick of griefing out on live servers, when it happens. Sometimes, you just want to get away from all the kiddies like that <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> Third point is the weakest, IMO, but listed since it really is a perk aimed at easing a move from an existing character on a live server.</P> <P>I intentionally left things like 'see new content first' off my list, as I think that tends to appeal more to a 'tourist mentality' rather than the potential long-term tester - 'see new content first' heavily implies to me that you should come gawk, then go back to live servers with inside knowledge and be able to do things <EM>first, </EM>which I would not think was the goal.</P> <P>How else could such a list be fleshed out? The trick, I think, is to find things to announce that appeal to the kinds of players who would become good testers and community members, and highlight what makes Test a different, and often advantageous, experience from the live servers, without really resorting to outright bribes. I'm sure there are other aspects of Test that could be pointed out in a similar fashion to my above list, and presented in such a way that would appeal to those who would like to contribute to making EQ2 better. And perhaps other, new aspects could be developed, though again, I would advise against them being in the form of account or gameplay bribes. Keep focused on the target audience.</P> <P>Which, of course, means having to better define that 'target audience'. So easy to talk about 'tester' type people, but to really define that.... no, that's for another discussion at the moment.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P> <P>Perhaps not so strangely, probably the biggest hurdle in getting new players to come to Test is community itself. Most existing EQ2 players will have guilds and networks of friends established on their current servers, and are naturally reluctant to leave that all behind. Some of the Test 'recruiting' then, if you will, could be aimed at the brand new EQ2 player, and despite the doom-and-gloom reports of declining subscriptions, there are indeed brand new players entering the game from time to time. Some of those players might very well decide that Test would be a really great place to play, and have a voice.</P> <P>In any case, such a splash page would need to be high-profile enough to be readily seen by existing and new players. Currently, if a player is considering Test, they a) have to already know from somewhere that it exists, then b) search and hunt for information on how to get there. Is advertising Test the kind of thing that SOE would be interested in throwing a couple of bucks at to get a page put up linked from the main site? Who knows.... just throwing the idea out there for how such a thing would be most effective.</P> <P>Keep throwing out the ideas and observations. Might go somewhere, might not, but it's not a bad vehicle for analysis in any case.</P> <P> </P>

[Ceruline]

<P>Advertising would indeed be a good start here.</P> <P>I know that my reasons for playing Test in the first place has a lot to do with #1 - being close to the design changes and actually having a chance to give input about them and affect them.  Playing on test should be very interesting to anyone with a real interest in game design and ambitions to someday get into the industry.</P> <P>At the same time, I don't think the advertising is necessarily enough.  Many of the players who would make good testers have existing "lives" on their current servers, and it might take some additional motivation to push them to make the shift.  I especially feel that allowing free access to the expansions (And there is an assumption here that SOE has the technical capability to unlock that expansion solely on the test server and not on the live servers - similar to how they can allow access to expansion type content on a beta server without affecting live or test) would help for the following reason:</P> <P>The upcoming expansion is going to offer a lot of people the opportunity to start over again with new low level content and a new race.  "So," we say, "Why not make your character here on test, seeing as you're rolling a new character anyway.  Here are the benefits..."</P> <P>It's a much easier sell that way than trying to get someone to stop playing their level 70 whatever on xxxxx live server when they otherwise wouldn't.  Are we going to get some who we wouldn't otherwise want?  Of course, but due to the trials and tribulations of playing here, I think that over time the good ones will self-select and be left as the ones remaining here.  </P> <P>The fact is, the players who we do want to spend time here testing are already in guilds on live.  They have friends, they have ties to their existing servers.  I think we need more tangible incentives to get them here - more tangible than just making them aware of the benefits of the server.  Sure, there are some nice intangible benefits - but nothing to really ease that transition.</P> <P>The only possible way I can think to grow the population while keeping our signal/noise quality high is to entice some of the more effective and mature Live server guilds to make and play their Faydwer characters here.  And I think that by offering the expansion for free here as a perk, we make our arguments for why they should do so a lot stronger.</P> <P>In reality, I don't think we have much if any ability to control who comes over in a larger scale population surge.  Players of all types will come if we offer general incentives, and what we have to hope is that the immature ones simply give up after the first weekend in which their character is totally broken.</P> <P>I think that there are some key things to consider as to what the right incentives are:</P> <UL> <LI>We need to ease the transition for those who may be giving up a lot by moving here, without trivializing the effort of Test's existing players.  I think that in many ways we can simply manage this one as a community - and in many ways we do, but if we make a concerted push to market the server to existing players, we need to try to do even more here.  Starting an untwinked character can be rough when you're used to being able to give your lowbie extensive help, and as a community we can do a lot to ease the pain for those who seem mature enough to really contribute here.</LI> <LI>We need to bring in volume.  I know this will result in a number of players who won't last, and who may annoy the pants off of us all while they are here, but we need a lot of growth.  Anything that entices positive contributors to join the server is also going to entice those who will be less productive - and again, I don't think it's realistic to assume we'll be able to get productive testers in any quantity without also attracting an undesireable element.</LI> <LI>We need a more liquid marketplace.  Once of the biggest hardships moving from live to Test is how limited the economy is.  When you're used to being able to find whatever you need on broker, albeit for a price, being in such a limited marketplace is tough. </LI> <LI>We need to be less insular.  This one is tough - I think there are a fair number of us who play Test because we prefer smaller environments, are more comfortable in smaller closed groups, and similar sorts of things.  The test channel has started to get a little bit barren, as we move discussions to guilds and more private channels.  I think we've moved to a point where we're a lot less open now than we were when the server is younger.  Everyone has a right to play and involve temselves with the people they like - but we need to understand that this is probably one of the things that makes the server as a whole (and certain groups within the server) come off as elitist at times.</LI></UL> <P>There isn't an easy answer to fixing our population woes.  I personally think that the best way is to offer the incentives which will bring players here in quantity, and then hope that the productive members stick, all the while playing up the aspects of playing on test which good testers are most likely to be attracted to.</P> <P>I understand the trepidation that comes with that though - the fear that we'll be overrun by immature players - but I think the nature of the server itself will curtail that.  There's a certain type that's willing to put up with the bugs and the server downs - and the undesireables are usually the ones who quit the first time the server goes down in the middle of a hunt.</P>

