Forum - DDraceNetwork

Hello community,

We've always had problems to get maps tested and released quickly, but recently it feels like the problems have increased. In the last 6 days we have released just 2 maps, but 6 maps were sent to us. I think we need more testing power to get these maps tested and released, especially since we recently lost our main tester, Lady Saavik.

If anyone wants to start out with testing, now's a good time. The testers can explain to you how it works and you can have a look at our rules and tester guide:
http://forum.ddnet.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=722
http://forum.ddnet.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=49

Any comments or suggestions on improving the state of map testing?

I don't think that every 3rd day a new map is bad?

Look, if you release tooo much, it is like this: Go on server, finish fast, switch to other map, finish, switch, finish, switch... and so on.
Sometimes you need more than one day to finish a map. Or you'r not playing every day for example.
The players will start to just rush the maps cause there are so many new maps.
They won't play it a second, third or even more times.

More testers okay - since a few (like me) aren't testing every day.
But we should not increase the number of releases a week imo ?

Anqel wrote:I don't think that every 3rd day a new map is bad?

Look, if you release tooo much, it is like this: Go on server, finish fast, switch to other map, finish, switch, finish, switch... and so on.
Sometimes you need more than one day to finish a map. Or you'r not playing every day for example.
The players will start to just rush the maps cause there are so many new maps.
They won't play it a second, third or even more times.

More testers okay - since a few (like me) aren't testing every day.
But we should not increase the number of releases a week imo ?

+ if too many maps will be released in short amount of time, there will appear different problem - for a while there will be new maps (i know this comunity is big, and there are a lot of great mappers, but someday there will be too many similiar maps and even less of them will be released)

Besides, it's better to test the map properly, without haste, and release great fully fixed map, than bugged one

I agree, it would be fine to release a map every 3 days, but the problem is people make many more maps than that. They should at least be tested, even if they're not accepted. And many think that we decline too many maps as it is.

Yes, but it's not rly our fault when a map get's declined.
I mean - I can give you 100 maps in 3 days if you want. haha
And I can promise you, 99% of them will be declined ;D (At least, i hope so. They won't be good in that short time ^^)
So it's not about us. It's about the maps. And when they are rly bad, there is no reason to release them.

I guess this network is not supposed to be in that way, that we have to accept 100% of the maps we get.
It's more like, we look if the maps make fun to play.
If yes -> release
If some parts no/annoying - mapper can change -> release
If totally shit - no release
If the mapper just say, "nope i won't fix anything". Hey, his problem then. ->No release.

It's always the decision of the mapper what he is doing with our criticism.
And tbh i didn't heard/read anything about, we decline to many maps.


So but yes, we need some more active testers. That's true ;P

Anqel ur right. Bad maps shouldn't be accepted. But its not a question of map quality. I guess deen wanted to say there are many maps to be tested but there aren't enough tester.
As far as I look in map testing, mappers have to wait a really long time sometimes.
Remember the time ddnet was founded. Many mappers moved from ddmax to ddnet for fast and good testing. At the time ddnet got some if this problems which ddmax had in map testing.
So we really need more testers. Not for releasing every map but to decrease the map testing time. I guess the are many motivated and good testers.

Yes. I said nothing against adding new testers ;P
Just said something about that "only 3 maps in 6 days".

But I guess we all agree on that point and it's done now ;P


So ladys & gentlemen, write if you wanna be a tester ^^

Yes, there are good testers out there. Manye of them are helping on testserver, yet. The main problem is that not many people have the time to test much. So if they just can play 2 hours a day they prefer finishing a map than testing one. And that's okay, i think.

About the question of releasing a map or not are two main opinions, i think.
The first one thinks that all maps, wich are playable should be released, cause they want to get more points and think it is enough if there are just a few people enjoying the map.
On the other hand DDNet has many many boring standard maps, many people are annoyed to vote 5 times on Moderate until a good map appears. They want new, creative maps.

It isn't possible to make both sides happy, cause we can't release 3 maps a day. So the question for me is:
Release every not bad map or release just really good ones?

An anwser could make testing easier and faster, cause we would need less discussions and could accept or reject some maps faster or we wont look on all details.

hi_leute_gll wrote: It isn't possible to make both sides happy, cause we can't release 3 maps a day. So the question for me is:
Release every not bad map or release just really good ones?

No just good. There is nobody who finished every map on ddnet. They should play unfinished first. With every bad map ddnet is worsening. We should have a very high standard for releasing maps.
Personally I don't care much about design. The only importance thing is if the map makes fun to play.

An anwser could make testing easier and faster, cause we would need less discussions and could accept or reject some maps faster or we wont look on all details.

Same here but now we would not only release bad maps but we would have more bugs. That causes more work for testers later.

Sure ddnet doesn't want absolute shit maps, but adding more maps doesn't hurt anyone more than adding new servers. Many people have thought ddnet has rejected map as good as or better than its current maps, and why? Testers can be overly biased about their own preferences, and overly picky. An Aoe or a Coke gets to pass his own map in one day, but you get the wrong tester and they just "don't like" your map. Maybe I don't like Aoe's or Coke's maps? Can I therefore just reject them from ddnet? Testers have to realize many players have other tastes than them, and TW is such a small community that even if just a few tees really enjoy a map, why not add it. ~ 2 cents