Personally I could live with a few gameplay issues if I knew they would be fixed as fast as they were in Phase 2. I doubt you would be able to do that for the masses across so many platforms, so I voted the way I did.
Speaking frankly, I think we should try to get this patch as close to perfect as possible. It seems that since BG:EE was released (about a year ago?), there's always been bugs that were either overlooked or created by each patch. After so much waiting, I'd like to finally see a resolution to these issues and the game be as close to perfect as possible.
I definitely think the various journal issues should be resolved before the patch is released (see my posts in the Phase II and Journal Entry threads).
In Phase III, don't worry about trying to break things; just play through the game like you would normally.
We know that there are still some issues, and we're committed to resolving them in time. That said, we want to get this patch out so that the people with certain hardware will finally be able to play.
Therefore, we'll have a poll. The more positive feedback we get, the more people we'll bring into the beta to try it out.
If you don't think this patch is ready for more testers, tell us why.
If you haven't already tried the beta, PLEASE do not vote. You're on the honor system. Boo is watching you closely.
I think if you know there are some issues, please fix them first before asking people to poll in "yes". Excited people that do not experience those issues will click "yes" with disregard to other people that may encounter those issues you mentioned. I do not know what they are, but releasing a product knowing you have issues is not generally a good thing.
I don't really see any reason not to bring as many people in the beta as possible. I wouldn't call the the patch ready though before things like berserker rage are fixed.
I think if you know there are some issues, please fix them first before asking people to poll in "yes". Excited people that do not experience those issues will click "yes" with disregard to other people that may encounter those issues you mentioned. I do not know what they are, but releasing a product knowing you have issues is not generally a good thing.
So please fix them first.
Thank you.
Finding out how many people are functioning 100% with the patch is also important.
On one hand, I see some complaints on the General Discussion forum about issues that the beta has already solved and I want everyone to see just how much the game was improved by this patch. And if I hadn't been fortunate enough to be selected to be a part of Phases II and III, I know I'd be dying to get this patch as soon as possible.
On the other hand, there are a few gameplay issues that cropped up (mainly the Kivan dialogue bugs and the journal issues as well) that no doubt, are going to cause another torrent of disgruntled posters whining about how patches are not supposed to introduce more bugs and OMG YOU GUYS SUCK.
I think this patch has come a long way. Judging by the efficiency with which some bugs have been dealt with in the last few days, if possible, I would take a week to work on the issues are listed on the thread Dee's been updating and then finally make the patch public.
If any other major issues arise after that, it's fine. I doubt it'll be the case, though.
I think there should have been a poll option to pick "go into open beta now", with a forum release of the patch. I pre-ordered early on and haven't played since release because I had so many issues. I couldn't even travel more than 60% of the time without the game freezing up and crashing. Multiplayer was completely game breaking 90% of the time.
I tested the water with every new patch (up until the last 2 or 3 patches), but found that game crippling issues with muliplayer still persisted. Sadly I don't have the time to beta test at the moment, nor provide feedback on issues I've encountered. If this goes open beta I think we will have a much better idea of how close we are to a real release. I am very excited for a working multipalyer.
The patch has lots of great stuff in it and people have been waiting entirely too long since the last one. While it doesn't fix every issue, what is added works. I'd rather see it come out sooner with smaller updates over the next few weeks, than make the whole thing wait more weeks just for a few little things.
To clarify, I don't think you're done yet. But I do think what is done on this patch could be given to people.
On one hand, I see some complaints on the General Discussion forum about issues that the beta has already solved and I want everyone to see just how much the game was improved by this patch. And if I hadn't been fortunate enough to be selected to be a part of Phases II and III, I know I'd be dying to get this patch as soon as possible.
On the other hand, there are a few gameplay issues that cropped up (mainly the Kivan dialogue bugs and the journal issues as well) that no doubt, are going to cause another torrent of disgruntled posters whining about how patches are not supposed to introduce more bugs and OMG YOU GUYS SUCK.
I think this patch has come a long way. Judging by the efficiency with which some bugs have been dealt with in the last few days, if possible, I would take a week to work on the issues are listed on the thread Dee's been updating and then finally make the patch public.
If any other major issues arise after that, it's fine. I doubt it'll be the case, though.
Well I hope they fixed the journal.................
I think there should have been a poll option to pick "go into open beta now", with a forum release of the patch. I pre-ordered early on and haven't played since release because I had so many issues. I couldn't even travel more than 60% of the time without the game freezing up and crashing. Multiplayer was completely game breaking 90% of the time.
I agree. Why not open beta? It'll save the trouble of having to deal with tons of beta patch requests. I think it'll be fine as long as people on the forum are told that it's beta and are reminded to mention if they're using any mods/EE keeper when they report bugs.