[Ceruline]

<P>It would be really cool if we could get a splash screen for test on the launcher, linking to some marketing material which we could put together about playing on Test - doing our best to accent the reasons which are likely to be most attractive to productive testers.</P>

[Bhagpuss]

<div></div>I can't say I'd noticed there was a population problem on Test. It seems much the same to me now as it was when I started Mordita on December 17th 2004. I also play on EQ1 Test, where I've played on and off since January 2000 and I don't really see the population issues on EQ2 Test that caused the recent recruitment drive posted at the top of this thread. It's also worth pointing out that it took about a year of (very heated) debate over on the senior game before those changes were made. If you've played EQ1 much in the last couple of years, you'll know that there have been a<i> lot </i>of problems with patched content and mechanics that didn't work as expected, and there was a good deal of very acrimonious posting from Live players about what a waste of space and resources the EQ1 Test server was because it wasn't catching bugs. I have not seen anything comparable in EQ2, where the LUs and interim patches pass off very smoothly in comparison. It's my feeling that, given EQ2's heavy restriction on the number of characters allowed per account, the fact that playing on Test doubles your total available character pool is sufficient incentive in itself. If that doesn't attract people, I can't see that having the handful of expansions, or the trivial vet awards, or an extra 50% xp on top of the 50% we already get would make any difference. As for the Test Buff part, in EQ1 the first 25 levels probably equate to under 1% of the gameplay the average player will see in the lifetime of his character. In EQ2, the first 25 levels are still pretty significant. In five years time then yes, maybe it would make sense to skip them, but certainly not at this point of the development curve. Overall, I'd say that all EQ2 Test really needs is a bit more promotion from SoE - a few articles on the website etc. I think it's far too early for bribes and inducements.<p>Message Edited by Bhagpuss on <span class=date_text>05-10-2006</span> <span class=time_text>06:24 PM</span>

[Ceruline]

<DIV>The population issues are very severe.  For example - how many defilers do we have playing in Tier 7?  Not one.  The only enchanters in T7 are both relatively infrequently played characters.  I'm the only active Shadowknight anywhere near T7, and I don't think there's a single Paladin.  Ditto for Bruisers.  And since T7 is the end point, the population concentration is actually BETTER there than anywhere else.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>We don't have adequate coverage of classes and level ranges, and this is purely a function of population - The rare classes are even rarer, and the classes that don't solo well are artificially low, because soloing is oftentimes the only viable option here.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Inasmuch as we all call the server home, we're also here to serve a function - and with little to no representation for some classes we're not nearly as effective as we should be at serving that function.</DIV>

[Evadne]

