alpha beta final

[eerieone]

just interested, what is your view on the contents that belong into these stages of developement?

for me personally...
alpha: basic geometry, functionality, basic playability, distinguishable setting/theme from other maps

beta: ready for playtesting, refined textures, playerclipping, basic optimization, props placed properly, good light placement, oriantation system, overall ready for final polishing

final: 3d skybox, sounds, final fps optimization



is there some kind of unwritten rule for that?

discuss

 

[Uriak]

I think this thread should be of interest

I myself follow the publicy rule : orange/basic for early alpha and test. More decorated, some optimization and refined gameplay element in late alpha (that may be shared elsewhere than your community server).
Beta should be more detailled, in order to give people interested into beta testing your map. You may omit some elements (final 3d skybox, sounds) as long as you're clearly in beta. Arrows, signs, instruction and the whole set things needed to understand the map should be there.
Release candidate when you think you've pinned thing right. Other releases should be required only because you may discover a significant and requested gameplay/apperance improvement after some time.

 

[eerieone]

thx, used the search function, but missed that one
sry for the now useless thread

 

[UKCS-Alias]

I usualy do it this way:
Alpha - Map engine testing (to be sure the map doesnt have massive gameplay errors) - only in large maps. Either fully, partial or not textured (dev textures). Sometimes skipped or private testing only
Beta - Normal testing for any issues, these maps should be playable. Many times this is to test if the gameplay is realy fun or find some lag problems. In this stage the map shouldnt change alot in gameplay anymore unless a area couses problems.
Release Canditate - A working map that is actualy in final stage but still wants some more testing
Final - Says enough

Btw, for private testing i usualy name a map like: pl_mapname_a1_a1 ([type]_[name]_[version]_[subversion]). This allows me to give the map testers some previews more often without letting the testers get issues with the name later on. for each private release i just increase the subversion