Bug Problems

Grrr, there was a bug in my game that ruined everything!

There is an entire section in the FUMBBL rules devoted to explaining the procedures for handling bugs in the client. In short, if the game is able to be finished, it must be finished, and you just have to suffer the effects of the bug, no matter what the cause.

If the game is completely unplayable...

... then you have to abandon the game. This usually only happens when you have had a lot of disconnections and reloads, and the ball has disappeared completely, is in a wacky place or you run right through players or crazy stuff like that.

If you just upgraded the JavaBB client and there's a bug...

... then it's probably because the new version has a bug that didn't exist in previous versions. You can check which version is current by looking at the topic in the #fumbbl channel on irc.fumbbl.org - sometimes new releases have bugs which mean that the official FUMBBL version is not the latest one. Check news posts for this as well. If you have started a game with a version of the client which you shouldn't have, you will have to abandon the game. Make sure that you report these types of bugs on the IRC chat and/or on the bugzilla system (more on bugzilla later).

If the game finished early, like at half-time...

... then the result stands. It sometimes happens with reloaded games which get out-of-sync, but there's nothing we can do. Sorry, that's the site policy.

If the final result file looks different to what happened in the match...

... then it is considered as an interpretation of the rules and the match must be reported as-is. Sometimes you will get a message saying that your result files do not match, which means that one of the clients recorded an event that the other did not, like an extra casualty or TD. Go to #fumbbladmin on irc.fumbbl.org and ask the admins to push through the right result - tell them what the score was and how many casualties each team made.

If my opponent looks like he is exploiting a bug for his own benefit...

... then he is breaking the rules. This does not cover rule interpretation issues which are listed in the appropriate text file in the JavaBBowl distribution - at the moment it is called DifferencesFromBoardGame.txt and it can be found in the same folder as your bbowl.jar file, so check that before you go accusing anyone. If he is using the bug to gain an advantage, and he doesn't respond to being asked nicely not to do it, then you should report him by submitting a support ticket and filling out the form.

If I want to report the bug...

... then you have to use the Bugzilla system. First you should check that DifferencesFromBoardGame.txt file to see if it is a bug or merely a feature that is known to be missing from the client. If it is a bug, you should click on the Known bugs link and look down the list of bugs to see if the bug you experienced has already been reported. If it hasn't, then register with the site (it's just like registering with FUMBBL) and then click on the New link to create a bug report. If the game in which you experienced the bug was completed, it is very important that you include the URL for the match report.