91 replies to this topic

[InnerSphereNews]

THANKS FOR TESTING - PTS IS OVER!

You can now start installing the PTS version of MWO!

MAY PATCH FEATURES ARE COMING TO THE PUBLIC TEST SERVER!

Greetings MechWarriors,

We are conducting a PTS for the feature update for this May 24th Patch.

We will update the post with start and end times once the build is ready.

We are doing this for 3 key reasons.

Creators can check out the new features and make videos. (Capture, Streaming ETC is all allowed)
Players can test the new features and help us find issues before we go Live on May 24th.
You can provide feedback, however, our main focus will be on Bugs and Blockers that would prevent a smooth transition.

PLEASE NOTE:

You will have to install a second version of the game.

It's only accessible through the MWO Portal. (not available through steam)

Purchases and earnings do not carry over to production servers.

The player population will be low so QP and FP will not have enough players for MM.

We will have Event Queue mode set to 4 vs 4 so you can play there.

When does it start and end?

• Start Time - May 11th at 10 AM PDT
• End Time - May 13th at 4 PM PDT

What is on the PTS?

• Quirk Display Update
• Skills Reconfigured
• Event Queue

What are we testing?

Mostly the purpose of PTS is to give players a preview of the upcoming Patch.

We are looking for any Major issues that you may identify that we can fix to make the new patch as stable as possible.

We will take feedback for improvements, but our current goal is to identify and fix any major bugs that will block the release.

• Quirk Display Update - Looking for Issues with Quirk Display
• Skills Reconfigured - Looking for issues in Transitioning your Skill tree or equipping new skills.
• Event Queue - Testing 1 event Type and Event Flow

How do we test?

• Check out your mechs with the updated Quirk display
• Are all the quirks displaying properly?
• Check out Mechs Skills
• Check out the new transition process for orphaned nodes
• test the functionality of the new Skills system
• Try dropping in the Event Queue with a Custom 4 vs 4 mode
• We are using 4 vs 4 to make matches easier to find.
• Finding Event Queue Matches will be dependent on players searching for matches at that time.
  

What should we avoid testing?

• Faction Play and Quickplay are not viable as the population will be limited.

What is in my account?

• This would be your Live account duplicated from around 1 week ago.
• We have added some currencies to the PTS account to make testing easier:
• 200,000 MC
• 500,000,000 C-Bills
• 10,000 GSP
• These currencies are for testing only and will not transceiver to the Production servers.
• None of your changes on PTS will transfer over to Production servers.

Do I get any progress purchases or content from PTS on my live account?

• No, your live account and PTS accounts are separate.

Will there be rewards for participating in PTS?

• There are no rewards for playing in the PTS

How do I install PTS?

• Using the MWO Portal - Select the Public Test Tab.
• Install the PTS version of MWO.

How do I log in?

• Log in to PTS using your MWO Pilot Email and Password.
• You cannot create a new account only existing accounts work.

[ShootterMcGavin]

Excellent

[ghost1e]

Will there be any rewards for playing on the PTS again?

[C337Skymaster]

Always thought unlimited Loot Box Keys (one per match) would have been the perfect draw for the PTS. In this case, maybe 1 or 5 GSP per match played? Something individually small, but which can be accumulated in large numbers if players stick around long enough for other players to get on and actually play test matches. Perhaps not as much of a draw in this case where mechlabbing is the purpose of the test, but food for thought in the future.

[Horseman]

C337Skymaster, on 10 May 2022 - 08:32 AM, said:

Always thought unlimited Loot Box Keys (one per match) would have been the perfect draw for the PTS.

Supply Caches have not required keys for some four years now, dude...

[C337Skymaster]

Horseman, on 10 May 2022 - 08:42 AM, said:

Supply Caches have not required keys for some four years now, dude...

Goes to show how long it's been since they turned on the PTS, now, doesn't it?

Also goes to show how long it's been since Loot Boxes had anything worthwhile in them.

Edited by C337Skymaster, 10 May 2022 - 10:32 AM.

[XV25]

After the patch old skills will be reset to default?

[C337Skymaster]

XV25, on 10 May 2022 - 10:43 AM, said:

After the patch old skills will be reset to default?

After the patch, your skill tree will remain exactly as it is, even with all the new holes that the transition will create. There will be no noticeable effect until you CHANGE your skill tree, at which point it will conduct a validity check, and any remaining holes will cause it to fail that check, forcing you to fix everything at once. This is only on a per-'mech basis, however.

[PrometheusTNO]

XV25, on 10 May 2022 - 10:43 AM, said:

After the patch old skills will be reset to default?

No, but kind of. Each node will be enabled 1:1 for what you have now. It means you don't HAVE to reskill mechs, but it also means you may want to tweak them as there are more efficient configurations now.

[D V Devnull]

Glad to see there will be a PTS (Public Test Server) for working the Bugs out of May 2022's various upcoming changes! It has been an ancient long time since I was last able to help with this stuff, so I'll enjoy being able to do that if Real Life^TM avoids interjecting itself the wrong way. For some (unknown even to me) reason, I had not realized something could severely break in this kind of transition, so it will be rather excellent to help in advance with ensuring nothing breaks.

