diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index e4db88be67f..f7c4bfc248c 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -22,42 +22,42 @@ env:
 matrix:
   include:
     - os: windows
-      env: TOOL=msbuild OPT=Debug BRANCH=master UPLOAD_ID=vs-debug
+      env: TOOL=msbuild NLS=false BRANCH=master CFG=Debug UPLOAD=true
 
     - os: windows
-      env: TOOL=msbuild OPT=Release BRANCH=master
+      env: TOOL=msbuild NLS=false BRANCH=master CFG=Release
 
     - os: osx
       compiler: clang
-      env: TOOL=xcodebuild OPT=Debug NLS=true BRANCH=master UPLOAD_ID=xcode-debug
+      env: TOOL=xcodebuild NLS=true BRANCH=master CFG=Debug UPLOAD=true
 
     - os: osx
       compiler: clang
-      env: TOOL=xcodebuild OPT=Release NLS=true BRANCH=master
+      env: TOOL=xcodebuild NLS=true CFG=Release BRANCH=master
 
     - compiler: gcc
-      env: CXXSTD=14 NLS=only LTS=1604 BRANCH=master
+      env: TOOL=scons CXXSTD=14 NLS=only IMAGE=1804 BRANCH=master CFG=release
 
-    - compiler: gcc
-      env: TOOL=scons CXXSTD=17 NLS=false LTS=1804 BRANCH=master VALIDATE=true UPLOAD_ID=ubuntu-1804
-
-    - compiler: gcc
-      env: TOOL=scons CXXSTD=14 NLS=false LTS=1604 BRANCH=master OPT=-O0
-
-    - compiler: gcc
-      env: TOOL=cmake CXXSTD=14 NLS=false LTS=1604 BRANCH=master UPLOAD_ID=ubuntu-1604
-
-    - compiler: clang
-      env: TOOL=scons CXXSTD=14 NLS=false LTS=1604 BRANCH=master OPT=-O0
-
-    - compiler: clang
-      env: TOOL=cmake CXXSTD=14 NLS=false LTS=1804 BRANCH=master
-
-    - env: CXXSTD=14 NLS=true LTS=mingw BRANCH=master STRICT=false UPLOAD_ID=mingw
+    - env: TOOL=scons CXXSTD=14 NLS=true IMAGE=mingw BRANCH=master CFG=release STRICT=false UPLOAD=true
     
-    - env: CXXSTD=14 NLS=false LTS=steamrt BRANCH=master CC=gcc-5 CXX=g++-5
+    - env: TOOL=scons CXXSTD=14 NLS=false IMAGE=steamrt BRANCH=master CFG=release CC=gcc-5 CXX=g++-5
 
-    - env: NLS=true LTS=flatpak BRANCH=master
+    - env: TOOL=scons NLS=true IMAGE=flatpak BRANCH=master
+
+    - compiler: gcc
+      env: TOOL=scons CXXSTD=17 NLS=false IMAGE=1804 BRANCH=master CFG=release VALIDATE=true
+
+    - compiler: gcc
+      env: TOOL=scons CXXSTD=14 NLS=false IMAGE=1804 BRANCH=master CFG=debug UPLOAD=true
+
+    - compiler: gcc
+      env: TOOL=cmake CXXSTD=14 NLS=false IMAGE=1804 BRANCH=master CFG=Release
+
+    - compiler: clang
+      env: TOOL=cmake CXXSTD=14 NLS=false IMAGE=1804 BRANCH=master CFG=Debug
+
+    - compiler: gcc
+      env: TOOL=scons CXXSTD=14 NLS=false IMAGE=1604 BRANCH=master CFG=debug UPLOAD=true
 
 install:
     - . ./utils/travis/steps/install.sh
diff --git a/utils/travis/docker_run.sh b/utils/travis/docker_run.sh
index e76fe004db9..52389e9edcb 100755
--- a/utils/travis/docker_run.sh
+++ b/utils/travis/docker_run.sh
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ die() { error "$*"; exit 1; }
 export DISPLAY=:99.0
 /sbin/start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --pidfile /tmp/custom_xvfb_99.pid --make-pidfile --background --exec /usr/bin/Xvfb -- :99 -ac -screen 0 1024x768x24
 
