How to PTS like a CHAMPION! - Written by a PTS veteran

SG_Celerrimus

HOW TO PTS LIKE A CHAMPION!

So, you just downloaded the PTS and you want to test out the Imperial City, or whatever may be on the PTS at the time? That's pretty neat, but being on the PTS you are given a unique opportunity to directly help ZOS improve and polish the content that is going to be released onto the live servers. So how do you go about being part of this crucial process that can really determine how quickly content is released and to what condition the final product will be in? Well, hopefully I can answer that question in this guide/how to, and if you have any other questions about do's and don'ts for the PTS, feel free to send me a PM, as I was a tester way back in the day during the time of the original PTS group.

So lets begin:

For starters, what is on the PTS is not what the final product will be. So, what that means is that many things can change with the patch in question being tested between now and the actual release of the patch. Examples of this can be seen in things like the Justice system, which saw its days in the PTS and was altered from what is originally was based on testing and feedback of its systems and how it worked in the game. Content being on the PTS also means that it is not necessarily ready for launch, and needs to be improved upon before it can be released. As a result of this, you can encounter things like:

• Bugs
• Crashes
• Incomplete content
• Content that might not be scaled appropriately
• Content that might be in the final version
• and so on

So where do you come in? Well, like I said you have the opportunity to help ZOS test and move this content along during its final stages of development before it is released to the live servers for people to enjoy as a finished product. So, through what means can you do this?

1. REPORT BUGS - A major part of being a PTS tester is reporting bugs, as it helps ZOS remove issues from the patch before it is released. There are quite a few ways this can be accomplished. For starters, it can be accomplished in game by typing "/bug" in the chat box, which will then cause a window to appear where you can fill out an in-depth bug report, and even include a Screenshot to give ZOS a visual representation of what you are experiencing in game. If you are unable to do that, you could also post a bug report in this section, as it is monitored by ZOS employees and they can pass whatever information you give them to the appropriate teams to be dealt with as needed. If both of these options are unavailable however, you could send it to ZOS' support team at https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/home although this shouldn't be seen as a solid method and only should be used if you are somehow unable to get into the PTS, or on the forums, in order to submit bugs.

Now that you know where to submit Bug Reports, what should you put in those reports. Well, for starters, if you encounter something that looks like it is out of place, such as a missing wall, an NPC that is doing funny things that don't seem right, an ability you have that is causing a result other than what it states it would otherwise perform, a function of the game that can be exploited, or basically anything that looks out of the ordinary and like it might have a problem with it, that should be the subject you base your Bug Report on.

Now, you bug report should include the following:

• Character Name
• Class
• Level
• Location
• What you were doing when you encountered the issue
• Steps to take to recreate the issue you are experiencing
• What you expected to happen when the bug occured
• Any screenshots if possible to assist ZOS with a visual representation.

By reporting bugs, you are able to help ZOS pinpoint any issues in the game, and help them make sure they don't appear in the final product. Even if you are unsure of whether or not its a bug, it is better to be safe than sorry in these situations, because if it goes unreported it might end up causing problems for the final product. Also, don't expect other people will report it so you do not need to report it. The more reports ZOS receives, the better equipped they will be to ensure that the bug never makes it to live. Five thousand bug reports is better than One bug report.

A really important thing to note of when testing on the PTS, however, is "Don't be that guy/girl". What I mean by this, is if you find something that can be exploited to give yourself an advantage over other people, be the better person and make sure it gets reported. Nobody likes it when an exploit makes it onto the live servers and people need to deal with other people having an unfair advantage over them, it just isn't fun. Don't be that guy/girl!

Also, an important final note for this section, remember that the employees at ZOS are people to. It can be really easy to get frustrated while testing incomplete content on the PTS, and might even make you angry, but all in all, the employees at ZOS are people to, with feelings and such, so try to be polite and reasonable in your bug reports

2. GIVING FEEDBACK - Another important part of testing on the PTS is sharing your thoughts and opinions with ZOS in regards to particular aspects of the update in question that is being tested. Similarly to reporting bugs, this can be accomplished in a few different ways. Similar to typing "/bug" in the chat box in game, you can also type "/feedback" in order to have a window pop up where you can select from a variety of categories on what your feedback is about, and then type a description of it in the box below. You can also come here to the Public Test Server forum section and create a feedback threat, where you can share your thoughts an opinions and have your fellow testers/players comment on that subject and share their thoughts as well. But, when it comes to the forums, and the same rule applies with reporting bugs on the forums, rather than creating a million threads about a single subject, just share your thoughts/experiences on a singular thread, even if you were not the one who created it, as it helps keep things more organized.

