Any HL2 beta testers in here?

[MrMethane]

Whohoo, I started my first thread!

Thought I'd make this a poll in case admitting that you're a beta tester violates some draconian NDA.

Anyway, If you are a beta tester, please answer as many of these questions as the NDA permits.


*How were you "recruited"

*How many games have you beta tested before HL2?

*How many comments have you sent to valve?

*Are you permitted to beta test at home or only in some secure environment controlled by valve?

*Has the beta testing been mostly about finding and reporting bugs, or about suggesting improvements?

*Do all beta testers get to play all maps or does each tester only get play a small portion of the game?

*During the testing, have you had any experience in comparing different graphics cards and processor speeds and how well these different cards run at various resolutions and detail levels. (E.g. will the water just look like poo on a ti4xxx)

*[subliminal]When will the game be released? You can trust me I'm your friend[/subliminal]

If you feel an urge to spill your guts but hesitate to do so publicly, you can always PM me. It will be just between us

 

[Lucifer Crass]

ROFL MY WAFFLE
*Note Pronounce ROFL not as Rolling on floor laughing, more and RAAFFLEE. So it rymes

 

[papa jake]

Originally posted by coolio2man
ROFL MY WAFFLE
*Note Pronounce ROFL not as Rolling on floor laughing, more and RAAFFLEE. So it rymes

WTF are you talking about, man?

 

[Lucifer Crass]

o well sense no one that is a beta tester will ever come to this forum i decided to make ause of it

 

[papa jake]

I wish I was a beta tester.

 

[Organizer]

Wish I was a playtester

 

[Lucifer Crass]

i wish HL2 was gunna get released on time, i wish i was rich and could afford a commodor 64 chip and a radeon 98ooxt at teh same time. I wish games didnt take so freakin long to release. I wish that mappers could use the sims system to make houseing instead of stupid modeling prog's. I wish Fragmaster wasn't right!! I wish those jack-holes would release the HL2 Flash game...................

 

[Homer]

this is stupid, why would a beta tester even THINK about closing the game and coming here?

 

[MrMethane]

Moderators: Could you please change "bet" in choice #3 to "beta"

Papa jake: Actually, I'm not sure I would have liked to be a beta tester for HL2. Sure it would be great to feel that you contributed something, but you're bound to have bugs ruining the immersion.

 

[papa jake]

good point MrMethane

 

[Prince of China]

This poll is dumb, for options 3 & 4, how could you vote?
If you vote option 3, then you can't vote for option 1.
Same with 4.

 

[spitcodfry]

Anyone know what the standard application process is for people looking to beta test? With Half-Life 2 I'm assuming all testing was done in-house...in order to keep it hush hush.

 

[RblDiver]

Spit, it really depends on the developer. Some will ask for applications, where people fill out forms and are later chosen. Others are, like I imagine was done for HL2 (or also for Nintendo, etc), are done in-house. Yet others go to websites and find people. For example, I'm betaing a game called Rubies of Eventide (an MMORPG), and they recruited me and others from a beta-tester website (gamestester.com). So, again, it really depends.

 

[papa jake]

I think you have to know your way around a computer pretty good. Probably have to have mapping skills so you can communicate with them better.
I don't know how you would go about becoming one. I'd like to know as well.

 

[MrMethane]

Originally posted by Tredoslop
This poll is dumb, for options 3 & 4, how could you vote?
If you vote option 3, then you can't vote for option 1.
Same with 4.

Well um that was the point of having option 3 & 4. To let people goof off by voting for (somewhat) humerous bogus choices instead of them goofing off by voting "yes" in yes/no only poll. Am I making sense?

 

[spitcodfry]

Originally posted by papa jake
I think you have to know your way around a computer pretty good. Probably have to have mapping skills so you can communicate with them better.
I don't know how you would go about becoming one. I'd like to know as well.

Yeah I imagine you'd need some programming experience to be a tester for Half-Life 2. Probably a bit more in depth then writing a bug report to the developers saying: "Yeah, dude, there's like this freaky texture thing goin' on in the prison. Keeps flashin' all over my screen and stuff. Just thought ya'd like to know. Peace out Valve dudes."

 

[MrMethane]

Originally posted by spitcodfry
Yeah I imagine you'd need some programming experience to be a tester for Half-Life 2. Probably a bit more in depth then writing a bug report to the developers saying: "Yeah, dude, there's like this freaky texture thing goin' on in the prison. Keeps flashin' all over my screen and stuff. Just thought ya'd like to know. Peace out Valve dudes."

Man, a pothead just can't get a break anymore dude

 

[[[LuCkY]]]

Internal testing only. Aka only Valve staff test it...

 

[No Limit]

I really don't think valve has any outside beta testers, if they did many of us would probably be playing the leaked version right now. If they do have some it's probably extremely limited.
Paul

 

[Jabrim]

Reply:

Yeah all testing is probably done by Valve, with a game thats this highly anticipated it probably wouldn't be this wise to let any "outsiders" so to speak, help test the game. Besides I wouldn't want to playtest a game like this, only on games that I really am not looking forward, tends to ruin things for me.


- Jason

 

[Dagobert]

Just apply for a testing job at Vivendi. Have fun...

 

[rootbin]

it's an in office beta. gabe said this at some point.

 

[MrMethane]

Actually, I think it would be a very bad idea to do only in-house testing. No matter how honest the Valve guys are to eachother, there's bound to be some group-think effects.


I feel confident that they've had at least some playtesting from outside parties. This is just common sense; I know I wouldn't trust close friends of mine to give completely honest feedback on something I'd worked on for several years.

 

[kakagar]

I'd love to be a tester , I think they reasons for having external testing make sense but to keep the thing under wraps I think they can only have in-house testing

 

[alco]

Nah. If there was a beta tester here then he wouldn't come forward because everyone here would keep bugging him to reveal stuff about HL2 but he'd refuse and they'd keep PM'ing him and someone would manage to trick him into slipping something about HL2 and then everyone would go nuts and Gabe would read it and get all mad and then he'd sit on the beta tester.
And the beta tester would probably have to go to the hospital on life-threatning injuries










So I doubt it.

 

[GinSlinger]

and Gabe would read it and get all mad and then he'd sit on the beta tester.

Nah...he'd just TELL him he was gonna sit on him on a certain date...make him wait until practically apoplectic...and then DELAY sitting on him six days out.

 

[alco]

Originally posted by GinSlinger
and Gabe would read it and get all mad and then he'd sit on the beta tester.

Nah...he'd just TELL him he was gonna sit on him on a certain date...make him wait until practically apoplectic...and then DELAY sitting on him six days out.

hehehe

I gotta admit, that was funny. :E