Almost every day we’re busy developing Advent of the Mists to try and build it to a point that we can move it to the next phase. During this time, it’s expected that players will run across issues, and even have complaints. Virtually on a daily basis, we get some valid complaints and alerts on bugs and other inconsistencies, but to clarify expectations from players and staff, I wanted to highlight what our goals and purposes are for Alpha and Beta in the world of Advent.
If you’re caught cheating during alpha phase, and it’s harmless, we’re not going to punish you. We -want- and expect people to find bugs, but it’s only useful to us if you tell us about it. If someone repetitively exploits a bug for the benefit of their character because the game is still in-character even during alpha, then we’re going to ask you to leave alpha testing and come back during beta. Alpha phase is not a time to try and create your most favorite character that you want to be absolutely perfect and flawless. If you don’t tell us when you run across problems, because you want to advance your own character with it, then you are no good to us during alpha.
During beta, should the same thing happen, then our punishment policies will be in full effect. We want to have a solid and clean game, and exploiting bugs that are unintentionally in-game does not help us further the game.
During alpha phase, skills, spells etc will be tweaked for balance and new items will be added all the time which will throw old items out of balance. That’s essentially what alpha phase is for, to set up the foundation of all the basics of the game and work through changes constantly to make them work together. We allow people to roleplay to give them something to do while we are balance-checking. If your character spent gold on a skill they didn’t want, or if you change your mind about something and you have to purchase the skill again, you will not be reimbursed. This is part of the testing that we need players to do. However, if you die because of a glitch or bug, we will absolutely restore your character (keep in mind this doesn’t count if you went down to the crypts and acted a fool).
However, keep in mind that no changes we are making to the game are a slight against you or against the playerbase. Things may be overpowered in one direction and we have to change that. It’s simple game mechanics. We’re not trying to mess anything up, but players will need to expect that their favorite build may have some changes if something is discovered out of balance. -Especially- during alpha phase.
Our ALPHA/BETA Definitions
Alpha = Adding all the core elements of the game. Expect that the game will not be stable, things will not be balanced, and regular changes will happen.
Beta = Balancing of core elements of the game. Playable phase, roleplay enforced, but with a warning to folks that things may still be unstable.
Fully Operational = The MUD is fairly stable, with no known complications
Some very crucial helpfiles that all players should review to ensure they do not break our policies are: help rules, help rp guidelines. You can also use the contact form to submit all logs, screenshots, or information on issues.
Important Note:
We’ve noticed after we re-opened the game in 2018 that players are putting a lot of focus on storylines and roleplay. Normally, this isn’t a problem. However, the staff is still busy doing behind-the-scenes building of the game, and players are expected to be focusing on playtesting in addition to enjoying roleplay. When we get complaints that a storyline has stalled or they’re bored with RP, it’s a bit against the grain in what alpha testing is for. The staff is not committed to advancing storylines right now because we are literally building the game. We do support RP when we can, but this should not be the expectation during alpha testing.
That said, here are some things to playtest when bored:
- Spells and skills. Is a spell doing what it’s supposed to? Does the spell act accordingly when closed or against cloaked figures/org members/flying players etc.
- Quests. Are they working correctly? Do they break at a certain point? Are they descriptive enough? Too spammy?
- Are we missing any objects to fill a skill void? Such as, do we have enough polearms, swords, dresses, boots?
- Do objects seem balanced or does one sword appear like it should be stronger than it really is?
- Are there strange interactions between skills and/or spells?
- Are helpfiles accurate and in place for commands?
Where to Report and Discuss Issues
All logs and reports of actual issues should be submitted through our bug submission form. This adds them automatically to our Trello for our todo list so we can tackle it.
If the bug is a CRASH bug, please still submit everything you have regarding the issue through the bug form but also ping us on our Discord using “@coder” in either the alpha-testing channel or the advent game channel.
Discussion on Discord is great for organizing playtesting live, discussing things to try out, etc. However, things in Discord get lost and buried VERY easily. So we prefer that outcome scenarios and logs and such be posted on the Advent forum so we can find and review them. This is also where the majority of the final discussion will take place so we can go back and reference points made.
