C3G Playtesting FAQs

[IAmBatman]

AN EMPTY STANDARD PLAYTESTING FORM TO FILL OUT
Here is how to use the empty form above:

1. Get a notepad and take notes as you playtest.
2. When you are done, go to the Playtesting FAQ thread and click on the Empty Standard Playtesting Form.
3. A window will appear with a single post. That post is the Blank Playtesting Form.
4. Click the QUOTE button at the bottom.
5. You should now fill out all the required information.
6. Once the info is complete, highlight all of the text in the entire post. Then right click the text and click copy.
7. Close the window.
8. Paste the the text in a PM to the Lead Designer and hit submit.
9. You are done.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A COMPLETED PLAYTEST FORM

Between the Design Phase and the Finalizing Phase here at C3G, we have the dreaded PLAY-TESTING OF DOOM PHASE!
OK, just kidding. This thread is here to answer any questions on the specifics of play-testing.

FAQs

Q - What is Playtesting?
A - Playtesting is a term used to describe what people do to "test" a new game or game component simply playing the game through a series of prescribed tests to check for brokenness or game compatibility.

Q - Who can Playtest?
A - Any Heroscapers.com member can playtest C3G.

Q - How do I know what to playtest?
A - To find out what units need play-testing, you will need to go to the "Playtesting Sign-up" thread. You may pick any available Design to Playtest and announce that you will be playtesting it there, and then click the appropriate LINK on the front page. That link will take you to the Profile Page of the Lead Designer (LD) so that you can send him a Private Message asking for the current info for playtesting. Now the "Design" may be a figure, optional rule, glyph, destructible object, scenario, etc., and it is important to know that each "Design" type has specific guide lines and requirements for playtesting.

Q - How do I playtest?
A - Here is a detailed list on how to playtest each Design type.

Spoiler Alert!

The following are the minimum requirements for Playtesting any C3G Design and moving it to the Final Editing Phase.

• Figure Design: 2 Playtesters are required. Each test should be done on a BoV or C3G competitive map (Heroes and Sidekicks can playtest on any map). Each playtester should complete a Feedback Sheet (see link) that includes detailed reports of 2 army tests with the tested Design as part of an army battling another army of the same point cost. Playtested Figure Designs must be approved by a majority C3G hero vote to finalize cost and move to the Final Editing Phase.

• Glyph Design: 1 Playtester is required. A test should be done on a BoV or C3G competitive map (Heroes and Sidekicks can playtest on any map) with Glyph placements designated. A playtester should complete a Feedback Sheet that includes detailed reports of two full army tests. Playtested Glyph Designs must be approved by a majority C3G hero vote to move to the Final Editing Phase.

• Scenario Design: 1 Playtester is required. A playtester should build the map according to the build instructions and play through the scenario at least twice before submitting a feedback sheet with detailed reports of the scenario playtests. Playtested Scenario Designs must be approved by a majority C3G hero vote to move to the Final Editing Phase.

• Optional Rule Design: 1 Playtester is required. Each test should be done on a BoV or C3G competitive map (Heroes and Sidekicks can playtest on any map). A playtester should complete a Feedback Sheet. Playtested Optional Rule Designs must be approved by a majority C3G hero vote to move to the Final Editing Phase.

• Destructible Object Design: 1 Playtester is required. Each test should be done on a BoV or C3G competitive map (Heroes and Sidekicks can playtest on any map). A playtester should complete a Feedback Sheet. Playtested Destructible Object Designs must be approved by a majority C3G hero vote to move to the Final Editing Phase.

• Terrain Design: 1 Playtester is required. Each test should be done on a BoV or C3G competitive map (Heroes and Sidekicks can playtest on any map). A playtester should complete a Feedback Sheet. Playtested Terrain Designs must be approved by a majority C3G hero vote to move to the Final Editing Phase.

Q - Are there any hints, tips, or guides on how to Play-test?
A - This post can be very helpful in listing a few things that you should look for when Play-testing.

Spoiler Alert!

CHECK LIST FOR FIGURE UNITS

- THEME TEST/ Check to see if there are any powers or stats on the test unit card that does not accurately reflect the theme or likeness of what the character would and could do. Also consider destructible objects, and whether or not this characters powers should affect them.
- MIRROR TEST/ Check to see if the unit were played against itself, if there would be any loops that would upset the balance of the Game.
- BONDING TEST/ Compare the unit card with all possible currently existing Bonding abilities to make sure there are no continual Bonding possibilities that do not stop appropriately or do not stop at all. This is to prevent loops in Bonding.
- SYNERGIES TEST/ Compare the unit card with all possible currently existing synergies to make sure there are no factors that could break the game by making any unit to powerful or too weak.
- POWER CHECK/ Consider the test unit and all existing units and all glyphs to compare to and check for any powers that could be over amplified and break the game. Each power must define when it takes place, who or what it affects, and What are the stipulations on the power if there are any.
- FUN TEST/ Consider whether or not the design was fun to play.
- FUN COMPETITIVE TEST/ Consider whether or not the design was fun to play against.
- DRAFTING TEST/ Consider whether or not this design is worth drafting.
- USAGE TEST/ Consider whether or not all of the powers on this card were used or at least usable.
- STRATEGY TEST/ Consider whether or not the design offers any real strategy or interesting tactics to the overall game.

