Hey there Prospectors!
We've reached that time of the week where we give a peek into what is planned for the upcoming Season 3 content.
This time around we're talking about testing and how we'll be approaching gathering data or feedback about features that are planned for future releases beyond our smaller Focus Test Group testing sessions.
So what is our plan? Short answer: Public Test Server
How will this work?
Don't worry, this isn't the kind of test you have to study for so put your prep guides away. Our public test server will be a separate server where an upcoming version of the game (in work in progress state) is available to all players for a limited period of time to test some new features and gather feedback.
The PTS will be available to all players who have The Cycle: Frontier in their Library on Steam. To participate, just find the additional application "The Cycle Playtest".
If you do not see it in your library, then please go to the shop page and request access to the playtest from there.
You can then install the PTS version of the game and join the test with your normal platform account. You won't need a separate account and we encourage you to use the same account you use for the live game to receive the rewards afterward correctly. On the PTS you will start with fresh account progress, and this won't affect any progress on your live account. We have made several improvements to new user experience and tutorial simulation, and would like players to experience it on PTS so we can make sure everything is working as intended. Players on PTS will also receive a bunch of gear from Badum, same as new players do in the live game, which will help them with exploring new season content.
Why a Public Test Server?
We want to collect feedback early and make sure that the version of the game that we will be releasing is fun and meets the bar for quality we have set for ourselves. This is very similar to what our smaller Focus Test Group currently sees and will operate in coordination with our FTG tests to maximize the amount of insight we are able to gather from a wider audience. The more feedback we are able to gather, the better we are able to judge whether features hit or miss the intended mark and make sure that potential issues with balance, performance, and playability can be addressed appropriately. In addition to increased feedback, a public test server with a wider audience will also help improve the quality of updates and limit the amount of technical issues or stability problems upon release of planned features in the live game.
Did someone say Rewards?
You 100% heard that correctly. We will be rewarding all players who evacuate successfully at least 10 times during the Public Test Server with a special Banner on their live account with the release of Season 3.
The rewards will be credited directly to the account used on the playtest server after the release of Season 3, but not later than 1 week after Season 3 has released.
This is a big reason why we recommend using the same account on the PTS that is used for the live game.
Can I buy stuff for my PTS prospector?
No. Since PTS is a test environment, a lot of unexpected things can happen there, and we definitely don't want you to risk any of your hard-earned property there. So, purchases, as well as the in-game shop, have been disabled on PTS. We have to save some intrigue for the full release don't we?
When will the PTS be available?
The Public Test Server is available for an extended weekend, from 4pm CET / 10am EST / 7am PST on Thursday March 2, 2023, until 12pm CET / 10pm AEDT / 6am EST / 3am PST on Monday, March 6, 2023.
Where do we report issues or bugs we find?
There will be a survey available for all prospectors who participate in the open PTS in addition to new channels in the Discord server specifically dedicated to feedback and bugs found during the test.
These survey results and feedback/bug reports posted in the Discord channels will be gathered and reviewed by the dev team following the conclusion of the test.
Disclaimer
The playtest environment will include features that are a work in progress, so some issues can be expected and the playtest may not reflect the final quality of certain features. Any issues or bugs that you might (almost certainly will) encounter should be reported through the proper Discord PTS feedback or PTS Bug Report channel.
Also keep in mind that while this will be a test for Season 3 content, only content that we intend to gather feedback on will be included in the build.
The playtest version may not 100% reflect the features as they will be seen in the final live build version of the game that is released when Season 3 kicks off on March 29th.
We have not planned any more sessions beyond this playtest for Season 3 right now, but never say never!
Make sure to keep an eye out for further announcements on our official channels.
So with that, it is time to put on your lab coats, strap on your thinking caps, and get to testing. There is no such thing as bad feedback if it can help improve how the game feels, plays, and operates for future content and we look forward to reviewing your insights. You should be able to download the test right away.
Don't forget to join us on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/thecycle) and our Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/TheCycleFrontier/) and make sure to follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/TheCycleGame)
Take care Prospectors, and once again...Fortuna favors the bold!