Star Trek Online - Public Beta Testing
Introduction
I have to admit that I am a bit of a "Trekker", and a MMORPG fanatic, so I have paid close attention to this game during it's development process.
The opportunity to be a beta tester arose shortly before it's general release - I applied and was successful in becoming a public beta tester. A lot of people out there just apply to be public beta testers just for the opportunity to play the game early, but I saw it as something that could be put on my games designer portfolio.
Job role
The main tasks of the testers were to:
- Play the game and report any bugs found
- Participate in server stress testing i.e. have a lot of players in one area to see if the servers could handle it.
For bug reporting a form could be accessed in game where testers could report the "what, where, and how" of the bug occurrence(s).
A small number of examples of bugs found and reported by myself:
- Entering a randomly generated "exploration" mission, the mission would not start due to the trigger not happening, therefore leaving the instance without NPC enemies, or objects to interact with
- On ground-based missions, mission objectives not appearing in the correct numbers e.g. Scan four anomalies but only 2 or 3 appear on the map, therefore the mission could not be completed.
- Interactive objects appearing in maps that aren't actually interactive, and in some cases having an incorrect graphic
- NPCs and objects falling through the "world"
- Light sources inconsistent with the graphic design e.g. shadows fall in a particular direction yet the "sun" is in a different position
- Character skills working incorrectly e.g. a skill that modifies the ship weapons for a particular effect actually breaks the weapon firing system
- Game balance issues such as NPC enemies being too powerful for the level of the player
Note: As far as I'm aware I'm not being restricted by a Non Disclosure Agreement anymore since the game's release. I have listed bugs found by me to show prospective employers my ability to follow testing plans and report bugs. If, however, Cryptic Studios or Atari feel that this information shouldn't not be on a public website, I will gladly remove it.
