| THE BUG THAT NEVER DIES |
| Written by MOTORMOUTH |
| Thursday, 05 August 2010 10:49 |
 Or so it feels for people who still experience the concussion bug or any other one that has been around for more than a week. Remember the old Cornflake bug? That thing was around for what seemed like forever. And if you think bugs frustrate players, triple that feeling for the coders who are trying to find them and squash them.So let's take a look at the concussion bug. This irritating effect spawned at some point during the 1.31 dev cycle. People who have experienced the constant screenshake and accompanying sound effects feel like they're going out of their minds. Having experienced it once, I have to say it's a pain. It is dutifully reported in our Game Bug reporting forum for staff attention. So what to do first? Reporting Properly describing the bug can make the difference between fixed and not fixed. A vague comment about "This doesn't seem right" or "This railing is broken" isn't as helpful as a detailed description. "Second floor railing of Dinant/Ciney CP can be clipped" is and will get fixed much more quickly. Identify Severity and Prioritize Let's be honest; when a bug hits you in the middle of a big battle, it's frustrating and can be rage-inducing. For the player, all that matters is how it affects his or her game. That's normal human nature. But we have to look at the big picture: How many players are experiencing it and how often? In the case of the concussion bug, a quick scan of posts and reports shows about 2-3% of players seem to affected at random times. It's a big bug to be hit with if you're one of the unlucky ones. But it's not as prevalent as it appears to those who seem to be affected by it with many others seemingly not affected at all. It's there and we do want to eliminate it. However, a bug that causes 20% of players to CTD is a higher priority, that's just a matter of fact. But that doesn't mean the less frequent problem doesn't get any attention. Identify Complainants System Specs Next thing we have to do is check out your rig and what you're running to see if the issue might be hardware and/or software related. Let's say you've got an ATI card, series xxx123 and you're running 2-month old drivers. And let's say three other guys who are having the same issues and running the same setup. BAM! Looks like we have a winner. Easy. Sadly, not usually the case. No connection there. Now what? Replicate Ok so we couldn't find anything in software/hardware that clicked. The next thing is to try to see if a coder can replicate the bug. We go over the reports and posts to see if there are any flags that pop up that would pinpoint a situation where the bug is triggered. If the issue were vehicle damage not registering correctly or a collider missing, that's pretty easy to do. In the case of the concussion bug, there hasn't been any single one thing that sets it off. So no luck on replicating it ourselves. Most bugs can be fixed in 5 minutes once they are replicated. That's often hard. In this case, the concussion bug only shows itself in big battles and that means live server. We can't ever fix this in beta. We've even got a team of testers now armed with a logging executable on the live server and they haven't reproduced it one single time. And so we're left with... Circle the Wagons What we do is try and circle around the bug by adjusting things we know. Then we add logging all around it. In the end it will only be fixed if it is replicated or there is a fundamental restructuring of the code in that area that makes it go bye-bye. The second is not really a fix. Sometimes when we think we've found the culprit, patched it, and released it, audible screams can be heard from CRS offices when another report pops up. But then, one day, the issue is isolated and BAM!!! No more bug. Take that cornflake bug! The code that caused it was wiped out and it's gone. Good riddance. An Ongoing Task Bugs are endemic to any game. It's common knowledge that game code can be unpredictable and a lot of time and energy has to be devoted to wrestling it into behaving the way a game needs it to, as well as making it get along with other code. Hunting down and solving bugs is a task that is always running in the background. But should it stop feature development? If it did, I venture to say that there wouldn't be a game on the market today that would be able to add any new features after initial launch. We see the criticisms from players about our decision to implement new features before this bug or that bug is fixed. Not a day passes here that these lingering bugs aren't discussed in depth and ideas for the causes and potential fixes suggested. But we will not and cannot let that stop the forward progress of the game. Bug work will never go away. Does it get put on hold occasionally? Yes, but never for very long. Cornered Rat Software is committed to delivering quality and fun game play. So while we strive to add new features and change older ones, the team is also working away to clear up the bugs that drive you, and us, crazy. |
Add your comment
Comments (20)
1
Thursday, 05 August 2010 12:17
Ruprect
I read that you do not want us to use .report for bugs but to place them on the Game Bug reporting section. An in game .bug function would be best so you can see realtime complaints and perhaps give you a guide to when exactly they are occurring.
