While perusing the list of available shards, you may come across one called "Test Center." The name will usually be followed by a number, such as: "Test Center 2." The Test Center shards are just that -- test shards. This is where we do a lot of our public testing. It’s ‘public’ in that players are able to connect to the test shard and try out whatever new material or code we’ve published to that shard. This new code, which can include bug-fixes, items for the next publish, and/or various other new features will usually be activated on a Test Center shard before being published to a normal shard. This allows us to determine and address in-game issues and bugs before the new system or items are released to the other shards.
Starting Items
When you connect to a test shard, you’ll get a message about items that have been placed in your bank box. These items are provided to assist you in your testing endeavors. Among these items, you’ll find a check for 1 million gold, silver, various piles of resources (hides, ore, cloth, wood, etc.), reagents, a full spell book, runes, and miscellaneous tools.
Stats & Skills
You can also set your own stats and skills on test shards. So if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to play a specific type of character, a test shard is the perfect place to experiment with different skill and stat combinations.
To set a stat, type: set Str/Int/Dex ### (the ### must be a number between 0 - 100)
Ex: set str 100
To set a skill, type: set
Ex: set taming 1000
You can find help on the skill keywords by typing ‘help’ on the test shard.
Mirrored Production Shards
Occasionally, a test shard will mirror a production shard. This gives us the opportunity to test things in an environment that is already established with players, houses, and items without endangering the actual accounts and items associated with the real shard. For example, let’s say the Atlantic shard is mirrored on Test Center 2. If you have a character on the Atlantic shard, that character will also be available on Test Center 2 with the same skills, stats, and items; however, anything you do on the test shard will not affect your character on the real shard. They are two separate entities.
Test Shards are Not Permanent
It’s important to understand that test shards are not permanent shards. In order for us to properly test things, the shard must be wiped from time to time. This means that all players, houses, and created items will be deleted from the shard. There is also no guarantee that a test shard will be available everyday. Sometimes, in fact, there may not be one available for several days. So if you’re looking for a long-term playing environment, then you want to pick an actual production shard to play on.
Testing
Whenever a test shard is available, players are more than welcome to log in and test any new features, or to just play around. Any bugs that you may discover on a test shard should be reported to our Quality Assurance team by emailing tcbugs@uo.com. When submitting a bug, please remember to include the following information:
- Your UO account name (do not include your password)
- The time, date, shard, and facet of the occurrence
- What steps you took that led up to the bug
- Whether or not you tried to repeat the bug, and if you succeeded
