Thank You All

[Ihmhi]

I want to keep this simple, short, and sincere. (I will refrain from future alliteration. ^.^' )

First, thanks to the devs for bringing the forum regulars on. I am glad to see people like Nezumi and Circ on and in the server pretty much every day. It personally gives me more confidence that ff will out in a timely manner and that there is a very good chance of it beating TF2 to the punch. I know you were in a pinch and needed more guys, and I would like to think it was the poking and prodding of the regs to get in and pledge their support (me being among this group) that got me and the majority of the forum regs in. Thank you for the opportunity to not only say that I put work in for the next generation of Team Fortress, but that I had the honor of working with people like the trepids, Defrag, Nezumi, Skanky, etc. (Just calling names from recent memory; really, it is great to work with all of these awesome people... it is like a dream, but without naked women and cadbury eggs!)

Secondly, thanks to the new beta testers. I can not speak for how the old beta testers (before the forum regs came in) performed, but I am seeing bugs posted by the new guys every day. Our bug findin' skillz would make an Orkin man vomit in shame, word. -throws up FF beta tester gang sign- Aside from the bug finding and actually doing their job as testers (!), a lot of them are coming up with good ideas about how to fix existing issues or how to improve upon the game. Circ has been shittin' out awesome ideas like Imbrifer shits out awesome maps.

Third(ly?), thanks to the community. I am only a lowly beta tester but now that I am on this side of the closed beta iron curtain I know how much your support means to the dev team. All of you ache for media releases and the latest news about how the mod is progressing. I know I have posted here for a few months now and a lot of you know me. Some of you are even crazy enough to trust me. Hang in there guys; hear me and trust me on this: it. Is. Worth. The. Wait. FF is not perfect yet, much like Hiro from Heroes in the early episodes. But you remember that dude's future self, with the bitchin' goatee and the katana? Fuck yeah, that is FF when it will out (except without the stereotypical "half roll of nickels" Asian dong).

Lastly, I will do my best to alleviate any of your concerns. I asked the devs what I can and can not tell you, and it is pretty simple. I can not tell you about any features that are not yet public. I can not release any screens or vids that have not been sanctioned by the devs. Yes, there are still some nice features that you guys do not know about, and by the Gods of BSG they are awesome.

So as thanks to you, ask stuff here. I guess this would be a sort of "Ask a beta tester" dealy. Any questions I have doubts about being allowed to answer, I will run them by the devs.

So um yeah. You are all waiting for release, and we all know the best release is wanking. Or something. Get to fappin' and ask me questions. And thanks again everyone for letting me be a part of such a great beta team and a great community. ^.^

[Jifcuits]

Is the game easy to pick up? or do the beta testers who've had it longer kick your ass periodically?

[Ihmhi]

Originally Posted by Jifcuits

Is the game easy to pick up? or do the beta testers who've had it longer kick your ass periodically?

Yes and no on both questions.

I have only owned my own copy of TFC since January 15, 2006. (My birthday, a present to myself.) So you could say that at best I am a novice player.

Is the game easy to pick up? If you were a complete newb, the hint system will fix the problem of newbs getting owned because they have no idea what does what and what is the best way to use stuff.

The beta testers who have had it longer... well, I do not think I have actually come up against any of them. Nezumi is already piping around like a maniac on maps, and Nez says that it feels very close to TFC. Circ and I have a sniper war now and then.

If you have TFC experience, you will need a small amount of time to adjust. I think it took me about an hour or two of going through all the classes to adapt my current skill set to the new game. (I could not conc for shit the first five minutes as Medic 'cause the timing is slightly different, but as soon as I figured it out I was flying around like Killer in Half Baked.) I would say anyone else would need the same amount of time to walk around and see how the weapons perform and how the movement is.

If you are new to the game, the game is very smooth and beautiful, and the hint system will help you figure things out.

If you guys will excuse me, I have a business lunch to attend. But I will answer questions (that I am allowed to answer) when I come back, so post away.

[SkinkHero]

What is the most apparently improved feature? Like what aspect of the game do most testers initially notice?

[GambiT]

Originally Posted by SkinkHero

What is the most apparently improved feature? Like what aspect of the game do most testers initially notice?

everything

[GambiT]

Originally Posted by Jifcuits

Is the game easy to pick up? or do the beta testers who've had it longer kick your ass periodically?

i wouldnt say that i got my ass kicked when i first played...my best class in TFC was solly...so naturally it was the first class i choose...and i held my own...

[GhOsT]

Originally Posted by GambiT

i wouldnt say that i got my ass kicked when i first played...my best class in TFC was solly...so naturally it was the first class i choose...and i held my own...

I agree. I really didn't have any problems jumping right in. I mainly play demo and I had no problems jumping right into pipejumps along with DMing with pipebombs. Felt pretty natural in that respect.

[Circuitous]

Originally Posted by Jifcuits

Is the game easy to pick up? or do the beta testers who've had it longer kick your ass periodically?

Lemme put it this way.

First day
Defrag as Soldier
Me as Pyro

I kicked his ass.

(<3 Defrag)

[Bomber]

How do I get in on helping the beta test out?

[VampiricuS]

Maybe soon *this* regular will be assisting as well
I am sure the wait will be worth it. good on ya

[groovyf]

It's good to see all this enthusiasm flowing from the new set of Beta testers. I may be wrong, but I don't recall such posts from the 1st (old) set of Beta testers - no idea who they are/were or whether most have fallen by the wayside since the initial buzz of having the privilege.

