It makes sense that they want to do a closed beta, and that they will be inviting people that have been helpful in PTS in the past. Opening it up to everyone, a lot of people aren't there to test anything. That's a lot of eyes seeing the new content but not providing feedback so things can be corrected where needed prior to launch. I hope they take into consideration what strengths in testing the people they invite have, so all the bases are covered. Like others have mentioned, seeing any area not get the testing it needs would be bad thing. And with the track record, things need to be tested to death to ensure nothing wonky is going on. I know I won't be part of the group that does get invited, and thats ok. I'm just putting it into the hands of those that do get an invite to not miss anything lol

I honestly think this is a bad idea. I see why they're doing it from a marketing perspective, but in my opinion it's the wrong way to go about it and you only have to look at launch to see why (Yes launch was rough since new mmo etc but problems/bugs/balance issues persist every patch)

Morrowind will bring in a lot of new players, push a lot of box sales with the name, so I understand the desire to keep as much of it a surprise to the consumers as possible.

But the PTS is vital to finding and fixing bugs before launch of the DLC/Expansion and from previous patches there has always been plenty of bugs that impair overall functionality and break the game that were found by PTS testers, Restricting this only harms the game via reviews like it did at launch and deter new players instead of attract them. So why limit the pool of resources aka the community trying/testing different things that would potentially bring some bugs to the surface to be addressed?

Secondly from a balance and feedback perspective you limit your responses dramatically and therefore not everyone gets a voice in how things are being tweaked.

Given the drastic balance changes that will be happening with Morrowind with CP/Class balance, testing new trial/BG (Since MoL on PTS had a lot of issues and issues with HM wasn't fixed for months after release) you really restrict feedback from all kinds of players who enjoy and will look for different things on the PTS.

The feedback system on the PTS forums is something people have always felt their input is ignored, but still it is helpful imo to giving back as much data and decisions to make about changes etc, so making the PTS invite only and potentially for Press/Streamers etc for review will only result in a lot of negative feedback and disgruntled players come launch.

Also being invite only how can any guilds test new trial? Test organised BG matches? @ZOS_JessicaFolsom

I'm not sure how I feel about this to be honest. I get that they probably want dedicated testers or at least experienced testers. But it seems kind of counterproductive to have it be closed when this is the biggest piece of dlc they have added to the game yet. Orsinium benefitted a lot from being open to everyone, and a big part of the PTS is also stress-testing the limits of some things, which I'm not sure is possible if it's a limited amount of people, though that obviously depends on the limit.

The only real reason I could see for the NDA and closed invitations would be to make sure that people don't know about the content until after they have bought it, and it honestly seems quite cheap. I've been a big fan of the PTS and the way they handled testing in the past (although I do think they depend a little too much on the players to find all the bugs at times), but I personally think this is a bad move.

Also, rather than just saying, "This is how it is, we have decided to change it. The end." it would be nice to know exactly why they have decided to make this alteration to their player testing. ZOS has been fairly decent at transparency, but then at times they just make changes without explaning why, which is really confusing.

Lastly, if previous dlcs on the pts is any indication, this might be a bad idea, as the pts would usually be completely empty after a week, as the initial hype of trying out new content would die out fast. And so again, I'm simply left to wonder why on earth they decided to change things like this.

The fact that they are bringing back the private forum reminds me a bit of the early alpha / beta tester forums, back before launch, when the game was a broken piece of s***. Hopefully testing Morrowind won't be the same type of situation.

At least Battlegrounds should be opened for everyone on PTS, there's no way a select few can go through everything like maps, modes, builds, skills, classes, Bugs, potential exploits, and sooo on... Without a risk of bias or unintended oversight to say the least. Heck, normally regular PTS crowd is not enough but those that do go out and test usually post interesting findings.

Xvorg wrote: »

I kind od like the idea of a closed beta, with people working on the game and not on their builds

I kind of agree But, in principle that would exclude ALL of the popular streamers... while in the reality, we know they are the ones that are getting invited for SURE.

NewBlacksmurf wrote: »

MarkusLiberty wrote: »

Source?

@MarkusLiberty it's on the site

Talk about stuff getting worse.....what good is PTS if it's closed off and invite only. Didn't see any apply here links either so it's really hand picked it seems.

Because the vast majority will likely NOT actually test things. Most people treat the PTS like its a sneak peak but the purpose, surprisingly is to try and put some strain on the new content to see if theres things that need to be fixed or adjusted. By closing the PTS and only allowing players in with a known history of actual testing. They remove all the riff raff that would otherwise probably break their NDAs and cause nothing but headaches for ZOS.

ADarklore wrote: »

I'm glad they're going this route, I get tired of all the PTS threads that are selfish in nature... "Boo hoo, this change destroyed my build, if it goes Live I'm done" type of comments. These type of people do not consider the overall nature of the change, the reasons for it, and how it positively impacts millions of other players... just because it negatively impacts you and how you choose to play does not mean it is bad for the game or the majority of players.

Except people who make such comments/feedback are normally silenced by the others who feel differently, something that only having a higher pool of opinions to challenge and give their own feedback can do. Making the PTS invite only can have this exact effect you speak of (dependant on who is invited) simply because there will be less voices/opinions to challenge them first hand.

Closed Beta makes sense.

What doesn't make sense is using a narrow selection of testers.

There needs to be High End Vet Progression players, PVP Players, and Trials Players.

There also needs to be some Group players and solo players - because the game needs to cater for their play styles, levels too.

Most (not all, but most) of the players that have been very active in previous open PTS cycles will have been from the "high end" portion of the playerbase, looking to get strategies and new meta builds mapped out before the game goes live so they can get that slight edge. This is the case in almost all mmorpgs that have open beta test cycles.

Yes those players can and will have valuable feedback to offer during a closed beta; but it would be short sighted, and counter productive to ONLY invite from that demographic.

All The Best

Gandrhulf_Harbard wrote: »

Closed Beta makes sense.

What doesn't make sense is using a narrow selection of testers.

There needs to be High End Vet Progression players, PVP Players, and Trials Players.

There also needs to be some Group players and solo players - because the game needs to cater for their play styles, levels too.

Most (not all, but most) of the players that have been very active in previous open PTS cycles will have been from the "high end" portion of the playerbase, looking to get strategies and new meta builds mapped out before the game goes live so they can get that slight edge. This is the case in almost all mmorpgs that have open beta test cycles.

Yes those players can and will have valuable feedback to offer during a closed beta; but it would be short sighted, and counter productive to ONLY invite from that demographic.

All The Best

This is why they are eliminating these type of players from the testing. They want actual players who have previously given excellent feedback... not those who are simply in it for themselves and their own builds. On PTS there are a small but very intelligent group of players who actively participate and give excellent feedback including actual data to support their comments- THESE are the players they want. I don't believe they will include players who haven't shown this kind of diligence in their previous PTS discussions.

I will pass. I don't want any spoilers. I have been avoiding all the warden and Morrowind threads.

I'm not invited because Vivec no longer values my fashion counsel.

andreasranasen wrote: »

. In addition, everyone logging onto the PTS will be required to agree to a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) upon login. [/i]

lol enjoy the immediate leaks from a certain % of participants.

Not a great way to go about it if you're going to push NDA's. How're ya going to know who leaked what?

Honestly though as well, I think ZOS should contact GM's or whatever and get some invites out for guilds to test the new trial. Cause if they're splitting up how will groups even test together if they barely know each other. @ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_RichLambert that would be a pretty cool thing to do, for the PVE side at least. Halls of Fabrication is a big part of it.