1. General Information
1.1. Supertest (further abbreviated as ST) is a standalone organization that facilitates preliminary testing of new game content by volunteers known as the Supertesters. The Supertesters assist the World of Warships developer team in preparing product versions for the release by finding bugs, verifying features, sharing their opinions and ideas, and providing the first feedback.
1.2. The Supertesters have the official status of the volunteers (voluntary helpers) for a project. Their status is confirmed by their membership in a separate forum group.
1.3. When not involved in the ST activities, the Supertesters do not have any special privileges over other users, and should maintain a positive image of their group by observing the Game and Forum Rules, helping novice players whenever possible, and staying constructive in arguments and discussions.
1.4. We recommend participation in the ST for users who:
Like playing World of Warships, want to help in the development, and want to be the first to see all the updates that are sometimes at the prototype stage only.
Interest themselves in or are involved in game development, are not afraid of the difficulties, have attention to details, and are result-oriented.
Want to become part of a friendly team united by common interests and aims.
1.5. The ST rules are to be studied and observed by all ST participants. The content of these Rules may be supplemented or amended at any time, with obligatory notification posted in this topic.
2. Access
2.1. The Supertesters are recruited in accordance with a usual procedure. Those interested may submit their request in this topic, or the Developers themselves may select the Supertesters if necessary.
2.2. When registered, all the Supertesters receive an email message with the instructions and their personal test account credentials that are valid only for the ST server. The Supertesters are fully responsible for keeping this information confidential. Occasionally the accounts data and/or credentials can be wiped or reset. In such cases, a new email message is sent. At http://st.worldofwarships.ru/, the Supertesters can change their passwords with the use of their Account Management page. They have to use their Supertest account credentials to access this portal.
2.3. When registered for the ST, each Supertester must be provided with the following:
An account for the ST server.
The Supertester is included either in the primary or the secondary group of the "Supertesters" forum group, if the Supertester is already a member of any volunteer group and wants to keep this group membership visible.
Authorization to the ST Skype channel.
Authorization to TeamSpeak
(Optional) authorization to the official VK Group.
(Optional and if possible) membership in the [WG-WS] Clan.
2.4. Upon withdrawal from the ST, the Supertester is deprived of everything listed above in item 2.3.
3. Organization
3.1. Conan is the ST Manager. Please contact him regarding any critical organizational issues.
3.2. Other Developers often interact with the Supertesters directly regarding work-related issues. The Supertesters should pay very careful attention to the other Developers' requests. However, any such requests resulting in diversion from current tasks or the schedule modification should be communicated only via the ST Manager.
3.3. A number of the Supertesters involved in the test organization are positioned as the Coordinators.
EN Test session Coordinators:
Chappo (Skype: schaplin82)
AALG (Skype: j.d.schmidt
amade (Skype: amade.wossname)
dead_man_walking (Skype: dmw_tdc)
lengxv6 (Skype: lengxv6)
3.3.1. The Coordinators are responsible for the following:
Facilitate smooth operation of the Supertest.
Control that the schedule and ST rules are observed.
Help with the Supertesters' authorization as per Item 2.3.
Help the ST Manager to process the data and record the activity.
3.4. The Supertesters must follow the Coordinators' instructions. In their turn, the Coordinators must always act in the interests of the Test and adhere to the schedules. The Coordinators also have right to resolve disputes at their discretion, making the ST Manager aware of such disputes. Feedback on the Coordinators' work can be sent to the ST Manager through personal messages on the forum.
4. Communications
4.1. At the moment we use the following for the ST coordination: Information topic, and Skype channel.
4.2. The ST participants must use all three means of communication.
4.2.1. Information topic: When registered, all the ST participants must subscribe to this topic in order to be promptly notified of important events.
4.2.2. All the ST participants must be available in the Skype channel WoWS ST. For authorization the Supertesters must contact one of the Coordinators.
