Bring back QA or something similar (please)

[Tas]

It seems like every time a new feature is added to the server, whether it's a new season of Factions or a new rank, there's a lot of controversy. It often seems like the update was rushed and that some obvious things were overlooked. This is natural, we're all only human, but I think it would be good to take some measures to avoid this somewhat.

I think a sort of Quality Assurance team, combined with staff, who could represent the various needs and wants of the servers, would be a good idea and extremely valuable both preceding and immediately after new releases.

Reporting issues to the appropriate person is a complicated process:

• The mods that we are speaking to are very often unable to do anything to solve the issue and can only ask us to file
• A support ticket, which naturally takes time to look at, let alone be dealt with by
• The admins, who are extremely busy, and have a huge amount of reports to deal with. If we're lucky, they can take 15 minutes and fix the issue, but chances are the only person who can fix it is
• The owner, and lord knows he has a lot to do.

This process is only slowed down by the many, many repetitions of the same issues (yes, it has been reported, please be patient) in our very messy Discord channels. The average player, frankly,

• Has bias towards her own server,
• Has been affected personally and wants the issue resolved now,
• And doesn't care how busy the mod she's talking to is.

And this is fine. But there must be a better way.

So what if there was a place where some of the most experienced, active, and mature players from each server could calmly share what needs to be fixed? It would be a lot simpler. Ideas could be organized more easily because the bugs being reported wouldn't be interrupted by new players not knowing how to sync their Discord.

TL;DR - I think the QA Team should be reinstated because it would dramatically improve the quality of the servers and the relationship between higher staff and the players. Feedback is awkward right now and desperately needs change.

Maybe consider it! I think this would really improve the quality of our server.

 

[HyDr0KT]

Hello,

As one of the only remaining active members of this team, I would definitely love to see it revamped and put to good use again. I agree with the points you have made in this thread. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

 

[Sonic_Raptor]

As of right this moment I believe Patrons are really these kind of proxy people at this time. I don't know about you but I think they are very much aware of the problems its more about fixing them. What actually activities would the QA team do or help the server with? Also how do they fix change things are they just another voice that the community complains to and then relays it to the Admins?

I like the overall concept I just wasn't around when it initially was in place. Could you perhaps give an example of a proposed situation.
- Raptor

 

[Tas]

As of right this moment I believe Patrons are really these kind of proxy people at this time. I don't know about you but I think they are very much aware of the problems its more about fixing them. What actually activities would the QA team do or help the server with? Also how do they fix change things are they just another voice that the community complains to and then relays it to the Admins?

I like the overall concept I just wasn't around when it initially was in place. Could you perhaps give an example of a proposed situation.
- Raptor

While Patrons have shown their dedication to the server, I don't think that's really the right approach. It doesn't send a good message that the players with the most voice are simply the ones who have spent the most.

The QA Team would be a group of experienced, rational and mature players who would be given an opportunity to directly share their server's concerns with Dacon. This connectivity would eliminate all the in-betweens of talking to members of staff who can't do anything towards the issue, filing support tickets, etc.

They're not necessarily someone to complain to - that would be horrible for them - but as they would be active players of their server they would get around and know what's going on, what needs to be fixed. There would simply be a Discord channel where they could calmly relay the general opinions of their server. I'd imagine that for an admin or owner, it's not always obvious what's going on down below! No offense, of course. This player would be trusted.

So yeah- they wouldn't actually fix things, but they'd have an actual opportunity to let higher staff know what the players want and need.

Hydro actually is a QA Team member- he could probably explain things better. This is mostly guessing and what I want to see, to be honest.

 

[Hallowqueen]

Howdy!

Personally, I agree and disagree with some of the points you’ve raised:

I would have to agree with the fact that when new things are introduced, there does tend to be issues with it that need to be reported and eventually resolved. I also agree that it shouldn’t be a Patron exclusive thing if it were to be reinstated.

