To the powers that be and fellow flyers:
The Version 2 Beta Bug reporting system is rather frustrating to the point of not bothering to help.
I have in-house beta tested three PC flight sims published by Electronic Arts and Eidos. The QA method we used, I will describe.
Each day, all of the testers would bang on a program, searching for bugs. When we found what we thought was a new bug, we would go to the searchable bug database to see whether what we found was a documented bug or not. If it wasn't in the database, we would enter it.
Each week, the testers would have a bug meeting with the project manager and/or the lead programmer and go over the bug list printout. Each bug was assigned a priority. Some of the bugs we found, we knew would never be fixed. Screen freezing and crash to desktop bugs always got top priority.
But, as beta testers, we always knew what the status of a bug was and what build it would most likely end up being fixed in. The average total number of bugs in the bug database for each title approached 1000. Most bugs were fixed. But, a number we had to live with in order to meet a release deadline.
It was also our job to confirm that the bugs that were logged as fixed by the programmers, were indeed fixed in later builds. The confirmation of a fix was also entered into the database.
In the Aces High 2 QA method, what I see here is a total chaos of bugs being reported over and over, with people not knowing what is going on. Searching through the Open Beta boards doesn’t work very well. In trying to test the game, I have no idea what the status of potential bugs are; never mind if a bug was already reported.
Even the bugs I report, I have no idea if they are even looked at by the programming staff. A handful of bug fixes are listed with each new beta release. Most of these bugs, I never even knew about.
It is very frustrating for me to attempt to test this version 2. I can only speak for myself, but I imagine, others are having the same problems. What would be extremely helpful would be an "official" list of bugs and the status of each. With some sort of list, we would know what is regarded by HTC as a true "bug" and when and if they will attempt to fix it.
If HTC could assemble the database, make it into a PDF or text document and list it as a downloadable each week, as a beta tester, at least I wouldn't be so frustrated. I would actually enjoy looking for bugs.
It may take a bit of extra work to assemble the database or list, but in the long run, it would reduce the amount of time HTC would have to check on the bulletin boards for redundant bug reports. Also, with this bit of organization, we would have a much better, more stable, and enjoyable game product in a shorter time.
