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can someone explain how bug-testing works please?

simplessimples Member Posts: 540
in Off-Topic
it seems as though a lot of people are experiencing a number of bugs in SoD. i've noted a few myself.

i understand that programming and scripting etc is very complex and i have no idea how it works, but i am curious about one thing:
how do so many bugs manage to slip under the radar? i mean, as a bug tester, do you not try every possible party combination, every outcome to every quest, try running the game on every type of computer?

i'm not hating or complaining, just genuinely curious to see how this works. i reckon there are probably a ton of factors weighing in that i don't even know about, so please enlighten me!

Comments

  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,754
    edited April 2016
    The thing is that there's a long way from "bug reported" to "fix implemented".

    After you report a bug, developers try to reproduce it and if all is ok, the bug is "submitted". But then the most difficult part happens - to implement a fix. It may take some time.

    So, for example, a lot of bugs that were found during the beta testing of 2.0 version, while they had been submitted, haven't found their fix in the build yet. Add to that the fact people continue to report new bugs (which appear in newer builds), and you get a picture that it's a long process, and it takes time to implement all fixes.

    The slow process is also connected to the developers' wish to fix things properly, so that we get less situations when a new build introduces a new bug.
    Post edited by JuliusBorisov on
  • simplessimples Member Posts: 540
    So would it be right to assume that one fix could trigger a boat load of new bugs?
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,754
    Absolutely. For example, the majority of bugs in 2.0 and SoD happen because the UI system has been changed, and whole Legacy of Bhaal and Story Mode problems are there now because using baldur.ini was changed to using baldur.lua, i.e. there was an engine fix.
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    edited April 2016
    Also some bugs only happen in some systems so that it may go unnoticed during tests. The slowdowns being reported are a good example. I don't have them and I have seen people reporting being affected who have computers much more powerful than mine. So it's inevitable that some bugs are discovered only after release.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    One of the important things about bugfixing is that fixing one bug can cause others, which makes the issue a lot more complicated and lengthy than it may seem. To prevent one tiny thing from happening, you often have to make a specific structural change to the program, which will have effects on various other parts of the program, some of which may constitute new bugs.

    Not only do you have to replicate the bug, and then have to figure what's actually causing it, and then come up with a workaround, you need to make sure that your fix doesn't cause a new problem elsewhere.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,317
    edited April 2016
    simples said:


    how do so many bugs manage to slip under the radar? i mean, as a bug tester, do you not try every possible party combination, every outcome to every quest, try running the game on every type of computer?

    To add to what @Cerevant has stated every person who plays the games also has habits (whether they realize it or not) about how they go about playing the games.

    One time when I was testing BGEE's main path (as well as the importing of a party from BGEE to SoD) and I was in the process of leaving candlekeep. I heard the shrill cry of "Heya its me Imoen" and immediately used Ctrl+Y on her just so I didn't have to deal with her. When I realized awhile later that I actually should test Imoen so I consoled her in and added her to my group (its safe to say this experience made me learn my lesson about using the console). But at this point the game had already labeled her as being permanently dead. So once I had beaten BGEE this caused a rather interesting situation of there being two different Imoens present in SoD.

    It doesn't have to involve a lax use of the console. You could be the type of person who makes Khalid go for one naked jaunt in the woods. Maybe you play the game with certain settings on and others off. Maybe you previously made your games in multiplayer and then transfered them over to single player. Maybe you bring drow equipment with you to the surface in BG2 (I personally wouldn't bother since I know its going to turn to dust, but players who might not know that might bring it). We all play the games a bit differently.

    (and this is all not to say that the major bugs right now are the obscure ones, only that some bugs just come up because people play the game differently)
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