[Interview] Status Report on the Operational Support Team, with @Laughing Trendy

ddesjardins

Back on August 21st 2015 we reported on the start of the Operational Support Team initiative driven by @LaughingTrendy, a player-supported bug reporting and dev-managed application process. What sets this apart from previous efforts is that the developers are actively experiencing and watching the issues as they happen, while the reporting players have been given access to a formal reporting process and private blog.

The effort is very horizontal impacting players from role players to the DPS crowd. And it’s something every player wants to know more about.

In our initial report, we saw rapid changes and a few role-backs. Since that time the Bugsmasher teams have been relatively quiet, and the process has been protected (for many reasons) behind a private forum. @LaughingTrendy took the time to answer a few questions to bring us up to speed on their process.

Q1: Looking back over the last month, how would you characterize the status of the project in terms of identifying issues?

Trendy: The entire Operational Support team really was something that not only I was excited about, but also QueenVaccine (STO’s Lead QA). We’ve been working together to craft the initiative and it has paid off. We’ve made it efficient, which has lead to some really awesome player/dev interactions to hunt down bugs. I’ve gotten to see bugs reported by players in the Operational Support team get checked in, worked on, and had fixes that have already hit Tribble. I’m thrilled.

Read the full interview at lootcritter.com

eristhevorta

A great read! I think I can speak for many of my fellow bug hunter friends and colleagues when I say "Thanks for sharing and doing this!"

gulberat

Interesting. Do we know if the Bug Hunters only accept or work on bugs that they themselves have noted, or do they also check for reported bugs from regular players as well? In other words, will bug reports from other players continue to receive attention or only those "vetted" by a specific group of players? This is something I am not clear on.

I would like to see a regular list of "Confirmed Kills" specifically attributed to the Bug Hunters. (Obviously if there's some sort of exploit that might not make the list but I would think the majority of items would be reportable.) This would be a great brag piece for the team and also a good deliverable for the customer. Additionally, if the Bug Hunters can do anything to substantially beef up the Known Issues list so that we actually know what is being acknowledged and worked on but is not yet resolved. These would be important customer confidence-building steps IMO.

ddesjardins

I believe the bugs come from many sources. As long as it's reproducible, it's a target.

I really like the idea of the confirmed kills, but I don't think it would fly. If they kill 3 bugs in process X, it might allude to other areas that can be exploited.

primar13

We Check Everywhere!

I for one check Reddit constantly and when I see something relevant to me or my gameplay I go test it. I also coordinate with other testers on Twitter

The Biggest thing is that we all test different things. We test what is relevant to us, I can't go test a bug with Kemocite, because I don't have it. So I stick to Foundry, Beams, and the Occasional torp issue, I also check story missions and patrols. but the OLD patrols the ones scattered through the Alpha and Beta Quadrant, some of which are Launch Content.

Another thing to point out, is that we have no special access to anything in-game. We as of yet are not testing any pre-release content except what is already of Tribble. We don't have any special servers. The main reason we have our own forum as trendy stated is so that we can openly talk and discuss bugs and exploits without the fear of derailment and flaming from others. Also things are less likely to get blown out of proportions.

iconians

Thanks for posting this interview (and having it in a text format instead of a podcast). I'd like to see some more builds hit Holodeck that prove the viability of this project.

It's not just the Bug Hunters or QA. It's Cryptic's ability to designate developer time to fixing those bugs and making better builds for Holodeck.

You can have all the streamlined processes and volunteer Bug Hunter time in the world, but it's all wasted potential if the gatekeepers are unable or unwilling to devote programmer time to them.

Looking through the last few release notes, I'm skeptical this is anything more than a lot of talk and good intention.

I'd really love to see some tangible, meaningful results on Holodeck.

Bonus points if the release notes specifically credit this new initiative for some of the bugs fixed in the build.

gulberat

ddesjardins wrote: »

I believe the bugs come from many sources. As long as it's reproducible, it's a target.

I really like the idea of the confirmed kills, but I don't think it would fly. If they kill 3 bugs in process X, it might allude to other areas that can be exploited.

Since we do get patch notes, which implies that the company is OK with disseminating notice of some bugs publicly, I would think that at least items that made the patch notes could be called out as Bug Hunter "Kills" if the team helped.

And good to know the bugs still come from multiple sources.

ddesjardins

'Kills' is a great idea

iconians

I don't think 'confirmed kills' on specific bugs are necessary, but an actual acknowledgement that a signifigant portion of the bugs fixed in a Holodeck build can be directly traced/attributed to this pet project would not be unreasonable.

These people are volunteering their own time and energy to making the game better, at the very least a blanket statement giving them some credit on the Holodeck release notes would do two things.

1: Make this group feel appreciated. Again, these people are not being paid to do this.

2: Would tell the rest of us that this initiative is actually doing something meaningful and isn't just a theatrical performance.

primar13

iconians wrote: »

I don't think 'confirmed kills' on specific bugs are necessary, but an actual acknowledgement that a signifigant portion of the bugs fixed in a Holodeck build can be directly traced/attributed to this pet project would not be unreasonable.

