Ares delays / new testers needed

[Renegade]

Even with our testing force freed of the completely useless testers, the number of actual testing people has remained basically the same as last month.

Instead of having one or two big sweeps that find all "obvious" current bugs, we keep having to release new Release Candidates with only a single change or two, simply because we only get one or two reports per version.

As such, the release date keeps slipping.

Unless the majority of the testing force significantly changes its attitude/degree of involvement, it could take a while until Ares is released.
We will not go the way of VK and just release that thing and hope for the best.

Since we've already asked the testers multiple times to actually test, and these requests fell on dead ears¹, we are taking the logical next step: Replacing them.

We are hereby officially asking for new tester applications.

As a tester, you will be expected to regularly and frequently test and provide feedback on Ares's features in general, and in-development features in particular, in order to ensure the publicly released versions are as bug-free as possible.
Your feedback will also help shaping and evaluating the implementations of these new features.

Given the disastrous performance of the current testing team¹, future team-members will quickly be weeded out if they stop testing. You are expected to provide feedback often, even if you simply report that everything seems to work well and no changes are required.
We have no use for people who maybe phone in once a week, if a particular feature they're using is buggy.
While we are waiting for feedback, development of entire features is halted until we get it, because we can't continue without that feedback - as such, feedback must come often and from as many sources as possible. If you can't test often, or have no desire to test many, varying features, do not apply.

Bear in mind as well that you will be working with the unstable testing versions of Ares, so there will be crashes, performance issues, and other quirks.
In turn, however, you get the bleeding edge Ares features, straight from the compiler, enabling you to test new options for your mods months in advance - the current testers, for example, can create custom InfDeaths with custom mutations with controlled ownership, permanent mindcontrol warheads, trenches, use additional random map generator features, and so on.
If a feature doesn't quite fit your mod yet, you have the chance to raise issues early and ask for a feature to be changed/expanded in order to fully fit your vision, rather than having to realize it won't quite work after the public release, and having to convince us to alter a working, tested, completed feature just to please one guy.


In order to become a tester, you have to have general modding knowledge of Yuri's Revenge, and be capable of writing English well enough that we can actually understand what you're reporting.
l33tsp34k, txtspk or similar abominations do not count.

You do not have to have an actual mod in the works, and any existing mod doesn't have to be intended for publication - a simple set of INIs you keep for Ares testing purposes is enough.

Us knowing you is an advantage, us knowing you actually have a certain degree of skill is even better. The former is not a requirement, though.
Blacklisted people don't even have to try.

While not a necessity, broadband is an advantage, in case you have to upload memory dumps after a crash.

If you are using a cracked or unpatched version of YR, do not apply. Even if Ares worked with such versions (which it doesn't, due to the different EXEs), we wouldn't be able to figure out whether your problems come from Ares or from your engine version, and thus, your testing would be worthless to us.


If you wish to apply, reply to this post with a short summary of who you are and what degree of modding skill/involvement you have. Selections will not be made on a first-come-first-serve basis, but by evaluation of who will most likely be the best fit.
If you aren't selected this time, you may be asked in the future, if there is a shortage of testers.

As for the current testers: Those of you who don't actively participate in the testing and evaluation process are worth no more than any given non-tester. You're dead weight, only taking up space on the tester list. You should mentally prepare yourself for being removed from the tester list.

¹ As said before, there is a fistful of testers who actually do test and who are of tremendous help to us. Not all testers are bad. Just the majority.