New! Changes to CTG - Rules and Guidelines

Keen Software House Closed Testing Group (CTG)​

Becoming a CTG Member

CTG members are pillars of the Keen Software House gaming community. They are members of our community that have proven themselves to be both avid fans and valuable contributors! We evaluate members of the Keen Software House gaming community based on some of the following criteria:
- At least 400+ hours of game time.
- Experience with modding, server hosting, community hosting, or content creation related to these titles.
- Experience with game testing, quality assurance, programming, development.
- And of course the most important qualification, a love for “Space Engineers” and/or “Medieval Engineers”, and the desire to help shape these into the best games possible.
- A desire to be an active member of the CTG, as members who are inactive for three months will be removed from the CTG, unless they provide a valid excuse in advance for their inactivity.

Anyone who wants to join the CTG must send an email to info@keenswh.com and this message must include:
- A short description of themselves.
- Why they believe they’re a suitable candidate for CTG membership.
- List the number of hours played in “Space Engineers” or “Medieval Engineers”.
- Provide a link to their “Space Engineers” or “Medieval Engineers” account. For example, a Steam ID.

Keen Software House will review all applications to the CTG and contact suitable candidates at its discretion.
If a candidate is offered a membership to the CTG, they must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (“NDA”) with Keen Software House.


What’s to be Expected?

The CTG is a productive workspace where testing can take place, bug feedback can be generated, and members can speak with not just each other, but members of the development team that may need your help getting items within the game addressed.

The three core items that CTG membership contributes (in its capacity as testers) to the development of “Space Engineers” or ”Medieval Engineers” are:

1) Bug reports: This includes crash logs and STR or “Steps To Reproduce”. If a bug report outlines an issue within the game, a good STR is the answer to that problem. If you are passionate about solving issues you see within a given title (“Space Engineers” or “Medieval Engineers”), then figuring out how to reproduce bugs will allow you to contribute heavily to development of Keen Software House titles. The best thing you can do to help accelerate the resolution of bugs is supply a reproducible test case (Repro Case), if you can. Typically this will include the world in the smallest form to reproduce the issue. If there is a mod issue, including the smallest part of the mod required. Having a world ready to go makes it easier for Keen Software House to see the issue, and the easier it is for Keen Software House, the more likely they are to look into the issue quickly.

2) Observations: Some items may not qualify as a bug, but simply as an observation. Other, less obvious items would include model “clipping”, strange or “glitchy” behavior of game elements, or even misspellings and localization errors.

3) Suggestions: Everyone has a wishlist for “Space Engineers” or “Medieval Engineers” features! That's what makes titles like this so special and so popular. When offering suggestions, please keep a focus on CURRENT game features or elements and how they could be improved. Items suggested by the community have often made it into the game, including PLANETS!

CTG members have been invited as participants in testing and contributing to the future of Keen Software House gaming products. As such, you will have special insights into the current state of development, and what the future of development may look like! CTG members are encouraged to make extensive use of both the CTG Discord chat, ctg.keenswh.com (for “Space Engineers") and https://forums.keenswh.com (for “Medieval Engineers”).


Communication with Developers

Developers are first, and most importantly, at work. This should be kept in mind at all times when speaking to any member of the Keen Software House team or using these resources (Discord chat and messages via ctg.keenswh.com and https://forums.keenswh.com). Members of the Keen Software House team may, or may not, have time budgeted to answer your questions or discuss a topic at length. Using the proper channels (CTG Moderator), rather than expecting an immediate answer, is a much better way to communicate with the team in general. Again using ctg.keenswh.com (for “Space Engineers”), https://forums.keenswh.com (for “Medieval Engineers”) and Discord are the most effective way of interacting with developers, as they are constantly monitoring these channels of communication.

Don't expect an answer, or, the answer you want. While a huge part of the development process is open to CTG members there is still a great deal more that CTG members simply won’t have access to. The development team chooses what information, builds and features they would like the CTG to work with.

Some items the CTG may test could be retired from the game’s current build before ever being revealed to the public, immediately after testing starts, or even after a public release; this is perfectly normal. “Space Engineers” and “Medieval Engineers” use a public development cycle, and we are all still learning about how this plays out. Most games go through hundreds of iterations with countless implementations of often “retired” features before ever releasing to the public. As a CTG member, you'll have the privilege of seeing this process play out firsthand.


Code of Conduct

Violation of this Code of Conduct is grounds for dismissal from the CTG, or/in addition, to being banned from the Keen Software House Discord server. As a CTG member you are held to a high standard. As an experienced member of the “Space Engineers” or “Medieval Engineers” community, your contributions are seen as a “cut above the rest” (that's why you're here!) and you will be expected to conduct yourself as such. The spaces set aside for CTG membership are not just chat rooms. These areas should be considered a working environment. All CTG members will he held accountable for their words and actions, without exception.

1) All CTG members acknowledge the official Moderator of the CTG and that they have been appointed to this role by Keen Software House. If a member has any concerns, issues, or questions, they should contact him via the Keen Software House Discord channel, ctg.keenswh.com (for “Space Engineers”) and https://forums.keenswh.com (for “Medieval Engineers”). The CTG Moderator will communicate CTG members’ concerns, issues or questions to Keen Software House; this includes possible dismissal from the CTG of members who do not adhere to the Code of Conduct.

2) Do not use, post, distribute or link to obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit, graphically or gratuitously violent, derogatory, demeaning, malicious, defamatory, abusive, offensive, hateful or discriminatory language or content. This includes “masking” language by using alternative characters/spelling /spacing to get around profanity filters or claims of profanity filter “testing”.

3) Do not harass, bully, threaten, or cause harm to other persons, including any other members of either the CTG or Keen Software House Staff. For example:
-Use of hate speech or racial, ethnic, sexist, homophobic or religious slurs.
-Harassment of a specific person (repeated flaming, personal attacks or posting their private information).
-Trolling or baiting the community in general with inflammatory statements, such as ones designed to elicit a negative response from the community. Please note: Keen Software House appreciates criticism, but it must be constructive and presented in a professional manner.
-Posting or otherwise disclosing any personal or private information of another person, or any confidential information pertaining to a business, without consent.

4) Do not disrupt communication channels. For example:
-Spamming through repeated posts, or intentional off-topic content (use the proper channels).

5) All CTG members acknowledge that Keen Software House has the right to change these rules at any time. Keen Software House will notify the CTG of any changes to the rules outlined in this document.

 

Hi Everyone.

The recent changes to the CTG are designed to make it a more productive and safe work environment for existing, as well as new members to the group.

Keen Software House is working closely with our official moderator and members of the CTG to not only gather as much information regarding Space Engineers and Medieval Engineers features, testing, etc., but also feedback on the new guidelines for the CTG.

Please also feel free to email info@keenswh.com if you have any questions, concerns or feedback for us.

Cheers! : )