Hey. I'd definetly like to take part in this group. I love NS and want to contribute to it's success, so I'm definitely a bug hunter type. I do video game QA testing for a living so I'm sure I'd be an asset. I know, from experience, the value of a team working together to find and recreate bugs, so I think this is a great idea.
Sure, random bug hunting helps. But organized testing is much more efficient and can turn up more obscure bugs.
Like LethalShadow I'm currently employed as a tester (working on a AAA FPS) so I can also write you some testplans to guide the testing towards full coverage, and a bug reporting guide that will help us get the info to the devs in the clearest, most accurate and most succinct manner.
I'm also boasting a bottom-of-the-range spec PC to really put the game through its paces! :)
Imo, what we'd need: <ol type='1'><li>Contact details (email, some sort of IM contact and -very important- timezone/available hours)</li><li>List of testers' specs (dxdiags + some honest info about whether they have ropey pirated OSes, 'good' pirated OSes or retail OS)</li><li>A non-intrusive 'live' community hub for discussions and pre/post-test meets (e.g. Steam Group, Skype or IRC)</li><li>Ventrilo/Teamspeak server (really useful for organising tests, especially chaotic multiplayer tests)</li><li>Centralised bug listing (preferably Bugzilla or Forums, although it would be possible to use an Excel spreadsheet initially)</li></ol>
/£0.02
P.S. It would be nice if this thing really took off and we could expand it post-alpha to patch/update testing and even community map testing! :)
nice crispy! Sounds like a great orginized way to keep it in check. I can provide an FTP to host files needed for archiving errors found. Do you have an example of a spreadsheet style you had in mind? maybe a few different ones to cover marine teams and alien teams as the physics for the player classes will have varying physics and surely will pose many diferences in how they react to the surrounding environment.
<!--quoteo(post=1769231:date=Apr 30 2010, 02:25 AM:name=SN.Wolf)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SN.Wolf @ Apr 30 2010, 02:25 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1769231"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->nice crispy! Sounds like a great orginized way to keep it in check. I can provide an FTP to host files needed for archiving errors found. Do you have an example of a spreadsheet style you had in mind? maybe a few different ones to cover marine teams and alien teams as the physics for the player classes will have varying physics and surely will pose many diferences in how they react to the surrounding environment.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->I can custom-make one for each set of tests we decide on, although it'd depend a bit on what version of excel people were running (Win7/Vista or Office2000/OpenOffice). It may also be impractical to over-complicate things with lots of e-paperwork if it gets in the way of the bigger priority of getting down to testing.
For example: you could make a testplan really thorough, such as an animation test that has a check for the SFX/anim for each animation state and transition between states (e.g. crouch to standing, standing to crouch), for each unique character animation set, and tripling this set of checks for first-person animations, third-person local animations and third-person animations played over a network. I really doubt UWE has enough staff to make an animation system that complex, but some games are that in-depth with their animations.
But on reflection I don't really think it's worth overcomplicating it like that. It's probably just better to let everyone know how the animation system works so if they see an issue they have the best possible information on how to go about reproducing and documenting it. Knowledge is power, and all that.
A few generic testplanned 'sweeps' might work well, just to guide testing into certain areas of the game's functionality. But anything more than that would most likely be too confusing or, frankly, boring to produce good results. Organising the bug listing in a format that is useful and portable to the devs would be far more worthwhile.
<b>@ Crispy </b> Maybe an intial run through with some generics.
i have office 2000 if you have a generic layout you like. :) Simple is better as most of the information will be machine specific so it could be broken down as to what the percentage of xp,vista, or 7 users are reporting.
Now the question is, Whom shall collect calculate and publish the collected info?
Due to time and resources i sugest breaking each team up in groups of 4 depending on Computer specs then later cross reference. and of course dxdiag would be needed along with all testers detailed reports and desciptions. So for anyone testing be prepared to be very descriptive and thorough on every problem encountered to help other testers to try and duplicate on variouse OS's and hardware.
I like the energy and the zeal, but this is really an informal groups.
Bug write ups can be sent via developer UI. List of availability is a good idea as well. As far as IRC I don't think that is necessary, we can use this forum to communicate.
<!--quoteo(post=1769437:date=May 1 2010, 02:50 PM:name=RobB)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RobB @ May 1 2010, 02:50 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1769437"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'd volounteer, too, but seing most of you guys are in the US it's just a bad idea.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=1769432:date=May 1 2010, 08:27 PM:name=Firewater)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Firewater @ May 1 2010, 08:27 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1769432"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I like the energy and the zeal, but this is really an informal groups.
