Thread: U7 goes live Monday 5-14-12

So much for any changes being made from our testing & feedback.

I reported quite a few /bugs, some that could be considered game breaking, but not sure if they got fixed.

Warts and all, as they say, I guess.

We'll get the bug fixes in the next "update" I imagine.

Knew we were getting it soon when the latest patch was so small. Not much needs fixing I guess. Works for me though cause I look forward to playing the new skirmish on Monday.

Bullroarer is not so much a test server as it is a quick preview of new content. They do most of their testing on internal servers or on the closed server Palantir-- and even that server is, IIRC, called a 'preview' server.

Well that was quick. A total of one week on Bullroarer? I think that's a record.

Hmmph. Spent a whole day downloading the client. Autoleveled to 50 then started Moria from access quest outside the walls and played through Dolven, Silvertines and half of Durins so far, doing epic along the way to get a feel for things before posting comments.. and if it's going live Monday anything I say will be pretty much too late to affect anything.

Goats running into walls, Silvertine lighting attrocious, shadow detaching from body and distoring weirdly, multiple named quest items being given out by persons other than who they are named after etc, etc. Guess this sums up why the last few builds to go live have had so many issues - Schedule > Quality.

Ah well, hopefully some of the bug reports along the way were of use.

Here's the vid of my shadow feeling like it wants some time on it's own - it also appears to have decided to be a Dwarf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC7oJA3Vi9Q

I don't know why anyone is surprised...used this way BR is NOT a "beta test", it's a public preview.

--W. H. Heydt

Old Used Programmer

Perhaps there are bug fixes availale in the store?

Originally Posted by Laire

...the closed server Palantir-- and even that server is, IIRC, called a 'preview' server.

It is called a preview server, but here in Turbineland preview=test.

Originally Posted by Kehleyr

It is called a preview server, but here in Turbineland preview=test.

The real key is that when Bullroarer is PUBLIC, there is always a measure of players strictly in it to get a jump start on their fellow players.


From what I can observe, in Turbineland the trend seems to be closed beta (NDA)=Test +3 & preview +2 while open beta (no-NDA, open public BR,etc) is = +2 test +5 preview. (as a ratio)..

I just hope the level of feedback you guys got in this public cycle leads to a quick and well-polished 7.0 with much less to fix in 7.1. Your BR betas are getting shorter and shorter of late.

Originally Posted by gildhur

Well that was quick. A total of one week on Bullroarer? I think that's a record.

Companies are run by the balance sheet and Turbine is no exception. The balance sheet said that U7 must be released by 5-14-12 no matter what anyone (Developers, QA) says. Period.

So much for any PvMP balance changes. At least on the brightside, I'll be able to play the new fornost and get my crystals before my sub runs out. GW2 can't come out soon enough.

You've got to wonder what effect adding new bugs to the old bugs has. At some point it's gonna crash and burn.
I guess Turbine is just waiting for that day because it doesn't seem like they care. It's no wonder we have so many lag, hitching, stuttering etc. issues.

Originally Posted by Dinara

You've got to wonder what effect adding new bugs to the old bugs has. At some point it's gonna crash and burn.
I guess Turbine is just waiting for that day because it doesn't seem like they care. It's no wonder we have so many lag, hitching, stuttering etc. issues.

Its because this game is run by the bean counters. I like to believe(despite evidence) that the programmers want to deliver a good product. But that comes out as make all content passable, fix major bugs, ignore smaller ones, churn out new #### to charge players for and ignore the complaints along the way. The only sound being heard is the sales department popping the bubbly with each new expansion.

I've been convinced for a long time that the only thing they do with our bug reports is to make a list of known issues.

Originally Posted by Berenesse

I've been convinced for a long time that the only thing they do with our bug reports is to make a list of known issues.

I agree. In fact, I think this problem is a known issue.

Originally Posted by apb8808

Its because this game is run by the bean counters. I like to believe(despite evidence) that the programmers want to deliver a good product. But that comes out as make all content passable, fix major bugs, ignore smaller ones, churn out new #### to charge players for and ignore the complaints along the way. The only sound being heard is the sales department popping the bubbly with each new expansion.

No different from any other job these days. The people who actually care about the product/service and take pride in it are steamrolled by the people whose job is the bottom line. Maybe they could add a "ka-ching" sound whenever players buy turbine points or shop the store. Audible in game, of course.

If Turbine development and testing works like other games, Bullroarer is more like an opportunity for Turbine to get the build in front of more players than they have available in their internal and other external environments. This helps ensure that there aren't any hidden issues that would cause big problems once it goes live - things that could cause all the live servers to have to be pulled offline for hours/days at a time, with the potential for rollbacks. That would mean that when they open a build on Bullroarer they're already pretty much aware of what the bugs are, and consider them minimally impacting. Doesn't mean they don't request and welcome bug feedback, just that the real reason it's being offered is to ferret out anything truly game-breaking that might be hiding in the cracks.

