Hello Everyone!
First off, I want to say thank you to all the fans who have been patient for Version 3.0, aka Disaster Warning: Reload. This update spans a development of over two years, with multiple revisions and ideas, all coming together to give you all the biggest update Disaster Warning has seen.
With a release for later this year, some fans have been curious about one thing - how will fans test out the update?
How will testing for Reload work?
Some may remember testing for 2.0, Disaster Warning’s previous big update. What was initially going to be a process of a couple months, was condensed into a month to meet a deadline. In that month, I crunched crucial progress, worked on an unpolished and sloppy framework that’s prone to lag and memory leaks, and sacrificed fan-favorite features to meet a deadline, such as private server controls. This harmed the update’s potential, and has resutled in the release of a buggy and unfinished update, and unfortuantely, the game is still suffering from its effects to this day.
We do not want a repeat of 2.0. Our plans for testing extends for a few months, leading up to the update’s release. However, testing is split into two phases: Alpha Testing and Beta Testing
Alpha Testing
This phase is where only a select group can test the update. This is at a state of the update where there may be bugs and unfinished features, but its purpose is to stress test content and find any bugs along the way.
Who is open to test in this phase?
At a first-come, first-serve basis, we will be accepting people to come test this update. However, spots are limited, as Reload is a state where we aren’t confident upon releasing to the public. This is why screenshots and videos from this phase are only limited to the testing group.
Alpha Testing will be open for applications in August. We have a fairly-sized testing group, so at most, we will end up accepting about 10-20 people, which may seem like a small group of people being let in, but this phase should not take too long.
An application for alpha testing will release in early-August - you may find them on our socials.
Beta Testing
Beta Testing is where the update is at a spot where we can gather a large group of people for testing. This is where Reload is closer to being finished, and what the final product may look like; however, some new content may not be present as they are being worked in the backgrounds.
This testing phase will only be for those who are in the Disaster Warning HQ community on the platform, but the best part is that this will not be limited to just one weekend. We plan on supporting beta testing for a couple months, as we polish the update. This helps us to test how full servers may interact with the new framework, and help us get community feedback, rather than just a select group of testers.
If our plans with alpha testing go smoothly, we will commence beta testing no later than September. Since we will be focused on beta testing, we unfortunately will not host a Hallowsfest this year, to focus resources and time onto this update.
Post-Beta Testing
This is more-so in the far future, so we don’t have a concrete plan on what’s to come, but if all goes well, Disaster Warning: Reload will finally release this year. To me, Reload will be a special update, as it reflects my personal growth as a game developer. From learning how to manage post-processing effects to creatings large-scaled features that will impact the game, this is the biggest project I’ve worked on with a game, ever, and I can’t wait to share that with you all.
In the coming days, we will begin to share more sneak peeks about Reload, including new features, maps, and disasters.
As a recap…
Alpha Testing will open for applicants in early August.
Beta Testing will commence no later than September.
And if all goes well, Disaster Warning: Reload will release later this year.
-Soda