Developer Update 1/17: The FAQ's of PTR

The first Developer Update of the year tackles common questions and concerns surrounding the Public Test Realm (PTR).

Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan's first Developer Update of the year focused mainly on PTR's philosophy and the frequently asked questions surrounding the testing server.

After defining what the PTR is - a server where players can test experimental changes that have a chance of coming to the "live" version of Overwatch - Kaplan delved into how the PTR is used both from a developer standpoint as well as a fan perspective.

The first point Kaplan stressed was the purpose of PTR; contrary to popular belief, fan feedback is not the only thing Blizzard is looking for when something is released on PTR.

The most important thing for us when we patch Overwatch..." Kaplan said, "is that the game is stable and it works correctly and there's as few bugs and crashes or glitches as possible in the game. The PTR really lets us iron those issues out. ”

 

Kaplan also addressed other questions that are commonly on players' minds:

Why isn't there a PTR on console?

Console updates need to go through Sony and Microsoft first, Kaplan explained, while PC changes go straight through because it's run on BattleNet. BattleNet is owned and operated by Blizzard, which allows patches to be streamlined and ready to go very quickly. Overwatch on consoles don't have that privledge because they're using either Sony or Microsoft's hardware, which means the updates are subjected to a longer process of certification. 

Combine this with the fact that updates to consoles are more commonly coming at the same time as PC updates thanks to PTR testing, and the decision to not pursue console PTR at this time was clear.

Still, Kaplan didn't completely rule out the idea of console PTR in the future.

This doesn't mean that never will we ever have PTR on console," he said. "It just means, right now, it's very logistically challenging for us. ”

Why aren't there any incentives for using the PTR?

Kaplan noted that some users wished that there were some incentives for participating in the PTR, and some players even had some good ideas as to how to incentivize: free loot boxes, some experience points being transferred to your live version, etc. 

While Blizzard likes the idea, there's just one problem.

Right now, we wrestle with [the question]... 'is the best way to spend our time engineering features for the PTR, so players have more incentives, or using that same development time and putting it towards more of the core features or content in the game that go out to more players? ”

Kaplan ended his answer by thanking players for joining and actively participating in the PTR.

What about Roadhog's hook/Ana's nerf/D.Va's nerf???

Though Kaplan kept most of his information on hero changes very general for fear that they would be out of date by the time the video was up on YouTube, Kaplan did say that the development team really wanted to make sure that heroes were consistent (Roadhog's hook), not doing too much (D.Va) and balancing out heroes that they think need to be balanced (Ana).

No plans for those changes were specifically announced. (ie: "Next Tuesday, there will be a patch...")

Why does the PTR exist when they don't listen to feedback?

Kaplan explained that they do more than just listen to feedback when it comes to the PTR; they also look at statistics to see how the hero is preforming in general amongst the player base. He also noted that most of the feedback they hear is negative - "change this / I don't like this / get rid of this" - and that if you do like a patch or think a hero is balanced, you should let them know in the forums.

Jeff Kaplan ended the video by thanking them for their interest both in the PTR and for developing Overwatch as a whole.

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