Suggestions
You have a suggestion for improving the mod? That's great and I'd really like to hear it, but I not here. I know the easiest thing is to add a post detailing your idea, yet the Silverstag project has another site setup at Assembla that allows for submitting individual tickets. These tickets let me separate ideas, comment on them individually and store these nuggets of creativity for later browsing. In short, putting in a ticket there means you can be assured:
- I will see the ticket. This way it isn't lost in the shuffle of a long suggestion thread.
- I will respond to the ticket. It may not be immediate so have patience, but I do regularly clear out the backlog and respond to each.
- I may upgrade it to a different status and that may require additional feedback from you. I'll talk about these status below.
- You'll be notified when that ticket is changed. Since you have to register an email in order to submit one you'll also automatically become a follower of a specific ticket and get notifications (unless you don't want them) on that ticket's status.
Long suggestion threads are often ignored and unread by players looking to suggest new ideas because folks are not interested in reading 60+ pages of posts. Guess what? Neither am I so I understand. With these tickets you can shorten that reading down to a couple of quick pages and even see what kinds of suggestions have already been accepted. Better yet, you're more than welcome to add your comments to current suggestions and potentially help shape the development of ideas.
So now you've hopefully submitted your suggestion ticket and here is what happens next. I'll generally toss in a comment and change the status. This automatically moves that ticket up to the top of the pack as the most recently edited suggestion. Here are some of the responses and why:
- Accepted - I think the idea is great and it is detailed enough that I can work with it. While I am agreeing to make it a reality at some point, it may not be in the near future as I try to group similar types of tickets together for a single version update.
- More Info Needed - Your idea may have a place within the mod, but it needs more work. Without that additional work it isn't likely something that I'm going to pursue on its own.
- Discussion - Sometimes I'm sitting on the fence about an idea and I'd really like to hear the community's feedback. These are tickets where you should definitely chime in with your thoughts as you may help me push it towards acceptance or towards our next category...
- Rejected - Your suggestion has been turned down, but it may not be because I think it is a bad idea. While I'd love to just blindly accept every idea that everyone has, the reality is that I have a finite amount of time to work on them. If I think an idea may take too much of an investment of my time for its gain then it will end up here. If it is something I simply don't have access to fix within the module system then it will end up here. If it is something I just don't see fitting within the vision I have for the development of the mod then it will end up here. Try not to take it personal as I may just as easily accept your next idea.
But why should I have to register and submit a ticket? Why not post it here? Simply put: If your idea isn't worth taking the few extra minutes to visit the development site and submit as a ticket then it isn't worth me spending hours, if not several days, developing it into a reality. That site serves as my work list so the best way to give your idea a chance is to see that it makes it to that work list at all. Voicing topics for discussion here is absolutely encouraged, but when it comes time to make a specific request for a suggestion it should be there.
Bug Reports
You've found something that's just not working properly? I definitely want to hear about this, but just like suggestions I'd prefer this finds itself over at the Assembla development site. This ensures that this bug you've found is tracked, hunted down and squashed as it properly should be. I will need you to give me as much information as you think is reasonable useful and I may need to ask you for some clarifying questions to help narrow something down.
What I could use from you:
- A good description of what you're seeing. I don't need a novel, but if there were any recent events that could be useful. If there is any script errors then I definitely need the exact error that is being shown. The more information I have the easier I can make this annoyance go away.
- Possibly a save game. Sometimes the hardest part about truly knowing if a bug is valid or that it has been fixed is being able to recreate the problem. The development site allows you to attach files when you submit a ticket and adding your savegame might let me easily recreate, troubleshoot and repair the problem.
- Help me out if I ask questions to help narrow something down. I swear that I am not asking simply to irritate you further. Also if you see that a bug already exists with a "Needs Confirmation" status and you are experiencing it then by all means help me by posting a comment confirming it. I'll explain the reasoning for that below.
Now that you've submitted your bug ticket here is what will happen. I'll review it when I check the backlog list, make my comments and will give it one of the following statuses:
- Accepted - Okay, I believe you. Something's wrong and I'll definitely take a look at it. It may sit here for a little bit while I look into it as I didn't feel the need to have an investigating status type, but rest assured it will be checked on.
- Needs Confirmation - I know it is hard to believe, but the problem may be you or at least your computer. Generally when a bug gets this label I'm looking to make sure it isn't just an issue on your side, a break in your save game or possibly an issue with your copy of the game. If you see a ticket with this status and you're also experience it then that's useful information for me, but it doesn't rule out that you may both have a similar issue on your end. It isn't that I don't believe that you are experiencing the problem.
- More Info Needed - This really means that I need more information before I can do anything to help check on this problem. If you are also running into this issue then you can help me out by letting me know what's going on in your game that led you to this.
- Test / Fixed - This means that I believe I already am testing a viable fix or that I have already confirmed this bug is fixed for my development copy of the mod. When I release that copy the ticket will simply disappear from the list. This is more for my own tracking to make sure everything gets fixed.
- Invalid - What you have reported isn't a bug or isn't an issue with the mod. It may be that it is happening due to something on your end and has been confirmed that this is the case. While I can not always be 100% certain this is the case, I do try to make as best a judgement on these things as I can before I outright condemn a bug report to oblivion. I most likely find the bug even more annoying than you do.
Support Requests
Even worse than experiencing a bug is finding that the mod simply refuses to work. Hey, I get it and I've been there. Before you knock your computer's lights out and curse the day you downloaded this mod try asking for help. Seriously, it may save you a lot of cash or at least a few bloody knuckles. Just like suggestions and bug reports, come to the development site and submit a ticket under the "Support Tab". This is about the best direct link you're going to get to me short of having my cell info and I'll do what I can to help you sort things out. As I do work for a living and that work isn't making this mod, I do need to remind folks to have a bit of patience since it may take me time to get back to you. Some of you live across the world and are simply awake at dreadfully unreasonable hours. I would ask that you look at any other support tickets that have been resolved and review the F.A.Q. Thread here as either may hold the answers that you're seeking. I may not have the answer to helping you, but I am trying so try to keep that in mind when I ask you those basic questions that you feel insulted by having been asked. They're not basic to everyone.