Pushing the Limits

I have had the pleasure of being involved in many beta tests for companies known, unknown, and possibly never to be again.

The tasks required vary for each company.  You are typically required to find bugs, problems with the software through manual processes, and to ask before using any automated process or mods to try and find bugs in games or software on a computer (i.e., randomly pressed buttons on a controller, randomly pressed keys, etc.).

To my tinkering self-nature, this seemed silly until I realized how this could spiral out of control quickly and how much of a mad house the process really was.  I will share my experience for the companies that have a less restrictive Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) or an NDA that expires after product release.

Note:  None of the products I talk about are currently under NDA or are older products out of NDA, or the NDA was associated with a company no longer in business.

Microsoft

I remember my first official beta test was the public update beta from Microsoft for the Xbox 360 (I am not allowed to talk about current updates under beta to comply with Microsoft's NDA).

I remember Major Nelson advertising it or paraphrasing it in a way that made it seem cool or hip to get the update.

So, I signed up through the Microsoft connect website and, sure enough, received an email to beta test the update.

I remember the chaos of submitting feedback through that website.  For one, there was what I would call "duplicate posters" who post the same feedback wanting the same feature to be implemented, which would drive anyone crazy after about the fifth person started posting the same thing.

Somehow, Microsoft managed to make it through this chaos.

Let's skip to the "Xbox 360 Kinect Version 1" beta test, so I do not bore you with details of the rest of the betas, which only gave minor improvements.

I had the chance to get invited to beta test the Kinect for Xbox 360 (developers like to refer to it as "Kinect Version1 (V1)" not "Kinect for Windows (KFW) V1").  I thought it was so cool grabbing it out of the box for the first time since no one had actually seen it yet.  It came in an official looking box with the calibration card, and I thought it was neat to get to play with it.

Naturally, being a programmer, eventually my experimentation kicked in and I wanted to hook it up to my computer and figure out how to program with it.  During that time period, OpenNI SDK by PrimeSense was one of the few solutions for programming with the Kinect (if any were available).

I played with OpenNI for a few weeks, only to realize the appeal of hacking the Kinect so it could be used on a computer was so great Microsoft made an official SDK for it soon after.  I played with the beta 1 and beta 2 of this Kinect SDK, each with new improvements the previous one did not have in a fast manner.

Once I got to Version 1 of the SDK, I started having the ability to perform 3D scanning of objects; enable Near Mode for users in close proximity to the Kinect (KFW only); and avateering or mapping movements on the Kinect to a 3D character, green screen, and other neat features that appeared over time with new releases.

I made one or two projects with the Kinect SDK: the first project I was involved in was to make a Kinect version of the Microsoft MultiPoint Mouse SDK called Kinect Multipoint and the other is an unfinished project for translating American Sign Language with the Kinect called Kinect Sign Language.

When I started getting used to the Kinect, they released another version of the hardware sensor called the Kinect V2 (newer Xbox One version of Kinect).  This is where my experience with Microsoft ends and combat testing experience begins.

Combat Testing

Combat Testing was one of those websites I first encountered and thought: "I am not sure about this."

After applying, I was almost immediately accepted into their elite game beta testing program.  The website was partnered with EA Games and many other top game companies.  I fondly remember the quote repeated on the website: "The first thing about CT is you don't talk about CT."  For terms of simplicity, I will be general in my descriptions and time on the website.

After joining, I remember over time seeing beta tests for Battlefield, Crysis 2, Homefront, and other various games.

Normally, the beta tests would be for PC with the occasional Xbox 360 or PlayStation beta.  The terms of usage for the website referred to how you could not: cuss, inflame, or break or mod software without permission (the managers might have let you at least mod if you nicely asked for PC games).  There was a nice quality bug feedback system which was used often.

The two main games I remember beta testing were Crysis 2 and Homefront (2011).

Homefront was a game that had a varied Multiplayer Experience (MP) with gamers.  The graphics were not great and sometimes I would get disconnected during multiplayer games (I believe this to be my connection).  However, its replay value was high because of the large battlefield-type experiences and players.

Crysis 2 was a game that was great during beta but I cannot state what experiences I had past beta stage.

Other Beta Tests

After Combat Testing, I went into other various beta tests.

I tested the beta of ReconstructMe.  ReconstructMe was a program for scanning 3D objects with the Kinect and a few other devices the programmers decided to support.

I picked up the Lazy Susan-type scanning of objects quickly with the program.  Now they have a GUI with color scanning added to the abilities.  I used it in combination with MeshLab in order to see my models and edit some bad scans.

Besides ReconstructMe, I had the chance to beta test many other items such as Norton, a firewall I believe was from GFT, debugging software I cannot remember the name to, and other various software to which the NDA is still active and so I cannot discuss anything about it.

Where Can I Find It?

ReconstructMe - www.reconstructme.net

Website to sign-up for Microsoft beta programs - connect.microsoft.com

Kinect Multipoint - kinectmultipoint.codeplex.com

Kinect SDK download (for Kinect V2) - www.microsoft.com/en-us/kinectforwindows/develop/default.aspx

Microsoft MultiPoint Mouse SDK - www.microsoft.com/multipoint/mouse-sdk

OpenNI Tutorial - www.codeproject.com/Articles/148251/How-to-Successfully-Install-Kinect-on-Windows-Open

Kinect Sign Language (to be name Kinect ASL?) - kinectsignlanguage.codeplex.com