PLAY TEST LIST FOR FIGURE UNITS

When play testing, each separate section below must be done individually and played on any BoV map, ARV tournament map, Arctic Redoubt, Under the El, or any C3G Competitive Map, your choice (Heroes and Sidekicks can playtest on any map). If the test unit has a power or powers that are specific to any terrain type, you must chose a map that has that terrain type on it.
Do not use any other customs or C3G cards that have not been finalized when playtesting, you may only use Official Marvel Heroscape cards or released C3G figures to test against the single unit you are working on. When play testing, you may only use C3G glyphs if you decide to include them, and you may also use C3G Optional Rules (like Knockback) if you so choose.

- ARMY TEST X2/ Create a competitive army using the test unit as a base, and then play a single game with the test unit in a competitive army against another competitive. Both armies should have the same approximate point cost, 600 is a great competitive point range and should be the minimum point value of an Army, but you can feel free to test armies that have a higher point value. Be sure to run this test twice, using different armies in each game.

Q - How do I document my play-test results?
A - Here is the Feedback Sheet.

Here is how to use the empty form above:

1. Get a notepad and take notes as you playtest.
2. When you are done, go to the Playtesting FAQ thread and click on the Empty Standard Playtesting Form.
3. A window will appear with a single post. That post is the Blank Playtesting Form.
4. Click the QUOTE button at the bottom.
5. You should now fill out all the required information.
6. Once the info is complete, highlight all of the text in the entire post. Then right click the text and click copy.
7. Close the window.
8. Paste the the text in a PM to the Lead Designer and hit submit.
9. You are done.

Q - Where do I post my Feedback Form when I have completed it?
A - Send your completed Playtest sheet in a PM to the Lead Designer of the Unit that you have playtested.

Q - How in depth should my feedback be?
A -

Originally Posted by Master Playtester Hahma

I keep a notebook with me when testing and I write every turn down when testing. You don't have to, but you should at least jot down a note here and there to acknowledge certain points during a test that might be important. If either team wins because of winning most of initiatives to get advantage, that's worth noting. If either team rolls unusually good attack or defense, that's worth noting. Anything that might be worth the readers of the test sheet needing to know to get a better idea of the events during the test can be noted. If nothing else, keep some notes so that if someone questions your test results, you can go back and say, "well this happened that was unusual or that happened, or so in so had height advantage throughout the game or whatever." That can help people judge test results better.

Q - Is it possible to play-test on my own without an opponent?
A - Yes. Many of us have been Solo-Scaping for a while, and we haven't gone blind yet.

Spoiler Alert!

What you need to do to Solo-Scape is to decide before beginning that you will not change the results based on what you want. So if you roll a 20 for Mind Exchange, then you must honor those results. Also, there are many times in competitive games where predicting your opponents Order Marker placement is a huge factor. Since you "know" where your "opponents" markers are because you are your "opponent", you will need to exercise some selective memory. Don't try to remember where the orders are, instead, role play as yourself. By this I mean, you should make a decision that you believe you would make if you did not know what the "opponent" is thinking. Also, it is important when rolling for initiative to have a system for knowing when a team is rolling. What I do is I always assume that the first Initiative roll is for the "unit" that I am testing. Another method would be to use two separate colored D20s, one color for each team. Lastly, and my favorite, you should set the mood in your Scapeing environment. What I like to do is test at night when my kids are asleep, then I turn on some music or a comic cartoon, and I put some drinks and snacks out. I also set up right next to my computer so I can type as I play or right after I play a game, that way the results are fresh in my mind and my test sheet is accurate.

Feel free to ask any questions on Playtesting, as we will be dealing specifically with the ins and outs of Play-testing here.

[IAmBatman]

I'll link this thread to the first post of the "Life of a C3G Design" thread (I'm trying to limit the number of stickies we'll have in this forum). This looks like a great place to post if you have any playtesting requirement questions! Hopefully threads like this will also encourage more people who might currently consider themselves "outsiders" to get involved with the C3G by pitching in and playtesting these designs.

[Griffin]

Originally Posted by Balantai

After reading a few playtesting sheets, I think I'm doing too much. Are we supposed to be playtesting 3 melee army games and 3 ranged army games?

