Inside: SereneScreen Fan Forum - View Single Post - *** Result of Beta testing of SSA Version 1.1.2.319 wide ***

feldon34 · 03-22-2002, 12:51 AM

I said: They are under NDA not to talk about what does and does not work in successive betas.

You said: what's the link of those places/forums?

A NDA is a Non-Disclosure Agreement. The beta testers have a separate forum to talk about a beta version of the Aquarium especially about bugs and how to reproduce them. I don't think a public beta is a good idea because we would experience these 3 problems:

#1 People think the Aquarium is "almost ready to be released" when it's not.
#2 People e-mail me and Jim to be in on the beta and Jim gets hate-mail from people who have "been with Jim since the beginning and demand an update that you promised" or some other bit of entitlement.
#3 If we open up the beta to a large group, then different people will somehow end up with older versions and keep reporting bugs that have been fixed already.

It has been proven time and time again in the development world that instead of just having a free-for-all with the beta, a private beta with periodic public status reports is the best approach for us to all keep our sanity.

We opened the widescreen beta up to another ~30 people on top of our beta group because they have widescreen displays such as HDTVs. They can provide useful feedback about performance on a widescreen display. Which brings us to...

I said: Since version 1.2 or whichever version will have the 3D background will also be widescreen compatible, the point is moot. There won't ever be a widescreen beta forum. Just ranting.

You said: a bit contradictory to me

Current situation:

Version 1.1 Regular
- Background is 4:3 ratio picture
- Fish avoiding each other and coral is hard-coded to only work with 4:3 mode

Version 1.1 Widescreen
- Background is 16:9 ratio picture
- Fish avoiding each other and coral is hard-coded to only work with 16:9 mode

Future situation:

3D Background Version
- Background is 24:9 (8:3) ratio or DOUBLE-WIDE
- Fish avoiding each other and coral is a totally new collision detection method
- supports both 4:3 (regular) and 16:9 (widescreen) by showing a portion of the entire 24:9 image and panning left and right
- we MAY get dual monitor support, in which case all 24:9 of the Aquarium can be seen.

03-22-2002, 12:51 AM	#7
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,947	I said: They are under NDA not to talk about what does and does not work in successive betas. You said: what's the link of those places/forums? A NDA is a Non-Disclosure Agreement. The beta testers have a separate forum to talk about a beta version of the Aquarium especially about bugs and how to reproduce them. I don't think a public beta is a good idea because we would experience these 3 problems: #1 People think the Aquarium is "almost ready to be released" when it's not. #2 People e-mail me and Jim to be in on the beta and Jim gets hate-mail from people who have "been with Jim since the beginning and demand an update that you promised" or some other bit of entitlement. #3 If we open up the beta to a large group, then different people will somehow end up with older versions and keep reporting bugs that have been fixed already. It has been proven time and time again in the development world that instead of just having a free-for-all with the beta, a private beta with periodic public status reports is the best approach for us to all keep our sanity. We opened the widescreen beta up to another ~30 people on top of our beta group because they have widescreen displays such as HDTVs. They can provide useful feedback about performance on a widescreen display. Which brings us to... I said: Since version 1.2 or whichever version will have the 3D background will also be widescreen compatible, the point is moot. There won't ever be a widescreen beta forum. Just ranting. You said: a bit contradictory to me Current situation: Version 1.1 Regular - Background is 4:3 ratio picture - Fish avoiding each other and coral is hard-coded to only work with 4:3 mode Version 1.1 Widescreen - Background is 16:9 ratio picture - Fish avoiding each other and coral is hard-coded to only work with 16:9 mode Future situation: 3D Background Version - Background is 24:9 (8:3) ratio or DOUBLE-WIDE - Fish avoiding each other and coral is a totally new collision detection method - supports both 4:3 (regular) and 16:9 (widescreen) by showing a portion of the entire 24:9 image and panning left and right - we MAY get dual monitor support, in which case all 24:9 of the Aquarium can be seen. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman Last edited by feldon34; 03-22-2002 at 12:56 AM.