Top Ten Free-to-Play Games - Lobbies in, Jillions of Beta "Testers" out
Dude, Jillion's Not a Word
This week in the Top Ten Free-to-Play Games, Danny "Ralsu" Gourley talks about the different strategies developers use for betas of their free-to-play games. While most think of beta as a way to market the game, Ralsu tells Ten Ton Hammer readers that Frogster Interactive deserves praise for making the creation of a quality game as the top priority:
Quote:
Only after it was satisfied that the foundation for Runes of Magic was polished and solid did Frogster admit a large number of new testers to perform stress tests and fill the servers....Free-to-play does not have to mean low budget and poor quality, and the careful approach Frogster used with beta will ensure the release product is one worth playing.
i think there should be some on-line course people have to pass to get into serious betas, i mean the f2p open betas don't matter really, but when they REALLY want bug stomping i don't think 12 year olds, the illiterate, or people using antiquated rigs are really that useful.
exampe: "WTF im stuk LAWLZ, fix teh dum gaem!!1!11!", is i'm guessing 100% useless to anyone trying to fix anything.
i also think it would be best for everyone if there was a 1 button solution to reporting bugs that would throw them all the data needed instead of having people actually report things.
do love testing though, i was always a destructive kid.
I may not always comment, but I do always enjoy your column and point people towards it whenever questions about f2p games arise. I still think it's one of the best resources for gamers looking for a simple yet honest look at the games you cover.
If you're looking to get more responses from people, you could always add a bonus gallery of cosplay / booth babes wearing costumes from some of the games on your list - you know those are always a big hit!
Aww I love what you are doing here, even if I didn't provide input about whether lobby games belong on your list or not. The best answer I came up with was "depends on how much you think I should play it". If the game is really good, then I want to know about it lobby game or no. If it isn't that great, then I didn't really come here for lobby games so it is probably better to let it slide.
Oh, wired mice are supposedly better for gaming since they have a better response time. I doubt it makes much difference, though.
i agree ^.
a good game is a good game, even if its in a generic wrapper no stipulation should keep it from the list (which makes me wonder why maple story or ghost isn't on there). what i would REALLY like to see is some diversity (and to know what ever happened to the kronus play test) example : http://www.terracorps.com/cgi-bin/index.pl http://ace.subagames.com/
(dare i play the role of a vehicle pilot?)
i think real gamers use wired gear for reliability reasons, wireless if for the dell crowd. you just cant get the performance from wireless (24/7).
Top Ten Free-to-Play Games - Lobbies in, Jillions of Beta "Testers" out
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