Playing Evadne to 70 as soon as Xeven is done with it.There will be a defiler, but one less played than my dirge is.Test needs more players.  The answer wont come simply, but SOE does need to look at it, refresh the server population with some announcements, advertising etc. Perhaps some server only quests, that give you a sparkly tester dohicky.  Make that quest level 40 or so.  Whatever they do, I wont put up with test bashing in community channels.  On the flip side, I heavily support the meet n greet every month which is primarily for the new players.  Give them a taste of the community and an opportunity to meet one another face to face. (My daughter runs the MNG now)However, what you suggest V is something you could do in the forums.  You write a well thought out reasoning for why playing on test is great.  You will get flamed, so perhaps a mod could turn it into an announcement, an invitation from the Test Server, that does not allow replies, just to keep it on track.Boy, my thoughts are really all over the place, stupid cold. Anyhow, I would love to see an influx of new players that mean to make Test their home.~Eva(Xeven)<div></div>

[Deila]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Evadne wrote:<BR><BR>However, what you suggest V is something you could do in the forums.  You write a well thought out reasoning for why playing on test is great.  You will get flamed, so perhaps a mod could turn it into an announcement, an invitation from the Test Server, that does not allow replies, just to keep it on track.<BR><BR> <BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>That's one avenue, yes. Though I'd also <EM>like</EM> to see something a bit more polished, like a splash page. My thinking is nothing too fancy - just something a bit more 'official' and in the main page links, etc. Nothing too big - they were able to do a Blackguard's Botany Secrets page - something about that involved is what I have in mind. Pretty border, some text, and linked from the main site stuff. Might be dreaming here, but there's a chance that they'll see the benefit in having something directing more players to Test, to better use the server as a resource for going over patches before hitting live servers, and be willing to throw a web guy on the job of putting together a page for a couple of hours.</P> <P> </P>

[Dyeana]

<DIV>______________________</DIV> <DIV>The population issues are very severe.  For example - how many defilers do we have playing in Tier 7?  Not one.  The only enchanters in T7 are both relatively infrequently played characters.  I'm the only active Shadowknight anywhere near T7, and I don't think there's a single Paladin.  Ditto for Bruisers.  And since T7 is the end point, the population concentration is actually BETTER there than anywhere else.</DIV> <DIV>_____________________</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Cent, this was not a result of folks leaving, it was a result of the redefining the classes.  Folks are tending to be concentrated in fewer classes for playability.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I would agree /testbuff 25 or any other level is not appropriate on Test.  Unlike EQ1, there is a tremendious content for for 0 to 25 players on EQ2 making it fast and relatively easy to get to 25 to 30 range.  THen it takes some dedication to get to 50 and a bit more dedication as EXP drops off to get to level 70.  We actually need a lot more quests and decent solo-able mobsin the 50 to 70 range to equal the numbers in the 1 ro 25 range.  Not enough simple quests in the 50 to 70 range, since the quests we do are more detailed .....not enough opportunities for EXP where the solo player with only a few hours to play can advance.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Well get some new infusion with the next expansion.  Not much perminent, but some folks wanting to see the new content.  And as mentioned, Test is really a bonus to all the EQ2 players with greater challenges than the live servers.  It is up to them to either help develop more from Test.  Most do not, in which case they can cut the moaning and groaning, whining and sniveling as far as I am concerned.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Dye</DIV>

[bcbroom]

<P>There seem to be three groups of people that play on test</P> <P>1.  People that played on test in EQI</P> <P>2.  People that (1)'s recruited (I fall in this group, I used to work with an EQI test player, who convinced me to switch when it opened)</P> <P>3.  People that played for a while on live, then switched for some reason to test. </P> <P>My guess is that the (1) group isn't going to get bigger. The people with firsthand experience of test, that wanted to continue that are most likely already here.  The (2) group is also likely not growing.</P> <P>That leaves (3). There have been some excellent people/testers that have moved to test.  I'd be curious to hear there stories about how they found out about test, and why they switched.  Did you think about switching sooner, but were uneasy about trying it? What are some things that would have made the transition easier?</P>

[Ceruline]

<P>There is a group 4 here -</P> <P>New players to EQ2 who have played on other Test Servers.</P> <P>That's pretty much where I came from (I played EQ1 Test a loooooong time ago, but not to the extent that it qualifies me for group 1)</P>

[Joren_Wolfheart]