However, when describing what you believe a QA member would and should do, I feel as though you’ve essentially described some of the duties that come with any staff role:
"but as they would be active players of their server they would get around and know what's going on, what needs to be fixed”
"The QA Team would be a group of experienced, rational and mature players who would be given an opportunity to directly share their server's concerns with Dacon.”

I’d also like to point out that your comment to “cut out the middle-man” doesn’t entirely make sense, as QA members would still have to report issues and wait for them to be resolved? Support tickets, in my opinion, are so handy - I understand that when some players are told to make one, they essentially roll their eyes - but realistically, it keeps everything in a tidy manor, so that the issues can be dealt with head-on, and they can be actively updated by members of staff, even if they’re unable to deal with it themselves.

Players dislike support tickets because they want instantaneous fixes to (most times) complex issues, and always seem to assume everything is an “easy fix” - We currently have 2 devs, 4 admins and Dacon working on resolving these issues - if you believe the fixes to the issues you’re affected by are so simple, I’d urge you to consider applying for a Developer role. Regardless if things are passed on in PMs/a discord group, or via support tickets, they’re still going to have to wait to be looked into? I totally understand it can be disheartening to hear “it’s been reported” multiple times; but at the end of the day, it’s true and it’s the best we can do, and it’s the best the admins/devs can do.

I’m on the fence about the idea of having the QA team re-instated; On one hand, I think it would be good to have some help as staff to report the issues, but on the other, I feel as though it’d be pointless as staff members already currently act as the QA team. Staff members are still just regular players with authority - we experience the same issues as everyone else <3

Thanks for taking the time to suggest this, however! I feel it could be something that is considered, especially as the server continues growing. Have a nice day/night!

 

[HyDr0KT]

Howdy!

Personally, I agree and disagree with some of the points you’ve raised:

I would have to agree with the fact that when new things are introduced, there does tend to be issues with it that need to be reported and eventually resolved. I also agree that it shouldn’t be a Patron exclusive thing if it were to be reinstated.

However, when describing what you believe a QA member would and should do, I feel as though you’ve essentially described some of the duties that come with any staff role:
"but as they would be active players of their server they would get around and know what's going on, what needs to be fixed”
"The QA Team would be a group of experienced, rational and mature players who would be given an opportunity to directly share their server's concerns with Dacon.”

I’d also like to point out that your comment to “cut out the middle-man” doesn’t entirely make sense, as QA members would still have to report issues and wait for them to be resolved? Support tickets, in my opinion, are so handy - I understand that when some players are told to make one, they essentially roll their eyes - but realistically, it keeps everything in a tidy manor, so that the issues can be dealt with head-on, and they can be actively updated by members of staff, even if they’re unable to deal with it themselves.

Players dislike support tickets because they want instantaneous fixes to (most times) complex issues, and always seem to assume everything is an “easy fix” - We currently have 2 devs, 4 admins and Dacon working on resolving these issues - if you believe the fixes to the issues you’re affected by are so simple, I’d urge you to consider applying for a Developer role. Regardless if things are passed on in PMs/a discord group, or via support tickets, they’re still going to have to wait to be looked into? I totally understand it can be disheartening to hear “it’s been reported” multiple times; but at the end of the day, it’s true and it’s the best we can do, and it’s the best the admins/devs can do.

I’m on the fence about the idea of having the QA team re-instated; On one hand, I think it would be good to have some help as staff to report the issues, but on the other, I feel as though it’d be pointless as staff members already currently act as the QA team. Staff members are still just regular players with authority - we experience the same issues as everyone else <3

Thanks for taking the time to suggest this, however! I feel it could be something that is considered, especially as the server continues growing. Have a nice day/night!