-if [ "$OPT" == "-O0" ]; then
+if [ "$CFG" = "debug" ] || [ "$CFG" = "Debug" ]; then
     STRICT="true"
     build_timeout=35
 else
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ echo "TOOL: $TOOL"
 echo "CC: $CC"
 echo "CXX: $CXX"
 echo "CXXSTD: $CXXSTD"
-echo "OPT: $OPT"
+echo "CFG: $CFG"
 echo "WML_TESTS: $WML_TESTS"
 echo "WML_TEST_TIME: $WML_TEST_TIME"
 echo "PLAY_TEST: $PLAY_TEST"
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ echo "BOOST_TEST: $BOOST_TEST"
 echo "LTO: $LTO"
 echo "SAN: $SAN"
 echo "VALIDATE: $VALIDATE"
-echo "LTS: $LTS"
+echo "IMAGE: $IMAGE"
 echo "TRAVIS_COMMIT: $TRAVIS_COMMIT"
 echo "BRANCH: $BRANCH"
 echo "UPLOAD_ID: $UPLOAD_ID"
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ if [ "$NLS" == "only" ]; then
     scons translations build=release --debug=time nls=true jobs=2 || exit 1
 
     scons pot-update update-po4a manual
-elif [ "$LTS" == "flatpak" ]; then
+elif [ "$IMAGE" == "flatpak" ]; then
 # docker's --volume means the directory is on a separate filesystem
 # flatpak-builder doesn't support this
 # therefore manually move stuff between where flatpak needs it and where travis' caching can see it
@@ -79,9 +79,9 @@ elif [ "$LTS" == "flatpak" ]; then
     cp -R .flatpak-builder/. flatpak-cache/
     chmod -R 777 flatpak-cache/
     exit $BUILD_RET
-elif [ "$LTS" == "mingw" ]; then
-    scons wesnoth wesnothd build=release \
-        cxx_std=$CXXSTD opt="$OPT" strict="$STRICT" \
+elif [ "$IMAGE" == "mingw" ]; then
+    scons wesnoth wesnothd build="$CFG" \
+        cxx_std=$CXXSTD strict="$STRICT" \
         nls=false enable_lto="$LTO" sanitize="$SAN" jobs=2 --debug=time \
         arch=x86-64 prefix=/windows/mingw64 gtkdir=/windows/mingw64 host=x86_64-w64-mingw32 || exit 1
 
@@ -100,19 +100,19 @@ elif [ "$LTS" == "mingw" ]; then
         bzip2 wesnoth-$TRAVIS_TAG.tar || exit 1
         ./utils/travis/sftp wesnoth-$TRAVIS_TAG.tar.bz2 || exit 1
     fi
-elif [ "$LTS" == "steamrt" ]; then
+elif [ "$IMAGE" == "steamrt" ]; then
     scons ctool=$CC cxxtool=$CXX boostdir=/usr/local/include boostlibdir=/usr/local/lib extra_flags_config=-lrt \
-        cxx_std=$CXXSTD opt="$OPT" strict="$STRICT" nls="$NLS" enable_lto="$LTO" sanitize="$SAN" jobs=2 --debug=time \
-        build=release
+        cxx_std=$CXXSTD strict="$STRICT" nls="$NLS" enable_lto="$LTO" sanitize="$SAN" jobs=2 --debug=time \
+        build="$CFG"
 else
     SECONDS=0
 
     if [ "$TOOL" == "cmake" ]; then
-        echo "max_size = 200M" > $HOME/.ccache/ccache.conf
-        echo "compiler_check = content" >> $HOME/.ccache/ccache.conf
+        export CCACHE_MAXSIZE=3000M
+        export CCACHE_COMPILERCHECK=content
 
