v1.0 Tester Application Information and Template

[R-DEV]Suchar · 2023-12-05, 21:26

What does a tester do?

Testers are responsible for finding and reporting bugs, testing fixes, new features, and changes to old systems. Your imagination is the only limitation to discovering how features and systems can be broken, abused, or exploited. Additionally, testers may provide feedback on gameplay, map balance, and any areas they believe need attention.

Our testers utilize a variety of tools, including:

Redmine: a web-based project management and issue tracking tool.
TortoiseSVN: a software versioning and revision control system.
PR Build: an internal multi-purpose tool primarily used by testers for compiling raw game files.
Discord: an instant messenger for everyday game development communication.
Forums: utilized for more critical discussions.

We provide tutorials on these tools and ensure testers receive necessary technical support from the team, especially the Lead QA, as and when needed.

What are the requirements?

Upon acceptance, testers are expected to be consistently active. While providing feedback on ideas is helpful, a tester's primary task is active participation in test sessions and individual testing. Realistically, as a non-profit organization, we understand that dedicating hours daily to testing fixes may not be feasible. However, prolonged inactivity without prior notification will result in a warning and potential removal from the team.

At Project Reality, we foster a culture of healthy debate. Testers are encouraged to engage in these discussions with an appropriate level of maturity. Moreover, as a potential future representative of the Project Reality Team, your conduct on forums, the official Discord, and in-game is impactful and will be considered during the application review.

A deep understanding of the game is essential for bug detection. Inadequate experience within the game might lead to rejection of an application.

Lastly, we require full secrecy. All testers have to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). As a tester, you see the game content long before any player has a chance to even find out about its existence and you are forbidden from talking about it with anyone outside of the Project Reality Team. Breaking the NDA results in an immediate removal from the team and a ban from all official Project Reality platforms.

What are the benefits of being a tester?

Most importantly, you gain access to PR development memes.

Spoiler for memes:

By joining the Project Reality Team, the development team behind a top-ranked mod in multiple prestigious competitions, most notably a winner of Moddb Mod Of The Year, you can gain plenty of experience which may help guide your future career. By observing what developers do, you can learn useful skills and eventually start contributing to the game development your own work, while receiving feedback from other team members, sometimes professional game developers themselves. That is a path many former testers followed, becoming Project Reality contributors and developers, eventually finding jobs in various game development studios around the world, such as Offworld Industries, a studio initially formed by a group of former Project Reality developers.

Testers have an active role in decision-making within the team, with access to internal communications and direct contact with developers. This provides an opportunity to influence the game's direction and interact with individuals who have been shaping it for years. Almost all of our communication occurs in written form, we communicate verbally only during test sessions

Tester application process

If you want to ensure the community gets the quality assurance they deserve for the game they love, if you feel the need to give something back to Project Reality after all the time you have spent playing, if you are confident you can meet the requirements — feel free to apply.

You submit an application by creating a thread in the Tester Applications sub-forum using the following template:

Thread title: <Your Nick>

In your post, answer the following questions:

What is your in-game nick?
What is your timezone?
How long have you been playing Project Reality?
Do you have any previous testing experience?
When would you be available for testing?
What is your Discord username (do not confuse with display name)?
Why do you want to be a PR tester? What is the driving force behind your application?

You can see an example of such a post in the spoiler below.

Spoiler for example:

The thread you create will only be visible to you, Project Reality developers, contrbutors and forum moderators. As of now, the subforum is not correctly configured yet and all your new posts are required to be manually approved by a moderator before they can be viewed. Don't be surprised if you don't see your thread or posts immediately after posting.

Not everyone who applies is accepted and not everyone is accepted immediately. Having a history of reported bugs and following appropriate bug reporting procedures will definitely influence your chances of being accepted. Initially, you might be given a task of investigating a bug reported by the community for us to assess your performance. In such a case, you will receive more instructions in your application thread. Good luck!