Your answer is in FAQ 4,

Spoiler Alert!

Figure Units: 3 Playtesters are required. Each test should be done on a BoV map. Each playtester should complete a full feedback sheet that includes detailed reports of the following tests: five tests versus heroes of the same or close to the same point cost (can either be one "heavy hitter" or two mid level heroes), one test versus a squad of the same or close to the same point cost, one melee army test with the test unit as part of a melee oriented army battling a melee oriented army of the same point cost, and one ranged army test with the test unit as part of a range oriented army battling a range oriented army of the same point cost.
Playtested Figure Units must be approved by a majority C3G hero vote to finalize cost and move to the final editing phase.

and I would suggest reading through FAQs 6 and 7.

[Balantai]

I really don't think 1 playtest for each melee army and ranged army is enough. My first melee army playtest with Angel was a fluke. The dice heavily favored one team.

EDIT: I would suggest we increase this to at least 2 tests per army type. I would prefer 3, though.

[IAmBatman]

These are just the minimum requirements and they are required for three individual playtesters (which alone should balance some flukes). If you feel your personal results were too fluky, though, you're certainly welcome to do additional tests and post the results - as I did with my latest Iceman melee army test.

[Balantai]

I just worry that the minimum requirement is a bit too little. The one thing the sets this project apart from most others is the playtesting. I just don't want to see us rush through this.

[IAmBatman]

I don't think anyone plans on rushing through this at all. I think the best thing you can do at this point to demonstrate that point of view is to act the part of a leader and show a lot of thorough playtesting results.
One a side note, I think the more playtesting a person does, the more able he is to evaluate the results based on less playtesting. For someone just starting out like yourself, it probably is a good idea to go beyond the minimum requirements here until you really start to get a feel for playtesting and what the results of various playtests really mean. Someone like Hahma, on the other hand, who's a bit more of a veteran in this arena, can more comfortably evaluate a figure based on less playtesting. I think it's more the quality of playtesting done than the quantity that we need to worry about (though our minimum standards for quantity are good to keep no lower than where they are, in my opinion).

[Griffin]

Balantai, the safety in numbers that you are looking for, will be covered by having 3 different playtesters.

[Hahma]

Originally Posted by Griffin

Balantai, the safety in numbers that you are looking for, will be covered by having 3 different playtesters.

I'm sure some guys will be tested by more than 3 playtesters on occasion and I can speak to the point that if I don't think something is right after a test, I'll test it again. In fact, I did that with Pyro recently. I wasn't satisfied with how he did against Krug, so I tested him against Drake v1.

There's also going to be different maps used for playtesting. So there are more variables covered than if all tests were don on one map. I'd also expect mixing up armies for a test subject to be teamed up with and go against from one playtester to another when possible. Sometimes similar units get tested by different testers, but not always.

We also have to keep in mind that a figure like Angel is more of a support figure and his powers aren't going to help him in battle. So I wouldn't expect him to fare well 1 on 1 vs. an opponent that gets to use all there powers against him, like Kaemon Awa, who should take out Angel much of the time. Like Joker shouldn't be tested vs. Nilfheim and be expected to fare well, Joker should go against a figure like Red Skull.

There are also times during army tests where one side is fighting with optimal synergy and circumstances. That has to be taken into consideration as well.

I don't think we plan on passing figures just to get them through and make it any less of a product. We just have more experience with it and wanted to streamline the minimum requirements, though more tests can always be done if/when the need occurs. Also, we can't expect every unit we pass to be to top of the top for their points and be perfect in every situation. The X-Men aren't supposed to be badazz as individuals, but be badazz as a team, so I think that will be the case when we get these guys together as a team and test them against other armies. Again, we want to make sure they are really good as a team, but not a broken army that can always defeat their points in opponents.

[IAmBatman]

I agree about the X-Men being great as a team. We're really developing figures that fit different niches and fill different roles well. Angel helps defend everyone around him. Iceman has a beefy special attack. Beast can take on hordes in melee. Cyclops has the best range and definite synergies to boost those around him. Jean Grey can mix it up with her throw and protect others from Magneto's throw. Xavier can bring them all together and make them twice as good.
Just imagine how much more rounded they'll be once we add in Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Emma Frost, etc.

[A3n]

what's the go???

I just tried to download the playtest sheet & got an error message about reaching my daily download limit. I don't recall downloading anything lately. What is the limit anyway?

[Griffin]

Originally Posted by A3n

what's the go???

I just tried to download the playtest sheet & got an error message about reaching my daily download limit. I don't recall downloading anything lately. What is the limit anyway?

I had the exact same problem. See if you can download anything else on the sight would'ya?