<div><blockquote><hr><div></div>  3.  People that played for a while on live, then switched for some reason to test. <p>My guess is that the (1) group isn't going to get bigger. The people with firsthand experience of test, that wanted to continue that are most likely already here.  The (2) group is also likely not growing.</p> <p>That leaves (3). There have been some excellent people/testers that have moved to test.  <font color="#ff3300">I'd be curious to hear there stories about how they found out about test, and why they switched.  Did you think about switching sooner, but were uneasy about trying it? What are some things that would have made the transition easier?</font></p><hr></blockquote>I played on live for a while, but got tired of the lag, high prices, etc.  One day I was playing around in my EQ2 directory and stumbled across the TestServ folder and read the notepad document there.  Took me a while to get everything copied and moved, and tried to find some information about it on the forums, although there wasn't much that was easy to find.  Before finding that .txt document, I'd not heard a thing about test.  At the time I wasn't active on the forums, and was still pretty new to the game.  (Somewhere around 3 months.)  After a bit of convincing, I talked my wife into playing on Test, too, and since then we've not turned back.I believe that the thing keeping people form playing on test is just the lack of knowledge of what testers do.  Even when we had first started on test, we didn't really know what we were supposed to do.  It wasn't until we started asking around all over the place that we figured out that we could have one on one interaction with SoE personell, and give our feedback straight to people who help make this game what it is.This server is full of people who like to have fun and play the game, but who also like to look for problems and come up with solutions to make them better.  This is the side of test that we should be pushing.  A post from one of the devs about the test server and what it stands for in the Community section of the forums would be a good start.  Most information about Test is simply how to get onto the server, nothing more.  We have tons of people who don't know anything about the test or testtrade channels, and don't know how to make their voices heard.  Part of what makes test seem so inacessable is the misconceptions about it.  "There are no solid guilds on test."  "There are no raiders on Test."  A big one is "I heard that they frequently wipe characters on Test, doesn't that get annoying?"Push an image of test as a family centered server full of helpful and hard working people who get to be the pioneers of the content of the game, and people will want to come.  I'm not sure about incentives for those who do come.  I know that the bonus XP is given, but that will only really motivate those who want to get to the high levels or raid.  I know one thing that was big for me was that there was a whole new set of character slots available.  This means that those who would only be casual testers (we have tons of these, and that's ok, they're needed too) won't be turned off by having to keep their normal slots open.Perhaps instead of opening up expansions for free, we could open up Splitpaw and Bloodlines?   Or maybe give Testers 10 character slots like Station Access?  I know that a lot of the time the only thing keeping me from testing something in the lower levels is that I don't want to have to delete yet another character that I've worked up. I dunno, things like that are best left to those much smarter than I am.  I just want to see Test do well.</div>

[Ceruline]

I think Splitpaw and Bloodlines may already be free on Test.  I have a vague recollection of them making the APs free for us, but since I have Station Access for the extra char slots anyway, I don't remember for sure.

[Joren_Wolfheart]

<div></div>I know that my wife and I both paid for them before we could get them, even on test.I think that since they aren't as expensive/big as the expansion packs, it might be a nice little nudge =)Of course, I've already paid for all mine...<div></div>Edit:  Spell Check (Read:  Wife) pointed out that I suck at teh english<p>Message Edited by burgeswe on <span class=date_text>05-16-2006</span> <span class=time_text>03:10 PM</span>

[EtoilePirate]

<div><blockquote><hr>Ceruline wrote:<div></div>I think Splitpaw and Bloodlines may already be free on Test.  I have a vague recollection of them making the APs free for us, but since I have Station Access for the extra char slots anyway, I don't remember for sure.<hr></blockquote>Nope.  We have free access to the content whilt it's in testing, but the day it goes live we fork over the cash to keep our access.</div>

[Bhagpuss]

<div></div><blockquote><hr>EtoilePB wrote:<div><blockquote><hr>Ceruline wrote:<div></div>I think Splitpaw and Bloodlines may already be free on Test.  I have a vague recollection of them making the APs free for us, but since I have Station Access for the extra char slots anyway, I don't remember for sure.<hr></blockquote>Nope.  We have free access to the content whilt it's in testing, but the day it goes live we fork over the cash to keep our access.</div><hr></blockquote>I think this points up another fact often forgotten about Test: it is a Play server like all the rest. Testers don't get paid and they don't play for free. Any paying EQ2 subscriber can use Test as their normal play server without any obligation to Test anything, join the /test channel or send any Feedback or Bug reports. Test players aren't employees, they are customers and any Testing they choose to do is on a purely voluntary basis. It might well be of more practical use to the Dev team to have 1000+ active players of whom only 10% bothered to report anything, but who could be used as data-gathering guinea pigs for pre-Live changes than it is to have 150 active Testers but no bulk of players just playing. I've often found when talking to other players about playing on EQ1 Test that one reason (other than never having heard of it) that they gave for not wanting to try it was "I'm not doing Sony's work for free". If the server was promoted more as a Special Rulest regular Play server than a "Test" server, that might not happen. <div></div><p>Message Edited by Bhagpuss on <span class=date_text>05-17-2006</span> <span class=time_text>09:54 AM</span>