2023-12-05, 21:26	#1
[R-DEV]Suchar PR:BF2 QA Lead Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 2,149 Poland Blog Entries: 2	Tester Application Information and Template What does a tester do? Testers are responsible for finding and reporting bugs, testing fixes, new features, and changes to old systems. Your imagination is the only limitation to discovering how features and systems can be broken, abused, or exploited. Additionally, testers may provide feedback on gameplay, map balance, and any areas they believe need attention. Our testers utilize a variety of tools, including: Redmine: a web-based project management and issue tracking tool. TortoiseSVN: a software versioning and revision control system. PR Build: an internal multi-purpose tool primarily used by testers for compiling raw game files. Discord: an instant messenger for everyday game development communication. Forums: utilized for more critical discussions. We provide tutorials on these tools and ensure testers receive necessary technical support from the team, especially the Lead QA, as and when needed. What are the requirements? Upon acceptance, testers are expected to be consistently active. While providing feedback on ideas is helpful, a tester's primary task is active participation in test sessions and individual testing. Realistically, as a non-profit organization, we understand that dedicating hours daily to testing fixes may not be feasible. However, prolonged inactivity without prior notification will result in a warning and potential removal from the team. At Project Reality, we foster a culture of healthy debate. Testers are encouraged to engage in these discussions with an appropriate level of maturity. Moreover, as a potential future representative of the Project Reality Team, your conduct on forums, the official Discord, and in-game is impactful and will be considered during the application review. A deep understanding of the game is essential for bug detection. Inadequate experience within the game might lead to rejection of an application. Lastly, we require full secrecy. All testers have to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). As a tester, you see the game content long before any player has a chance to even find out about its existence and you are forbidden from talking about it with anyone outside of the Project Reality Team. Breaking the NDA results in an immediate removal from the team and a ban from all official Project Reality platforms. What are the benefits of being a tester? Most importantly, you gain access to PR development memes. Spoiler for memes: By joining the Project Reality Team, the development team behind a top-ranked mod in multiple prestigious competitions, most notably a winner of Moddb Mod Of The Year, you can gain plenty of experience which may help guide your future career. By observing what developers do, you can learn useful skills and eventually start contributing to the game development your own work, while receiving feedback from other team members, sometimes professional game developers themselves. That is a path many former testers followed, becoming Project Reality contributors and developers, eventually finding jobs in various game development studios around the world, such as Offworld Industries, a studio initially formed by a group of former Project Reality developers. Testers have an active role in decision-making within the team, with access to internal communications and direct contact with developers. This provides an opportunity to influence the game's direction and interact with individuals who have been shaping it for years. Almost all of our communication occurs in written form, we communicate verbally only during test sessions Tester application process If you want to ensure the community gets the quality assurance they deserve for the game they love, if you feel the need to give something back to Project Reality after all the time you have spent playing, if you are confident you can meet the requirements — feel free to apply. You submit an application by creating a thread in the Tester Applications sub-forum using the following template: Thread title: <Your Nick> In your post, answer the following questions: What is your in-game nick? What is your timezone? How long have you been playing Project Reality? Do you have any previous testing experience? When would you be available for testing? What is your Discord username (do not confuse with display name)? Why do you want to be a PR tester? What is the driving force behind your application? You can see an example of such a post in the spoiler below. Spoiler for example: What is your in-game nick? [R-DEV]Suchar, also known as [R-DEV]Suchar_wd or SucharMistrz How long have you been playing Project Reality? 8 years Do you have any previous testing experience? No What is your timezone? GMT+1/+2 When would you be available for testing? Most likely Saturday evenings, Monday mornings, and Thursdays (never on Friday though). What is your Discord username (do not confuse with display name)? rdev_suchar Why do you want to be a PR tester? What is the driving force behind your application? ... The thread you create will only be visible to you, Project Reality developers, contrbutors and forum moderators. As of now, the subforum is not correctly configured yet and all your new posts are required to be manually approved by a moderator before they can be viewed. Don't be surprised if you don't see your thread or posts immediately after posting. Not everyone who applies is accepted and not everyone is accepted immediately. Having a history of reported bugs and following appropriate bug reporting procedures will definitely influence your chances of being accepted. Initially, you might be given a task of investigating a bug reported by the community for us to assess your performance. In such a case, you will receive more instructions in your application thread. Good luck!

	Last edited by Suchar; 2024-03-26 at 01:20.. Reason: Updated development memes (that's the most important part)