Modding - Make the beta available on opt-in basis

[Wethospu]

Would there be a reason why they dont dont want to release some sort of beta version for modders? How would they make sure that it is only distributed to modders and not just people who want to get their hands on it early?

I fully support this btw but I think we should think/talk about how this would practically work

If this "beta client" refers to the client they use for development then that probably allows using every DLC without buying them.

 

[Makkkkus]

Would be neat with more detail in the crash logs

 

[-SP0-]

We desperately need crash logs and mod support for the tools that just dont work, like map editor. Please paradox, gives us some love too

 

[Blood Royal]

Couldn't agree more.

I was part of the early modder access as I was part of a team making a Lord of the Rings total overhaul mod and the beta version's output files for CTDs were extremely useful. I've since lost access (fair enough, I was never a beta tester, I only got early access along with some other modders who applied) but I definitely miss the useful info from the crash logs.

Compatching the LOTR mod to 1.5 was difficult, and compatching to 2.0 also took me two full days of work. Turns out the first problem was that I needed to copy some empty area files from vanilla and secondly I needed to update the setup mercenary files - but I would have known that in 5 minutes instead of 2 days if I had access to the beta crash log features. So I can understand why many other modders give up on compatching, it's not always easy - but the crash log data shown in the beta version will make it 10x easier to narrow down the CTDs.

 

[Daft]

Yeah, I tried to get into modding, but ran into some sort of namespace issue and got stuck.

 

[Akbar The Great]

Agreed, but they're not going to do it. They should open Beta testing up to the community at large so we could report bugs ets in advance of release, but they're not going to, it's just the way it is.

 

[Sobisonator]

Agreed, but they're not going to do it. They should open Beta testing up to the community at large so we could report bugs ets in advance of release, but they're not going to, it's just the way it is.

There are other solutions. If a readable stacktrace could be printed when the game crashes if run with the -debug_mode or -develop launch commands, the problem would be solved.

 

[-SP0-]

Please don't ignore this, paradox

 

[Snowlet]

As the new Bronze Age dev. It would help a great deal if we could get access to the better error log.

 

[Todie]

Last i heard, public beta is not all up to the devs.

Besides, they need to manage expectations regarding the timeline / priorities of the dev team before letting anyone seea beta.

... like, beta of what? 2.0.4 ? 2.1.0 ?

They havnt said a squeek about development since 2.03.

 

[Torugu]

This isn’t about a public beta though, nor is it primarily about getting early access to new features/game changes.

It’s about getting access to certain developer tools for bug fixing. Ideally, but not necessarily, combined with major modding teams being included in the closed beta.

 

[Sobisonator]

Yeah, the title of this thread needs to change really. The public beta was simply something offered pre-release to modders, which prompted this thread to get that repeated in future. If the beta is too much of a minefield, we should solve this in other ways. I don't care about seeing beta features, we just need a crash log - or an improved basic error log, because right now it far from logs everything.

 

[-SP0-]

exactly. Frankly, I dont know how or why some modders have access, but i dont want to develop mods in beta versions, just being able to see the crash log properly is enough

 

[Blood Royal]

exactly. Frankly, I dont know how or why some modders have access, but i dont want to develop mods in beta versions, just being able to see the crash log properly is enough

Yep, we don't need access to the beta at all, we just need the useful crash log from the beta implemented into the vanilla version, and I can see no reason for why that would be an issue.

As for why some modders had access, it was so that there would be some mods available on release, so the "modder early access" program is definitely good for everyone when it comes to paradox releases. We got a 2-month head start on the LOTR mod and our team was able to help all the other modders in the discord Imperator chat with a lot of issues because of the help we had from the devs during the beta trying to set up a total overhaul mod.