This is not an official guideline to making ministry tickets.
If you feel that anything here doesn't reflect what should or shouldn't be on Ministry, please say so so that these guidelines can be a good reference in the future.
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Currently, there's no guidelines for creating tickets on Ministry, but it could use some streamlining - Especially since there's several developers on Ministry now. This post is intended to be a reference to look to before making a ministry ticket - since developers often read every ticket on their part of Ministry, I believe it to be a good idea to keep the tickets concise.
When creating a ticket, be as concise as possible. Include all relevant details, including how you came across the bug and if you're capable of reproducing it. It's also helpful to list what extensions you have enabled. Outline, in particular, how what you're ticketing is demonstratably broken - if you can't do this, there's a good chance its working as intended.
Before you make a ticket:
Check to make sure it's not a known issue. Ministry currently lacks a search function, so this is very forgivable.
To search Ministry, click on the "All" tag on the right side of the page, and then "Load More Records" button on the bottom of the page until all records are shown and use your browser's find function (ctrl+f) to search for relevant terms.
If possible, drop in to the forums or IRC and ask if this is a known issue - more often than not the community can direct you to the right place.
You should not make tickets about bugs you did not find yourself without crediting who discovered it. If you discovered it independently then it's fine.
Is it a bug?
If something isn't functioning like its supposed to, like a mission is broken or you're seeing error messages, then you're clear to go ahead and ticket it. Again, remember to include all relevant details.
Is it unbalanced?
Balancing is a tricky subject. Now that damage per second (DPS) has been somewhat standardized, you should be running into balance issues less frequently after 1.7. However, playtesting is still the best way to balance weapons, and if you see that something is under/over powered, then it warrants a ticket.
To determine if something is unbalanced:
- -Look at its DPS. If it outperforms other weapons of the same level, that's a good starting point.
-Look at its damage type. Damage type is automatically adjusted for damage along with level - that's why the Penitent Cannon appears underpowered and the Ballista appears overpowered. Lower tier damage types can have higher DPS than higher tier damage types without being unbalanced.
-Look at power use. Power use increases with tech level, and weapons that use ammunition use about 1/10th of the average. Sometimes a trend isn't followed for whatever reason, sometimes due to absent-minded copy & pasting, or just regular absent-mindedness. This warrants a ticket.
-Look at other factors. EMP cannons don't damage armour, but disable a ship for a period of time - because of this, it's a fair trade to have no damage to armour. Weapons with special effects can suffer a hit to DPS while still being balanced.
-Consider other playstyles. While some may dogfight with howitzers, others may prefer fighting over very long ranges. There's also huge variances in playerships as well - what seems unbalanced on a freighter may actually be a tradeoff for not choosing a gunship.
Balance can also apply to enemy factions and other stuff in the game. This pops up a bit less frequently, but should only be changed if the ships are demonstrably overpowered for their level (ie. If you absolutely cannot beat them using appropriately leveled equipment, they're unbalanced). Its easier to identify overpowered enemies than underpowered enemies, but underpowered enemies aren't as much of an issue.
Is it a feature request?
Feature requests are requests, by modders and players, for changes to the game that aren't bugs or balance issues. The most commonly implemented of these are those requested by modders, for Tlisp functions or other engine capabilities. When making a feature request, please keep in mind the amount of work you're asking the developer to do. Even simple things can take days of work - Feature requests that require big overhauls of current systems should be discussed here on the forums before a ticket is made. Generally, I don't think you should be making feature requests unless you intend to make extensive use of them.
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