Hello,

To be honest, I skimmed through the post and was really focused on the main idea of a "QA Team being reinstated". You point out from OP's post that "However, when describing what you believe a QA member would and should do, I feel as though you’ve essentially described some of the duties that come with any staff role." I completely agree but see this more of as a complement to the staff team than anything that can pose as a potential issue. To further distinguish the two, most staff members do not play on ALL global gamemodes. Therefore, a single staff member may not know all the bugs/issues floating around each specific server. I'm not sure if OP stated this in his post but as a member of the QA Team, I've gone around and played every single gamemode, learning the ins and outs, and getting hands-on experience of my own. Having this experience, I'm able to create large lists of bugs/issues/concerns and send them directly to Dacon (During SOTW and throughout a gamemode's lifespan).

To conclude, I don't understand why you would be "On the fence about the idea of having the QA Team reinstated." The QA Team poses little to no hinderance to the server. If established correctly, it only acts as a complement to the Staff Team, allowing for more issues/concerns to be reported that a staff member may miss. It doesn't hurt to have a team dedicated to solely "bug testing" which is essentially how I see this team.

 

[Tas]

Hey Hallow, thanks for replying. I'm going to have to disagree with a lot of the things that you said, however:

When describing what you believe a QA member would and should do, I feel as though you’ve essentially described some of the duties that come with any staff role.

The whole point of the QA Team is that they aren't staff. Both Hydro and I have been staff and have spent an extensive amount of time as players. The fact is that perspective shifts depending on your role. I'm not saying that staff have bias or anything like that, but you notice things as a player that you don't notice as staff.

Similarly, and I believe I mentioned this somewhere about a month ago, players generally feel more comfortable confessing to or chatting with other players than they do with members of staff. If the person that I'm chatting (or complaining) to is a member of the QA Team, she can assure me that my issue will be brought up with the owner. This is a wonderful feeling.

I’d also like to point out that your comment to “cut out the middle-man” doesn’t entirely make sense, as QA members would still have to report issues and wait for them to be resolved? Support tickets, in my opinion, are so handy - I understand that when some players are told to make one, they essentially roll their eyes - but realistically, it keeps everything in a tidy manor, so that the issues can be dealt with head-on, and they can be actively updated by members of staff, even if they’re unable to deal with it themselves. Players dislike support tickets because they want instantaneous fixes to (most times) complex issues, and always seem to assume everything is an “easy fix” - We currently have 2 devs, 4 admins and Dacon working on resolving these issues - if you believe the fixes to the issues you’re affected by are so simple, I’d urge you to consider applying for a Developer role.

Here's the other thing. Support tickets are just dandy for staff members to scroll through, helping out or shuffling them forwards to be dealt with by an admin. But for a player, they are an inhuman and unfriendly system. This is not the fault of staff, admins, or anyone. It's just the way it is. It's the difference between jotting down some information and waiting blindly for an answer - or talking to somebody. They're tidy for staff, but they're not tidy for us! Our waiting ticket is the only one we can see. We have no idea how many tickets are being made, we don't know if someone has already reported the same issue - and if we have, we wait a couple days only for the response "it's already been reported. thanks."

I'll tell you why I don't like support tickets. It's not because I want instantaneous fixes. I'm not unreasonable, and neither is anybody else. We crave understanding. I know that the issues are not easy fixes - please, don't put words in my mouth or in anyone else's - and all I need is to know that something is being done about them.

And come on, Hallow. Don't pretend like I'm a stranger who's trying to destroy the system. A year ago yesterday we became staff together. I'm not going to apply for Developer any sooner than you resign and apply for it yourself.

If we can speak to a human, we feel that connection between us and the people who make things happen. The relay of information is casual, easy to understand, probably faster, and most importantly much more natural.

Regardless if things are passed on in PMs/a discord group, or via support tickets, they’re still going to have to wait to be looked into? I totally understand it can be disheartening to hear “it’s been reported” multiple times; but at the end of the day, it’s true and it’s the best we can do, and it’s the best the admins/devs can do.

