Discussion: Testing standards & practices

[BtjCraft]

I actually think it is a BAD idea to include cheat codes with your quest, especially if it's like a finihsed product. It gives people an easy way out, rather than enjoying your quest and testing to see how it really plays. I personally take all cheat codes out of my quests as soon as I humanly can, as I have been embarassed by people finding them randomly. If they can't play it normally then they have no idea of how it plays to any type of player.

-James

I disagree that including cheats is a bad idea. You make a VERY good argument about it being an easy way out, and that's the reason that kept me form putting in cheats in my quest in the first place. But, when I was updating my quest recently I thought of my struggle against King Dodongo in Hero of Dreams. That boss made me so mad, my rage against Thunderbird can't even compare to the intense fire that burned within me when I played against it. I finally beat King Dodongo...after dying about 50 times, and after about 100 bombs. Plus, my save file got corrupted in the middle of the 6th dungeon. So, if I wanted to actually beat Hero of Dreams(which is a really good quest), I would have to do beat King Dodongo again, and he's only the 4th boss in the game!(Although, the 5th boss wasn't nearly as hard) I would hate to put anyone in my personal King Dodongo situation who doesn't want to be in it, and that is why I would enable cheats.

Besides, if someone ruins the fun of a quest by using cheats, that's his/her fault for choosing poorly.

I'm not trying to be mean about this, I'm just trying to help people understand my point of view here, which I often find to be quite difficult.

[Rohan_Garm_Gerudo_King]

I would include cheats bake my players actually have to work for the cheats. Put the chest in a secret location that tryd have to scour all over the map for, or give them special unlock conditions, or give them some kind(s) of elaborate side quest(s) or put them inspecial hidden shops that sell them for a LOT of rupees or make rupee drips scarce so they have to grind or farm like crazy to get them. I would let them have the option of cheats but if they really want the cheats, theyd have to really work for them.

[CJC]

In a regular quest it makes sense to restrict or even forbid cheats, but for the purpose of testing they will be necessary.


For a play-tester to encounter a game-breaking bug halfway through a quest, they have two options: Enable cheats to bypass the bug or wait for an update. Many of us have very restricted schedules, so if we are forced to stop playing a quest to wait for a bug fix chances are we will not start up again. Since there are so many quests to play for this contest, it is in each contestant's best interest to supply access to cheats in some form or another; be it the ability to open the quest and add cheat codes as you please or be it the inclusion of a level 4 cheat to allow players to noClip through broken segments.