Golden opportunity for 1.6

RDMyers65b14_ESO · November 2014

Ok ZOS,

If you haven't figured out, people don't test the PTS when the PTS is either behind or the same as the live server. There has to be something new for people to want to log into the test server. I mean, why go to the PTS if the current on the pts is already live?

This week, some people have a 4 day weekend from work. Wouldn't it make sense to put 1.6 on the PTS when people can actually test it? If you wait until next week, those people will be back at work. If 1.6 is gonna drop live before Christmas, then it needs to be on the PTS as soon as possible so some of the bugs can be found before it goes live.

Please don't let this golden opportunity pass you by.

Fetaro · November 2014

I have been thinking the same for about 5 days.

AngryNord · November 2014

Given the royal mess they've made with the most recent patches, and the huge loss in goodwill and damage to reputation that has caused, the most sensible thing they could do was to put 1.6 on indefinate hold until they had the patching process sorted out (would likely involce hiring a completely new QA team, among other things).
So in all likelihood we may well see it on PTS tomorrow...

LonePirate · November 2014

RDMyers65b14_ESO wrote: »

This week, some people have a 4 day weekend from work. Wouldn't it make sense to put 1.6 on the PTS when people can actually test it? If you wait until next week, those people will be back at work.

That is a perfectly sensible thing to do which is probably why ZOS won't be doing it.

The PTS has become little more than a deployment proof of concept server. ZOS creates an update and deploys it to the PTS. If players can download the patch, install it, log in and play the game without it crashing, then it is deemed a success.

Player reported issues are never fixed until after the update hits the live server. The incremental x.1 patches that hit the PTS have the hallmark of internal changes that didn't meet the deadline for the original update rather than changes in response to user feedback.

Needless to say, ZOS and the player base seem to have wildly different expectations regarding the purpose of the PTS.

EsORising · November 2014

Sooner the PTS is released the better; 1.6 is a major change to everything; if they going to make word on their promise for december release, they are going to need to see it in action on the PTS asap. Since there is a lot of critisim from people like angry nord (fair critisim), ZoS prob want's a near to bugfree enviornment on the PTS. It's probably going to be like the 1.5 patch, in which, the biggest updates were delayed till next month but they got us chat bubbles, which by the way is a feature a lot of people don't care about and could of just been an add on from some amature developer. Who the hell actually uses the chat bubbles? At least their adding new content i guses...

kijima · November 2014

The PTS is simply there so we can see what is broken ahead of schedule and work out what FOTM builds and exploits will be viable when the game goes live.

It's not like the dev team listen to any of the things that we list as broken in the PTS or attempt to fix them ahead of going live. The real sad thing is, I don't honestly think I'm being sarcastic by saying that. I really don't. I could list many things that players have found broken in the PTS, passed on the info to ZOS yet it still goes live with all the issues weeks later...

I'd post up a double face palm meme now, but it goes without saying.

Perhaps someone needs to have a quite talk to Sage and Co about what a PTS actually is and what the step by step process should be. I have processes at work I have to follow, if I don't bad stuff happens. So listen up ZOS, this is your new step by step process for PTS.

Step 1. Release new content on PTS
Step 2. Get your player base to test it with incentives (one of those pets you feel intent on giving us would suffice, just something to acknowledge customers putting in time for bettering your investment )
Step 3. Get data you've collected from your player base, problems, balance's, bugs, exploits
Step 4. Identify and fix the problems found from data
Step 5. Patch PTS with the fixes
Step 6. Repeat Step 3 and 4 until there are only 'minor' problems that are random and rare. (I think everyone would accept small problems from time to time)
Step 7. Then and only then release your game live!

ESO PTS: Helping Exploiters since 14'

Cody · November 2014

i dont know what to think about the PTS servers.

i do not play them very much at all... but based on the.... less than grand state(to put it kindly) the patches have been released in... i am guessing the ZOS staff do not really give much of a care about it.

for all of you that disagree; prove me wrong!!!!!!! give me some links and some evidence that proves me wrong! i would love to be wrong on this issue!

LonePirate · November 2014

Cody wrote: »

i dont know what to think about the PTS servers.

i do not play them very much at all... but based on the.... less than grand state(to put it kindly) the patches have been released in... i am guessing the ZOS staff do not really give much of a care about it.

for all of you that disagree; prove me wrong!!!!!!! give me some links and some evidence that proves me wrong! i would love to be wrong on this issue!

Oh how I wish you were wrong. I would love to tell you otherwise but I simply can't.

Sublime · November 2014

I think they don't consider 1.6 to be ready for PTS yet.

RDMyers65b14_ESO · November 2014

The pts is only on 1.5.2. It is far behind the live server. I thought it was a test server. I guess that the live server is now the testing server.

Preyfar · November 2014

What they SHOULD do is come up with an achievement for PTS. Report enough valid bugs and help quash an issue and they reward you with an achievement, then transfer it over to live during the next maintenance. Once you accumulate enough of them it unlocks the next tier and gives you a unique dye color to show you're a Bug Stomper.

JoeCapricorn · November 2014

That would be a good idea, it could motivate people to do more testing with the PTS.

I would be very surprised if we don't see 1.6 on PTS next week, but if we don't, the week after for sure.

There needs to be enough testing done if 1.6 is deployed in time for Christmas.

natureaddict_ESO · November 2014

Preyfar wrote: »

What they SHOULD do is come up with an achievement for PTS. Report enough valid bugs and help quash an issue and they reward you with an achievement, then transfer it over to live during the next maintenance. Once you accumulate enough of them it unlocks the next tier and gives you a unique dye color to show you're a Bug Stomper.

Kinda hard to imagine how this will work given the current system of:

1. Find, report bug on PTS.
2. Weeks pass, build goes live. No acknowledgement of issue.
3. People on live find, complain bitterly about bug.
4. Message from dev on forum that they are looking into issue/is on "radar."
5. Bug might, MIGHT get fixed in an update patch.

Nightreaver · November 2014

Or the bug you report turns out to be a stealth nerf that is never mentioned in the patch notes.

Tycobb117 · November 2014

Yea ive been waiting for update 6 to hit PTS for a while and this would be the perfect opportunity for me to test it out

Aeradon · December 2014

AngryNord wrote: »

Given the royal mess they've made with the most recent patches, and the huge loss in goodwill and damage to reputation that has caused, the most sensible thing they could do was to put 1.6 on indefinate hold until they had the patching process sorted out (would likely involce hiring a completely new QA team, among other things).
So in all likelihood we may well see it on PTS tomorrow...

Have they not realised this yet?

Been checking out on the updates and forums, awaiting for a favourable change so I could once again step foot into Tamriel and tell all my guildies and nemesis guilds that Cyrodiil is finally working as it should. All I read every month is nothing but consistent effort in disappointing fans.

We love ESO, we love Tamriel, we love Cyrodiil. But we really don't like heart aches.