How Do You Playtest?

[Zettian Juggernaut]

Originally Posted by Scapemage

This sounds like me. Back when I playtested Green Goblin, I lost my entire testing sheet. Now I type in Microsoft Word as I go and save very frequently. I have all the playtested I have done in this way saved on my computer.

Same here, I have everyone. But what I find funny, is that my playtesting style changed a lot.

[Red Eyed Jedi]

This is a great thread Scapemage, thanks for starting it.

Here's how I test.

First I like to have about day to think about who I am going to run with the new unit and against it. I like to run similar types of armies, so If the new unit has a synergy I work off that for a test and play it against a similar synergistic team. Sometimes I set the new unit up against a team that I know it will do good against, and sometimes I counter draft the new unit to see how it does in that. I am a sucker for thematic armies, so if the test unit "hangs" with an existing unit, I like to play them together. I try to stay away from high variance units as much as I can when I test, such as Joker, Puppet Master, etc, etc. As a streak of rolls can ruin a test. Sometimes though, they are clearly an ideal choice and have to be used. Usually 1 game is 1000 points, the other is 600, sometimes 800 is a number I shoot for both tests though.

I prefer to test in the morning's as my mind is fresh, not after work as I am usually mentally drained. One test at a time, each morning for 2 days. I used to hand write the notes as I played, but after 3 notebooks, I decided to skip that step and now just type them up and PM them to myself as I go. I copy the rounds as I play them, in case I hit that erase button, wherever it is. I pace the map length wise so each start zone is either at my right or left hand, Left SZ is usually the test units, I don't know why, but it usually is. I use 2 sets of dice each with their own dice box that I roll in. I always stand when I play scape.

I do my report's in a round by round, turn by turn basis. I like reading these kind of reports best so that's how I report. I always use all C3G optional rules, as they are just a blast to play, and make the games more akin to comic books. I never use glyphs in my playtests. They are fun to have, and I always use them in my casual games, but in tests I feel they could possibly unbalance the game in one teams favor or the other. In my reports I type the abilities out the first time they are used then abbreviate for each subsequent use. I like to list total wounds received then total wounds so far. Like..so and so deals 2 to so and so (t4) It's just easier for the reader to keep up with I think.

I always listen to music when I test, usually Pandora, Classic Rock is my favorite station. Coffee or juice depending on my mood to drink. Cigarettes are a must, but I have been cutting back on those. Yay for me! Sometimes a friend will come over, and I play the test unit once them let him play it next game. That makes testing more enjoyable, but I usually solo-scape. I just take my time and fully enjoy the process, but realize 3 or so days should be long enough, to have a report in by.

[Sheep]

Like REJ said, great thread, it inspired me to make a playtest sheet compatable with HSers and make up my newest thread, Playtesting Outline.

[Scapemage]

This is a very old thread I thought I would reintroduce to see how people these days have been playtesting. Techniques, tactics, anything!

[IAmBatman]

1. I set up the map in my office and keep it up as long as I can.

2. I get all the figures and cards for my testing assembled at least a night before.

3. I play and take notes as I go. I'm currently working to trim down my notes a bit, but I can be OCD about it, so I still probably write more notes than I need.

4. I really like listing out the powers and giving a summary on how each power affected the game. That and the results (including victory margin) are the two most useful things I see in tests.

5. One other thing that I would like to see more consistently is folks really putting down army point totals in the match ups and specifically noting the point level the playtested figure was played at, since that can often change during testing. It makes summarizing and reviewing overall results much easier.

[Yodaking]

Pretty much the same as Bats (1 & 2 are key for me), except I type the info directly into the play test report as I go rather then take notes. Then it's a pretty quick turn around to submit the results once I'm done with the tests.

I'll also echo his request for army point totals and the price a unit is being tested at. It makes it so much easier to evaluate a bunch of tests at once before making the final editing vote.

[TREX]

Anymore, what I do is, like the guys above get all the stuff ready on a balanced map. I add the details in on the units, the map, and points when I post the report. While playtesting the units I dont do it play by play anymore. I give a quick summary of each round after each round. After the game is complete, ill post my thoughts on each category of testing and if Im playing with another player get their thoughts as well. Then I post an overview of the character and what Id change if anything.

[IAmBatman]

@Yodaking that’s actually what I meant by take notes. I also type them directly into the sheet.

[Tornado]

I really need to start doing that. I think the last two times I saved the page my laptops died soon after.

[Yodaking]

That's some pretty bad luck there.

[Scapemage]

I also type directly into the playtesting form, though I have a version copies onto Microsoft Word that I copy into. That way, I can simply copy and paste the document into a post when I am done playing and it is ready to go in proper formatting. No extra taking of notes then writing them up into a sheet later.

I also often makes armies in advance so that I can get into game as quickly as possible when it comes time to play. It's easier to find a few minutes anywhere on the computer to draft up some armies without needing to be with my map and figures.

[IAmBatman]

Oh yeah, I definitely do it in a Word Document too! I have it pre-formatted so I just fill in the blanks, then post the finished version.

I have armies that tend to be my "go tos" to test against, though I really need to expand that.