I shall be looking forward to this, and will hope that PTS Patch Download Files will be made available for anyone that needs to load up in such a manner. Please don't make me dig to get what's needed... I've had past problems/issues which require I use the manual downloading path, and I know there are others which have experienced similar situations.

~D. V. "looking forward to working with PTS for the upcoming 2022-05-24 changes" Devnull



(p.s.: As there is probably some tiny mercenary in most of us, is there any chance we can earn/acquire more "Emerald Cicada" WarHorns and/or the "Mech In A Box" Standing Item for helping with this PTS's run??? I happened to be personally thankful to get some of those in the past, and they're both very fitting when one happens to be helping with making sure the Bugs/Blockers/Breakage are worked out of something.)

[Navid A1]

D V Devnull, on 10 May 2022 - 12:13 PM, said:

Glad to see there will be a PTS (Public Test Server) for working the Bugs out of May 2022's various upcoming changes! It has been an ancient long time since I was last able to help with this stuff, so I'll enjoy being able to do that if Real Life^TM avoids interjecting itself the wrong way. For some (unknown even to me) reason, I had not realized something could severely break in this kind of transition, so it will be rather excellent to help in advance with ensuring nothing breaks.

I shall be looking forward to this, and will hope that PTS Patch Download Files will be made available for anyone that needs to load up in such a manner. Please don't make me dig to get what's needed... I've had past problems/issues which require I use the manual downloading path, and I know there are others which have experienced similar situations.

~D. V. "looking forward to working with PTS for the upcoming 2022-05-24 changes" Devnull



(p.s.: As there is probably some tiny mercenary in most of us, is there any chance we can earn/acquire more "Emerald Cicada" WarHorns and/or the "Mech In A Box" Standing Item for helping with this PTS's run??? I happened to be personally thankful to get some of those in the past, and they're both very fitting when one happens to be helping with making sure the Bugs/Blockers/Breakage are worked out of something.)

If I remember correctly, the PTS can take your already installed MWO and patch those to avoid a large download.

[Sawk]

WOW you mean SCOUTING, i can build mechs, - play in a 4 MAN, i think i can do that, only thing is what is the weight limit, i mean i run any mech from 1 to 100 tons, and build a 35+ alpha, woot

LETS get it rolling SAWK

[TheCaptainJZ]

Navid A1, on 10 May 2022 - 02:03 PM, said:

If I remember correctly, the PTS can take your already installed MWO and patch those to avoid a large download.

Yes, I don't know the exact steps, but someone figured out that you can start the installation to create the folder structure (or maybe create the root folder manually) and copy the existing game into it, then run the launcher. Run the repair tool for the PTS installation and it will check the file versions and fix whatever is different.

[Horseman]

You can create a symlink to your already installed folder, then run the repair too. Works the same in practice, but you don't end up with two installed copies.

[Navid A1]

TheCaptainJZ, on 10 May 2022 - 02:50 PM, said:

Yes, I don't know the exact steps, but someone figured out that you can start the installation to create the folder structure (or maybe create the root folder manually) and copy the existing game into it, then run the launcher. Run the repair tool for the PTS installation and it will check the file versions and fix whatever is different.

I think it was turned to a feature... no need for workarounds.
The installer should ask you if you want to use your base MWO install to avoid large download

Edited by Navid A1, 10 May 2022 - 04:38 PM.

[The6thMessenger]

So is there going to be rewards for the live server?

It's not new tech like civil-war tech, it's not new mechanics like dual arc, this is just going to be some UI testing that I will have to download 23 GBs for.

[Matt Newman]

There won't be rewards for playing on the PTS.

Players will be able to get a chance to check out the new Skills
Look at the Quirk Display update and play in some of the first ever Event Queue Matches.

This is the first config for the Event Queue. I will be changing the event Queue Settings over the course of the PTS.
Public Test - 4 vs 4 - No Groups - Skirmish on Emerald Vale - Medium Mechs Only - 50% more Armor

[FupDup]

Matt Newman, on 10 May 2022 - 05:19 PM, said:

This is the first config for the Event Queue. I will be changing the event Queue Settings over the course of the PTS.
Public Test - 4 vs 4 - No Groups - Skirmish on Emerald Vale - Medium Mechs Only - 50% more Armor

So the event queue can modify quirks? So maybe have a super fast cooldown event for maximum dakka? Or go the other way and make all the mechs super fragile? Everybody gets hyperspeed? Super buffed JJs with low gravity?

[ambosen]

Well, I hope this turns out better then the last time I participated with a public server test. As I recall there were a lot of inexplicable crashes, and no players in really any game mode whatsoever.

[LordNothing]

FupDup, on 10 May 2022 - 05:26 PM, said:

So the event queue can modify quirks? So maybe have a super fast cooldown event for maximum dakka? Or go the other way and make all the mechs super fragile? Everybody gets hyperspeed? Super buffed JJs with low gravity?

instagib erll arena.