http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/24087
Access to the Test Server where players can experience upcoming content is a special privilege limited to players with a purchase of $9.95 or higher in the last 30 days.
nick: "Any time your account has purchased $9.95 or more in the last 30 days, you can access the Test Server (when it's available). So even though the next test begins at 10:30am tomorrow, if you buy $9.95 or more at 11:00am, you'll be able to join in then."
I guess I will be buying a Rose Regalia after all...
I guess I will be buying a Rose Regalia after all...
I think it's too late. I can't tell if they're saying you have access upon purchasing energy for 30 days OR only people who have bought it in the last 30 days have access.
Any time your account has purchased $9.95 or more in the last 30 days, you can access the Test Server (when it's available). So even though the next test begins at 10:30am tomorrow, if you buy $9.95 or more at 11:00am, you'll be able to join in then.
Ah. Thank you, Nick, for the clarification.
What about people with steam accounts? How will we get in to the test server?
We are currently looking in to a solution for Steam users.
Please fix it so steam players can play! I converted to steam not knowing it would have consequences!
And the consequences will never be the same!
Aw man come on time hurry up just 1 more week till bday
Wait so if i buy $10 worth of ce next week i can join?
And is it temporary or perm after you buy ce?
Well this obviously means that all the F2P players are gonna get screwed over since the tester are all payers
Just quick question about the testing server. Will we be able to log in anytime to play and check things out, or will there be scheduled testing times and you can only log on during those times? Also for clarification we will be starting the new server just like we start the game, with proto armor only correct?
Can someone tell me do i have to buy ce now or can i buy ce next week or something and still join the test server and is it temporary or perm.?
I'm a Steam user and I would really want to play on the test server! :(
I bought a package on August 19th. I just hope that if a Steam fix comes up after September 19th, that I will still be able to join. :C
Also, does the paid requirement have an expiration date, just like trinket/weapon slots? Or is it just an unlock once thing?
I am guessing it will be a permanent server like on PP.
Homigu it will expire I imagine. If you have bought CE in the past 30 days, 30 days after that is when I imagine you will lose access to the server.
O.o plus if i do buy ce tonight and cause school is tommorrow. Just wanna know is testing throughout the day?
Ok, I keep seeing posts about how the test server works in regards to energy purchases and such. Here's how it works:
You buy $9.95+ worth of CE, and that grants you 30 days worth of test server time, assuming it is up. So if you buy it right now, and the test servers open tonight as well, you'll have access. If you buy a $9.95+ package a week from now and the servers are STILL running, then you still have access until EITHER the server goes down, OR the 30-day time period expires. This potentially means that you could buy a CE package, and have the server go down a day later, even though the guy who bought his a week previous gets more time on it; this can happen, but ultimately you aren't suffering any real loss (except for some varying level of disappointment, sorry).
Does this help clarify things?
Hmm. Time to hit the local Rite Aid tomorrow.
Griffy we can play Lockdown together? I need a familiar Knight!
one rose regalia piece and testing for 30 days coming right up!
@Mr_Giggles : It would clarify things if you were a member of the OOO staff.
Still waiting for an official reply. :X
insert steam availability plox D:
He may not be a member of staff, but judging from the way that three rings does things with test servers, I'm rather certain that that is exactly how it would work. Plus nick says it himself if you re-read his posts...
More incentive to buy CE.. maybe after I get my paycheck.
...So a company rewards people who support them with beta access to a game mode that everyone will be able to play in the future...for free, but you feel 'screwed over'. What about this, I have paid, but run Steam and miss out on the community features of the Spiral Knights website, including a player page, support that's not laughable and even a CE history. THAT's screwed over, considering I can trade my TF2 hats and materials/weapons, but can't create a player page, or see where my CE is going. Just like the rest of the game, you'll still get it, just a bit after the pay headstart folks.
Entitled much? Me too.
What I meant by that is that F2P games rely on both the F2P and P2P community to function and the stuff implemented could be something that breaks the balance and we wont have a say before it is implemented
and the stuff implemented could be something that breaks the balance and we wont have a say before it is implemented
Poe's law is always in effect.