These people are volunteering their own time and energy to making the game better, at the very least a blanket statement giving them some credit on the Holodeck release notes would do two things.

1: Make this group feel appreciated. Again, these people are not being paid to do this.

2: Would tell the rest of us that this initiative is actually doing something meaningful and isn't just a theatrical performance.

Most of us are not here for any glory. We are here to better the game. I don't want bugs desiganted as Bug Hunter kills, because we didn't do the killing. A lot of our time is just retesting bugs we find in the various forums and reformating the reports. We are not doing the work, the programmers are.

Also we are here to supplement the player reported bugs, not the replace the group.

We NEED the larger playerbase to keep posting bug reports, if they get the impressions that the only bugs being fixed are the ones being tagged with our name, they may stop reporting bugs, which is the opposite of what everyone wants.

iconians

primar13 wrote: »

iconians wrote: »

I don't think 'confirmed kills' on specific bugs are necessary, but an actual acknowledgement that a signifigant portion of the bugs fixed in a Holodeck build can be directly traced/attributed to this pet project would not be unreasonable.

These people are volunteering their own time and energy to making the game better, at the very least a blanket statement giving them some credit on the Holodeck release notes would do two things.

1: Make this group feel appreciated. Again, these people are not being paid to do this.

2: Would tell the rest of us that this initiative is actually doing something meaningful and isn't just a theatrical performance.

Most of us are not here for any glory. We are here to better the game. I don't want bugs desiganted as Bug Hunter kills, because we didn't do the killing. A lot of our time is just retesting bugs we find in the various forums and reformating the reports. We are not doing the work, the programmers are.

It isn't about glory, prestige, or some kind of ego trip. It's about assigning credit where credit is due. You are doing work. Yes, there are programmers who are also doing work, but they also get a paycheck in addition to being recognized in the game's credits.

If this project is actually making the game better, if there are actual tangible results of the team's efforts and streamlined processes visible on Holodeck, then Cryptic should be willing to sign the Operational Support's name at the bottom of it somewhere. Even if it's an asterisk.

lucho80

gulberat wrote: »

Interesting. Do we know if the Bug Hunters only accept or work on bugs that they themselves have noted, or do they also check for reported bugs from regular players as well?

I dabble in the regular bug reports to see if anything I can test pops up, and I've reported some from there. Got beaten to the punch by two fellow bug hunters on the infinite torpedoes bug from the Terran rep.

It's almost 9PM, off to see Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

alienworlds

Absolutely brilliant.

ddesjardins

iconians wrote: »

If this project is actually making the game better, if there are actual tangible results of the team's efforts and streamlined processes visible on Holodeck, then Cryptic should be willing to sign the Operational Support's name at the bottom of it somewhere. Even if it's an asterisk.

My only thought to this is... give them time

monkeybone13

Lootcritter's comment under the article:

The key issue is that they are finding the occasional exploit. As we saw with the disco ball explosion, players will not hesitate to use those exploits – especially if they can bring the game to a screaming halt. The sad truth is there are groups who have made it their goal to gain publicity by flaunting the games limitations. No need to empower them.

Just wanted to point out the players weren't really to blame on that one. One of the developers actually posted on Twitter how to reproduce the exploit because, in his own words, "it was too good not to". Basically he gave players permission to do it.

Though your point still stands. The bug hunters having their own private forum will keep players from flaming/trolling them and also keep players from finding out how to reproduce exploits.

My personal opinion: I think the whole thing is great and really appreciate what the volunteer bug hunters are doing. I don't have a single complaint (or conspiracy theory ) and am perfectly fine with them having their own forum so things can actually get done without some goof like me telling corny jokes.

Thanks to Trendy, the devs, and the volunteers.

Edit: 2 gorn walk into a bar. A tellarite walks under it.

primar13

You can run a Piece of Dialogue through as many Proofreaders and Spell checkers as you want. We are All Human and there is always going to be Errors, its unavoidable. You have to give the Team the Benefit of the Doubt.

Also I want to reiterate a point. Bug Bashers are not Testing any Unannounced Content as of yet. We only have Access to Holodeck, Tribble and Redshirt. We have no special powers/access that a normal player wouldn't already have.

PS right now we have Just shy of 200 Bug Reports Posted in the Basher Forums Since this initiative Started.

Us Bug Bashers Tend to Double and Triple Confirm Bugs, and then the QA Team comes in and Confirms again and then Submits, so its not a quick Process.

tarastheslayer

primar13 wrote: »

We Check Everywhere!

Indeed we do, though you'll find some of us have preferred picking grounds for one reason or another. Primar sums it all up pretty well really, sometimes we don't have the resources available to test some things, and having a private forum allows for us to theory-craft with each bug and cross-confirm stuff without the usual problems the forum can unfortunately create.

The only thing I'd be inclined to add at this point, is that we are all volunteers. We want to help get the game fixed, and frankly I really don't care for any prestige and I know a few friends in the initiative who feel the same way. We've seen the way it helps the devs with identifying the nature and causes of the bugs, that's rewarding enough for me.