[FEEDBACK] [SUGGESTION] Dear Ubisoft, here's some advice about QA. | Forums

[Ghost-Ami]

I am by no means a master game developer. The majority of my experience working on games comes from modding Fallout 4.

Most of this experience with FO4 revolves around designing clothing items. I'm not a great artist, and most of what I've done is borrowed and manipulated textures and mashups of existing apparel meshes to make new outfits.

But what I can do and what anyone can do regardless of their personal artistic talents with mesh and texture design...is basic QA.

When I design a piece of apparel for FO4 I meticulously check each component at every step of the process using a variety of tools and the game itself.

I make sure the textures look great in GIMP.

I make sure the meshes look perfect in 3DS Max.

I make sure the item is scaled, placed, and weightpainted properly on a character's body in Outfit Studio.

I make sure the textures are correctly aligned across every vertex in NifSkope.

I make sure the modded item's entries in its esp file are correct in FOEdit.

And finally, most important of all, I load up the modded item in the game itself and equip it. I look at it from every angle. I move the character around to make sure that it's definitely weightpainted right and that nothing clips. I look at every pixel of the texture to make sure nothing bleeds into the wrong faces of the mesh. I look at the scaling. I make sure the specular map isn't too shiny. I check every alternate version of the apparel to make sure the materials change correctly if you switch camo or paintjob. I make sure any attachment meshes are in the right place and not floating or clipped.

In summary I actually take a few moments to look at the item in the game and make sure it's perfect, and if it's not I exit the game, use the appropriate tool to fix what's wrong, boot up the game, and check it again.

I do this until it's right. Sometimes that takes a little time. But a job worth doing is worth doing well.

And I don't even make any money for any of it. I mod FO4 for the sake of creating something that I and others will enjoy. And I make sure it's right. When you're a large developer that pays people to create content and get it right shouldn't that be even further incentive? Isn't that...like...someone's literal job?

You may use different tools, and your games may work differently from Bethesda's, but the spirit of the techniques I've described above can easily be applied to however you do what you do.

TLDR: Whenever you create content scrutinise it with your tools and then take a few moments to actually look at it in the game. Is that really so hard?

Ami

[evan5338]

Doesn't seem that hard to just load up a game and take a look at it.

[Klaymond]

Bind blowing new concepts, huh? Ashamed they have a learning deficiency.

[KingSpawn1979]

TE is absolutely right. And it's a Shame it has to be brought up here.

[SmoovejAGs]

I specifically held off buying the “relentless fighter pack” even when Ami mentioned in another thread that it was discounted last week.
I thought it was a bad move on Ubisoft’s part to have it discounted knowing it has cosmetic issues & that the discount was a limited offer & would not be fixed prior to the discount expiring.
I presumed that the offer would come around again at some stage after the hotfix to fix the issues with the “relentless fighter pack”.

Since the hotfix hasn’t fixed the issues I must admit. I’d be pretty annoyed as a paying customer to have brought your product to find it’s still faulty & that’s not even starting on what other issues this game has.
Glad I held off buying the pack & for a hotfix, that file size size was like a season update size, seriously WTF?
Very disappointing Ubisoft.

jAG

[KunninPlanz]

It's not just the RF pack though, Ubi's Ultimax 100 Mk. 5 model has two front sights. At this stage I'm not sure what's funnier, the LVOA-S bullpup wannabe (previously) with magazine seated in the stock, or the Ultimax 100 Mk. 5 with two front sights.

[GiveMeTactical]

Your mistake is believing that UBI really cares about the consumer or some old school Quality Control... that Old School satellite is resting at the bottom of the pacific ocean and they are banking their ways on the fact that people think is ok because other companies do the same.

[Ghost-Ami]

I'm quite lucky in that I've not experienced any issues with the alternate Crye combat shirt. Not sure what exact combination of camos/vests/patches/whatever cause that, but none of what I wear does.

And I don't really mind that the Ultimax 100 is set up with full rail iron sights that ignore the front sight built into the barrel.

And I'm even not that upset that my LVOA's mag still doesn't quite fit correctly in the magwell.

In isolation any of these mistakes would be understandable and forgivable.

But it's happening all the time and demonstrates a consistent lack of commitment to the work. Jaded as I am and willing to accept Ubi's imperfectness as I've become it's like a whole 'nother level of "not even trying" when we need a hotfix for a hotfix for an update designed to fix longstanding issues and they just keep breaking more things and not even bothering to check their work. ((((

[V4MPiR1]

I've already mentioned it before. It's evident that they've eliminated employed and/or contracted QA/QC. The consumer has obliviously become QA/QC. Firstly, the consumer doesn't have to be paid for labor. Secondly, consumers vastly outnumber employees and/or contractors and are therefore respectively more productive. Thirdly, unless consumers collectively express significant adverse effects, governing bodies have no basis for imposing regulations. Fourthly, those expressions (ie. in taxes) must outweigh any kickbacks the governing bodies receive from the offending party.

It certainly would be a different world if consumers allowed themselves to take the place of cadaveric research in the automotive industry.

Why do you think you're always asked for screenshots/videos? It directs and thereby minimizes their remediation expenses. "Proof" is a guise, incidental at best.

But keep preordering or otherwise purchasing products untested personally or through an entrusted body... I'm sure it won't enable the situation in the absence of regulations.

[Ghost-Ami]

I've already mentioned it before. It's evident that they've eliminated employed and/or contracted QA/QC. The consumer has obliviously become QA/QC. Firstly, the consumer doesn't have to be paid for labor. Secondly, consumers vastly outnumber employees and/or contractors and are therefore respectively more productive. Thirdly, unless consumers collectively express significant adverse effects, governing bodies have no basis for imposing regulations. Fourthly, those expressions (ie. in taxes) must outweigh any kickbacks the governing bodies receive from the offending party.

It certainly would be a different world if consumers allowed themselves to take the place of cadaveric research in the automotive industry.

Why do you think you're always asked for screenshots/videos? It directs and thereby minimizes their remediation expenses. "Proof" is a guise, incidental at best.

But keep preordering or otherwise purchasing products untested personally or through an entrusted body... I'm sure it won't enable the situation in the absence of regulations.

To be fair it's capitalism that is to be blamed for these sorts of business practices, not Ubisoft in particular. They're just conforming to the shape of their container as any unregulated or poorly regulated company will do. You get away with what you can and hope you make enough money before you get caught and shut down. It's a shame, but it's reality in a world where the Invisible Hand of the liberal free market has replaced the old gods.

Even I forget the world is like this sometimes. When I got an offer to sign up for the Division 2 beta I was like, "Ooh, cool, I hope I win!" and then I realised, "Oh, wait, they want me to pay for the privilege of playtesting their game for them."

I'm not asking to be paid to beta test content for a developer, but I'm not keen to pay someone to work for them either. I love Wildlands, and I love a lot of this new content, but the consistent pattern of sloppy work is really starting to bother even the most realistic, mature, patient members of this community.