What I meant by that is that F2P games rely on both the F2P and P2P community to function and the stuff implemented could be something that breaks the balance and we wont have a say before it is implemented
There is a chance of that being true, but it isn't something I'm very worried about. On Puzzle Pirates, only paying players get testing access. More over, despite YPP having both a subscription model and a micropayment model similar to the CE we have here, the test server is set up on the subscription model of functionality, rather than the micropayment system. So the test serve for YPP, for example, requires no CE for crafting because the subscription model doesn't use it. Despite these differences, it is pretty rare for something to make it into production that has an impact on the micropayment model and not on the subscription model. Most of the bugs are things like not being able to start a PvP match, or hanging when the roarmulus twins rise up, or stuff not being bound to the player the way they expect. The test server will not be able to test the economics of the game and i'm sure OOO is very much aware of things.
Before any more hand-waving freak-outery about this, wait until there is an actual problem.
What I meant by that is that F2P games rely on both the F2P and P2P community to function and the stuff implemented could be something that breaks the balance and we wont have a say before it is implemented.
You act like the paying players are some type of super evil monster that isn't at all like you. I don't get how paying players could slant it towards their advantage at all. The two barely have a difference, except they pay and therefore should have more privileges. OOO is only going to be taking suggestions from the testers, doesn't mean they will use it. Plus I really doubt OOO is going to go hey lets make Lockdown cost 100ce to play hurr hurr stupid free players we only work with the paying ones.
What I meant by that is that F2P games rely on both the F2P and P2P community to function and the stuff implemented could be something that breaks the balance and we wont have a say before it is implemented
Rest assured OOO probably doesn't want to alienate the F2P'ers too because those same people drive the crowns economy AND have a chance to be part of the P2P'ers someday.
>steam user can't access
godfrakingdamn!
It was in that quote from Nick.
"Any time your account has purchased $9.95 or more in the last 30 days, you can access the Test Server (when it's available). So even though the next test begins at 10:30am tomorrow, if you buy $9.95 or more at 11:00am, you'll be able to join in then." - Nick
Wording like that heavily implies that buying a $9.95 package also provides 30-day access privilege to the testing server, whenever it's available. Though it is probably better to wait until a new forum post or announcement comes up with more exact details for everyone.
I just hope I'm not wrong, because it's a tempting offer... :3
Do any of you realize that they are asking you to pay, minimum $9.95 to test something for them, for 30 days (if the allegations of most of you comes out true)?
They NEED beta testers. It is vital to launching the production version. It will be to their benefit that you log onto their test servers and report bugs, let alone pay for CE using fiat money. How anyone can see this as tempting must be living in a world of its own. The servers will not guarantee any sort of stability, are time limited (no 24h testing) and will be riddled with bugs. Not to mention you will not keep any achievements/items from it.
If I can get on it, good.
If I can't, I won't bother paying more for something THEY should be paying us for. It's literally free money for them, in all sense of the definition:
a) Their staff needs to put in less hours since we help them find the bugs, so less wages needs to be paid;
b) They increase their income via CE package sold during this testing period.
I don't care what other companies do. It's actually a pretty weak argument to bring in what others do. It doesn't justifies its actions and methods.
This would make as much sense as paying to get a trial period at a new job you're applying for.
Just clarifying something here-
You're not paying to access a Test server. You're buying CE (and items if you're buying a pack) with real money to use in the regular game however you want and AS A BONUS, paying real money will allow you to access the test server. Lots of different game companies do this, once they have a production server going but still want to have a Test running as well.
I hope the future holds some way to prove yourself and make your account permanently able to access test servers, because it sounds like a thankless task otherwise.
I can see the "invest 10 bucks so you have something on the line if you misbehave and we're forced to ban you" approach the somethingawful forums also uses and how it can fight grievers, trolls and other people potentially wasting your time, but valuable playtesters will essentially have to pay a monthly fee to help the developers improve THEIR game.
The argument that it's a nice bonus besides buying items is moot too, the kind of veteran players they hope will answer this call are usually self sustaining T3 players with full 5* gear who don't need to buy energy to play. The second bonus of seeing game content a few weeks earlier than the "normal" users is a small boon compared to the fact that you still have to pay 10 bucks a month for it.
That's not even considering the potential uptime of the server. Who says that after lockdown we won't be forced to wait a month for the next time the server opens? I'm not saying that's a decision the dev team makes, I'm saying that realistically development takes those amounts of time.
I am a full 5* Steam player. I have bought more than $10 worth of energy in the last 10 days even though I'm fully self sustaining already because I like supporting this game. If they make this test server available to steam users, I'll also gladly sacrifice some playing time further support the devs but if they revoke my testing server access after 20 days even though I've been a valuable playtester I'm not going to pay to reinstate it.
