this is my fear this isn't like a shooter where you can contribute to a beta to say a guns overpowered or something like multiplayer where someone glitches and it effects you

My faith in society?
This is REAL LIFE....Just think about it!
And this is NOT worst case this is a optimistic view of things. One example: How many guys bought Skyrim? ZEniMax said 5days after Skyrim launch on the 11.11.11 that they already sold about 7.000.000 copies! Now how many people are registered on the forums? Probably less then 0,5%.....And they just let in 0,05% of beta applicants!

Well when a beta tester isn't actively searching for bugs and instead playing the game like its meant to be played, then they'll report it. Not because they care about other people getting a bug free game or that it's their "duty." it's just because they're getting the game for free. It's better to take five minutes to report the bug and then get a free game that's relatively bug free.

Besides, actively searching for bugs is a bad way to do things. We, the customers, are going to play the main quest, the side quests, delve into the new features, weapons, armor, and areas. Having actual players doing exactly what the majority of the customers are going to do is the smart thing to do for obvious reasons.


Having low faith and being positively surprised is better than having high faith and being disappointed.

Your signature seems as legit as those guys posting things like "omfg i would be the best beta tester-i'm the chosen one- i will find every freakin bug/exploit i can find and so on"......first thing i thought when i read those posts is "he just wants it free"!

Not if you're non US.

I'm bitter that Bethesda 'forgot' to tell us non USers not to apply.

I am very skeptical when they announced the beta we got a bunch of clueless people signing up to the forums with the whole beta this and beta that post about when it was coming out when they was getting the codes not really concerned with talking about bugs. Skyrim is still a mess six patches in and I hope the beta testers are doing their part to actually report bugs so the they and the other great majority of players can have an almost or bug free Dawnguard.

^ Im in the Beta AND not in the United States. I can safely tell you all that it is being very well tested. I don't think I can say much else, but rest assured, we are certainly doing our jobs
Yes, a few pepole seem to care more about the DLC features and such, but the majority of people (I think like 300 members of the Beta Forum) are bug testing their hearts out. I hope Beth does this for the next one.

I don't see where it is much different from when us pc players were beta testing. Some will actually report bugs in the proper forum and some will just play and let other people take the brunt of the actual reporting. No matter what system you are on people are people and will act accordingly.

And just look at the mess from the 1.6 patch and others that have been released regardless of the beta testing bug reports. All the beta testing and bug reporting in the world mean absolutely nothing if Bethesda doesn't bother to act on them.

My signature is fully legitimate, as anyone else in the beta could tell you, I can't say anything more than my first thought when I got the code was, "sweet, they gave me something for free, now to uphold my end."

I can confim he is in the beta...Seen his posts

How exactly do you beta test then?
If not by playing the game?

Should I spend 2 hours walking against a random tree to make sure I don't glitch through?
Then move to the next tree?
How exactly do you go looking for bugs if not through simply playing the game to it's full extent?

This is all companies require of their beta testers anyway, play the game and report any bugs.
The savvy game dev sets up a hidden forum on their website visible only to beta testers with a bug report section.
People love that "exclusivity" and will congregate in the beta forum and talk about the game they're testing.

That's all beta testers are being asked to do.

I think you're jelly is all.

want a reason why a beta tester would do their jobs? Because they don't want a broken game anymore then you do. Heck if i'd been picked I'd be locked in a room with the beta and a lap top playing through quests and mechanics and deliberatly trying to break the game. Skyrim has this bug on the Quick Reflexes perk. sometimes when blocking a power attack the slow mo glitches out and you can clear an entire dungeon like Nero on meth. To fix it simply fast travel or save the game. It's a quirk i wouldn't have found without actualy PLAYING THE GAME. -shrugs-

Obviously not all the players are reporting bugs, but I would like to think that the majority of player who come across a bug will report it.

Trust me we're testing. We have over 30 pages of bugs listed.

i do think testers are searching for bugs. id imagine beth only picked about 200-500 to be testers anf those where applicants that they already knew or had some contact with. if bethesda wanted a bunch of newbs testing they woud have realesed dawnguard for free. i mean theyre not just going to throw away twenty bucks for 80000 beta newbs.

I hope so, yes.

Don't think so, however. 'Course there'll be the odd gent or two who is going to actually test the thing, but more often than not, I'm betting they just signed up for a free DLC.

No matter to me, I never mind the (forced) option to give Bethesda more of my money for their work.

No question, that there will be those looking for and submitting bugs. The real question is whether Beth will actually do anything about them. I've done testing in many games, and it is appalling how often some critical issues get ignored and released to the public despite advance warning from testers.

Honestly OP, what do you expect them to say? How can they test for bugs if they dont play the thing? Just because they offer an (understandably) vague answer and dont word it the way you want does not mean they are not doing their job. Sorry, but you came off as a little jelly to be honest.

I most certainly hope so i wan't to play dawnguard next tuesday.

I cant say much but i can tell you that i've been fortunate enough to be chosen so i'm doing the right thing by thoroughly testing and posting bugs I find on the private forum and others are doing the same. Whether or not beth is reading and finding fixes for them remains to be seen but i'm doing my part. I cant say what it is but i found a bug and its cause as well as a temporary solution that i shared in the private forum.

Many of us beta testers are TES lovers and want a better experience for everyone

Believe it or not, but a mass audience like Skyrim nets in more than a few bug reports.
It's also a more soluble answer to combing the mass amounts of glitches an open world creates.
For sooner or later you will catch someone that have had their precious beta ruined by a specific bug.

Are they going to complain? or make sure that their voice is heard? of course! Going by today's standards.
It's just like casting a huge net into any old pitch of water, with hopes of getting a specific fish from that catch.
The larger the device, the better the chance for someone to catch a red herring within the usual assortment of goods.

My source? experience through numerous beta games, including my most recent inclusion: Guild Wars 2.

I'm glad that Beth decided to do a beta, and I'm thankful for those that are testing it. If they find report, and get one big fixed, that's one less to worry about. Will they miss some bugs? Yep. Will Beth not get some fixed? Yep. Will there be fewer bugs because of testers and testing? Yup. Thanks for your hard work beta testers.

Its too late for them to actually fix anything that beta testers find but it gives them a heads up on what to be working on. The true bugs will come out when the masses start playing.

The beta is only to find major game breaking things that absolutely would need to be addressed.

Its also a good way to advertise their DLC.

We shall see come release day~