R45 QA Server Access

Greetings Avatars,

As we mentioned last month in the QA Server Policy Change post, starting with Release 45, we are opening up access to the QA server to everyone who has purchased access to the game, not just members with Developer+ access. Note that access to the QA server does not include trial accounts.

Each month, we set up a forum section that hosts discussion of topics related to the QA server. This section has previously been added to the Dev+ forum section, but we are now setting up the QA forums immediately below the current Live release forums.

The forum list will look something like the following when the QA server becomes accessible:

Early Access Testing

• Release 44
• Release 45 QA
• Early Access Community Events
• Early Access Screenshots & Video Galleries
• Early Access Archives
• Localization

QA server testing periods are usually about a week before the build goes to the live server. On the day of the release on the Live server (R45 due this Aug. 31), the QA forums will be archived, just like the previous Live release forums are archived on these days.

Keep watch in this thread for when the R45 QA server is accessible and the forum section also opens up! We hope to have it all enabled later today. Instructions for downloading and accessing the QA build will be provided then as well.

Thanks Avatars!

 

Those of you new to testing on the QA Server please note the following:

• Do not post screenshots or video outside of the QA forums (or QA on Discord) of anything from the QA server.
• The same Rules of Conduct apply on the QA server as they do on Live.
• The QA server is an early snapshot of the upcoming release, which means the build on that server is going to be broken and incomplete. That is why we need your help!
• We usually copy over data (your character for example) from the Live server to the QA server, which means when you login you will see your Live character. Any changes or progress made on the QA server will NOT affect your Live server character.
• To report bugs for QA, please use the /devbug chat command, which will link you to the appropriate QA bug forum. While the Bug button and /Bug chat command still work, they will direct you to the Live bug forums for the previous Live release.
• The draft of the instructions (to be posted in the R45 QA Feedback forum by Starr) you will see early on may include items that won’t actually make the release or conversely it won’t included items that will make the release. In other words the early draft of the instructions will be an early draft.

Here are instructions on how to download and install QA builds:

You can play by downloading a new SotA Launcher(QA) installer to download a separate QA copy of the game. It exists independently from the regular live version of the game and installs to a separate folder. Alternatively, after the links, there are instructions to play using Steam instead.

Windows: https://d2sx9mrt4zumaq.cloudfront.net/Installers/SotAInstaller(QA)-1.2.0.exe

Mac: https://d2sx9mrt4zumaq.cloudfront.net/Installers/Shroud of the Avatar - Installer(QA) 1.1.0.pkg

Linux Package: https://d2sx9mrt4zumaq.cloudfront.net/Installers/shroud-of-the-avatar-launcher-qa_1.1.0_amd64.deb

Linux tar.gz: https://d2sx9mrt4zumaq.cloudfront.net/Installers/shroud-of-the-avatar-launcher-qa_1.1.0.tar.gz

If you want to play through Steam:

WARNING: Playing both the normal and QA versions through Steam could use up to 8 GB+ of data download via steam each time you move back and forth between versions.

To install the QA client via Steam, follow these instructions:

• Right click on the game in your game library
• Go to Properties
• Click on the tab at the top that says BETAS
• Enter the beta access code "SotAQATesting" and hit Check Code.
• Select "qaclient" from the dropdown menu
• Steam will switch the install to the new branch
• To return to playing the normal client, follow these instructions:
  • Go back to the properties beta tab and select "none - opt out of all beta programs" and it will switch you back to the normal install.

Build going live shortly!

Let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Shroud of the Avatar Team

 

Ah, the smell of equality!

 

Bring it on!! lets do this

 

Sweet, I'll finally give this a try...

 

I'm suddenly feeling less inclined to go the Steam route.

 

downloading...

 

Me too. No way my monthly data quota is going to survive that

 

i thought steam downloads were bigger..

 

Just a little heads up to all the new QA members this time around...

QA builds are done in a string of patches. The first build will usually only have some basic new stuff and the main goal is to find critical bugs that cause crashes, major graphical glitches, major performance issues, etc. It will NOT contain all the new features that will make it into the next LIVE release. Don't be discouraged if you log in and find nothing that looks different than the current live version.

You might see new/updated scenes that can be explored (most of the time they are still incomplete on the first build though) and you might even be able to find new recipes or loot drops if they are planned. But my point is, don't expect ALL the new stuff to be included in the first build.

During the QA week(s) the DEV team will work on bugs we find and make fixes to major/critical stuff and add more and more new content in multiple patches. Sometimes you will see a couple patches in the same day! They work really hard on getting the next release ready for the scheduled Live release.

I hope that helps some of you understand what to expect and how it works. I'm trying to help avoid a zillion bug posts saying "xxx isn't in yet" because it won't all be there on the first round. If it's on Starr's "Instructions" post though, it should be on QA at some point for you to test. Just be warned though that some things may not make it in until the Wednesday before the LIVE release. It's very typical to have the first few days with hardly anything new to test.

 

Not anymore since a few releases ago

 

Will we still get the 5 COTO reward for putting in the appropriate amount of time on the QA server?

 

The steam instructions will not work quite yet, but will when we are ready, they were posted a bit early.

 

So you are new to QA and want to test, you can now see what the dev+ members had to put up with.

As Daxxe said, you not going to get everything in one patch, because the DVD armstill working n the release as you are testing on QA. There are likely to be 6 or 7 patches from now until release day. Sometimes there will 2 a day and sometimes there will one late Wednesdaynght or Thursday morning.

Not all features on QA may even make it to live. Sometimes they aren't complete enough to be released yet. And not all features are going to be there right away. And you won't know what features aren't in yet because there aren't any patch or release notes.

For Steam downloads, every time you switch between live and test, a whole client download happens. That's usually about 6 gig or so. Then when they do updates you have a delta to download, unless you switched back to live in the meantime.

So if you still want to test, congratulations and have fun. But if you have a hard time with the state of live, you probably don't want to play on QA.

 

I recommend the patcher for QA and Steam for Live. If enough people enable P2P then the patcher works quick enough. This way you can also compare the Live version on one monitor to the QA on the other. Helps with certain bugs.

 

@Berek i wonder were are the patch notes this time.

They are usually released when you put up the client, aren't they?

Edit: ooops, nevermind, found it on another forum. But i guess you should put it on announcements next time.... or at least link that post here.

 

Here they are!

 

No, I do not believe so.

 

They don't do "patch notes" per se for QA, but sometimes Burning Toad or other devs will give us a heads up on what they are adding. As Daxxe Diggler said above, if you are new to this, you will see a series of patches come out to QA over the time from now until next Thursday (except for the weekend). They move pretty fast on these patches sometimes. Other times it might take them a while to "get it right" before they patch it up.

 

Steam for one, Windows client for the other. Easy.