5. Work Schedule
5.1. The principal duty of the Supertester is to fulfill tasks during the test sessions. Tasks are published as individual topics in the special section of the forum. As a rule, they presuppose the Supertester attends a certain test session and provides respective feedback. The rules mentioned in this document are applicable for all tasks unless otherwise specified in the task wording.
5.2. The information topic is the principal means of notification. If possible the Developers always try to notify about tasks in advance - at least 1 day before the event.
5.3. The standard testing time is week-nights from 19:00 till 01:00 (Moscow time). Sometimes sessions can be carried out at different time, including week ends.
5.4. The task details can include just the session time (preliminary announcement), then required number of battles, levels, maps, modes, number and time of the sessions, references to the associated topics. Information can be changed and adjusted as the test progresses.
5.5. Generally, the Supertesters provide their response either by sending in their feedback or preparing bug reports.
5.5.1. Feedback is the Supertester's opinion on the tested features. Feedback must be submitted in conventional format in the special section. Usually the feedback can be finalized when all the test sessions of the task are completed. The more accurate and closer to the conventional format the feedback is written, the more useful and more valuable it is.
5.5.2. Bug reports are prepared during the test in special topics of this section. Bug report is a message about a defect including an error, inoperable or improperly functioning features, unexpected spontaneous exits, rendering artefacts etc.
5.5.2.1. Before publishing a bug report the Supertester must read the first post of the topic for the bug reports, where a list of known bugs found in this iterationsession and any other important information is provided. If the issue description and reproduction steps entirely coincide with the Supertester's data, a new bug report should not be created (except for the crushes and performance issues, as the Supertester's system configuration can be a factor in this case).
A list of known issues, if any, must be studied. Bug reports on known issues should not be duplicated.
5.5.2.2. To publish a bug report, the Supertester must use the bug report template.
Bug report template
1. Description
Clear and substantial description containing all necessary details.
Example: the cruiser Aoba: scout is inoperable.
2. Reproduction steps
A sequence of the player's actions which triggered the bug.
Example: 1. Select the cruiser Aoba 2. Enter the battle (Training or Random Battle). 3. Try to launch the scout.
3. Result
In-game experience resulting from the bug.
Example: When you press the scout activation button, you can hear the sound, but nothing actually happens. The aircraft stands still on the catapult.
4. Expected result
In-game experience which should have occurred if no bug is present.
Example: The scout has to be launched by the catapult.
6. Technical details
Example: Bug time: about 19:30 (Moscow time).Replay (attempt at 01:00), python.log, DxDiag.
5.5.2.3. The following technical details must be included into the bug report:
It is very desirable to indicate the bug occurrence time (Moscow time)
Visual demonstration must be added:
replay if it shows the issue, and the time code (the bug occurrence time in the replay).
Screenshot, if it shows the issue
Video can be included as well, if the Supertester thinks it helps to show the issue;
DxDiag must be added (if not present in the user signature in the forum).
Python.log (from the game directory) must be included;
Graphics preset settings must be included. If the graphics settings are customized, then their screenshot must be added as well.
IMPORTANT POINT: Before each launch of the game client, the python.log file must be deleted from the game directory in order to clear information about past issues from the log. We recommend that the python.log file should be deleted or renamed after each crush of the client.
The Developers working on the bugs can ask the Supertester to provide additional information. Such requests should be treated very responsibly.
5.5.3. You can attach small files (screenshot, replays and short logs) using the forum feature "Attach file".
IMPORTANT POINT: if it is necessary to attach a large file or video or if the account storage quota on the forum is exceeded, the Supertester is allowed to use YouTube service YouTube (for video) and Google Drive (for other files).
Obligatory condition: the services mentioned above must have the "share via link" option selected for all content related to the ST. The Supertesters are recommended to delete outdated content only after the version testing results are reviewed.
5.5.4. The bugs published in breach of the rules will not be accounted in the Supertester's statistics.
6. Confidentiality
6.1. The ST client as well as any related logs, files, screenshots, and videos constitute Confidential Information of the ST.
6.2. The Supertester can only publish any