Best Practices for testing

[sirjohnhawkwood]

Hi All,

 

What does everyone use for testing? Older playthroughs with quests at certain states? Or fresh games, possibly with the player console leveled appropriately and prerequisite quests manually triggered? I'm beginning to think that "test harness saves" should be fresh and with no other mods installed.

 

Is there a consensus on best practices?

 

Thanks,

[SKKmods]

Depends if your mod is aware of/interacts with other quest states. I had to create a clean no mods survival run of the main quest from v111 to the post bunker hill rooftop choices with a console save at each stage.

 

Tried to speed up with SetStages, CompleteAllObjectives etc but there are scripted triggers hiding in the script layers that can mess up other stuff if missed. Its the Nth run of long dialogue scenes that'll get to you ...

[orangedeal]

Is it not enough to use the console command "coc xxxxxx" + "player.moveto xxxxxx" from the main menu?

[MissingMeshTV]

The kind and amount of testing will really depend on the type of mod you are making. A heavily scripted quest mod will obviously need a more rigorous testing regimen than a LooksMenu preset or texture replacement, as examples. Along the lines of what SKK50 said, if your mod interacts with quests you’ll have to take a more through approach.

COCing from the main menu is good for testing during development as a way to quickly test things as your mod dev progresses, or just to have a quick look at how something looks...to make sure you have all the walls of a room properly aligned with no gaps, as an example.

I mostly do player homes. I can get away with this sort of testing because I don’t do anything with quests...beyond those that I make to do simple, functional things for the mod, such as adding the players name to a bed. Most of my in-progress testing during development is done this way. It’s a good way to easily and quickly test changes I have just made, and get a general sense of how/if things are working without worrying about if something is being affected by a game save. I have a bat file set up with some basic inventory items I can add if needed. This sort of testing may not work for a mod that is more complex quest or script wise...it really depends on the mod.

Bu you do not want to rely on the COC method as your only testing. I’ll COC into the cell(s) I make or edit during the course of development as described above. But if you are going to share your mod, you really need to do some gameplay testing.

Testing with multiple installs is always a good idea, on totally different computers with varying hardware specs if possible. I test on a low end potato laptop, a mid-range tower and my high end “main” machine. You get a much better idea of how the mod will perform with different hardware configs. Have at least one install and/or game profile with no mods or ENB installed to test with.

For gameplay testing, I have a character created with no mods active, only DLC active with a save file made just after leaving Vault 111. I also use with an older save of my "main" character for some initial testing, with my current mod list activated. It’s also a good idea to test the mod with a higher level character to see how your mod works adding it mid-game. Just because you clearly state a mod should be use only with a new game doesn’t mean people will actually read or heed your advice. Starting a whole new character might also be required, again, depending on the kind of mod you are working on.

I make my mods for myself first and foremost. I’ll test them as outlined above, use them with my main character(s) in a separate game install than my "dev" install for a while. When I think they solid enough to share, I’ll upload them. You will of course develop a workflow that best suits your own habits and preferences.

[Genamine]

I use COC (any location here) from the main menu

Creates a fresh save all ready for any testing you want to do

 

If Im doing anything related to papyrus, I also make sure I have REEL running

Its a lot better than having to slog through the txt log with no formatting and no real-time updates

 

Lastly, knowing all the console commands helps loads too, for that I have this handy list

[payl0ad]

When building the first scripts for PIRAD, I used *a lot* of debug messages, just to see quickly if all code paths respond. Used a mod-free savegame from the V111 exit, loading only UFO4P and a console enabler mod in addition to the ESP to test. My scripts are fairly simple though, more complex stuff might like some actual testing with Lilac.