Helpful tips on what to include in an issue in the feedback tracker.

[Exakt785 1]

Hello everybody,

I work in the game development industry and got through the feedback tracker regularly and I see some points that we can all try to ameliorate. I am sharing a few pointers to make each of your issues filed in the feedback tracker more accurate and helpful to the devs.

Search

Please search for the issue before filling one in. A good tip is to use only a word at first, like for example "Ifrit". Now if there is one thousand issues about the Ifrit, you'll want to narrow it down, add a new simple word to the search, this should bring the number of issue to a more manageable amount (around 100). Now you can check the details of the issues and if you see your issue already filled, please add a note with further information.

Category

While most people get it right, there is a few misuse of some categories, such as Ingame UI. Ingame UI is basically the pause menu when you are playing a mission, Communication and the Mouse-wheel menu. If it is the MP Server Browser or anything that is accessible from the Main Menu, the category should be set to Menu UI.

As for HW Issues, it is for crashes due to your hardware, such as DirectX crashes or Video Card crashes, a loss of FPS is not an HW Issue, but rather a Performance issue.

About Game Freezes and Game Crashes, there is a small difference. A Game Freeze is just the program becoming unresponsive and does not crash to desktop, while the latter will produce a crash to desktop.

Reproducibility

Try at least to reproduce the issue a few times (3 or more). Also please add a note in the description on how often the issue occurs if the repro rate is not 100% (Always), this helps the devs in assigning a priority on the issue.

Severity

Now that can be somewhat difficult to gauge, depending on the person filling the issue, but usually, there is some good ground rules.

Feature : Can be considered as a suggestion, if you believe a feature should be added and is not present, use this severity.

Trivial : It is an issue, but if it doesn't affect gameplay in any ways, this is the severity you use, eg: the muzzle of the rifle slightly clips through a wall, without going all the way through. Most of the small cosmetic graphical issues will often end up with this severity.

Text : The title says it, any text issues, grammatical and syntax errors fall into this category.

Tweak : This is for game balance issues, too much recoil on a weapon is one such example.

Minor : It doesn't break the game but really needs to be fixed, most of the flagrant graphical issues and minor functionalities are usually found under this type of severity.

High : A missing feature that is or had been implemented (in previous versions) and does not work, a place where you get stuck in the map and can't get out of, a placeholder texture when we will be in BETA and very bad performance losses.

Urgent : A freeze, crash or an issue that blocks the progression of the campaign/mission.

Immediate : Usually, it is the devs that may escalate an issue up to this level of severity. Most of the issues that can be found to be escalated are crashes/freezes (more and more as the project advances) and some legal issues.

Priority

Usually, this should follow the same route as the severity, but usually it is used by the devs to remember what needs to be done as soon as possible during the current milestone (ALPHA, BETA, Release Candidate). I would suggest to set it at None, let the devs assign the priority based on the milestone, as stated earlier.

Summary

The summary should contain has much information about the issue while being brief. Check the following example http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=4237. Here we can clearly see the version, along with a very brief but clear description of the issue. Providing the version in the title will help the devs in seeing if this issue was corrected or not in a build that they work with. Remember that there is multiple versions of the build being worked on and then compile into a Dev Branch build or the stable ALPHA one.

Description

This is where you can write a whole novel for the issue. This is where you put in the details and the outcomes of the issue. Sometimes, the issue that you are reporting may cause other issues, this is where you write them. There is only one thing here, please do not post opinions in this box, it is not the purpose of it, instead, write them in the Additional Information one

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the issue are critical and saves a lot of time for the devs, otherwise, they have to figure out how it happened. Numbered steps, like an IKEA kit manual are necessary. Again, look at the example issue linked above and check the Steps to Reproduce. This is the best way to write them.

Additional Information

This is where you can add more information, maybe that you forgot to include in the description, an expected result or a comment on why it is an issue with your point of view, but please back it up with sensible opinions/facts.

Upload File

This, as you guessed it, is where you attach a file to the issue. In a perfect world, every issue should include at least a screenshot, press F12 for Steam to take one. If you are running FRAPS, only attach a video if it is a sound or animation issue, the database doesn't need the extra load for just a placeholder texture of a text issue. As for Crashes, attach the crash log. In all performance issues, a DxDiag file should be attached, this will help the devs in finding what kind of hardware may have some issues.

Vote Up/Vote Down

Log in the feedback tracker to vote an issue up or down, otherwise you won't see the vote buttons.

Hope this helps, we can make ArmA III a game that all can be proud of, both the devs and the community,

Exakt

Edited March 17, 2013 by Exakt785
Added the Search and Vote Up/Vote Down.

[Gorbachev 1]

Stiiicckkkkyyyy

[Deadfast 43]

Please add "Search first!!!" in a very big font somewhere ;)

[Exakt785 1]

Please add "Search first!!!" in a very big font somewhere ;)

Added, but not in Big gigantic font.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Exakt

[Nicholas 5]

Searching would be a good idea here as well. ;)

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?147680-Arma-3-Feedback-Tracker-how-to-use

[Exakt785 1]

Searching would be a good idea here as well. ;)

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?147680-Arma-3-Feedback-Tracker-how-to-use

Yeah, I saw that one, but I found that some stuff was missing, such has include a DxDiag file (System Specs) in a performance issue, as an example.

[GefrBachmann 1]

Can someone help me real quick. I don´t know if I´m to stupid, blind or if something´s wrong.

I tried to vote for an issue (#0000591 "Tire screeching") but am unable to find the vote up/down buttons.

This is what my screen looks like:

http://www10.pic-upload.de/17.03.13/lmpoxes8mob8.jpg (361 kB)

Do I have to sign up anywhere? Is there a certain time limit? I tried various other issues as well with same result. No buttons. Why? Also coulndn´t find any help in the guide :/

[-Coulum- 35]

Usually the vote up/vote down is to the left of the voting bar. You do need to log in and you will know if your signed in/need to sign in by looking at the very top left of the window (this is not visible in your screenshot). As far as I know your account and password will be the same as your forums account and password (at least it was for me)

[GefrBachmann 1]

Ok thank you very much, I totally overlooked the "sign in" area on the top left corner. Apparently you need to sign up again there to as I couldn´t log in with my current profile I use here.

It works fine for me now, thank you very much again!

[Exakt785 1]

Usually the vote up/vote down is to the left of the voting bar. You do need to log in and you will know if your signed in/need to sign in by looking at the very top left of the window (this is not visible in your screenshot). As far as I know your account and password will be the same as your forums account and password (at least it was for me)

Added the Vote Up/Vote Down section.