And I'll slightly revise what I said earlier; don't bother with visual glitches and other minor stuff AND don't bother with pre-beta bugs - those on 1.0.2014 are already suffering from them so it can't get any worse. Once the rest are fixed (Kivan's dialogue issues especially) please release the patch.
I say fix the the remaining bugs that have been reported thus far and then release the patch. Players have been waiting long enough, especially with BG2:EE around the corner. Since no release is going to catch every single bug, everyone will then have the ability to report any leftover issues if and when they come across them (which can be resolved by additional patches).
Will all known issues be fixed for the final release? The unpause when clicking through to other screens from inventory (when the game was unpaused) and record (regardless of original pause state) pages really annoys me :P
I'm not part of the beta so I won't vote. I would love to play it, but if it's released to everyone without finishing gameplay or multiplayer testing, I'm not sure that's a good idea. I wouldn't mind opening it to everyone, as long as it's clear that it's a beta, so no one can come complaining the patch is half finished.
One more eager player that sent in an e-mail for the beta, but didn't get a response (too many MacBook Pro users?): I left for vacation the day that phase I started (still managed to send in a save!), and every morning I've been checking the forums to see how things have been progressing. I just gotta say that it has been awesome seeing the back and forth between players and developers as well as how fast things have been progressing. It's really been inspiring and I can't wait to try out this new patch, whether in open beta or when it's fully released.
I'm not a part of the beta, but given the number of changes to the engine, and content fixes, I think bringing more people into the beta would definitely be worth pursuing. With only a limited number of people playing, it sounds like a lot of little bugs are being brought to light. Something a regular user isn't going to be too fond of.
As we have learned from previous patches (not just here but for any game) robust testing is important and the more bodies you're able to get in to put it through its paces the better. I think we need at least another week of testing to find, test, and report. The last thing anyone wants is for the patch to make things worse for current game owners. Be thorough. Be safe.
Will all known issues be fixed for the final release? The unpause when clicking through to other screens from inventory (when the game was unpaused) and record (regardless of original pause state) pages really annoys me :P
Depends on what you mean by final release.
Maybe I'm reading too much into your post - the unpause bug does sound inconvenient, then again you also asked if "all known issues" will be fixed - but I think people need to understand that (1) this is not a final patch, (2) we should compare the present beta to 1.0.2014 and not to some potentially unattainable bug-free game, which is good to aspire to eventually but not relevant in deciding whether or when to release the patch.
As we go into this phase, I just want to say: You are all amazing individuals. This process is going faster than I could have imagined, and in a major way that's because of your dedication to the product. So from me, a personal thank-you to everyone who has participated, even if we haven't been able to get you in for Phase II.
On the other hand, never before have I seen developers so committed to a patch as this. You guys have gone about this patch in a more thorough and inclusive way than I think anyone expected of you, and it's really really great.
I'm thinking it has a lot to do with the developers assumingly being committed gamers as well. That's the impression I get anyway, and the main goal for the patch seems to be much more than merely "satisfying".
Just my attempt at throwing any thank yous you've got right back at ya.
Hardware-wise it is more than ready. Great job on OpenGL compatibility fixes. Include more testers to weed out remaining campaign bugs. Bugfixing for everyone!
I didn't participate in the Beta (I wanted to, but I'm so busy this month I wouldn't have been able to devote any real time to it, so it didn't feel fair to take one of the valuable 50 slots!) but here's my opinion:
Firstly: This patch doesn't have to be the patch to end all patches. It's probably unrealistic to assume it will be. Does the current version of the patch fix more bugs than it introduces? Is the patched version better than the current version? If so, just let us have it! Fix the rest later, assuming there's nothing really major left. I'm betting anyone suffering from major Intel-related problems would happily trade a bit of green water or whatever just to be able to actually play the game.
Secondly: I have been watching the patch progress like a hawk, and what I noticed was that when the initial beta testing was announced, the first 30 or so volunteers flooded in but then it was a more gradual climb to 50. If you increased to 100, or 150, I would anticipate that your numbers rise more and more slowly as you soak up your pool of active, keen participants. And you'd get more and more people like me, tempted to sign up just for their own curiosity but without the time to really do beta testing any justice. If you're going to exhaust your pool of potential testers, why not just make it open beta? It will be the same people who dedicate the time to noticing things and reporting bugs anyway, but with the added bonus of making a lot of other people very happy!
Didn't vote as I'm not a tester, I just got the game so I have no idea about any time frames but I'd love to have this update before I get to actually make a character in order to fully enjoy it. To me it seems like it's about to hit Steam looking at this thread but I could be wrong, could we get a rough time frame?
