Testers MIA?
 

Has anyone else noticed that there seems to have been a complete absence of testers actually testing new items before they are released? Granted, I have never been one to see testers or staff demonstrating new items, but I used to see threads pop up showing a new pin, costume, or item a while before it was ever released. I actually enjoy this because I like surprises, but I find it an interesting question. I know the testers are still out and about, it just seems like they have snuck some items past everyone as complete surprises.

I know they still tease items in the newsletter and that there are items that have been seen that are still not released, but there have also been several items of late that were complete surprises as far as I know. I never saw any mention of the new hat or the two new costumes before any of them were released, or even the food carts for that matter. Does anyone know differently? Are people seeing things and being sworn to secrecy? Or is it a conscious effort by the testers to keep things a secret so that they don't have a backlash when they are not released a la Flying Carpet? Furthermore, how are they even doing it? Did they find a way to test new items without being visible to players? Or do they do their testing after hours? Or simply just not testing items? Anybody else wonder or care or have information that I don't have?

Yeah, I haven't heard of testers for some time. I don't really have an idea fo what is going on.

Testers, and VMK Staff for that matter, can lock their rooms so that they are not visible to the players. This is probably how they test new items without players knowing.

Last time they did a public show was for the pirates and that was wayy back even before the release of the pirate suits.. girl and boy.. This was back in 2005. And this was the introduction to QA_Caffdawg. Long time a go.. I like when they show something coz its the excitement.. But the excitment has gotten to far for the flying carpet magic!

False. The most recent public showing where Testers where involved and it was actually planned was for showing off the Tron costumes. Other more recent times Testers have been spotted around the kingdom.

My point is not that testers have not been seen, but that they have not been seen testing new items recently. To support this, I mentioned several items that were recently released, seemingly as surprises to everyone in the game. Nobody else finds this change interesting? Not just that they haven't been showing off anything new, but that lots of items have seemingly been tested without anyone spotting them. I find it incredibly interesting.

The Real Last day The public seen tester were when the TReehouses were showcased @_@ Duh

And i havnt seen testers since maybe when we do they show something very cool

try maybe they test them now when vmk is down

just a guess

yea are they on vacation or shopping or or or.....

Testers should open their rooms to show everyone new items :)

That would be nice but it might cause some chaos.

I agree with what ace says. Yes, it would be nice for the testers to show off all the new items. However, would you want them to show the items when they still have bugs in them? I don't think so. ;)

Let the testers fix the bugs and make sure the item is ready for the public to use before showing it or releasing it. :)

I think that the reason why they don't show us anything anymore is because it's still in development. Yes, a backlash from us, basically, is what I'm getting at. They have shown us a lot of things over the years and some of those things were never released/released a lot later then expected. Flying Carpet, EPCOT Turnstile, Brier Chairs. Those items and more are in this "May never come out" pile. Why do they not show us anything? Because they don't want anymore things added to that pile.

Maybe this has something to do with the TCG, maybe this is temporary. But I don't think so. They haven't shown us any of the TCG stuff in action so that makes me think that they've changed something in how they test out items.

The Mickey Pumpkin hat though, you say. Oh, they're done with that. That's pretty much a guarantee that it will come out. They show us the stuff they know will come out now. They probably have some items we've never seen before that they are testing after hours or in their rooms when no one else is in. But I think they've learned their lesson on flashing all this stuff in our faces. ;)

If they dont let us see what they're testing, we dont have anything to be excited about!
they should go back to public testing @_@

Perhaps just a change in plans; it wouldn't be unlike VMK to change things every now and again. They've been changing much of their strategies in the last year, and maybe this was just a part of it?

I'm not complaining that testers are hardly spotted anymore. I prefer surprises anyways, and I don't like all the "When are we getting magic carpet magic?!?!" rants.