2
Thursday, 05 August 2010 13:37
Devin
Yea, i was playing a few hours ago, and upon spawning in a depot, and stepping outside, my screen began to vibrate, and concussion sounds went off, and it lasted for 10-15 seconds, then stopped, and didn't occur again.
3
Thursday, 05 August 2010 14:01
bluekill
Its NOT random,theres been groups of people reporting it,me and 4 sqauddies got it at the exact same time the other night.Towns full of people have gotten the bug.
4
Thursday, 05 August 2010 14:08
bent7398
Couldnt you just limit the Concussion effect to not loop? For example, place a limit of one concussion effect every half second. That way, in the event the concussion bug starts - it would cycle and then stop. Wouldnt be that big of a deal then....
5
Thursday, 05 August 2010 14:10
KUBEL
I just say Beddy concussion bug, Beddy is bad as it is without that bug.
6
Thursday, 05 August 2010 14:23
Lure
You should call this "Concussion Bug II" as we already had a concussion bug once before. Can't remember what the cause of that one was. I assume you've already checked if the cause of Concussion Bug I could be the same as for Concussion Bug II.
7
Thursday, 05 August 2010 16:34
Snappled
Mentioned this before as origin still seems to be misplaced. Concussion bug has nothing to do with 1.31 , may in fact go back as far as 1.28. And isn't limited to large battles, can happen in flight twenty minutes from the next nearest player.
8
Thursday, 05 August 2010 16:47
rckgunny
try finding out how to make ati 5850 graghics cards and it might work . my techs have already told me software is very far behind the hardware thats out now! you are rough behind by about 5 years
9
Thursday, 05 August 2010 17:25
jw
turn it off? I dont know any players that want it anyway, and I for one dont care if we get one more new feature, until the bugs are fixed, but thats just me
10
Thursday, 05 August 2010 18:38
Eggert
I agree that a .bug in-game command would be the best solution to dealing with bug reports. From a player's perspective, it's generally not practical to immediately log off, go to the forums, and report the bug. [damn the 250 char limit!].
11
Thursday, 05 August 2010 19:32
Jakfrost
Hello Rats; PLEASE work on the damage model bugs for atg's!!! HE should be MORE effective than AP against them, and bullets to the head or torso SHOULD kill the crew! (Specific AND replicable!)
12
Thursday, 05 August 2010 19:34
SON of MAC
.bug is a stellar idea Roprect
13
Thursday, 05 August 2010 19:44
ratzilla
If you want details, you need to be able to report things as they happen, not have to back out of game and go somewhere else to make the report. .bug is certainly needed.
14
Thursday, 05 August 2010 19:53
Collin
from what i have noticed the bug appears altogether in 1 town... not 2-3% of the people playing the game.
15
Friday, 06 August 2010 00:34
jaguart
Parkinson's Simulator. It's a feature.
16
Friday, 06 August 2010 03:09
airslayr88
I just say the cornflake bug again the other day now that you mention it lol
17
Friday, 06 August 2010 09:15
bird1
Okay he's 1 that gets everyone "the beddy blackout bug", can't go faster then 2 gear or you blackout, makes it impossible to get to a position near a fb to take it down
18
Friday, 06 August 2010 09:44
reis
The concussion bug appears in an area usually a town or near it where massive amounts of bombs fell, it's as if u are entering a constant zone where bombs drop non stop
19
Sunday, 08 August 2010 05:45
MrWinkie
Why doesnt CRS just get rid of the concussion effect all together. I dont know a single player that feels it ADDS realism to the game. In fact its quite the opposite when a Mle1937 shoots a depot or cp over and over,quite irritating TBH.
20
Sunday, 08 August 2010 05:47
MrWinkie
Just get rid of the concussion effect all together. I dont know a single player that feels it ADDS realism to the game. In fact its quite the opposite when a Mle1937 shoots a depot or cp over and over,quite irritating TBH.
