Allow people to Apply for Beta Testings

People are invited to become frontier pioneers, often called to as "FP" rounds. I actually do not know how they choose to invite players, but my guess would be it has to do with activity. By that I mean not only starting games but finishing them win and lose. It wouldn't help test anything if the player gave up if they didn't get their favorite country or took some punches but didn't at least attempt to fight back.

Then again it could be anything. Once you do become a FP players you have to keep playing FP games or you lose your status. In the past when members could start 5 games per month I would usually start 1 or 2 FP games per month so that when one was ending the other was up and running.

It can be frustrating in as much as the Dev's do listen to feedback and tweak incoming changes. However, When some new updates are being rolled out many beta testers express their unhappiness with the pending change but their concerns do not dissuade the roll out of an update.

Beta testing of software is a form of art, since you have to envision (and create) scenarios. I have the feeling the FP games are a far cry to optimal beta testing, based on what I read here:

1. Of course, beta testing achievements should not ever count in stats. Instead, players should be selectively encouraged to adopt losing practices, in order to verify assumptions about playability.

2. FP players should be given random amounts of gold to be used OBLIGATORILY into each game. Gold spending is part of the game as things are now, and beta testing should reflect that. Instead, everybody tests the "normal" use ignoring the game reality.

3. The goal of the changes should be clearly told to the testers in advance, and role-play should be asked by them to check specifically these goals. On the other side, when there is a nearly unanimous rejection the developers should do major changes before testing their idea again.

I could continue this list for long, but it is sufficient to say that FP games have not prevented some of the worse changes in the game.

There is an automated system that send offers to active players when openings in the Frontline Pioneer program are available. I don't know all of the requirements, but generally level 40 or higher players who are playing several games simultaneously receive these offers.

VorlonFCW wrote:

There is an automated system that send offers to active players when openings in the Frontline Pioneer program are available. I don't know all of the requirements, but generally level 40 or higher players who are playing several games simultaneously receive these offers.