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[Suggestion] Bug Fixers Staff Group

Hello everyone,

Something that is making me reluctant to rejoin the community and submit more custom graphics after my recent lack of activity is the lack of bugfixes for custom sprites, blocks, patches, etc. even if one reports them.

Something that a centralized database should ensure is that everything on it is free of bugs and is good to use.

For example, the "Giant Masked Koopa" boss has a weird hitbox (its standing state and shell state have the same hitbox, despite the former being twice the visual height of the latter) and hangs the game for a bit after it dies (though this may be a patch-related issue that can't be fixed by the database, sorry if it is), but a hack released recently uses it. It feels like there's no one to report these bugs to so that the bugs can get fixed and not "infect" hacks with them.

Also, speaking as a graphics-artist, it feels wrong to make custom graphics for a sprite with glitchy graphics, such as the Buzzy Beetle Boss's shell. I'd really like my graphics to look the best that they can in people's hacks without these glitches messing them up.

I'd really like a centralized "Bug Fixers" group where one can send in a bug report of a custom block, sprite, or patch that is on the site so that future hacks can incorporate the bugfixes and be the best gameplay and visual quality that they can be.

I have reported many bugs to the Zelda Classic developers on their Discord server and gotten them fixed, and they really appreciate my attention to detail. I wish that there would be a group of bug reporters here that I could do the same for. It really makes me feel appreciated that there's a group of people thanking me for taking the time to find and report bugs, and I hope that the same concept will transfer to SMWCentral in the near future.

Sincerely,
P-Tux7
there isn't much realistic possibility of actually having what you're suggesting.

there is no difference between whether or not we have an official bugtesters group, because anyone as-is can fix any bugs of any resource in the section - you just gotta fix it, resubmit, add a note. we already have systems where just by commenting on resources gives notifications to the authors. and, at the end of the day, the onus of bug fixing is more-so on the authors and other people who wanna help out in the community. our resource mods arent responsible for going back and fixing old bugs in resources, but rather to moderate them as they were submitted and accept / reject based off that.

taking a look at zelda classic (of which im unfamiliar with), but i'm already seeing it's a much, much smaller site in terms of the sheer amount of resources they have. i can understand why they might have an easier time addressing bugs on a per-bug basis. you can see by the waiting sections in our resource sections that moderation is already a beefy enough job alone - so in cases where bugs slip through the cracks, just comment on what the bug is so its attached to the resource and it can be fixed.

there will always be bugs somewhere - if resources potentially having bugs stops you from rejoining, i'm not sure what to say. you can fix some maybe
No, I meant that the group would be of bug-FIXERS - ASM people who fix the bugs. I know some people like Dahnamics have retired, so we need modern-day users who will fix the bugs in old submissions. I know the resource mods aren't responsible for going back and fixing old bugs - that's what this new group is specifically meant for.

Also, it's not resources CURRENTLY having bugs stopping me from rejoining - the question about me rejoining is if my feedback about bugs will lead to them getting fixed, and the answer to that being yes or no is the same answer as to whether I want to return. I'd feel unappreciated and useless if my bug reports didn't lead to anything.
This is a community driven website, and everyone is volunteering their time when making anything submitted to this site all for free. Since you see an issue with the current system why don't you volunteer your time to fix this said issue?
Originally posted by MassPunishment
This is a community driven website, and everyone is volunteering their time when making anything submitted to this site all for free. Since you see an issue with the current system why don't you volunteer your time to fix this said issue?

I said I'm a graphics guy. We are all endowed with different interests and proficiencies. Someone else could do them quicker and better. That's why I suggested a group of staff comprised of people who have both the passion and skill for ASM.
So I work in software, and I know there's a ton of issues with trying to implement this. Any developer can tell you that when they have to fix code that wasn't written by them it can be a mess to parse through, b/c every developer has different ways they structure code, commenting conventions, and just the logic of how certain code gets made. I've met tons of people that think fixing software is easy, or even creating it can be done in a second. This is why every resource on this site is a use at your own risk when putting it into your rom. It's easy to theory craft solutions without knowing how much work would be involved in pulling it off.
we already have a limited amount of people on this site who do asm, let alone those who are willing to moderate and fix other peoples asm. i get in an ideal world having a group of ppl devoted to fixing bugs would be great, but it's also not realistic. people can't be summoned out of thin air to solve problems, they have to be there in the first place.

i still don't see the need for it being a group - as i said prior, anyone can submit bugfixes. the only possible incentive that the staff could really give to inspire to do bugfixes would be a trophy akin to fixme hacks, i guess, but beyond that i'm not sure.

obviously this is something that we've thought about before. it's not realistic to assume we could have a self-motivated group to fix bugs around the site for no reward, and we can't really offer a reward.