Originally Posted by BentoIce

If Turbine development and testing works like other games, Bullroarer is more like an opportunity for Turbine to get the build in front of more players than they have available in their internal and other external environments. This helps ensure that there aren't any hidden issues that would cause big problems once it goes live...

Don't think they can do that in one week of public testing.

Not sure what the rush is to have it out by the 14th myself. But...whatever.

Originally Posted by Elderban

Don't think they can do that in one week of public testing.

Not sure what the rush is to have it out by the 14th myself. But...whatever.

Umm. A certain game release at the 15th maybe? A game that goes down in history as one of the most preordered at Amazon? Just sayin...

Originally Posted by Nyarin

Umm. A certain game release at the 15th maybe? A game that goes down in history as one of the most preordered at Amazon? Just sayin...

Hit the nail on the head with this. Its either very bold or very stupid. Im going witg option c- all of the above.

Originally Posted by BentoIce

If Turbine development and testing works like other games, Bullroarer is more like an opportunity for Turbine to get the build in front of more players than they have available in their internal and other external environments. This helps ensure that there aren't any hidden issues that would cause big problems once it goes live - things that could cause all the live servers to have to be pulled offline for hours/days at a time, with the potential for rollbacks. That would mean that when they open a build on Bullroarer they're already pretty much aware of what the bugs are, and consider them minimally impacting. Doesn't mean they don't request and welcome bug feedback, just that the real reason it's being offered is to ferret out anything truly game-breaking that might be hiding in the cracks.

Nonsense! Clearly, it's a conspiracy to, uh... conspire... against... people. For... Reasons?

Originally Posted by furtim

Nonsense! Clearly, it's a conspiracy to, uh... conspire... against... people. For... Reasons?

Hinder our push to Mordor and allow Saurons armies some breathing space? Is Turbine in league with the Witch King? OMG, we need to do something!!!!! Where's Frodo??!!!! Protect the ring!!

I can assure you all, your feedback was taken into account and passed along to the appropriate people. While immediate changes may not occur, you may see changes and fixes made in patches along the line.

In terms of bugs, we take those very seriously! Each and every one of the bugs filed gets passed into the hands of a QA tester for investigation, then, if found to still be an issue, along to the developers for fixing. We do a lot of internal testing prior to taking an update or patch to Bullroarer, but as QA testers are only human, we know some things get missed. That's where all of you come in! Sometimes, it takes a whole bunch of people on a server to see a bug. You're all a vital part of making Lord of the Rings Online successful. Of course, different types of bugs take different amounts of time to fix, so we do ask for a bit of patience while the developers figure these things out!

Everyone who participated in this round of Beta for Update 7 did a fantastic job with filing bugs and leaving feedback on the various additions and changes. I, for one, had a great time reading through all of the feedback and passing it along to the development team. You had some very strong opinions, and we heard you loud and clear. Now it's time for the people pulling the strings to make the decisions what to do with it.

I also had a great time hanging out with you all on Bullroarer and helping to build up your characters. Hopefully when I see many of you again for future Beta periods (like Rohan!), everything will go just as well.

Keep filing those bugs and letting us know how you feel on the forums! We ARE listening.

I stopped caring,listening or believing anything any development team says about their games,bugs or promises.

Originally Posted by xRaina

In terms of bugs, we take those very seriously! Each and every one of the bugs filed gets passed into the hands of a QA tester for investigation, then, if found to still be an issue, along to the developers for fixing. We do a lot of internal testing prior to taking an update or patch to Bullroarer, but as QA testers are only human, we know some things get missed. That's where all of you come in! Sometimes, it takes a whole bunch of people on a server to see a bug. You're all a vital part of making Lord of the Rings Online successful. Of course, different types of bugs take different amounts of time to fix, so we do ask for a bit of patience while the developers figure these things out!


Keep filing those bugs and letting us know how you feel on the forums! We ARE listening.

Look, I'm sure many of us appreciate you coming here and posting this but come on... there are still bugs reported in Rise of Isengard beta (and even earlier!) that are not fixed.

What can you do to convince us to hang in there? Can you please give us some feedback or listing of the bugs you've received? Or maybe a list with bugs that need more /bugging so you can get more data? I mean come on.. the skirmish soldier AI has been broken since RoI beta. When is it going to be fixed? When is the Hunter skill Strength of Earth going to get fixed so that it has all pulses it should give?

I'm sure many of us could go on and on but please.. just interact with us and tell us what we can do to expedite some of these bugs getting fixed? /bugging doesn't seem to help much.