Now, when giving feedback to ZOS, like I said in the "REPORT BUGS", be mindful that ZOS employees are people to. So, with that in mind, try to make sure you feedback is as constructive as possible and try to clearly and politely express your thoughts and opinions. What I mean by this is don't send in feedback with things like "OMG thiz ability suckorz and I hate it, this is teh WORTS GAME I ahve ever played, learn to make better gamez lol!", no don't do it... don't do it! That is, as I would call it, nonconstructive feedback. Instead, I would say that feedback such as this "While playing in the Imperial Sewers today, I noticed that "X" sweeper boss was using abilities that cast rather quickly, and I feel like the time time it takes for these abilities to complete their cast times should be increased, as feels like there needs to be more time to react to the situation of the boss casting his abilities in order for players to successfully escape them".

By giving ZOS feedback about different aspects of an update that is being tested, you assisting in influencing them on whether or not the different aspects or systems of the update need to be changed. Remember how I mentioned that the Justice System was altered from its original version before it hit live. Well, that was partly due to tester feedback to ZOS, as people felt that there were far to many entrances and exits for the different Outlaws Refuges around the game, so they edited the maps and reduce the number of entrances and exits there were. ZOS is fully willing to listen to player feedback, like I said, they have changed the game based on this feedback, but it is up to you to provide this feedback if you want to see something changed in the game before the patch makes it to live, as they are not mind readers. Now, it is really important to note, this is an MMO, so not everyone's feedback/suggestions/ideas can all be implemented, as there are other people in the game that need to be considered. This doesn't mean, however, that your feedback is not being heard, and might be taken into consideration down the line for future updates with similar systems. ZOS does care, but sometimes they need to do it silently because they cannot respond to every bit of feedback they get, but they still read and consider all of it.

3. PARTICIPATE IN EVENTS - Occasionally on the PTS, ZOS might host events or ask for people to focus on testing a particular thing. This could be happening for a number of reasons. One might be because they need to internally test there systems when a particular thing is occurring on the PTS, or they need to see how the game plays out when players are doing a particular activity. They could also be doing it for just plain fun to try and become involved and engaged with the community, we may never know specifically what they are doing, they could be doing a mixture of both. When they announce these events, and usually they will be posted here on the Public Test Server forum section, it is generally a good idea to try and make it to those events are participate. As in the case of the one upcoming as of this posting: http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/202561/pts-tel-var-stone-competition you might even be able to walk away with some prizes for participating.

The point being, participate in events, because you participating could help ZOS run internal tests, and/or you could walk away with some shiny lootz, and who doesn't like shiny lootz?

4. FIND TIME TO TEST - Finding time to spend on the PTS is an important aspect of participating on the PTS, because it is a simple matter of ZOS needs people to be on the PTS doing things in order for them to collect data and feedback so that they can move towards releasing the patch as a final product when it is ready. So, if you get some down time and you are just wandering around aimlessly in Wayrest, or you are just sitting around after doing everything you wanted to do for the day on ESO and you have some extra time, then hop onto the PTS and start running around testing things on there. If you are able to find the time to help test upcoming content, then you are able to help take the active role needed by the player base in order to ensure we get shiny new content to enjoy that has been fully tested and has had any potential bugs fixed in it.

5. ENJOY THE RIDE - Now this is really essential to the tester experience and being an active PTS tester. Just be yourself, and enjoy the ride. Play the game you would normally play, as everyone is unique and does different things. Not only will this allow you to enjoy the content being test, but it will also help ZOS as they collect internal data to see what players are doing, and determine what people enjoy the most out of the variety of new content that is being tested. Also it is important to make sure you are having fun, because it is a game after all, and you should be enjoying yourself.

If you follow the five steps and accompanying suggestions in this post, YOU can be a PTS CHAMPION and play a CRITICAL role in the development process of new content before it is shipped for release! I hope my words have inspired you all to hop on the PTS and actively help provide ZOS with feedback and bug reports, so that we can all enjoy the amazing content they develop!

Attorneyatlawl

That was the way to post like a champ, @SG_Celerrimus! I'm now really glad I encouraged you to write this when you asked about the general idea as basically one sentence. This is a solid gold post for anyone looking at testing.

