Who Can Participate
Only testers can test — the status is granted by the project author. You can also become a volunteer only if you have the status. The status can be lost; former testers remain on the list marked "former".
How Testing Works
- Sign-up. When testing opens, all testers receive an email and a Telegram message, if Telegram is linked to the account. You can sign up as a tester or as a volunteer.
- Selection. While the sign-up window is open, files are closed to everyone. Once it closes, spots are assigned by rating; if ratings are equal, by sign-up time. Anyone who didn't get a spot becomes a volunteer and joins the queue: when a spot frees up, it goes to the best-rated person waiting, and they get a notification.
- Rules and files. Before your first download, you must confirm that you have read these rules.
- Printing and assembly. If you find a problem, post it to the issues feed right away — don't wait for the report.
- Report. Participation is counted only after you submit a report and the author confirms it.
Some tests have no limit on spots — there you sign up and participate immediately.
Tester and Volunteer
A tester takes a spot: submits a report, receives a reward, and the test counts toward the streak.
A volunteer has no obligations: files and the feed are open, no report is needed, but there are no rewards and no streak.
If you're unsure you'll have time or be able to participate fully, sign up as a volunteer. Taking a tester spot and not submitting a report means taking it away from someone who would have. If you can't make it, switch to volunteer or leave the test: the spot immediately goes to the next person.
Report
- Printing the model does not by itself confirm participation — a report is required.
- The report includes: overall rating of the model, printer and material, whether the model assembled, a rating of the instructions, and your opinion.
- Only you and the project author can see the report.
- You can submit as many reports as you like: write again after fixes are made.
- What counts is contribution, not quantity: one substantive report is worth two or three short ones.
- You can attach a photo of the assembled model to the report. It gives no bonuses, but good shots may make it into the model's gallery.
Issues
The issues feed is not anonymous — all test participants can see it.
- Be specific: which part, where, how it manifests, on which printer and material.
- If the same problem is already described, click "Me too" instead of writing it again.
- The author replies and adds labels: "fixed", "in progress", "not a bug", "highlight".
Testing Files — For You Only
Files before release are a work-in-progress version of the project. You must not:
- share them with anyone, or post them publicly or on any platforms;
- pass them off as your own or sell them — neither in whole nor in part;
- print to order and sell the prints.
Every download is recorded against a specific participant. Leaking files means a lifetime ban from the platform.
Showing the assembled model before release is allowed only with the author's permission.
Rating
When testing ends, the author confirms participation and gives a score for your work from 1 to 5, based on your report and activity in the feed. A tester's rating is the average of these scores. The higher the rating, the higher the priority when spots are assigned.
Streak and Subscription
Tests that run at the same time (overlapping dates) count as a single period. Participating in at least one of them is enough — the streak grows by the number of confirmed participations.
- Miss — a period in which you did not participate at all, as well as a taken tester spot without a report. A miss resets the streak.
- Freeze — if there weren't enough spots in any test of the period, or you chose to be a volunteer yourself. The streak doesn't grow, but it doesn't burn out either. You can't have more than two freezes in a row: a third in a row counts as a miss.
- After the fifth confirmed test in a row, a subscription is granted. A miss or loss of status removes the subscription; models you've already received stay with you.
Rewards
For confirmed participation, the tester chooses a reward:
- a paid model, mod or modpack priced up to 400 ₽, or one available through subscription up to the Elastic Engineer tier;
- or the paid edition of the tested project. It comes out later, so you can postpone the choice until it's released.
Until the choice is confirmed, you can change it as many times as you like. Access to the tested model after release stays with participants forever.
Questions about the rules — in the testing feed or directly to the author.
