ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2794
Registered: 02-04-2003
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So I started the shoulder-tapping process for getting testers on DROD: Journey to Rooted Hold. Basically, I asked people who tested on the last release (Architects' Edition) if they wanted to test again on this release. I'm not planning on asking more people unless we run out of testing juice with this first batch of signer-uppers.

Please, don't ask me if you can test. It is important for us to take a quality over quantity approach. Having a lot of testers doesn't really help us out. I am choosing to work with people who have been good contributors in the past to minimize the amount of time we spend processing bug reports. If we need more testers in addition to those from the previous release, then I'll do some more shoulder-tapping and ask people who show these qualities:

1. Participation on the forum.
2. Don't cause problems, i.e. insult other users or make thoughtless posts.
3. Good at expressing themselves.

...and that isn't asking anybody to try harder at exhibiting these qualities. I'm not making an elitist selection game out of this. After all, the people who help test are doing the Caravel team a service, and we are grateful to have them. I'm just saying that this is how the shoulder-tapping works. Enthusiasm and initiative (i.e. e-mailing me to ask) don't affect anything.

If you don't get picked for testing, please don't be jealous. You might feel like there's a party going on someplace and you weren't invited, but no... it's not like that. It's more like there is one big huge party including you and all the people on DROD.net. In the kitchen some of us are fixing up cosmopolitans and little crackers with salmon mousse. But you can't go in there because it's fracking crowded enough already, and I can barely hear myself think with all the commotion. So stay out of the kitchen! And Crampy, don't be drinking the tomato juice--it's for bloody maries!

-Erik

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The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

agaricus5
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1838
Registered: 02-04-2003
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Wow!

At last, the second phase of beta has begun.

You don't know exactly how much saliva I've produced waiting for it to happen. Hopefully Matt's basement is deep enough that some of it hasn't seeped through the ceiling yet.

In other words, I can't wait!

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Resident Medic/Mycologist

DiMono
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1181
Registered: 09-13-2003
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ErikH2000 wrote:
...all kinds of stuff...

I was really enthusiastic when I started reading this post, thinking I might be one of the few, the proud, the chosen... then I kept reading, and it started getting really, really weird. I'm suddenly worried for your sanity, Erik, and I've been up almost 40 hours straight!

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Deploy the... I think it's a yellow button... it's usually flashing... it makes the engines go... WHOOSH!

ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2794
Registered: 02-04-2003
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DiMono wrote:
I was really enthusiastic when I started reading this post, thinking I might be one of the few, the proud, the chosen... then I kept reading, and it started getting really, really weird. I'm suddenly worried for your sanity, Erik, and I've been up almost 40 hours straight!

Huh? I'm not sure what you mean here really. As for my insanity, all sorts of little voices and neuroses are hopping around in my head. It's terrible! This is what they sound like...

You're going to make somebody very angry, aren't you? Somebody is going to get really upset after you hit the "send" button, so you gotta be careful so very careful here. Writing this message is a giant responsibility. Ah, but you could be too careful too cautious too bland and that means you are dead inside--an animated husk transporting a collection of ingrained habits and preplanned responses to stimuli. Why can't you sit comfortable in that chair--something wrong there. Is your chair lopsided or do you have an asymmetrical slouch? You can't spend 16 hours a day sitting in front of a screen without expecting some bad result. As you gain one small victory in a narrow area of your life, the rest of it will fall apart. Be prepared for a massive, all-encompasing, soul-annihilating failure that will commence the moment you click on that little grey square that says "Send Message". Damn it, man! Don't do it--are you nuts?

You see what kind of freakage I have to deal with inside of my skull?

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2388
Registered: 05-29-2003
IP: Logged

Don't worry, you'll have plenty of tomato juice left for bloody maries. I don'r really drink the stuff.

Just don't ask me to make some vodka and coke.

Matt

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What do you call an elephant at the North Pole?

gamer_extreme_101
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1939
Registered: 03-07-2004
IP: Logged

Can I just have some coke then?

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--That guy with a million different aliases since he doesn't like this name anymore.

Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2388
Registered: 05-29-2003
IP: Logged

Umm... you can have some vodka...

Matt

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What do you call an elephant at the North Pole?

Zmann
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 241
Registered: 04-21-2003
IP: Logged

Yay. JtRH keeps getting closer and closer.

Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2388
Registered: 05-29-2003
IP: Logged

Aah, that's right, the part deux.

We're not planning on keeping the gag order up for too much longer, at least if I understood Erik right. Probably some time before beta ends, we'll tell you everything.

I feel like I've got a little devil on one shoulder, wearing a jester hat, saying, "Go on! It's beta! This is when Erik said we'd spill the beans! And if you don't do it, one of the testers will crack and spill everything! don't put them through that!" and a little angel on the other shoulder who looks just like a Jon Stewart action figure saying, "This is not your decision. You shouldn't even be posting saying that we might lift the gag just in case we wait until release. The whole point is to not get everyone all excited and drooling, so posting anything will just set them off wait why are you moving your mouse DON'T PRESS THAT POST MESSAGE BUTTON

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What do you call an elephant at the North Pole?

Schik
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 5383
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

Mattcrampy wrote:
and a little angel on the other shoulder who looks just like a Jon Stewart action figure

Subtle, Matt. Subtle.

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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
--Mahatma Gandhi

joker5
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 607
Registered: 11-25-2003
IP: Logged

Very. And where did you find my shoulder-devil?

~joker5

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www.badgerbadgerbadger.com

"Two words: Beam Waffle!" -me

Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2388
Registered: 05-29-2003
IP: Logged

I never said I was being subtle. In fact, I think I was being the opposite of subtle.

Matt

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What do you call an elephant at the North Pole?

Fafnir
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 315
Registered: 11-05-2004
IP: Logged

Mattcrampy wrote:
"Go on! It's beta! This is when Erik said we'd spill the beans! And if you don't do it, one of the testers will crack and spill everything! Don't put them through that!"

The beta testers will crack, eh? Excellent idea...

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Stupidity kills.
Absolute stupidity
Kills absolutely.

masonjason
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 349
Registered: 12-29-2003
IP: Logged

Hmm. Are the shoulder-tapped people going to identify themselves to the forum populace?

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Eighty people came to the bazaar.

Watcher
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 902
Registered: 02-04-2003
IP: Logged

masonjason wrote:
Hmm. Are the shoulder-tapped people going to identify themselves to the forum populace?

Given that there's no gag order on talking about JtRH any more, I guess it can't hurt. I'm one of them. You can recognize us by our title of Citizen.

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Today the refrigerator, tomorrow the world!

Doom
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 3226
Registered: 07-05-2004
IP: Logged

I was a little curious about the testers and scrolled through the member list and picked up all Citizens.

Agaricus5
bdcribbs
bibelot
bradwall
Daniel Ehlke
DiMono
krammer
levelthirteen
Scott
sharonk
Sokko
StuartK
Watcher
Zmann

Total of 14 testers. These people will get a headstart at hold designing... Me jealous

Mattcrampy
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2388
Registered: 05-29-2003
IP: Logged

I think you have to be more worried about these people, who have a huge headstart:

AlefBet
ErikH2000
eytanz
Mattcrampy
mrimer
Oneiromancer
Schik
trick

Matt, who hastens to add that the only real tricky bits are characters, and even then they're easy enough

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What do you call an elephant at the North Pole?