GitHub Issues & Retiring Bug Reports

Post here if you need help getting started with Daggerfall Unity or just want to clarify a potential bug. Questions about playing or modding classic Daggerfall should be posted to Community.
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Interkarma
Posts: 7236
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2015 1:51 am

GitHub Issues & Retiring Bug Reports

Post by Interkarma »

Hi All!

Now the core game is complete from a classic point of view (refinements aside), bugs have become harder to identify and often require technical language or an understanding of code to describe in full. This makes it difficult for newcomers to post the right details in Bug Reports forums, and frequently new bugs are simply misunderstood mechanics or differences with something fixed in DFU. I feel the current process causes unnecessary friction when these are moved into Help & Support for clarification.

For this reason, I have reopened the Issues feature on GitHub and will retire Bug Reports immediately. Any bugs already in Bug Reports will remain there until resolved or migrated to Issues. Resolved issues forum will remain for historical purposes.

Moving forwards, please just post any issues to Help & Support. I'm relaxing all the prior requirements of Bug Reports forum around build version etc. so this will hopefully become an easier and more friendly process for newcomers. I will then rely on the community to help each other in the following ways:
  • If the issue is around installation, gameplay systems, common differences or misunderstandings, etc. then anyone knowledgeable in these areas can help.
  • If the issue looks like a bug, the technical folks in community can help get to the bottom of it by asking for saves, logs, or any other information required. If the issue does indeed look like a bug, then an Issue can be created on GitHub. If an Issue already exists, then perhaps some more detail can be added based on new report.
One of my longer-term goals for DFU has now become a shorter-term goal. I want to make sure the game can survive without me. This means promoting developers who are willing to help maintain the GitHub repository, resolve bugs, and manage the community. I'll still be here doing all of those things, but it's not something I can do for the remainder of my natural life. At some point, Daggerfall Unity has to be able to become the community-led project it was always intended to be.

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Interkarma
Posts: 7236
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2015 1:51 am

Re: GitHub Issues & Retiring Bug Reports

Post by Interkarma »

Due to a high number of posts in Help & Support over the last week, I have decided it's still valuable for moderators to curate certain items back into Bug Reports so they don't get lost. But I will keep Bug Reports locked so that only curated items are moved there from Help & Support.

Here's the general process for moderators to follow:
  • Please try to help the topic creator in Help & Support if possible. If their issue looks like a bug, try to gather any information than can help (save game, DFU version, platform, etc.) depending on the problem.
  • Once problem is confirmed to be a bug, update topic subject with more information (quest name, build, etc.) and ensure there's enough detail in topic to reproduce (e.g. a save game or clear process).
  • Check if a similar issue already exists on git issues, and add a note on the issue linking back to forum topic.
  • Or check if a similar issue already exists in Bug Reports or Bug Reports/Questing and merge topic there if it does.
  • Or move topic to Bug Reports if no other issue or bug report exists (i.e. a brand new bug).
What I'm trying to do is find a good balance between developer-friendly information in github issues and user-friendly information on forums, and not be too heavy-handed on newcomers just asking for help.

I'll gradually process all bugs as possible in either location with priority on bugs that impact gameplay the most.

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