-        cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DENABLE_GAME=true -DENABLE_SERVER=true -DENABLE_CAMPAIGN_SERVER=true -DENABLE_TESTS=true -DENABLE_NLS="$NLS" \
-              -DEXTRA_FLAGS_CONFIG="-pipe" -DOPT="$OPT" -DENABLE_STRICT_COMPILATION="$STRICT" -DENABLE_LTO="$LTO" -DLTO_JOBS=2 -DENABLE_MYSQL=true -DSANITIZE="$SAN" \
+        cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="$CFG" -DENABLE_GAME=true -DENABLE_SERVER=true -DENABLE_CAMPAIGN_SERVER=true -DENABLE_TESTS=true -DENABLE_NLS="$NLS" \
+              -DEXTRA_FLAGS_CONFIG="-pipe" -DENABLE_STRICT_COMPILATION="$STRICT" -DENABLE_LTO="$LTO" -DLTO_JOBS=2 -DENABLE_MYSQL=true -DSANITIZE="$SAN" \
               -DCXX_STD="$CXXSTD" -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache && \
               make VERBOSE=1 -j2
         BUILD_RET=$?
@@ -120,11 +120,19 @@ else
         ccache -s
         ccache -z
     else
-        scons wesnoth wesnothd campaignd boost_unit_tests build=release \
+        scons wesnoth wesnothd campaignd boost_unit_tests build="$CFG" \
               ctool=$CC cxxtool=$CXX cxx_std=$CXXSTD \
-              extra_flags_config="-pipe" opt="$OPT" strict="$STRICT" forum_user_handler=true \
+              extra_flags_config="-pipe" strict="$STRICT" forum_user_handler=true \
               nls="$NLS" enable_lto="$LTO" sanitize="$SAN" jobs=2 --debug=time
         BUILD_RET=$?
+
+# rename debug executables to what the tests expect
+        if [ "$CFG" == "debug" ]; then
+            mv wesnoth-debug wesnoth
+            mv wesnothd-debug wesnothd
+            mv campaignd-debug campaignd
+            mv boost_unit_tests-debug boost_unit_tests
+        fi
     fi
 
     if [ $BUILD_RET != 0 ]; then
@@ -142,7 +150,7 @@ else
 # needed since bash returns the exit code of the final command executed, so a failure needs to be returned if any unit tests fail
     EXIT_VAL=0
 
-    # print given message ($1) and execute given command; sets EXIT_VAL on failure
+# print given message ($1) and execute given command; sets EXIT_VAL on failure
     execute() {
         local message=$1; shift
         printf 'Executing %s\n' "$message"
diff --git a/utils/travis/steps/install.sh b/utils/travis/steps/install.sh
index c267b205ce1..2e1c00cb20e 100755
--- a/utils/travis/steps/install.sh
+++ b/utils/travis/steps/install.sh
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ export MP_TEST=true
 export WML_TEST_TIME=15
 export BOOST_TEST=true
 
-if [ "$OPT" = "-O0" ]; then
+if [ "$CFG" = "debug" ] || [ "$CFG" = "Debug" ]; then
     export PLAY_TEST=false
     export MP_TEST=false
     export WML_TEST_TIME=20
@@ -18,6 +18,14 @@ if [ "$LTO" == "" ]; then
     export LTO=false
 fi
 
+if [ "$UPLOAD" == "true" ]; then
+    if [ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" == "linux" ]; then
+        export UPLOAD_ID="${TRAVIS_OS_NAME}-${IMAGE}-${TOOL}-${CFG}"
+    else
+        export UPLOAD_ID="${TRAVIS_OS_NAME}-${TOOL}-${CFG}"
+    fi
+fi
+
 if [ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" = "osx" ]; then
     HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1 brew install ccache scons
     yes | pip3 install paramiko
@@ -48,19 +56,19 @@ elif [ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" = "windows" ]; then
         echo "Dependencies retrieved and installed!"
     fi
 