Bug write ups can be sent via developer UI. List of availability is a good idea as well. As far as IRC I don't think that is necessary, we can use this forum to communicate.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Yeah, as much as it might be productive to give UWE a (professional-style) tester team for free, it's worth being realistic with just how much people want to grind through checklists for free. Sending it via the dev UI is fine, although as a team it would be difficult to track what has been investigated already and not retread the same ground. So it sounds like what you have in mind is a very informal group who just go at it in a semi-organised fashion. Even so, sharing knowledge within such a group will benefit our individual approaches to testing NS2, so I'm still all for it.
can count me in l had a job for 2 week and now l don't lol, now they say to wait for 2 weeks to see if l can go back to the job, l don't think l'm interested in the job now. so now l have all the time to spend playing and also posting what bugs l can find
<!--quoteo(post=1769437:date=May 1 2010, 08:50 PM:name=RobB)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RobB @ May 1 2010, 08:50 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1769437"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'd volounteer, too, but seing most of you guys are in the US it's just a bad idea. not to mention i cant even properly run the engine yet.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> I'm pretty sure at least Euros are capable of fielding another group. It's probably not a bad idea to have people from different communities contributing either. At least in NS the Euro and US scenes still have some differences in play styles. Based on that I wouldn't be surprised if the different communities had dramatic momentarily differences in play styles during the early releases when people are still figuring out the whole thing.
Used to work at Electronic Arts as a QA member a few years ago. Played NS since the day it was released... (on and off of course). Would like to participate :)
<!--quoteo(post=1767934:date=Apr 19 2010, 08:55 PM:name=Firewater)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Firewater @ Apr 19 2010, 08:55 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1767934"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->In lieu of the new engine release, I would like to create a team that will test the NS2 Alpha when it is released. Its a casual group that will just hunt for bugs and push the engine to its limits. While I still respect competitive play, I don't think I have the time anymore to dedicate to a team, so this group will be mainly for fun and bug hunting.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sign me up! :-)
And long time no see my friend. It seems I missed a lot in the past nine months, a lot a great changes. (I don't know if you remember me giving tons of constructive feedback in the NS I&S forum or not, but this is just my kind of thing) Somebody said something about bug hunting and development feedback? Or even if you had just said NS2 alpha testing, I'm so there.
Send me a PM if you're interested in having me help your team, and I can give you my email and a phone # you can text me at.
<!--quoteo(post=1769445:date=May 1 2010, 06:30 PM:name=Crispy)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Crispy @ May 1 2010, 06:30 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1769445"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Yeah, as much as it might be productive to give UWE a (professional-style) tester team for free, it's worth being realistic with just how much people want to grind through checklists for free. Sending it via the dev UI is fine, although as a team it would be difficult to track what has been investigated already and not retread the same ground. So it sounds like what you have in mind is a very informal group who just go at it in a semi-organised fashion. Even so, sharing knowledge within such a group will benefit our individual approaches to testing NS2, so I'm still all for it.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well there is a UI that lists all the bugs. Whether they are investigated or not is not our responsibility to manage. The Developer UI will aid in not reproducing bug reports provided they are listed clearly.
Comments
I'd definetly like to take part in this group. I love NS and want to contribute to it's success, so I'm definitely a bug hunter type.
I do video game QA testing for a living so I'm sure I'd be an asset. I know, from experience, the value of a team working together to find and recreate bugs, so I think this is a great idea.
Sure, random bug hunting helps. But organized testing is much more efficient and can turn up more obscure bugs.
On a side note, TS3 is great.
Keep me in the loop !
I expect to have the install fail on the first try.
Like LethalShadow I'm currently employed as a tester (working on a AAA FPS) so I can also write you some testplans to guide the testing towards full coverage, and a bug reporting guide that will help us get the info to the devs in the clearest, most accurate and most succinct manner.
