OverloadUT/Release Checklist

This page is a list of things to test in your mod before releasing. After releasing CTF4, I received many bug reports caused by things I didn't think to check. I figured making a list of things that people would commonly forget to test would be helpful.

I'm not sure if a page like this exists on the wiki already. I searched around and couldn't find anything, so I figured I would start one. Right now it's just a subpage of my personal page, but once I get it complete, It should be moved to the main Wiki, or maybe to a subpage of Making Mods.

Release Checklist

General

Fresh Install

Install your mod on a fresh copy of the game you are developing for. Make sure your mod doesn't accidentially rely on some custom content you had installed.

Test 3rd Party Content

Similarly, DO install some custom content like custom player models, 3rd party maps, and even custom announcers. Make sure your mod handles this custom content correctly. You may want to test how compatable your mod is with some of the popular mutators out there.

Test Multiplayer

Make sure you test your mod in multiplayer! This does not mean go to "Host Game" and see if it works. You need to set up a dedicated server (you don't need a seperate machine for this, you can run a dedicated server on the same machine you join from) and make sure everything works as a client.

Lower your video settings

Go to settings and turn down ALL of your graphic details to the minimum. Now try playing your mod. This is a good way to make sure that the textures that should have LOD_Interface have it set correctly. Make sure all interface objects appear sharp, like the gametype preview, map previews, loading screens (if applicable,) etc. It would also be a good idea to then set one setting at a time to the maximum detail. Make sure any textures that should be in that category now appear detailed.

Check all your fallback texturtes!

Unfortunately, this one is difficult to test alone. The fallback textures are used when your video card is not powerful enough to handle certain shaders (at least, that's how I understand it,) so you might need to have a friend with a worse video card test it for you.

Test all the retail mutators

You should make sure that your mod is compatible with all the mutators that came with the base game. If your mod is not compatible with one or more of them, make sure you say so in the readme. Instagib is especially important, as a lot of people use it. This is also a good way to find out if your mod plays nice with other mutators. Maybe you forgot to pass a function to NextMutator?

HUD

Test your HUD with a lower HUD scale

There is an option in the settings that allows you to lower the scale of the HUD. Be sure to test your HUD with a few different HUD scales to make sure everything stays in place.

Test your HUD on many resolutions

Try out your HUD on many different resolutions - especially 1600x1200 and 640x480. Also try running the mod in a window and manually resize the window to a non-standard resolution.

Discussion

OverloadUT: Feel free to add to this list, or post your comments below.