-    ./utils/travis/windows-file-hasher.sh "projectfiles/VC14/$OPT/filehashes.sqlite"
+    ./utils/travis/windows-file-hasher.sh "projectfiles/VC14/$CFG/filehashes.sqlite"
 else
     # if not doing translations, save a bit of time by not copying them into the docker image
     # otherwise, if this is the mingw job, the .git directory is needed for running the git archive command
     if [ "$NLS" == "false" ]; then
         echo "po/" >> .dockerignore
-    elif [ "$LTS" == "mingw" ]; then
+    elif [ "$IMAGE" == "mingw" ]; then
         rm .dockerignore
     fi
 
-    echo "FROM wesnoth/wesnoth:$LTS-$BRANCH" > utils/dockerbuilds/travis/Dockerfile-travis-"$LTS"-"$BRANCH"
-    echo "COPY ./ /home/wesnoth-travis/" >> utils/dockerbuilds/travis/Dockerfile-travis-"$LTS"-"$BRANCH"
-    echo "WORKDIR /home/wesnoth-travis" >> utils/dockerbuilds/travis/Dockerfile-travis-"$LTS"-"$BRANCH"
+    echo "FROM wesnoth/wesnoth:$IMAGE-$BRANCH" > utils/dockerbuilds/travis/Dockerfile-travis-"$IMAGE"-"$BRANCH"
+    echo "COPY ./ /home/wesnoth-travis/" >> utils/dockerbuilds/travis/Dockerfile-travis-"$IMAGE"-"$BRANCH"
+    echo "WORKDIR /home/wesnoth-travis" >> utils/dockerbuilds/travis/Dockerfile-travis-"$IMAGE"-"$BRANCH"
 
-    docker build -t wesnoth-repo:"$LTS"-"$BRANCH" -f utils/dockerbuilds/travis/Dockerfile-travis-"$LTS"-"$BRANCH" .
+    docker build -t wesnoth-repo:"$IMAGE"-"$BRANCH" -f utils/dockerbuilds/travis/Dockerfile-travis-"$IMAGE"-"$BRANCH" .
 fi
diff --git a/utils/travis/steps/script.sh b/utils/travis/steps/script.sh
index 42d62df584a..d6f4e3f193d 100755
--- a/utils/travis/steps/script.sh
+++ b/utils/travis/steps/script.sh
@@ -5,14 +5,14 @@ if [ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" = "osx" ]; then
 
     cd ./projectfiles/Xcode
 
-    xcodebuild CODE_SIGN_IDENTITY="" CODE_SIGNING_REQUIRED=NO -project "The Battle for Wesnoth.xcodeproj" -target "The Battle for Wesnoth" -configuration "$OPT"
+    xcodebuild CODE_SIGN_IDENTITY="" CODE_SIGNING_REQUIRED=NO -project "The Battle for Wesnoth.xcodeproj" -target "The Battle for Wesnoth" -configuration "$CFG"
     BUILD_RET=$?
 
     if [ "$UPLOAD_ID" != "" ] && [ "$TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST" == "false" ]; then
 # workaround for a bug in hdiutil where it freezes if multiple srcfolder-s are specified
-        cp -R "build/$OPT/The Battle for Wesnoth.app" "../../packaging/macos/The Battle for Wesnoth.app"
-        hdiutil create -volname "Wesnoth_${OPT}" -fs 'HFS+' -srcfolder ../../packaging/macos -ov -format UDBZ "Wesnoth_${OPT}.dmg"
-        ./../../utils/travis/sftp "Wesnoth_${OPT}.dmg"
+        cp -R "build/$CFG/The Battle for Wesnoth.app" "../../packaging/macos/The Battle for Wesnoth.app"
+        hdiutil create -volname "Wesnoth_${CFG}" -fs 'HFS+' -srcfolder ../../packaging/macos -ov -format UDBZ "Wesnoth_${CFG}.dmg"
+        ./../../utils/travis/sftp "Wesnoth_${CFG}.dmg"
     fi
 
     ccache -s
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ if [ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" = "osx" ]; then
 
     exit $BUILD_RET
 elif [ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" = "windows" ]; then
-    powershell "MSBuild.exe projectfiles/VC14/wesnoth.sln -p:PlatformToolset=v141 -p:Configuration=$OPT"
+    powershell "MSBuild.exe projectfiles/VC14/wesnoth.sln -p:PlatformToolset=v141 -p:Configuration=$CFG"
     BUILD_RET=$?
 