I'm also boasting a bottom-of-the-range spec PC to really put the game through its paces! :)
Imo, what we'd need:
<ol type='1'><li>Contact details (email, some sort of IM contact and -very important- timezone/available hours)</li><li>List of testers' specs (dxdiags + some honest info about whether they have ropey pirated OSes, 'good' pirated OSes or retail OS)</li><li>A non-intrusive 'live' community hub for discussions and pre/post-test meets (e.g. Steam Group, Skype or IRC)</li><li>Ventrilo/Teamspeak server (really useful for organising tests, especially chaotic multiplayer tests)</li><li>Centralised bug listing (preferably Bugzilla or Forums, although it would be possible to use an Excel spreadsheet initially)</li></ol>
/£0.02
P.S. It would be nice if this thing really took off and we could expand it post-alpha to patch/update testing and even community map testing! :)
Do you have an example of a spreadsheet style you had in mind? maybe a few different ones to cover marine teams and alien teams as the physics for the player classes will have varying physics and surely will pose many diferences in how they react to the surrounding environment.
Do you have an example of a spreadsheet style you had in mind? maybe a few different ones to cover marine teams and alien teams as the physics for the player classes will have varying physics and surely will pose many diferences in how they react to the surrounding environment.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->I can custom-make one for each set of tests we decide on, although it'd depend a bit on what version of excel people were running (Win7/Vista or Office2000/OpenOffice). It may also be impractical to over-complicate things with lots of e-paperwork if it gets in the way of the bigger priority of getting down to testing.
For example: you could make a testplan really thorough, such as an animation test that has a check for the SFX/anim for each animation state and transition between states (e.g. crouch to standing, standing to crouch), for each unique character animation set, and tripling this set of checks for first-person animations, third-person local animations and third-person animations played over a network. I really doubt UWE has enough staff to make an animation system that complex, but some games are that in-depth with their animations.
But on reflection I don't really think it's worth overcomplicating it like that. It's probably just better to let everyone know how the animation system works so if they see an issue they have the best possible information on how to go about reproducing and documenting it. Knowledge is power, and all that.
A few generic testplanned 'sweeps' might work well, just to guide testing into certain areas of the game's functionality. But anything more than that would most likely be too confusing or, frankly, boring to produce good results. Organising the bug listing in a format that is useful and portable to the devs would be far more worthwhile.
Maybe an intial run through with some generics.
i have office 2000 if you have a generic layout you like. :) Simple is better as most of the information will be machine specific so it could be broken down as to what the percentage of xp,vista, or 7 users are reporting.
Now the question is, Whom shall collect calculate and publish the collected info?
Due to time and resources i sugest breaking each team up in groups of 4 depending on Computer specs then later cross reference. and of course dxdiag would be needed along with all testers detailed reports and desciptions. So for anyone testing be prepared to be very descriptive and thorough on every problem encountered to help other testers to try and duplicate on variouse OS's and hardware.
lol, almost sounds like work.
Bug write ups can be sent via developer UI. List of availability is a good idea as well. As far as IRC I don't think that is necessary, we can use this forum to communicate.
not to mention i cant even properly run the engine yet.
High ping testing!
Bug write ups can be sent via developer UI. List of availability is a good idea as well. As far as IRC I don't think that is necessary, we can use this forum to communicate.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Yeah, as much as it might be productive to give UWE a (professional-style) tester team for free, it's worth being realistic with just how much people want to grind through checklists for free. Sending it via the dev UI is fine, although as a team it would be difficult to track what has been investigated already and not retread the same ground. So it sounds like what you have in mind is a very informal group who just go at it in a semi-organised fashion. Even so, sharing knowledge within such a group will benefit our individual approaches to testing NS2, so I'm still all for it.
so now l have all the time to spend playing and also posting what bugs l can find
not to mention i cant even properly run the engine yet.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm pretty sure at least Euros are capable of fielding another group. It's probably not a bad idea to have people from different communities contributing either. At least in NS the Euro and US scenes still have some differences in play styles. Based on that I wouldn't be surprised if the different communities had dramatic momentarily differences in play styles during the early releases when people are still figuring out the whole thing.
Played NS since the day it was released... (on and off of course).
Would like to participate :)
Sign me up! :-)
And long time no see my friend. It seems I missed a lot in the past nine months, a lot a great changes. (I don't know if you remember me giving tons of constructive feedback in the NS I&S forum or not, but this is just my kind of thing) Somebody said something about bug hunting and development feedback? Or even if you had just said NS2 alpha testing, I'm so there.
Send me a PM if you're interested in having me help your team, and I can give you my email and a phone # you can text me at.
Well there is a UI that lists all the bugs. Whether they are investigated or not is not our responsibility to manage. The Developer UI will aid in not reproducing bug reports provided they are listed clearly.