Dev Diary Feedback: QA: We’re Not Just Playing Around!

[Clover]

“So I used to joke around with Sapience, saying “We should totally do a QA Dev Diary!” He would laugh, and I would laugh, and that was the end of it. Then, months later, he took me up on it…”

Read more from Amanda "Brynhildr" Cosmos’s first Dev Diary and post your comments here!

[Fredelas]

I was kind of hoping for some sort of revelation from reading this developer diary.

The main point that sticks in my head is that teams at Turbine get cool code names.

Still, it's nice to have some evidence that the QA team actually exists, since when you do your jobs well, it doesn't leave much of a trace in-game except on the credits roll.

[ShinryuLOTR]

Still, it's nice to have some evidence that the QA team actually exists, since when you do your jobs well, it doesn't leave much of a trace in-game except on the credits roll.

I was thinking the same thing as I work in a field where the situation is often the same. When something goes wrong, everyone is quick to jab fingers towards the QA teams and scream "How could they have let that through!" When things are humming along smoothly, however, no one even notices the QA teams are there.

Interesting article and I, for one, would actually like to read more about the process.

[TheOneRinger]

I thought it was a pretty humorous diary, although it's not the most useful information in the world...

Just going to point out that apparently the "QA team" for passing these diaries didn't catch all the references to Vol. 3 Book 1 as being in the future.

[Forjo]

I'd like to know more about "Team Lakehouse"!

-Forjo

[binarypc]

That was a very impressive post on what you do. It looks like a challenging, yet fun, job. I have a new appreciation for your job from that post.

Thank you for your part in creating an absolutely fun game!

[Mines_of_Moria]

Team Awesome sounds pretty awesome....



But in all seriousness, great diary. Always glad to hear that the QA teams are plugging away at the bug fixing .

[KainXI]

Not too much detail, but still a fun read

[delphinius81]

I'm kind of curious where along the pipeline QA related to balance issues takes place (be it class balance in an instance or how a new system design will impact existing systems).

What do these kinds of QA plans look like? Can such testing plans even be put into action prior to getting new changes in the hands of players? I doubt the private beta testers are numerous enough to catch the balance issues that would emerge over a larger player base and longer time frame. So where along the QA process do these issues get addressed? Is a plan of action formulated only after players voice opinion, or are their plans put together in anticipation of possible player reactions?

[Redrider.]

I have some questions. What is the situation of the QA team's gear, items, traits, LIs etc. when testing instances? Do all the QA testers run in with maxed everything or not?

The majority of players in-game do not experience these instances in maxed, top tier items so do you actually account for this by testing these instances with subpar virtues, equipment, weapons, etc. as the average player would?

[aleczander]

I also love a dev diary. There info varies widely, but always look forward to reading one.
Have the 'boss' get all the teams to do one, and have a contest so that we can vote on our favorite authors.

[Sapience]

I also love a dev diary. There info varies widely, but always look forward to reading one.
Have the 'boss' get all the teams to do one, and have a contest so that we can vote on our favorite authors.

Do you have a suggestion for a specific team you'd like to know more about?

[Boraxxe]

Nice to hear from the Quality group.

I have a question:
Does QA get involved in evaluating the difficulty of new content?
If so, how did you miss the fact that VIII, B1 is so non-challenging to capped players.

Perhaps that is what was intended.
I enjoy exploring new territory, so that part is fun for me even if the mobs are not a challenge.

I have only completed thru Chapt. 3 so maybe I have some surprises in store, but from what I've read on the forums it doesn't look like it.

Thanks for the summary of what you QA folks do. I would like more details. I have been in the Quality business for over 30 years so I find it interesting. Don't be afraid to bore us with details....some of us are accustomed to boring details....

[Mines_of_Moria]

Do you have a suggestion for a specific team you'd like to know more about?

How about the artists team? (You know, the people that make the cool outfits and whatnot).

[Fredelas]

Do you have a suggestion for a specific team you'd like to know more about?

I'd like to hear from the audio/video team, especially about building the soundtracks for new areas and instances.

For example, are they still exploring and rearranging some of the source material Vivendi recorded way back when this was all still MEO?

[Boraxxe]

Do you have a suggestion for a specific team you'd like to know more about?

How about an organization chart so we can see how you guys are setup?
How many departments do you have?
How many teams in each department?
Show us the folks behind the curtain.....

[Fredelas]

How about an organization chart so we can see how you guys are setup?
How many departments do you have?
How many teams in each department?
Show us the folks behind the curtain.....

Try watching the credits roll from the character select screen next time you're there. That will give you a general idea of how it's organized.

[Boraxxe]

Try watching the credits roll from the character select screen next time you're there. That will give you a general idea of how it's organized.

Ah Ha!
Thanks

[HartMan]

The diary validated my thoughts on what the processes are for developing the game, or just abut any other joint projects .

Thanks for sharing what some folks may find boring, but really shed light on a very important part of the overall work necessary to produce the game.

I really appreciate the effort to make the epic quests soloable, and have my fingers crossed that you will continue this trend in the future.

I am also hoping there will be an increased level cap for the virtue traits. The value of the current maximum level is getting a bit weak for end game players.

[disappearingone]

very nice diary, and much appreciated.

Keep up the hard work. Though, we the community have some complaints with certain aspects of game-play or landscape, we appreciate all the hard work that goes into all aspects of LotRO. QA not least of all, more then once i have heard friends go on about how (compared to other mmo's) LotRO has so little trouble with bugs after a content update or expansion.

Most of all, im sure everyone will agree, we appreciate the open nature of Turbine and the LotRO devs in talking with the player base on various subjects, wanting both to enlighten us on the effort that goes on behind the scenes and to ask for feedback on game-play.

[unmovedmover]

Being in QA is not fun. I was in a QA org for 7 years before moving into my current job. It's hard and thankless. Plus I think that doing QA for something like LOTRO would totally kill my enjoyment.

To all the men and women in Turbine QA, /salute.

[Viloxus]

Having a top notch, robust, embedded QA team is a must and I assume Turbine has this because they run some form of an Agile development model.

However, I am very curious as to who does the PvMP testing.

[Istien1]

Being in QA is not fun. I was in a QA org for 7 years before moving into my current job. It's hard and thankless. Plus I think that doing QA for something like LOTRO would totally kill my enjoyment.

To all the men and women in Turbine QA, /salute.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your QA job, unmovedmover. It can often be hard and thankless, but at the end of the day I can definitely say that I always have a bit of fun here. Unlike my previous jobs, I've never thought to myself "I just don't want to go to work today" when I get up in the morning.

Thank you for the salute!

[abrahamL]

Do you have a suggestion for a specific team you'd like to know more about?

I would like to hear from the team that comes up with the future update and learn that process.. Just interested in how it all comes together before the plans are sent out into the different depts..

[OldMadeOfLions]

Does QA get involved in evaluating the difficulty of new content?
If so, how did you miss the fact that VIII, B1 is so non-challenging to capped players...Perhaps that is what was intended.

QA is very much involved with evaluating difficulty. The answer here is that the first Book of a new Volume is intended to not be overly challenging.

MoL