That's punishing helpful players who are sacrificing their time and who, as Homigu rightly mentioned, should be rewarded instead.
Not tomorrow Rich. I don't get home til like 5 or 6 and by then testing will be done. Unless I'm suffering for a severe case of reading incomprehension again.
Sucks they only have it certain times Griff. Isn't Ice ocean open all the time?
I'm a paying player, I'm using an underused class (mad bomber), I'm on a Mac 10.6.8 (which needs bug testing), and I'm very good at writing up reports on my findings.
Now if I could just sign up for this Testing Server as a Steam user, I'm sure we could get some valuable input going.
I assume that the testing servers will be open fairly often if we are paying 9.95 monthly to access them. I too will miss this first round today, because I work 9 - 5 but I hope its open more this weekend.
I do also agree with above posters that monthly to help test seems a bit thankless and I hope that in the future there might be some lenience or even a free status granted to those who either make a great participation or pay a lot of money. Maybe even give the option of a year subscription at a discount (although this isn't quite the solution I'd like...free free free :P)
I'm Steaming mad that Steam users can't beta test :-) Hopefully they can figure that out pronto.
Well, this was the tipping point that actually made me spend the $10, while the first was the Rose promotion. I don't even need the CE given how much I have.
I told myself if I rolled a Gold Chapeau that I would actually equip it... and I did, so I did.
This is actually fairly common; I mean, who better to test the servers than the players themselves? Now I know some free players are upset, but it's still a fair system. The company has more invested in the interests of the players who are invested in the game. Besides, Quiva's right: you're just paying for CE; the test server is a bonus (preview for all those delicious updates). They aren't cheating everyone, and more beta tests means fewer bugs and more player-preferred content.
TL;DR:
You're paying for CE. The test server stuff is a bonus (like Rose Regalia).
True you're paying for CE and the server is a bonus, or you're paying for the server and the CE is a bonus basically. Most people that pay for CE or have paid for CE don't really need more of it. I've paid for a it a few times, and honestly don't need any, and wont need any for a while. So I'm paying for a preview basically and getting extra CE and losing money as a burden.
You've got a good point there that I really can't argue against. The only real advantage falls to players who pay for CE regularly, for whatever the reason (Like collecting cool gear, upgrading toons, Vanaduke runs, etc).
I stopped reading somewhere in the middle of the whining about how people don't get access to the testing server because they are F2P.
This is how it works, you playing for FREE doesn't help the comp any financially. People who put actual money in it that is coming from their pay checks reap special benefits because they are taking money from THEIR OWN POCKETS and putting it into the game. I think it's plenty fair that people who take their actual real life hard earned money can access something than people who don't put their real life hard earned money into. That's a fact of life.
Now, it doesn't mean that three rings doesn't appreciate F2P players. They appreciate them, and by doing promotions and making those rose regelia outfits unbinding they give you access to that where most games wouldn't.Not only that but they look at everyone's suggestions and take them into consideration. They look at F2P players suggestions for the game and take them as seriously as the do P2P players. You have a say in this community no matter what. Again not yo mention that you have access to the ENTIRE game and you complain about not getting access to the testing server because you feel you should? no. It doesn't work like that. You can reach every other aspect of the game. You can go to the core and end game without EVER having to put an actual dime of your real life money into the game. YES it's MUCH harder, YES you have to grind more. But it is doable, people do it all the time, and you CAN go every where else.
F2P players need to be thankful for the people who put actual money into the game. Because if it wasn't for people who do that... YOU WOULDN'T HAVE SPIRAL KNIGHTS TO PLAY.
Now,
when can steam players get access to the testing server?
It's likely much harder to get Steam players access because the staff has to get permission from Steam and coordinate things with them. With the rest of us, it's just plug in, download, ding! Success! It would have been better if they got Steam access working first, then announced and released beta, but likely they wanted to get Lockdown released as soon as possible and that needs a large(ish) number of players to test it so they released it to non-Steam players first.
Outta curiosity, is there this much whining on the Steam forums?
hi i have spent $10 in game on Ce and such and i wanted to test the server but i cant log in because i use steam! is there anyway i can log in and still play?!?! my steam name is GhostMole also and my charachter name is too please help!
I'm having a blast on the testing server, this is sure to be great once released.
These shield boosts are pretty creative and hilariously fun. I love games where I can temporarily be the Flash.
I loved it even though i only got to play 2 games >_< striker is awesome only thing tht really pwned me is the bombs >_<
Very good.