Improving Load‑Testing Coverage for Game Features: Process, Tips, and Best Practices

01 Load Testing Process

Every released feature has potential pressure points, but limited time and manpower make it impossible to fully stress‑test every point. This article shares ideas on how to improve load‑testing coverage within constrained schedules.

02 Determine Load Testing Requirements

For a feature ready to go live, functional QA usually evaluates whether there are pressure points (client‑side or server‑side). If pressure points exist, load testing is required. The decision relies on the QA’s sensitivity rather than reuse history or past tests.

Not all pressure points need to be listed initially; they are identified by considering implementation principles, time, and manpower. In MMO games exhaustive testing is unrealistic, but in more fixed‑module games (e.g., card games) each feature often has its own script.

03 Identify Load Testing Points

When a load‑testing request arrives (often before the feature is fully tested), reviewers first read the design document to understand the feature, or watch a gameplay demo if the feature is near launch. This helps uncover hidden pressure points that may not be obvious from the requirement sheet.

Example: a new "home" system allowed players to place components freely and purchase blueprints for one‑click decoration. The testing request described creating 1k, 5k, and 10k homes and continuously placing components to stress the server.

Testing revealed a slow memory leak in the database process caused by home‑data serialization.

During requirement analysis, list all potential pressure points without confirming their necessity; this avoids missing hidden issues.

Load‑testing points can be divided into two categories:

Requirement‑listed points : Prioritized by developers, planners, and QA.

Discovered points : Functional pressure points – may be omitted from the original request; testers should explore the feature to find them. Code‑level pressure points – testers should first understand the feature before diving into code, as code alone rarely reveals missing points.

04 Develop Load Testing Scripts

This step offers the greatest opportunity to compress time. A well‑designed script improves execution efficiency.

1. Quick‑Start Process

Maintain a standard workflow for locating feature code quickly. Load‑testing scripts typically call server‑exposed interfaces. Common ways to obtain these interfaces include:

Through client‑exposed APIs.

Via a protocol testing platform to discover RPC names and implementations.

Directly reading the source code.

Asking the developers.

2. Unified In‑Team Load‑Testing Framework

Build a framework that provides basic functions such as robot creation, friend operations, team actions, home, guild, etc. Ensure each interface is well documented and configurable. Variable values (e.g., robot level, equipment) should be extracted to configuration files so that different test scenarios only require config changes.

3. Test Case Atomization

Split test cases into atomic units that can be recombined as needed. For example, basic friend‑related operations (add friend, bind) are already encapsulated and can be reused across different activities, allowing developers to focus on new logic.

05 Execute Load Testing

The execution phase is usually performed by functional QA or testers. Sufficient testing time is crucial; insufficient testing can lead to production bugs.

After a feature is submitted for testing, run an initial load test focusing on server performance.

Once client resources are stable, run another test on various client hardware to evaluate performance differences.

Extend testing duration (e.g., overnight) to observe long‑term behavior.

Perform a final regression load test just before launch.

Additional resources and recommended reading are linked below.

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