Streamlining Bug Reporting: An In-Game Solution

Age of Empires II: DE II - Discussion
1

Hello,

Drawing from my experience with a game that successfully implemented an in-game bug reporting feature, I’d like to propose a similar solution for Age of Empires II (AoE2). This feature significantly improved our bug reproduction rate and made the reporting process incredibly user-friendly.

Here’s how it worked:

  • A “Report Bug” button was always visible on the screen, making it just a click away.
  • Upon clicking, a menu appeared where you could:
    • Categorize the bug
    • Provide a brief description (limited to 500 characters)
    • List steps to reproduce the issue, if applicable
  • The backend then collected all necessary in-game data.

I believe AoE2 could benefit from a similar feature. Here’s how it could work:

  • When you pause the game, a button appears in the menu to report a bug.
  • Clicking this sends an automatic message to your opponent, indicating that you’re momentarily occupied with reporting a bug.
  • You then:
    • Select a category for your bug (e.g., Pathing, Units, Unit Creation, Buildings, Upgrades, Projectiles, etc.)
    • Write a brief summary
    • List any steps to reproduce the bug, if applicable
  • On the backend, the bug report is sent along with useful information and a timestamp. Developers can then refer to this timestamp in your game to witness the bug firsthand, provided the games are recorded.
5 Likes
2

If there are concerns about the volume of bug reports that might get sent due to a feature like this, there are very decent “AI” tools that can sort out the information that’s not a bug report. Such as claims that a player is cheating, or that someone got wrongfully banned.

I really believe in this method as I’ve seen how well it works - and how easy it is to use for end users.

3

What you are suggesting is a test environment feature.I dont think a production environment should have something like send bug report.ideally a finished product should not have any bugs at all.

4

It is a production environment feature. All software has bugs.

5

Yes all softwares has bugs but is it the paying customers job to report each and every bug?

6

I am not sure that’s the point I am making. The suggestion I’m making gives the customer a better opportunity in my opinion to report frustrating and unintended bugs. Which makes the developers more efficient when fixing bugs, and in turn we get a better game.