I hope this keenness is felt by the devs too

[Ihmhi]

Originally Posted by Bomber

How do I get in on helping the beta test out?

There are a lot of people who want to get in on the beta test. Keep in mind that we have about 24 beta testers and the devs. There is a possibility they might expand on that number, but it is up in the air.

Basically, all of the forum regs who got in were suggested by people who were already in (devs, current beta testers). I would surmise that that would be the case here, and I have a short list of people who I would invite. No offense to any of you, but some of them are my friends in real life. I love you forum d00ds but they take priority, ya know? Plus, you guys can not hurt me in person. They can. >_<

Originally Posted by groovyf

It's good to see all this enthusiasm flowing from the new set of Beta testers. I may be wrong, but I don't recall such posts from the 1st (old) set of Beta testers - no idea who they are/were or whether most have fallen by the wayside since the initial buzz of having the privilege.

I hope this keenness is felt by the devs too

Quite so. With the addition of the new programmer (We loves you Aftershock <3) things are really picking up. I love hearing "good work/good job" from Defrag or Aftershock. It makes my pants wet (in a good way, but also a bad way. A bad, bad way.)

Originally Posted by luminous

i thought EMPs were meant to go through walls as its a magnetic field, which would actually go through a wall (within reason..)

have fun without us us non-beta-testing-forum-regulars Ihmhi

I have not tested it out but seeing as this is an existing feature I will grab one of the other testers and try this out for you, since you asked nicely luminous. If the devs clear whether I can say yes or no on this, then I will let you know.

Originally Posted by gizmofo

Stupid question-
Is the whole "Happy New Years" thing in? It was like a tradition hearing that thing every year.. and seeing all those grenades as presents =)

I have personally not see it, so while I think the devs would code it in (as it IS in the spirit of TFC), they have not done it yet in the beta tester's version. Remember, beta testers are not running the dev version of FF. Devs actually check stuff out first before updating the beta server.

Also note that they are coding stuff that is considered "frills" (like birthday mode) last, if they code it at all. Right now they want to focus on bugs that affect gameplay or does thing that crashes the server.

Originally Posted by Iggy

Congrats IHMHI, on getting into the Beta team. I've done some Beta(Alpha, actually) testing on Dodgeball:Source....it was a lot of fun, and that game was pretty damned playable even in the Alpha stage.

I do have a question for ya(and the dev team): Are you strictly playing on Dev made maps, or are you giving the community maps some time?

I need to get back on that server, and see if any progress has been made on Badlands....but the partially done map I saw looked awesome!

Avanti, however, is the shit! That map is incredibly well done!

Thanks Iggy, you know you my homie. ^.^

We are pretty much playing on dev made maps only. For the most part, dev made maps are going to be the release maps, like dustbowl, palermo, etc.; the stuff you see on the media pages.

Do keep in mind we have two of the best mappers on the forums... nay, the Internets on the beta team: Nezumi and Imbrifer. These guys are like King Fucking Midas with whatever maps they touch, except they do not turn it into gold, they turn it into awesome. Some of us have been pushin' the devs to allow them to test maps on the beta server so we would have more maps for instant release. But you know what, if we do not, no biggie. Imbrifer and Nez could probably get their maps out for FF within a week or so, maybe less since they are beta testers and would probably get priority help from the devs or something Iunno.

Circ, GambiT, etc.; thanks for picking up the slack in my thread while I was out. I think I just got a new and awesome job today (!), so I was gone longer than expected. I think I got all of the questions you guys missed but I am tired and I have been up for 24 hours. If I somehow overlooked you, I am sorry; post again to remind me. I will check the forums once more after eating dinner and then I will go to sleep and catch up on these in the morning.

Thanks to all of you for giving this thread a wonderful start. ^.^

[trepid_jesse]

You were a mistake.

[FrenchToast]

Originally Posted by Circuitous

Lemme put it this way.

First day
Defrag as Soldier
Me as Pyro

I kicked his ass.

(<3 Defrag)

'Cause the pyro is a wee bit strong...

[Digital_Ghost]

Sorry, let me rephrase, still allowed to go through walls. Just where some see that as a cheap way of getting kills. I don't mind though

[Circuitous]

I don't think it does but I honestly haven't tried.

[Iggy]

Congrats IHMHI, on getting into the Beta team. I've done some Beta(Alpha, actually) testing on Dodgeball:Source....it was a lot of fun, and that game was pretty damned playable even in the Alpha stage.

I do have a question for ya(and the dev team): Are you strictly playing on Dev made maps, or are you giving the community maps some time?

I need to get back on that server, and see if any progress has been made on Badlands....but the partially done map I saw looked awesome!

Avanti, however, is the shit! That map is incredibly well done!

[luminous]

i thought EMPs were meant to go through walls as its a magnetic field, which would actually go through a wall (within reason..)

have fun without us us non-beta-testing-forum-regulars Ihmhi

[Desyphur]

I can't wait till this comes out, seroiusly. All this talk about it is driving me crazy.

Where do I find info about the changes, btw? I'm like, missing lot's of info.

[FrenchToast]

Mostly just by reading threads and dev journals. A list of what has been told to the public isn't out there right now.

When the game comes out there will be a list though...