[Suggestion][Chat command] /bug for bug report.

[sir_deadlock]

I was talking to somebody about the /unstuck command and how, for my needs, it is generally unhelpful.

They defended it saying how it's doing its job because it sees a viable path, it's not reading the player as stuck in an object, so on and so forth.

Then they asked me if I've been reporting these incidents of getting stuck. No, I generally don't. I'm not quick to taking the right snapshots or recording what would probably be useful information. So they gave me the old, well if you're not asking for help, you can't blame them for not helping. I'm not blaming them for not fixing these unlikely and freak bugs I sometimes get stuck in (like standing in one of the music pipes when a team mate fails the challenge, so they close on me. Or a similar stuck situation in the speed challenge getting locked in one of the chambers).

 But it did raise a good observation that reporting bugs could be made easier and more helpful for the devs.

By instituting a /bug command, users could initiate an intentional F4 style game crash and record any useful screenshots and meta data and a comment box about what happened. The intentional game crash could help the user get back in the game, but the data report could help the devs where normally a user keeps silent and puts it up to game quality expectations.

[kapn655321]

I was thinking about this before. ..Know what would happen? Teams would spam the whole game with it, top to bottom, just to prove a point. "Whole thing's bugged lol."

But, there is serious merit to the idea. Something like a, "Guide of the Lotus," status for marking bugs.. players granted the ability to break their immersion to prevent that from happening to others. My thought at the time was something like a Loc-pin.. an in game error report you can send and interact with to give details, and confirm when it's been solved. ...with a timer for how long it's been up. The ability to add new information when it comes up, where they can DM to request you test things if you can.

If we have a debug squad of experienced and patient players, with the tools to make it super easy to pick apart the problems, this game would clean up nicely.

Edited January 28, 2020 by kapn655321

[sir_deadlock]

23 minutes ago, kapn655321 said:

My thought at the time was something like a Loc-pin.. an in game error report you can send and interact with to give details, and confirm when it's been solved. ...with a timer for how long it's been up.

Hehe, essentially a "caution: bugged floor" sign. Maybe make it a yellow cone.

[sir_deadlock]

46 minutes ago, kapn655321 said:

Know what would happen? Teams would spam the whole game with it, top to bottom, just to prove a point. "Whole thing's bugged lol."

I suppose if they were trying to troll like that, there are avenues to explore already.

Yes, if they wanted to they could spam the /bug report inbox, but they can already do that since a support inbox exists. Plus, if a /bug would initiate a game crash, they'd have to boot up the game, sign in and join a game every time they wanted to do it. I estimate if they tried, they could do that about....124 times. In doing so, there'd likely be a notice of suspicious frequency in their reports.

They could spam forums, steam reviews, other websites, region/relay chat, youtube/twitch. I think in all cases they'd probably end up getting reported/banned for spamming.

[kapn655321]

39 minutes ago, sir_deadlock said:

since a support inbox exists

Though the difference is, as is the intent.. ease of use.. But, you're certainly right that if it hard crashed out the game, that'd certainly prevent that.

[kapn655321]

Had an idea you might appreciate today.

First off: I seriously need to learn and internalize how to send a proper detailed bug report.
Second, I want to run groups with my clan to bug hunt.
(How has this idea Never Once occurred to me??)

Have all 4 party members taking screen shots, sending data on the error, all available for questioning. That'd have to be pretty darn useful, I'd imagine. Not that they can get to everything, but should they get a chance to.. that's about ideal I'd think. Coordinated, "bug hunt clan missions."

[sir_deadlock]

19 hours ago, kapn655321 said:

Have all 4 party members taking screen shots, sending data on the error, all available for questioning. That'd have to be pretty darn useful, I'd imagine. Not that they can get to everything, but should they get a chance to.. that's about ideal I'd think. Coordinated, "bug hunt clan missions."

That sounds awesome! I just hope that DE has the good foresight to treat something like that with more respect than Bethesda did.

I heard a story about some bug hunters on Fallout 76 that were trying to make the game better by data mining, publishing guides and using their technical skills to hunt out and white-hat exploits and bugs to be reported to the devs. In the end, some of their accounts got perma-banned for using exploits, even though they were only using them to confirm they exist before reporting them to support.

The resulting moral of the story was: don't bother being clever and helpful if you don't have prior permission and authority. If you're a player, be a player. If you stumble on a bug or exploit, report it to support and leave it alone. If you go hunting for them without prior permission and the protection of the service, you might end up getting banned for it. Again, that was Bethesda, not DE, but I do recall DE got angry at some data miners a while back, which is what inspired them to supply the community with the https://n8k6e2y6.ssl.hwcdn.net/repos/hnfvc0o3jnfvc873njb03enrf56.html official drop tables.

[kapn655321]

2 hours ago, sir_deadlock said:

hunt out and white-hat exploits and bugs to be reported to the devs. In the end, some of their accounts got perma-banned for using exploits, even though they were only using them to confirm they exist before reporting them to support.

DE haven't done that to me yet! lol Crossing my fingers. 😃

I think the difference is that, (with fallout bug hunters) they made guides for people to break the game. Depending the nature of the problem, that could seriously make a mess of things. For the players, it's great, and for the details the debuggers get, it's thorough... but it also puts a whole lot of users breathing down the neck of the dev responsible for fixing it. That wasn't a group of 4 patient and understanding people.. that was outsourcing a mob mentality to leverage rapid return on fixes.. whether intended or not.

Either way, a reasonable cautionary tale, and I'll certainly bare that in mind as to not put others in the crosshairs for the sake of my curiosity. Thanks for the heads up.

Edited January 31, 2020 by kapn655321

[sir_deadlock]

58 minutes ago, kapn655321 said:

they made guides for people to break the game.

Oh no, they made guides to help people navigate the normal playing of the game. The guides were comprehensive, interactive and extremely useful.

When they found the exploit they had gotten banned for, they told nobody about it, deciding they wouldn't publish their findings until after it had been fixed.

Last I heard, some of the exploits they found and reported still haven't been fixed. As far as guiding people to what they were or how to use them, those users are keeping their mouths shut.

 They have since shut down their guide. Bethesda wasn't going to do anything to defend them and insisted on going through with the ban, so they took the hint and gave up trying to help them fix their mistakes.