You misunderstand what I'm asking. I have never once said that we need to eliminate the wait time. You're passing over the majority of my post and focusing on one minor point, but here we are.

I’m on the fence about the idea of having the QA team re-instated; On one hand, I think it would be good to have some help as staff to report the issues, but on the other, I feel as though it’d be pointless as staff members already currently act as the QA team. Staff members are still just regular players with authority - we experience the same issues as everyone else <3

Hydro covered this better than I could. The statement "staff already act as the QA Team" is inherently untrue because the QA Team is a team of players, not staff. This is not a difficult concept, and I know you understand it just fine. I'm not saying staff don't experience the issues.

Communication is necessary. Connection between players and admin is crucial. Staff cannot take the place of players. In order for a hierarchical system to function, there needs to be a relation of information between all levels. It's simply not an argument.

 

[windstaff]

i believe any sort of bug testing team would help, pre update or during update, i dont think having a team of players that may have access to an update before release or have a easier direct line to helping find issues would cause any issues with the server as a whole

 

[Tas]

i believe any sort of bug testing team would help, pre update or during update, i dont think having a team of players that may have access to an update before release or have a easier direct line to helping find issues would cause any issues with the server as a whole

agreed! and bug testing is only the half of it.

 

[Sonic_Raptor]

Hey Hallow, thanks for replying. I'm going to have to disagree with a lot of the things that you said, however:

The whole point of the QA Team is that they aren't staff. Both Hydro and I have been staff and have spent an extensive amount of time as players. The fact is that perspective shifts depending on your role. I'm not saying that staff have bias or anything like that, but you notice things as a player that you don't notice as staff.

Similarly, and I believe I mentioned this somewhere about a month ago, players generally feel more comfortable confessing to or chatting with other players than they do with members of staff. If the person that I'm chatting (or complaining) to is a member of the QA Team, she can assure me that my issue will be brought up with the owner. This is a wonderful feeling.


Here's the other thing. Support tickets are just dandy for staff members to scroll through, helping out or shuffling them forwards to be dealt with by an admin. But for a player, they are an inhuman and unfriendly system. This is not the fault of staff, admins, or anyone. It's just the way it is. It's the difference between jotting down some information and waiting blindly for an answer - or talking to somebody. They're tidy for staff, but they're not tidy for us! Our waiting ticket is the only one we can see. We have no idea how many tickets are being made, we don't know if someone has already reported the same issue - and if we have, we wait a couple days only for the response "it's already been reported. thanks."

I'll tell you why I don't like support tickets. It's not because I want instantaneous fixes. I'm not unreasonable, and neither is anybody else. We crave understanding. I know that the issues are not easy fixes - please, don't put words in my mouth or in anyone else's - and all I need is to know that something is being done about them.

And come on, Hallow. Don't pretend like I'm a stranger who's trying to destroy the system. A year ago yesterday we became staff together. I'm not going to apply for Developer any sooner than you resign and apply for it yourself.

If we can speak to a human, we feel that connection between us and the people who make things happen. The relay of information is casual, easy to understand, probably faster, and most importantly much more natural.


You misunderstand what I'm asking. I have never once said that we need to eliminate the wait time. You're passing over the majority of my post and focusing on one minor point, but here we are.


Hydro covered this better than I could. The statement "staff already act as the QA Team" is inherently untrue because the QA Team is a team of players, not staff. This is not a difficult concept, and I know you understand it just fine. I'm not saying staff don't experience the issues.

Communication is necessary. Connection between players and admin is crucial. Staff cannot take the place of players. In order for a hierarchical system to function, there needs to be a relation of information between all levels. It's simply not an argument.

