Preview Server & Surveys

1 reply [Last post]
Blueskycat

Hi.

I'm not sure if preview server is coming back, but I thought that if it did, an effective way to gather feedback and input would be to use surveys, rather than the forums.

Reason for this:
Forums will only have a select few giving feedback, and the data is not always reflective of the majority's opinion. Furthermore, surveys are standard UX (user experience) practice for getting quantitative data.
Adding to the point about the forums, I know there were some cases where people expressed really unpopular opinions and those were the adjustments that were made. Having a survey would help with this aspect, as you can look at the results to analyze what reflects the majority's opinion more. In order to avoid people abusing the system by making multiple survey responses, you could also set up a system that is tied specifically to one IGN or something along those lines.

Forums can more so be a way to look at qualitative data, while surveys remain as quantitative. That's what most games do anyway, which is why a lot of gaming companies will either email the survey or put one in game.

I know this would require more work from Grey Havens, as setting that up and analyzing the results would take time. I also know the team is quite small, so I don't want to sound demanding. I just wanted to suggest what I considered to be helpful as someone who has worked in UI/Product/UX. I also don't doubt that this was possibly considered already, but I just wanted to put the idea out just in case. I don't know if there are plans to bring back the preview server, but if there were any, I thought this could be a helpful suggestion.

Thank you!

Thu, 10/15/2026 - 12:08 #1
Holy-Nightmare
..

One other suggestion is to have multiple iterations of changed weapons available instead of just one. That way you can actively compare them against each other to see which feels best.

I know I got a lot of pushback against testing the DVS as a pure Normal sword with just improved damage and I think that's just because people wanted it to be released as fast as possible without looking at other potential options... if it was up to me I'd have wanted to see it tested for Elemental damage as well.

Testing needs to be longer and it needs to test multiple iterations of the altered gear alongside it's old versions.

We also desperately need longer testing for events and mechanics... the rabid playerbase is starved for releases and new items to the point that I feel like many are willing to overlook big issues if it means they can get their hands on a new item.

And yeah, surveys that allow for better feedback would nice. Imagine being able to test DVS in 4 different damage types and then sending a Survey back telling the devs how much you like each one...