wake me please when beta is over?

I don't crash, my video isn't screwed up, I haven't had inventory lossage, but I did get an interesting query from a newish but savvy player on live-help. It was said "this sorta feels like a beta version". I couldn't argue with him.

Each minor revision winds up breaking something, whether it is rental units, communications with outside sites, undocumented changes to LSL, modifications to the physics engines, etc., etc., etc. I stopped scripting in 1.3 because I was tired of burning a day getting something to work only to have it stop working in 1.3.1. I built another time consuming physical toy in 1.4 which stopped working in some later revision and I don't care to try and figure it out again.

Case in point: LL notices that email polling in 1.6.4 is swamping the system so they throttle it somehow in 1.6.5 which breaks a bunch of third party SL-to-elsewhere actions. So they change it in some other unspecified way for 1.6.6 thus breaking things again. To be hyperbolic, it is as if each new version of Word changed the margins, typefaces, or language of your existing documents.

Get more QA staff, think hard through the changes you make, be less random, exercise some discipline, find out how your content creators are actually using things and add them to your test suite, build load simulators. Pay attention to preview bug reports instead of paying trivial post-release bounties. None of this is rocket science, but you really don't seem to be learning from your failures over the last two years.

Or, you could just add streaming smellovision to further destabilize the client, go on a press junket saying how much money one can make playing a game, boost subscriber numbers to increase cash flow (and grid load) and maybe SL2.0 might work.

Concept: A+
Execution: F

I think you nailed it.

(Although I would give Execution a D instead of an F. I mean, it does sorta work.)

The one problem I had with the last version, namely the massively frustrating effect of log on the build tools, has been fixed quite nicely. Unfortunately, now little else works. I can't even log in 90% of the time. Whenever I do can get on, I experience random texture errors that screw with my ability to move the camera.

I made a simple shirt that says "I'd rather be playing 1.2," but I can't get on to upload it - maybe that's a sign of exactly how LL's improved this version. It only works when you reeeally want it.

To any Lindens reading this, please, for the love of pie, make sure each version works at least as well as the last one.

Ok, conceded, but they have to write "Spitwads are not free speech" on the chalkboard 100 times and clean the erasers.

Very well said Malachi. We are paying, in some cases a lot of money, to play LL's alpha/beta software lol. I know SL is special and unique etc, but can you think of any other 'game' where the players would continue to accept this?

Alexa

Ultima Online. Anarchy Online. Everquest.

There's three...

LF

yessh people do pay alot alot of money for online items in other games, but a online will never be out of beta, if nothing changed then it would be final, wich would be utterly boring and static

Hense why we like SL, everything changes all the time, sure things break, but nothing is foolproof.

Heh, I'd like a shirt like that. I used to be able to build things, and to fly my own vehicles across the grid back then. We even had aerial dogfights. *sigh* I miss those days.

*wonders if she's playing a different game game called SL than everyone else*

Sure, there are the problems that creep up on major versions, and the occasional fumble. But everying gets ironed out in a couple days at most, usually sooner. I can fly across sim borders in aitcraft.. and have dog fights.

And, if you havent been able to log in, have you talked to customer service? How about update the drivers on your computer?

Took the words right out of my mouth

I don't have any aerial combat vehicles, but I am working on troop transports, if anyon wants to have a nice little fight, let me know.

What is all this hate pointed at Beta?? What did I do wrong?

Oh btw I have been in several discussions about this game. The level of programing and coordination of servers is a very monumental task and I am always amazed that the game plays as well as it does. Come-on guys think of yourselves as Pioneers in the NEW FRONTIER... sure the locusts might carry away your cattle but hey you are still there. I lost a major section of my inventory 2 updates ago and some of it returned, but oh well I am still having fun. I sometimes play a game with the TP... its called "how many objects can I wear tonight??" Turn your missery into a game and keep those bug reports going... Together we can help LL get all the kinks ironed out and make this new frontier a reality for everyone.

Beta

Well Said!

once sl reaches a point where your capabilities expand greatly mabey they can spend 6 months bug hunthing but as long as people want more stuff bugs will be fixed on the fly meaning they wont get fixed till 6 updates later.

I am not really having problems at all these days. At the start It was bad 1.6.0 it was a nightmare. But after a few turns of the screw as you say its works better and better. I do Crash at time in my inventory and movies. But all is well these days.