It would be so nice if we had another server to test any new projects. But it's extra cost ($$), so we won't have it.
We will be forced to test new content on the public, production server. At least to some extent.
I propose the following schedule:
We review and approve projects anytime during the week without disrupting the server, then we merge them all at once during the weekend.
I can do a basic smoke test on Friday evenings (central EU time) on my local machine. If server works for me - that is, it doesn't crash on startup, lets me log in, the new NPC/monsters are visible, etc - then I can stop the public server, pull the new changes there, and start it in maintenance mode where only maintainers can log in. We test it for about an hour, maybe fix minor glitches (like floating NPCs) (or maybe we decide to drop some projects if they're too broken), and then restart the server in a normal mode where everyone can log in. Then we can do additional testing during the weekend as a part of normal gameplay.
If my local smoke test reveals some critical issues e.g. in the patcher code, we could move the public tests to Saturday or Sunday so that I have time to debug and prepare fixes. Either case, public downtime should be minimal.
Any comments are appreciated. Exact hours are still to be set, although I don't expect to be 100% punctual. Delays happen.