Whilst I agree the ticket system can be frustrating in the sense that it is an unknown quantity of what is and isn't reported I really have no problem with it. I almost think that instead of a QA Team @Dacon needs a public list of current issues which people can check against sort of like the #updates channel here or/and on discord. Even then I only see that benefiting the causal player perhaps its because purely a survival phenomenon but even casual players are mostly made aware of bugs/broken features by either staff or the community on survival when they encounter them. Also how would a QA team divert the general player bases issues with using the report system? Also perhaps it is a biased view but on survival and Skyblock staff are not only moderators but pillars of our community and as such I never see any barrier between staff and the general player base but I understand I have significant bias within that aspect

I think a current list of issues like I stated earlier actually cuts out the middle man entirely and allows the general player base to know whether a current issue is known or otherwise. As for the most part players reporting issues really only want to help and to have a better playing experience. So whilst I perhaps agree? and appreciate tickets can be irritating to fill out to me its not a huge issue and not on I have seen at least in Survival as being regarded as a pain.
This is a really interesting discussion everyone, lets make sure we keep it friendly!
- Raptor

 

[Tas]

I agree. Let's stay friendly, and let's stay on topic.

I don't know what happened in the course of this thread, but I can't stress enough how support tickets were not even close to the point of my thread. The QA Team is also not just an alternative to support tickets, Discord, or otherwise. It's not a reason not to talk to staff. It's not nulling staff, insulting them, or replacing them in any way. It's not a reason not to create support tickets, or a reason why they're bad.

QA Team, to the best of my understanding (and, if reinstated, how I would like it to be), a way for players to represent their servers. They can communicate more efficiently with higher staff. this is so important and it's simply not something staff can do. This is something for players.

Raptor, I honestly just think you're a little confused. I'm not throwing shade on support tickets, staff, Dacon, or anybody. I just believe that a really, really good system deserves a revival, especially since there are more new seasons and gamemodes regularly now than there were back when QA Team was a thing (only one olympus, one skyblock, no factions).

Thanks for not letting this thread die, lol. Even though we're disagreeing I'm glad our idea has some traffic.

 

[Hallowqueen]

Some of my responses may be a little blunt here, but my intentions aren’t at all to be rude, I completely apologise in advance if they may come across as this though:

you notice things as a player that you don't notice as staff.

And players don’t have the option to report any bugs staff may miss via support tickets, public channels in discord, in-game chat, etc? Staff members tend to know a lot about issues as they are constantly mentioned by players, and we do pass them on via the appropriate means.

players generally feel more comfortable confessing to or chatting with other players than they do with members of staff.

I’ve never known a player to feel uncomfortable/intimidated to let a staff member know that there is a bug/issue in-game ... usually it’s the opposite and players will discuss them a lot - and even if they don’t say it directly to a staff member, staff still sometimes see the discussion, and will (in most cases) ask about it, so it can be reported and dealt with. I feel as though it’s the opposite - players would feel more comfortable speaking with a staff member about an issue as they’ll trust it’ll be reported and dealt with, rather than another player who can only really pass it on to a member of staff themselves - because essentially, a QA team member would just be doing what we as staff already do, in that we’d pass on issues to the Devs/Dacon/Admins as soon as we’re aware of them.

As well, there’s the possibility of QA team members reporting issues that have already been reported by staff, and vice versa - Most issues would just end up being reported multiple times; which they already are, the way things are right now. Players re-reporting issues doesn’t delay progress in the issues being looked into, and I really don’t see why this is such an issue if a player does mention something already known? There’s no harm at all in reporting an issue as it comes up, even if it has already been reported - better to be safe than sorry.

Our waiting ticket is the only one we can see. We have no idea how many tickets are being made, we don't know if someone has already reported the same issue - and if we have, we wait a couple days only for the response "it's already been reported. thanks."

And if a QA team member has already reported it, do you think the response will be any different?... really don’t understand the point you’re making with this one - would you prefer staff didn’t let players know that the bug they’re reporting is already known, and is potentially in the process of being resolved? You say you want a “friendly" and “humane” system; I personally think keeping players in the loop by informing them it has been passed on, and will be looked into achieves that.