Vatter

LOL I can't stop laughing. Zos is a business that has deadlines just like any other. if what you report "fits" into their schedule it MIGHT get fixed. But I would seriously get used to massive bugs making it into live wether you find them or not. ZOS is notorious for that. ask anyone who has been here since beta

SG_Celerrimus

Vatter wrote: »

LOL I can't stop laughing. Zos is a business that has deadlines just like any other. if what you report "fits" into their schedule it MIGHT get fixed. But I would seriously get used to massive bugs making it into live wether you find them or not. ZOS is notorious for that. ask anyone who has been here since beta

I have been here since beta, one of the beginning tests I believe, and I do say that ZOS has actually been known to fix bugs.

kaithuzar

SG_Celerrimus wrote: »

Vatter wrote: »

LOL I can't stop laughing. Zos is a business that has deadlines just like any other. if what you report "fits" into their schedule it MIGHT get fixed. But I would seriously get used to massive bugs making it into live wether you find them or not. ZOS is notorious for that. ask anyone who has been here since beta

I have been here since beta, one of the beginning tests I believe, and I do say that ZOS has actually been known to fix bugs.

Fix is a very debatable word.
But bringing in "new programmers" to work on "somebody else's" original code is a prime suspect for bug introduction. As well, rolling back / using older versions to build upon new content is another huge problem as everything that was patched in between gets left out & not fixed.
While there are some programmers that really love working on this game & try hard, at the end of the day it's a job & a small team of talented people can't fix an entire company's mistakes.

Attorneyatlawl

Vatter wrote: »

LOL I can't stop laughing. Zos is a business that has deadlines just like any other. if what you report "fits" into their schedule it MIGHT get fixed. But I would seriously get used to massive bugs making it into live wether you find them or not. ZOS is notorious for that. ask anyone who has been here since beta

Companies are made of people. A company is a legal structure that formalizes a business.... comprised additionally of the people who made it. I have been here, as has @SG_Celerrimus, for about the longest anyone else has been other than a handful of early birds like @Atropos and @Erlex. No one questions that ZOS is a company. But like the great post by Celerimmus hit on, that really isn't the subject . I don't doubt that either Atropos or Erlex, aside from Celerimmus and myself, would disagree that things change, and that in some ways, more recently, they have inside of ZOS as far as we can tell from the outside in. You can't avoid having any bugs I software development... but at the same time, I think they intend to put a higher priority on fixing as much as they can, before pushing things live now. Either of them can feel free to tell me I'm a hopeless doofus scott free here in this thread, for saying that if they disagree. I won't take offense. But I don't think I'm going out on much of a limb. Put me in my place if I'm wrong, either one of you guys .

SG_Celerrimus

kaithuzar wrote: »

SG_Celerrimus wrote: »

Vatter wrote: »

LOL I can't stop laughing. Zos is a business that has deadlines just like any other. if what you report "fits" into their schedule it MIGHT get fixed. But I would seriously get used to massive bugs making it into live wether you find them or not. ZOS is notorious for that. ask anyone who has been here since beta

I have been here since beta, one of the beginning tests I believe, and I do say that ZOS has actually been known to fix bugs.

Fix is a very debatable word.
But bringing in "new programmers" to work on "somebody else's" original code is a prime suspect for bug introduction. As well, rolling back / using older versions to build upon new content is another huge problem as everything that was patched in between gets left out & not fixed.
While there are some programmers that really love working on this game & try hard, at the end of the day it's a job & a small team of talented people can't fix an entire company's mistakes.

I don't see how ZOS having new programmers working on the job and they they booted out the old programmers means that the game will be buggy, or how it affects the fact that they need people on the PTS to test the content. ZOS has and will fix bugs, they have done it several times in the past, even with the new developers working on the game, but they need people in order to find the bugs with the new content.

Also, I want to point out, the new developers make really good content for this game. The quality and amount of care put into the newer content we are seeing on the PTS is evident, as there really is a substantial difference in the quality and mood of the newer content compared to the older content.

kaithuzar

SG_Celerrimus wrote: »

kaithuzar wrote: »

SG_Celerrimus wrote: »

Vatter wrote: »

LOL I can't stop laughing. Zos is a business that has deadlines just like any other. if what you report "fits" into their schedule it MIGHT get fixed. But I would seriously get used to massive bugs making it into live wether you find them or not. ZOS is notorious for that. ask anyone who has been here since beta

I have been here since beta, one of the beginning tests I believe, and I do say that ZOS has actually been known to fix bugs.

