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Author Topic: *Bug Reporting - Please Read This First!*  (Read 14208 times)

Axel

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*Bug Reporting - Please Read This First!*
« on: May 19, 2005, 06:34:59 AM »
Bug report checklist

Make sure at least these points are covered if possible. If you have several bugs to report, create a unique topic for each bug. Please also check the Known Issues thread before posting bugs.

Name:
The name of the bug. Use this as the topic title. Please don't give it a generic name (like "new bug found") but one that points to the issue.

Where:
A description of where the bug was found, e.g. an area, a specific NPC conversation.

When:
What conditions appears to trigger the bug. Does it happen when logging in? What is the frequency? Does it happen always - i.e. to all characters, in all areas, at all times? Or have you other times or locations where it does not seem in effect? It can at times even be useful if you remember what the time was in real life when you noticed it, as then we can look up the time in the server log (but please convert it from your local time to UTC (universal time zone)).

What:
A description of what the bug actual does. Does it make you unable to move? Does it fail to move you? Etc. The more specific you are and the more details you submit, the easier it will be to track down the bug and fix it. Even the most trivial detail can be valuable in determining or ruling out sources of the error.

One of the best ways to document the bug is to screenshot the effects and/or lack of same - as well as any error messages you receive. Photobucket is a good place to get your images hosted for free.

If the bug pertains to your character (e.g. something they can or cannot do), also use the @debug command in game to write debugging info to the server log file.

Recreate:
A description of how to recreate the bug.

If we can't recreate the bug we can't investigate it, and we can't check if it has been fixed. Therefore it's a great help if you can give pointers of how to recreate it. Again, the more specific you can be, the better.

Ideas:
Ideas about what can be causing the bug, if any.

---

Following Up On Bugs:

It can often be quite helpful if you can either confirm other people's bug reports, or report if you experience something else/no issue. The same points as above apply - i.e. take screenshots, use the @debug command, make note of times.

Game Breaking Bugs/Exploits:

If you encounter a game-breaking bug or exploit please be certain to think it through before posting it or discussing it publicly on the forums or on the Discord. Report it directly to a developer when in doubt. We would like to avoid having to dish out bans for those that would take advantage of public exposition of exploits, and these can usually be patched out very quickly in response. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
« Last Edit: December 13, 2021, 11:26:34 PM by Phantasia »

Soren / Zarathustra217

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Re: Bug Report Checklist: Read Before Posting a Bug
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2014, 06:42:32 AM »
We really appreciate all the bug reports people make, but quite often they are too ambiguous to be of much use. The result is that it takes a whole lot more time tracking down and fixing those bugs hinted at.

Thus, I strongly encourage you (in fact I outright ask it!) to please use the above points for all your bug reports. To make it easier for you, simply use the post below this one and copy it in whenever you are making new bug report.

Thank you!

Soren / Zarathustra217

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Re: Bug Report Checklist: Read Before Posting a Bug
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2014, 06:43:21 AM »
Name:

Where:

When:

What:

Recreate:

Ideas:

Axel

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Re: Bug Report Checklist: Read Before Posting a Bug
« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2015, 01:38:29 PM »
Here's an example of a good bug report:

It seems like some (maybe all?) potion recipes involving more than one ingredient aren't working correctly.

Where: The Mists - Vistani Camp - Crafter's Tent

When: Every time more than one type of ingredient is present in the herbalist's cauldron, I think.

What: Instead of using more than one type of ingredient in potions, and making the complicated ones, it's just registering the one, and making whatever that one ingredient usually makes. Here is one screenshot, and here is another, demonstrating. In the first screenshot, I put in Violet Cave Mold and Rustle Leaves, which should've made a potion of True Sight, but only made See Invisibilty, it just ignored the Rustle Leaves. In the second one, it should've made two potions of Speed, but it made two potions of Cowardice (and, weirdly enough, not four, considering there's four wolftail there, which is another level of weird.)

I tried it a couple different ways: dropping ingredients directly from herbalism bags into the cauldron, dropping ingredients from bags into my inventory and then into the cauldron, dropping ingredients that had never been in bags into the cauldron- all of these ended up brewing the wrong potions.

No idea what's causing it, no idea what could fix it, no idea if it's just me or a server-wide thing.

Soren / Zarathustra217

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Re: Bug Report Checklist: Read Before Posting a Bug
« Reply #4 on: June 01, 2015, 12:19:04 PM »
I've added a new command called @debug. This will print some debugging information about your character to the server log, which will help a lot in debugging (obviously).

When you report a bug that somehow involves your character, use the command and make note of having used it in the bug report. You can also help a lot by confirming an already reported bug and when doing so, use the command and make note of it.

Thanks.

Iluvatar / Madness

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Re: How to post bugs - please read this first!
« Reply #5 on: May 04, 2017, 06:54:27 PM »
 :bump:
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Phantasia

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Re: How to post bugs - please read this first!
« Reply #6 on: December 13, 2021, 10:55:21 PM »
Bumping this thread with an addendum as well as making it clear how we would like our bug reports structured:

If you encounter a game-breaking bug or exploit please be certain to think it through before posting it or discussing it publicly on the forums or on the Discord.

Report it directly to a developer when in doubt.

We would like to avoid having to dish out bans for those that would take advantage of public exposition of exploits, and these can usually be patched out very quickly in response. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2022, 05:38:02 PM by Phantasia »
Le cœur voit plus loin que l'esprit.
The heart sees further than the mind.