But for a player, they are an inhuman and unfriendly system.

We’re constantly adapting and changing how we tackle support tickets to make the process as comfortable as possible for players - Personally, I think the ticket system has come a long way, and we now re-assure players that their issues have been reported, and that they will be dealt with if possible. Regardless if it’s via a ticket system or a PM, they’re still going to be interacting with someone.

When I say “you” I’m using it in a general sense, not aiming it at you in particular, Tas. I personally have seen it countless times where players will say “it’s such an easy fix” for example when we let them know an issue has been/will be reported.

I know that the issues are not easy fixes - please, don't put words in my mouth or in anyone else's - and all I need is to know that something is being done about them.

As you say, you’re an ex-staff member, so you should know that we do report issues as soon as we see them, and 9/10 something is done about them - whether it takes a while or not, they aren’t ignored.

You misunderstand what I'm asking. I have never once said that we need to eliminate the wait time. You're passing over the majority of my post and focusing on one minor point, but here we are.

I just don’t see what the difference would be between what staff already do in terms of bugs/issues, and what a QA team member would be able to do? Whether it’s through a support ticket, a DM, in-game, on discord, etc. they’re still speaking to another human - so your argument that it’s “inhuman” is entirely preposterous considering staff are (last time I checked), human.

The statement "staff already act as the QA Team" is inherently untrue because the QA Team is a team of players, not staff.

Well ... the staff team are just a team of players also? We just happen to volunteer to help report and deal with issues. Of course, I agree with you and Hydro that all staff play every single gamemode; even now as Network staff, I float between servers, but don’t play every single one; however, we do have server specific staff that focus on one or two (or in the case of Skyblock staff, 3) gamemodes, who do notice issues on each gamemode - it’s not as though we have one group of staff who only play one gamemode - within our large team, we have several other smaller teams dedicated to each server.

I’m not entirely against the QA team being reinstated, nor do I think it’s a bad idea - I just personally don’t see the need for it. Realistically any player could DM a list of bugs to Dacon for each gamemode - You wouldn’t need a tag to do so. I have nothing else to contribute to this debate, as I believe I have shared my side as clearly as possible. Thank you for sharing your opinions on it!

 

[Pageth]

HyDr0KT 喜歡男人。不給他QA。

 

[Tas]

I'm not interested in arguing back and forth the subtleties of each other's sentences. I'm going to try to express my opinion as clearly and briefly as possible - and for my own sake, I won't mention support tickets.

^ This is the current system. ^
v This is the system we want. v

In the 2nd example, the QA Team is able to communicate directly with Dacon. This is what isn't being understood.

The QA Team has nothing to do with staff or admins. They are not just a group of people reporting things to admins. This is where we're losing each other. I beg that you guys understand this. This is not a replacement for support tickets, staff, or anything else. I can't make this clear enough.

It's a way for the players to communicate with the owner.

 

[Hallowqueen]

This is not a replacement for support tickets, staff, or anything else. I can't make this clear enough.

As a final point, I’d like to clarify that no one has said you’re attempting to replace support tickets, etc. it’s just that support tickets are another example of ways that players can communicate directly with Dacon/Admins/Staff. You really aren’t being complicated, and no one has expressed that they feel you are. But I think you just may have misunderstood my examples.

Any player, can easily DM Dacon themselves with a list of bugs - you don’t have to apply to a team or have a ‘QA team’ title to do so. I think making it a promotable/application based system would make it just as exclusive as being staff; as they’re being selected for the role, rather than just allowing all players to DM Dacon/the admins with issues. Everyone can do this, realistically ... but they choose to speak to staff, because staff are friendly, trustworthy players (and I cannot stress it enough that staff do in fact play on the server, making them players by definition), in the community whose volunteered purpose is to help other players, and the server.

It's a way for the players to communicate with the owner.

