How Effective is the PTS? Really?

IrishGirlGamer · February 2016

So the PTS. What is its role?

The name implies that patches and content will be tested in a player environment. But how effective (and relevant) is that testing? Does Zenimax actually make changes to their content based upon the feedback given on the PTS? Or is it just there for simple, minor tweaks in content before release?

The existence of a PTS suggests two general ideas: (1) that Zenimax wants player feedback and (2) that the feedback given by players will be seriously considered. That doesn't mean every idea a player suggests is going to be adopted, and I suspect most of us know that. But if the PTS is to be anything other than a marketing gimmick (let's put a PTS up and let players feel like they have a voice in the game design and balancing), some changes should be made based upon player feedback.

And I wonder if that's actually happening? I'm not being snarky, I'm sincerely wondering if that's how Zenimax uses the PTS - or if they use it for other reasons.

If the answer to the above is yes, then maybe there's something here to consider:

Wouldn't it be more effective to log onto the PTS and provide meaningful feedback regarding, say, the upcoming nerfs/buffs in the Templar class rather than just reading a post on a forum and then going full nuclear in an adolescent fit of forum rage? I admit, I'm not happy with the changes I suspect are coming with the new patch, particularly how they relate to templars.

But I also further admit that I've never been on the PTS. I am correcting that tonight. Even as I type this, I'm downloading the PTS and I'll spend some time on it this week. And I'll make an effort to provide feedback.

I just hope I'm not wasting my time.

I'd love to hear a reasoned response from someone on the Zenimax Online design team.

dem0n1k · February 2016

I assume the PTS is mostly about finding game breaking issues before they are released to the masses... not really about visual tweaks or people's opinions on content. Lots of software devs do this ... In-house testing is good but you need the general public (or at least the ones that are willing to make the download) to really try every aspect & see if it breaks something.

D0ntevenL1ft · February 2016

Im not too sure to be honest, but i have a strong feeling most of the PTS will be the same as the live EXCEPT the BoL nerf. This one seems to be the number one complaint. If this is reversed then i see a good update coming with TG.

UrQuan · February 2016

ZOS does listen to feedback based on what's on the PTS, and they have made changes based on that feedback in the past. That doesn't mean that they'll make all of the changes people want, but some of the stuff that people give feedback on will be addressed. Not always in time for the update to go to live, mind you.

In some way the general discussion forums are a better place to talk about these changes and debate the implications, but in order to make sure ZOS sees your feedback, it's best to post it in the PTS section of the forums: especially in the official feedback threads for different elements. The official feedback threads are started by @ZOS_GinaBruno and are broken down by category, so that there's a convenient place to gather feedback on the changes to Templars, for example, and another one to gather feedback on the changes to the grouping tool.

Those official feedback threads are also separate from a consolidated official bug report thread in the PTS section. Sometimes it makes sense to report a bug in both that thread and the relevant feedback thread, and sometimes it makes sense to just report it in the bug report thread.

So once you've downloaded the PTS and started checking it out, please head on over to the PTS section of the forums and leave your feedback as many of the rest of us are doing

Abeille · February 2016

I don't know, I've been using the /feedback option in game like crazy although I don't know if it is useful anymore. Last time I tested something in this game was back in beta.

kirk_lewis_ESO · February 2016

..

IrishGirlGamer · February 2016

UrQuan wrote: »

... but in order to make sure ZOS sees your feedback, it's best to post it in the PTS section of the forums ...

Okay, thanks for this. I wasn't aware that forum even existed.

driosketch · February 2016

Have they made changes based on player feed back, absolutely.

Do they make all the changes players may want? Not entirely.

Will all the changes be made before the dlc goes live? Probably not, in fact some may not come for several months. And some changes may change back.

Will bugs make it through, even those found and reported? Some will, and they will be fixed anytime between the first patch week following to not yet.

UrQuan · February 2016

IrishGirlGamer wrote: »

UrQuan wrote: »

... but in order to make sure ZOS sees your feedback, it's best to post it in the PTS section of the forums ...

Okay, thanks for this. I wasn't aware that forum even existed.

I'm here to help! No, wait... I'm here to hinder! Damn it, I screwed that up again!

Yolokin_Swagonborn · February 2016

Sometimes it does feel like our feedback doesn't matter and the big things are already in stone when they hit the PTS.

Like when we warned ZOS how horribly unbalanced the Champion system was initially and how everyone will just grind it until the meta changes to mitigation vs burst where everyone has infinite resources.

ZOS launched it anyway. Just like they did at launch when they knew they had a day-one gold dupe and they launched anyway.

Only the most egregious things have a chance of getting fixed but that's only if the whole community stands together on them. Even then, that doesn't always work. Ask the nearly 3000 people that didn't want AOE caps. And nearly EVERYONE now that doesn't want there to be ANY un-purgable snares on gap closers.

Bossdonut · February 2016

It was effective on wow. They would change or outright reverse some nerfs based on feedback. ZOS just seems to grab 10 darts, whip then at the board and hope one of them hits a bullseye.

Not much luck so far

Volkodav · February 2016

The PTS is for testing anything new the Devs create and plan to add to the game.We play there and report back anything that is going wrong.Things we notice that shouldnt be ingame,etc. Not just game breakers,but also smaller issues.

Spottswoode · February 2016

Volkodav wrote: »

The PTS is for testing anything new the Devs create and plan to add to the game.We play there and report back anything that is going wrong.Things we notice that shouldnt be ingame,etc. Not just game breakers,but also smaller issues.

A lot of the problems we report have to be solved on a prioritization schedule. A lot of them may rank quite low. Also, the fixes may be delayed by staff shortages, backlogged priorities, etc.