How do I test Beta features?

How do I test Beta features?

AI Dungeon Environments & Becoming a Tester

AI Dungeon has dedicated environments for Production, Beta Testing, Alpha Testing, and Internal Testing. We created these environments to ensure the Production environment stays stable since the majority of you use it every day. We also wanted to create dedicated environments for gathering player feedback during each stage of the development process. Each environment has a specific purpose and audience.

Environments

Internal

Although code is written on the individual machines of our dev team, changes get pushed to an Internal Server so that our entire Latitude team can preview features & test fixes. This environment is updated many times a day as we work through our priorities.

Alpha

Once a new feature has been built according to our design, we then seek out player feedback. Our Alpha testers (we call them Pioneers) provide the first round of player feedback in the development process. New features from Internal get pushed to Alpha so they have access to test and provide feedback. This is often an iterative cycle, where feedback is given, new changes are developed on Internal and then pushed to Alpha again for further review.

This environment is only available to Pioneers. See below for how to become a Pioneer and participate in Alpha testing.

Beta

The next stage for product development is Beta testing, which is open to all AI Dungeon players. In Beta testing, we’re looking for additional feedback from players on whether or not new features are valuable. We also evaluate performance and stability since Beta is the first time our code will be exposed to a high volume of traffic. It’s not feasible for us to test every device and configuration internally, or to perfectly simulate production traffic and behavior, so Beta gives us a chance to assess whether there are issues we were unable to catch.

All players are welcome to participate in Beta testing by visiting beta.aidungeon.com. If you use the Android or iOS mobile apps, you can switch to the Beta environment by going to your Account Settings through the profile picture menu and then tapping on “Release Channel”. Here, you can switch between the Stable (Production) and Beta environments.

Production

Our Production environment is the most stable version of AI Dungeon. We only push new features to Production after they’ve been thoroughly reviewed in each of the previous environments. By default, all players are directed to the Production environment.

Becoming an AI Dungeon Tester

These environments mean more players can participate in testing AI Dungeon. Some of the benefits of being a tester may be interesting to you. For instance, our testers get to preview unreleased features. Our testers also get to have frequent communication with the Latitude team, and they are able to shape our roadmaps and provide input on what we work on next. Our Alpha testers, specifically, also get a few other benefits, like access to Heroes.

Beta Testing AI Dungeon

To get started, simply start using the Beta environment. This can be done by visiting beta.aidungeon.com or by selecting the Beta Release Channel in the mobile app.

Then, use the bugs-feature-requests channel in Discord to provide feedback and log bugs. Be sure to follow the directions for logging bugs, or submitting feature requests.

Becoming an Alpha Tester

In the past, we’ve had an application process to join our Pioneers and become an Alpha tester. Going forward, we’ll select new Alpha testers from players who are active in Beta testing. We’re looking for players who are passionate about AI Dungeon, like trying new features, who are able to be patient with a few bugs, can articulate the problems they are encountering and document the steps to reproduce issues, provide thoughtful feedback, and are respectful to others in the community.

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We love getting player feedback! We look for it and review it every day. Positive feedback helps us know we’re on the right track. Critical feedback motivates us to grow and shows us where we can improve. Please continue to share your feedback with us on our Discord server. We appreciate all you do for AI Dungeon and the community!
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