Technically (and this is based off your own diagram), it’s a way for players to communicate to the QA Team, to communicate to Dacon. Of course members of the QA Team would be players [like staff are], but as I mentioned, it’d be just as exclusive as staff as it’d be an earned role. By separating the players from the QA team in your own diagram, you’ve clearly singled out the players from the QA team.

 

[Tas]

When I say players, I'm referring to players who are not staff. I know that staff play on this server, Hallow. The QA Team is also not application based.

I just can't understand why you're continuing to nitpick the tiny details of my thread and not the overall goal.

Please, let's stop posting back and forth because the last thing I want is for someone to lock this thread. I think your opinion of my idea has been expressed clearly enough.

Edit: thanks for the cookie, though.

 

[HyDr0KT]

Hello,

I think this post has gone completely off topic and would definitely like to request it be either be locked or commented on by some other players. I think the post has gained enough traction and people who read the title should realize the main point this post is trying to get across, reestablishing a QA Team.

The last comment I'd like to make for clarification: the QA Team doesn't just "DM Dacon a list of bugs." We're also a team that was recruited for the sole purpose of BETA testing various gamemodes before SOTW. The QA Team is a group of highly knowledgeable and vastly experienced players who can immediately start testing various, (ManaCube Exclusive) features of a specific gamemode, know and be able to test numerous duplication glitches, immediately set up (ex. grinders) to test the economy, create suggestions/improvements lists, and most importantly, discuss and debate on potential issues. For example, I've gone on numerous servers and watched over 100+ duplication videos to have an idea of what could potentially be used and how these processes could be manipulated to "work" on ManaCube. The last step would be to create a "list" of these issues and send them to Dacon.

Based on my explanation above, I hope everyone reading this post is further informed about what this team does. Not to speak of myself as higher than others, but the point of this Team is to have members who are extremely experienced than other casual players to help accomplish the above tasks. Any player can send Dacon a list of bugs but if done correctly, a QA Team members list should be more detailed, include examples, and contain more advanced contents. A QA Team is well versed in a specific (or multiple gamemodes) than the normal, casual player, and can test to fulfill the tasks I have stated above. In addition, having any player able to send Dacon lists of bugs/suggestions can lead to be extremely "spam-like" for him. Having a reliable, pre-established group of experienced players to consistently interact with him will make the process much smoother.

A debate consists of two sides so now I would like to make some counters to my own argument. First off, a QA Team does sound very similar to the Staff Team. The Staff Team already consists of specific players who are well-trained and experienced in the gamemode they are positioned in. Therefore, one may argue the staff should be able to find bugs, suggest ideas, and report their findings independently without the need of assistance from another team. I agree with this and believe it may be a little repetitive. However, depending on if the Team ever was reinstated, various other tasks could be added such as: Helping with development of a new season of a specific gamemode. Although we can clearly identify similarities between the two teams, a Staff Teams main job (in the most simplistic terms) is to assist the players in game to create a fun and fair environment for all. On the other hand, the QA Team has a focused objective to Beta and Bug test, allowing them to discover more thorough, meticulous, and consistent solutions.

Unfortunately, I don't know how connected the regular player base would be to this process. When the QA Team was active and functioning, I do not remember interacting with players outside the team to get their opinions on an issue or suggestion I had. Luckily, the Staff Team can be seen as someone who players can connect with through support tickets or directly interacting with them!

In conclusion, I see both Staff and QA Teams as separate who play their own crucial part in trying to make ManaCube as fun, fair, exciting, and well-balanced as possible. These teams should complement one another and not be seen as overlapping. Each Team has their own focus and if they "dip" into one another, this only allows for further interaction between the two. Based on my knowledge of current situations, unfortunately I don't believe a QA Team will be reinstated anytime soon. Regardless, we should all still continue to do our part by creating tickets, reporting bugs/issues, and sending our suggestions through ANY medium to help ManaCube further prosper.

