Another update was made tonight in the transition to the new database. First, some information on the update, then some some additional information about the game/project in general:
 
1. As TTimo mentioned last night, we've moved the back-end over to a new database. While all of you don't really see anything "new" when we do this, it was important for a number of reasons. It will allow us to continue adding additional beta players, and it will be the final database version we use when we move to our full hosting facility in the coming weeks. In doing this conversion we wiped all but the most recent week of stats (and didn't record a day of stats during the conversion). We will likely not wipe stats again until we move to our hosting facility, and at that point will likely wipe accounts and request everyone start from scratch. FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS, you may notice some odd issues and instability at times (i.e. friends lists and messaging up/down, servers occasionally dropping, etc.). We appreciate your patience.
 
2. Last night we rolled out a totally new CTF map called "Iron Works" (qzctf7). We've had a lot of fun playing it internally and look forward to some feedback.
 
3. The update tonight includes a number of changes (both item placement and architecture) to the CTF map "Capture Chamber" (qzteam7).
 
4. The update tonight includes a change to the CTF map "Vortex Portal" (qzteam6). The bases were too easily defended with railguns, and based on some good feedback on the forums, we removed both railguns from the bases and placed a single railgun in the center area of the map. Please give it a try.
 
5. The update tonight includes a change to the FFA/Duel map "Lost World" (qzdm13). Based on some feedback, we're trying a 3 armor layout and moved the railgun to the lowest level (near the lava). This is closer to the original layout for the arena, but still has a few tweaks to balance the items a bit better.
 
6. "Team Arena Power-Ups" / Runes in some CTF maps (Doubler, Guard, Scout, Armor Regen) - We'd like some help testing a different behavior for the runes. We've changed the behavior so that although Runes are still currently team-based (i.e. each team has a set that only that team can pick up), they now act more like weapons, in that they will re-spawn after 20 seconds regardless of whether or not someone on your team already has it. This basically means that everyone on each team (regardless of size) can have the rune of their choosing at almost any time. The test is if more casual players enjoy the variation of gameplay and that more advanced or well organized teams enjoy the addtional strategy.
**Note: We understand that a number of you do not like the runes in general or would prefer to have non-rune versions of maps that have runes. This is a BETA. We're trying different things and appreciate real feedback on what we're making available at any given time.
 
Below is some other information and comment based on forum posts, questions, etc.:
 
--I've seen some comments/questions/complaints, etc. in the forums about skill matching. What we currently have on the site is very basic and admidtedly not particularly clear. It's really more of a test for us of some back-end and game browser functionality is working properly. Since we have a relatively limited pool of testers (i.e. only about 250-350 online at any given time) we can't break you up into the same number of skill "tiers" that we will for the final release - you'd never find someone to play with. We're currently breaking players into 2 skill groups, so you may still find yourself playing against players that are somewhat dramatically better or worse than you. When we move into our final back-end hardware and hosting, our intention is to grow the beta by tens of thousands very regularly and, if everything holds up, move into an open beta. As we do this, we will adjust the number of skill tiers so that everyone is playing against people closer to their skill, but still able to find a selection of games. Also, in the next couple of weeks, we'll roll out the UI changes that show whether or not a game is full of higher skilled players or lower skilled players when you're browsing games on the home page.
 
--Game Filters - I've also seen several questions about the ability to filter games through the game browser. This has been in our design from the beginning, but we're just not to it on the production list yet. It's coming.
 
--Game Queue - We had a version of a Game Queue up several weeks ago (i.e. a system where you simply select that you are looking for a game, and the system automatically matches you with appropriate players, and either suggests a game or starts one for you). We took it down to re-work it completely, but that will be available again in the coming weeks and be another easy and quick way for you to join a game.
 
--Beta group size - I also see lots of speculation and questions about how the beta will progress. We're currently planning our move to our final hosting facility which will allow us relatively unlimited growth of the beta group. As mentioned above, as soon as we're setup, we'll start to grow the beta by tens of thousands of people at a time (currently we send invites by about 1,000 at a time). After we've grown to a point where we think our infrastructure can handle it, we'll move to an open beta.
 
--Post-launch. This is a far different development process than we typically go through with a boxed/retail product. Once QUAKE LIVE is available to everyone, we will continue to keep our entire team on the game supporting it, adding features, content and functionality as long as there are enough people playing to support it. We already have a list of items that we plan to add in the months soon after a full release and will evaluate them (and other suggestions) based on need and demand.

Name   Date Invited   Date Accepted
amesis     24-AUG-08    09-SEP-08
Cranesec    23-AUG-08   09-SEP-08