NZFF

Ok, I'm just about ready another test, this time it will be more like a beta than last time, in that most of it will be finished... Not all of it, mind you, as I am still hoping to add a lot of clutter, and I'd almost forgotten that I was including West Melton, and that needs a lot of work.

If you have Prepar3d v3 or v4, and already own NZCH -- either via the Kickstarter funding campaign, or prepaid, -- then please consider helping me out here. I need a few testers this time around. The download is approx. 3 gigabytes, and will be delivered via my online store. If you are not a current customer (but contributed to the Kickstarter) then you will need to sign up to the Store, I'll let you know the process as this isn't normally accessible.

I am after a good range of testers, from those with no technical skills to those who know what to look for in a test like this.

Please let me know if you want to helpvia the email contact form on my website. (You don't need to be signed into my site, and you don't need to be a member here at NZFF.)
Please give me some details of your setup, including:

The Prepar3d version;
Any 'base' NZ scenery other than default;

I hope to have the beta ready next month. Note that beta testing requires some time to install the scenery, and test it in normal simming conditions. I normally don't give too much information about what I'm looking for up front, as I don't want to direct testers in any particular direction, or affect their perception. Feedback in required, though, and you can submit it at our own pace, but there can also be some questionnaires, where I ask for your experience of specific things such as the installer process. Testing means looking for obvious faults and issues, but it isn't restricted to that -- suggestions are encouraged, but be aware that 'beta' normally means feature-complete, so I probably won't implement any suggestions in the initial release.

An important part of testing the installer is uninstalling, so be prepared to uninstall the scenery as well. Note that beta testing, by its nature, can be somewhat risky, in that at worst it'll destroy your computer.... not likely, but sometimes things can go wrong, and that's part of why we need beta testing.

If you've already tested NZCH earlier in the development cycle, you will get the new beta as well. If I've talked to anyone else about taking part in the beta, please contact me again and remind me:) I'm not getting any younger...

Click here to go to the Contact page on my website.

-Robin

Just a couple more points which I forgot to mention, but are very important!

There are some rules applying to the beta, and you will be advised of these and will be required to acknowledge that these are accepted before downloading. I won't go into them here, except for a couple -- you cannot share the beta with anyone else, whether or not they 'own' the scenery through prepay etc; You cannot post any review, information or screenshots of the beta! If you don't like the scenery, please tell me, and supply reasons, and I'll consider your issues, but please give me the chance to deal with negative feedback rather that going public. Once it is released, then of course you can say what you like about the release version.

Beta versions 'escaping' into the wild has been an issue in the past, and I really can't stress enough that it cannot be shared under any circumstance.

I am thinking of supplying two or three installers, one the full installer, one with just the airport, and maybe one covering Christchurch City. A few people have previously asked how to disable large photoscenery areas so that they can retain Orbx NZ surrounding the airport. In the past this hasn't been a priority, but with NZCH it may be worthwhile offering this as an option. So if anyone is keen to try just the airport, then let me know when you contact me regarding the beta. The full scenery includes a chunk of Canterbury. from the Ashley to the Rakaia.

I certainly have enough Prepar3d 4.5 testers. Does anyone still use v3? If I can't find any testers I may have to wait until I finish the FSX version before releasing P3Dv3, as they are pretty much the same scenery.