 

[Dadcon]

Hello,

I think this post has gone completely off topic and would definitely like to request it be either be locked or commented on by some other players. I think the post has gained enough traction and people who read the title should realize the main point this post is trying to get across, reestablishing a QA Team.

The last comment I'd like to make for clarification: the QA Team doesn't just "DM Dacon a list of bugs." We're also a team that was recruited for the sole purpose of BETA testing various gamemodes before SOTW. The QA Team is a group of highly knowledgeable and vastly experienced players who can immediately start testing various, (ManaCube Exclusive) features of a specific gamemode, know and be able to test numerous duplication glitches, immediately set up (ex. grinders) to test the economy, create suggestions/improvements lists, and most importantly, discuss and debate on potential issues. For example, I've gone on numerous servers and watched over 100+ duplication videos to have an idea of what could potentially be used and how these processes could be manipulated to "work" on ManaCube. The last step would be to create a "list" of these issues and send them to Dacon.

Based on my explanation above, I hope everyone reading this post is further informed about what this team does. Not to speak of myself as higher than others, but the point of this Team is to have members who are extremely experienced than other casual players to help accomplish the above tasks. Any player can send Dacon a list of bugs but if done correctly, a QA Team members list should be more detailed, include examples, and contain more advanced contents. A QA Team is well versed in a specific (or multiple gamemodes) than the normal, casual player, and can test to fulfill the tasks I have stated above. In addition, having any player able to send Dacon lists of bugs/suggestions can lead to be extremely "spam-like" for him. Having a reliable, pre-established group of experienced players to consistently interact with him will make the process much smoother.

A debate consists of two sides so now I would like to make some counters to my own argument. First off, a QA Team does sound very similar to the Staff Team. The Staff Team already consists of specific players who are well-trained and experienced in the gamemode they are positioned in. Therefore, one may argue the staff should be able to find bugs, suggest ideas, and report their findings independently without the need of assistance from another team. I agree with this and believe it may be a little repetitive. However, depending on if the Team ever was reinstated, various other tasks could be added such as: Helping with development of a new season of a specific gamemode. Although we can clearly identify similarities between the two teams, a Staff Teams main job (in the most simplistic terms) is to assist the players in game to create a fun and fair environment for all. On the other hand, the QA Team has a focused objective to Beta and Bug test, allowing them to discover more thorough, meticulous, and consistent solutions.

Unfortunately, I don't know how connected the regular player base would be to this process. When the QA Team was active and functioning, I do not remember interacting with players outside the team to get their opinions on an issue or suggestion I had. Luckily, the Staff Team can be seen as someone who players can connect with through support tickets or directly interacting with them!

In conclusion, I see both Staff and QA Teams as separate who play their own crucial part in trying to make ManaCube as fun, fair, exciting, and well-balanced as possible. These teams should complement one another and not be seen as overlapping. Each Team has their own focus and if they "dip" into one another, this only allows for further interaction between the two. Based on my knowledge of current situations, unfortunately I don't believe a QA Team will be reinstated anytime soon. Regardless, we should all still continue to do our part by creating tickets, reporting bugs/issues, and sending our suggestions through ANY medium to help ManaCube further prosper.

i agree

 

[Linkey]

To be honest i agree with many points from hydro, tasses, and Hallow. As a patron and all the other patrons have essentially screamed into dacon's ear is ultimately we want to know whats going on. Its essentially what everything boils down to at this point. I am by no means an expert or a dev. Nor do i want tickets to go away. The process could be improved with weekly or monthly bug splat reports that has been suggested.
The last few he has released has been great and would love to see that momentum continue. It also helped qualm people knowing "hey they are listening."
The QA Team or Beta tester team i feel is definitely a necessity. Have this group test the new content and perks for roughly a weeks time reporting any bugs they may find. That way when the content is released no only can the QA team answer how things work , the content itself will have minimal bugs.

In essence everyone here is right, we just need a happy middle ground.