Fix is a very debatable word.
But bringing in "new programmers" to work on "somebody else's" original code is a prime suspect for bug introduction. As well, rolling back / using older versions to build upon new content is another huge problem as everything that was patched in between gets left out & not fixed.
While there are some programmers that really love working on this game & try hard, at the end of the day it's a job & a small team of talented people can't fix an entire company's mistakes.

But having people test and find where the problems are and then notify the people working on can help them identify the problems, as they cannot correct or improve any problems that "somebody else's original code" may have that they aren't aware of.

That's why they have QA testing & when taking over someone else's code you should go over it as much as possible for proper understanding of functionality.

SG_Celerrimus

kaithuzar wrote: »

SG_Celerrimus wrote: »

kaithuzar wrote: »

SG_Celerrimus wrote: »

Vatter wrote: »

LOL I can't stop laughing. Zos is a business that has deadlines just like any other. if what you report "fits" into their schedule it MIGHT get fixed. But I would seriously get used to massive bugs making it into live wether you find them or not. ZOS is notorious for that. ask anyone who has been here since beta

I have been here since beta, one of the beginning tests I believe, and I do say that ZOS has actually been known to fix bugs.

Fix is a very debatable word.
But bringing in "new programmers" to work on "somebody else's" original code is a prime suspect for bug introduction. As well, rolling back / using older versions to build upon new content is another huge problem as everything that was patched in between gets left out & not fixed.
While there are some programmers that really love working on this game & try hard, at the end of the day it's a job & a small team of talented people can't fix an entire company's mistakes.

But having people test and find where the problems are and then notify the people working on can help them identify the problems, as they cannot correct or improve any problems that "somebody else's original code" may have that they aren't aware of.

That's why they have QA testing & when taking over someone else's code you should go over it as much as possible for proper understanding of functionality.

Yes, they have QA, but having a QA team is really good for initial in direct development testing while they are still building upon it. Using PTS testing helps find bugs that QA might have missed, and allows the game to be tested in environments that QA might not be able to test, as we all have different systems, do different things, etc. that QA might not be able to fully cover.

baratron

SG_Celerrimus wrote: »

Now that you know where to submit Bug Reports, what should you put in those reports. Well, for starters, if you encounter something that looks like it is out of place, such as a missing wall, an NPC that is doing funny things that don't seem right, an ability you have that is causing a result other than what it states it would otherwise perform, a function of the game that can be exploited, or basically anything that looks out of the ordinary and like it might have a problem with it, that should be the subject you base your Bug Report on.

Now, you bug report should include the following:

• Character Name
• Class
• Level
• Location
• What you were doing when you encountered the issue
• Steps to take to recreate the issue you are experiencing
• What you expected to happen when the bug occured
• Any screenshots if possible to assist ZOS with a visual representation.

How do you fit all of this into a bug report? I've been reporting bugs since beta, and it seems you only get 5 lines of text in which to get everything in. Anything you type after that gets cut off in the preview of what you're sending.

Or does it actually get sent off in the email and you just don't see it in the preview?

Also, do you know some way to include more than one screenshot?

SG_Celerrimus

baratron wrote: »

SG_Celerrimus wrote: »

Now that you know where to submit Bug Reports, what should you put in those reports. Well, for starters, if you encounter something that looks like it is out of place, such as a missing wall, an NPC that is doing funny things that don't seem right, an ability you have that is causing a result other than what it states it would otherwise perform, a function of the game that can be exploited, or basically anything that looks out of the ordinary and like it might have a problem with it, that should be the subject you base your Bug Report on.

Now, you bug report should include the following:

• Character Name
• Class
• Level
• Location
• What you were doing when you encountered the issue
• Steps to take to recreate the issue you are experiencing
• What you expected to happen when the bug occured
• Any screenshots if possible to assist ZOS with a visual representation.

How do you fit all of this into a bug report? I've been reporting bugs since beta, and it seems you only get 5 lines of text in which to get everything in. Anything you type after that gets cut off in the preview of what you're sending.

Or does it actually get sent off in the email and you just don't see it in the preview?

Also, do you know some way to include more than one screenshot?

Are you using talking about the window on the bottom right hand corner of the bug report window? If so, I believe things that get cut off on there still get sent.

As for the including more than one screenshot, you could send in another report while referencing the number of the report you sent in, or do it via email/forums.