Firstly: This patch doesn't have to be the patch to end all patches. It's probably unrealistic to assume it will be. Does the current version of the patch fix more bugs than it introduces? Is the patched version better than the current version? If so, just let us have it! Fix the rest later, assuming there's nothing really major left. I'm betting anyone suffering from major Intel-related problems would happily trade a bit of green water or whatever just to be able to actually play the game.
This.
That being said, personally I would be ok with waiting a couple more weeks for the patch (I am waiting for the much praised NPC project mod to start a new play through anyway). But the hardware testing part of the patch seems to be over; it's mostly minor gameplay bugs that seem to get reported, so it may make sense to move to an open beta soon for those with hardware issues.
I'm for closing the beta. That few gameplay bugs that are reported aren't a gamebreaker and there are many new features that actually work. To clarify, some bugs that remain are pretty nasty (Kivan dialogue loop, Berserker's rage etc.), but for those that don't recruit Kivan or play as berserker or whatever there is no reason to wait.
Just a little remark : One of the big problem with your poll is that it's completely open, hence, people that are not in the beta will probably vote "Yes, the patch is awesome! Close the beta and release the patch!", giving you wrong overall results.
Comments
I definitely think the various journal issues should be resolved before the patch is released (see my posts in the Phase II and Journal Entry threads).
So please fix them first.
Thank you.
On one hand, I see some complaints on the General Discussion forum about issues that the beta has already solved and I want everyone to see just how much the game was improved by this patch. And if I hadn't been fortunate enough to be selected to be a part of Phases II and III, I know I'd be dying to get this patch as soon as possible.
On the other hand, there are a few gameplay issues that cropped up (mainly the Kivan dialogue bugs and the journal issues as well) that no doubt, are going to cause another torrent of disgruntled posters whining about how patches are not supposed to introduce more bugs and OMG YOU GUYS SUCK.
I think this patch has come a long way. Judging by the efficiency with which some bugs have been dealt with in the last few days, if possible, I would take a week to work on the issues are listed on the thread Dee's been updating and then finally make the patch public.
If any other major issues arise after that, it's fine. I doubt it'll be the case, though.
I tested the water with every new patch (up until the last 2 or 3 patches), but found that game crippling issues with muliplayer still persisted. Sadly I don't have the time to beta test at the moment, nor provide feedback on issues I've encountered. If this goes open beta I think we will have a much better idea of how close we are to a real release. I am very excited for a working multipalyer.
Keep up the good work!
To clarify, I don't think you're done yet. But I do think what is done on this patch could be given to people.
And I'll slightly revise what I said earlier; don't bother with visual glitches and other minor stuff AND don't bother with pre-beta bugs - those on 1.0.2014 are already suffering from them so it can't get any worse. Once the rest are fixed (Kivan's dialogue issues especially) please release the patch.
I left for vacation the day that phase I started (still managed to send in a save!), and every morning I've been checking the forums to see how things have been progressing. I just gotta say that it has been awesome seeing the back and forth between players and developers as well as how fast things have been progressing. It's really been inspiring and I can't wait to try out this new patch, whether in open beta or when it's fully released.
Maybe I'm reading too much into your post - the unpause bug does sound inconvenient, then again you also asked if "all known issues" will be fixed - but I think people need to understand that (1) this is not a final patch, (2) we should compare the present beta to 1.0.2014 and not to some potentially unattainable bug-free game, which is good to aspire to eventually but not relevant in deciding whether or when to release the patch.
I'm thinking it has a lot to do with the developers assumingly being committed gamers as well. That's the impression I get anyway, and the main goal for the patch seems to be much more than merely "satisfying".
Just my attempt at throwing any thank yous you've got right back at ya.
Firstly: This patch doesn't have to be the patch to end all patches. It's probably unrealistic to assume it will be. Does the current version of the patch fix more bugs than it introduces? Is the patched version better than the current version? If so, just let us have it! Fix the rest later, assuming there's nothing really major left. I'm betting anyone suffering from major Intel-related problems would happily trade a bit of green water or whatever just to be able to actually play the game.
Secondly: I have been watching the patch progress like a hawk, and what I noticed was that when the initial beta testing was announced, the first 30 or so volunteers flooded in but then it was a more gradual climb to 50. If you increased to 100, or 150, I would anticipate that your numbers rise more and more slowly as you soak up your pool of active, keen participants. And you'd get more and more people like me, tempted to sign up just for their own curiosity but without the time to really do beta testing any justice. If you're going to exhaust your pool of potential testers, why not just make it open beta? It will be the same people who dedicate the time to noticing things and reporting bugs anyway, but with the added bonus of making a lot of other people very happy!
That being said, personally I would be ok with waiting a couple more weeks for the patch (I am waiting for the much praised NPC project mod to start a new play through anyway). But the hardware testing part of the patch seems to be over; it's mostly minor gameplay bugs that seem to get reported, so it may make sense to move to an open beta soon for those with hardware issues.