STEP:Guide-Community Mod Testing

Step Guide-Community Mod Testing

A high-level overview of community-driven guide development

by: Step Modifications  | Forum Topic

WIP

This guide is still under development and awaiting updates.

The Step Workflow is the process used for all of our Game Guide development cycles. Though certain parts of the current workflow are restricted to staff and guide Curators; the Mod Testing potion of the workflow is exposed to all community members and is how the community can be involved with Game Guide development. It's important that the community help drive this process, because it takes a lot of time to maintain the entirety of our workflow and all of the quality assurance that goes along with it. As such, the process is presented below as instructions for how to get involved.

Please see our Member Groups as a reference for the member roles mentioned in this article.

NOTE

Notice to Staff
In order for Game Guides to remain relevant, it is imperative that this generalized workflow be maintained by staff, Curators, and community contributors.

This workflow assumes the corresponding Development Guide and Mod List have already been propagated, which are covered in Step 4 and Step 5 of the Mod-Build Guide Framework article.

Mod Testing Overview

The Step forums play a vital role in the development of our Game Modding Guides as one part of the release process. Any member who has registered can create a new topic in one of the <GameName> Mods forums within our supported game forums. These topics act as a central hub for sharing information and receiving feedback about a particular mod, benefiting both the staff and guide curators. There are specific prefixes available in these forums reserved for official Step usage.

Based on suggestions from members and recommendations from staff, any topic can be marked for potential inclusion in an official Game Modding Guide. Mods that are actively being considered will have a TESTING prefix and will be tagged with the appropriate 'ModGroup' tag. These mod topics can be filtered by clicking on the associated tag. All feedback and testing related to a specific mod are conducted within the corresponding topic dedicated to that mod. If a particular mod successfully passes testing criteria, its prefix will be changed to ACCEPTED.

The information from the corresponding wiki mod pages is integrated into the ModGroup tables within the a Modding Guide using a custom framework.

Mod Testing Workflow

Mod Topics (any member)

• If the mod topic doesn't exist, create a new one on the {GameName} Mods forum using the Mod Topic editor tool.
  
• Any member can suggest mods for inclusion into a guide by creating the topic or posting on on an existing topic.
• Suggesting a mod for inclusion into an official guide should be accompanied with a review and a rationale for the suggestion.

Tag Mod for Testing (staff)

Staff determine whether or not suggested mods are candidates for official testing if they meet the Mandate requirements.

1. Edit the mod topic, and add the following tags:
   1. Add the TESTING prefix.
   2. Add the ModGroup tag.
   3. Add the guide version tag (format as #.#.#). This creates the version-testing context for posterity. E.g., If we don't accept the mod and later consider it, we are reminded that it was under testing for this guide version.
2. Add minimum criteria and instructions for testing to opening post BELOW the horizontal line.
3. Create the mod page - Copy the topic name (excluding authors) to create the mod page on the wiki (see creating/updating mod pages).

Mod Testing (any member)

In order to test a mod for Step, any member may contribute evidence.

NOTE

Anyone testing a mod for a new Step guide MUST have a complete and current Step install, including the mod being tested as well as any other mods in testing that could impact the testing mod. In other words, testers must have installed the Step guide in full and including all relevant mods in testing (and any mods tagged as DROPPED in the dev iteration should be disabled).

• Review the OP of any mod topic having the 'testing' prefix.
• If the mod makes visible changes to content, provide screenshot compares using the following standard series in a reply to the topic.
  1. Vanilla reference (first) screenshot: Step dev guide excluding any mods making changes to the content affected by the mod being tested. If no mods make such changes, then state as much in the post and skip this screenshot.
  2. Step reference (second) screenshot: Step dev guide including all mods plus any ACCEPTED mods for the current development version.
  3. Step With Test Mod (third) screenshot: Step dev guide including all mods with the 'testing' mod content overriding.
• If the mod doesn't make visible changes or said changes are not practical to compare via screenshots, then provide alternative context and assessment.
• If the mod receives a positive review and is advocated by at least two staff, it should be tagged ACCEPTED using the "Saved Action" tool after selecting a topic (or from inside the topic using the "Moderator Actions" button).
• If the mod does not receive a positive review and is not advocated by at least two staff ...
  • NEVER tag these as DROPPED, which is ONLY used after a mod has been accepted in a previous guide version.
  • Remove the TESTING prefix using the "Saved Action" tool after selecting a topic (or from inside the topic using the "Moderator Actions" button).

Mod Incorporation / Removal

Once the mod testing phase is complete, the workflow moves entirely to the wiki. Staff and Curators will add or remove mods from the guides by editing the corresponding guide's Mod List.

Workflow-related activities combined with site & workflow maintenance, Guide upkeep, and Nexus upkeep require almost all of the senior staff's time, therefore, we ask that the community help out by supplying the needed information and contributing to site maintenance wherever possible.

Thanks!