     if [ "$UPLOAD_ID" != "" ] && [ "$TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST" == "false" ]; then
@@ -28,12 +28,12 @@ elif [ "$TRAVIS_OS_NAME" = "windows" ]; then
     fi
 
     if [ "$BUILD_RET" != "0" ]; then
-        sqlite3 "projectfiles/VC14/$OPT/filehashes.sqlite" "update FILES set MD5 = OLD_MD5, OLD_MD5 = '-' where OLD_MD5 != '-'"
+        sqlite3 "projectfiles/VC14/$CFG/filehashes.sqlite" "update FILES set MD5 = OLD_MD5, OLD_MD5 = '-' where OLD_MD5 != '-'"
     else
-        sqlite3 "projectfiles/VC14/$OPT/filehashes.sqlite" "update FILES set OLD_MD5 = '-' where OLD_MD5 != '-'"
+        sqlite3 "projectfiles/VC14/$CFG/filehashes.sqlite" "update FILES set OLD_MD5 = '-' where OLD_MD5 != '-'"
     fi
 
-    if [ "$OPT" == "Release" ] && [ "$BUILD_RET" == "0" ]; then
+    if [ "$CFG" == "Release" ] && [ "$BUILD_RET" == "0" ]; then
         ./run_wml_tests -g -v -c -t "$WML_TEST_TIME"
         BUILD_RET=$?
     fi
@@ -44,23 +44,23 @@ else
 # enabling tty/using unbuffer causes po4a-translate to hang during the translation job
     if [ "$NLS" != "only" ]; then
         docker run --cap-add=ALL --privileged \
-               --env SFTP_PASSWORD --env LTS --env TRAVIS_COMMIT --env BRANCH --env UPLOAD_ID --env TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST --env NLS --env CC --env CXX --env TOOL \
-               --env CXXSTD --env OPT --env WML_TESTS --env WML_TEST_TIME --env PLAY_TEST --env MP_TEST --env BOOST_TEST --env LTO --env SAN --env VALIDATE \
+               --env SFTP_PASSWORD --env IMAGE --env TRAVIS_COMMIT --env BRANCH --env UPLOAD_ID --env TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST --env NLS --env CC --env CXX --env TOOL \
+               --env CXXSTD --env CFG --env WML_TESTS --env WML_TEST_TIME --env PLAY_TEST --env MP_TEST --env BOOST_TEST --env LTO --env SAN --env VALIDATE \
                --env TRAVIS_TAG \
                --volume "$HOME"/build-cache:/home/wesnoth-travis/build \
                --volume "$HOME"/flatpak-cache:/home/wesnoth-travis/flatpak-cache \
                --volume "$HOME"/.ccache:/root/.ccache \
-               --tty wesnoth-repo:"$LTS"-"$BRANCH" \
+               --tty wesnoth-repo:"$IMAGE"-"$BRANCH" \
                unbuffer ./utils/travis/docker_run.sh
     else
         docker run --cap-add=ALL --privileged \
-               --env SFTP_PASSWORD --env LTS --env TRAVIS_COMMIT --env BRANCH --env UPLOAD_ID --env TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST --env NLS --env CC --env CXX --env TOOL \
-               --env CXXSTD --env OPT --env WML_TESTS --env WML_TEST_TIME --env PLAY_TEST --env MP_TEST --env BOOST_TEST --env LTO --env SAN --env VALIDATE \
+               --env SFTP_PASSWORD --env IMAGE --env TRAVIS_COMMIT --env BRANCH --env UPLOAD_ID --env TRAVIS_PULL_REQUEST --env NLS --env CC --env CXX --env TOOL \
+               --env CXXSTD --env CFG --env WML_TESTS --env WML_TEST_TIME --env PLAY_TEST --env MP_TEST --env BOOST_TEST --env LTO --env SAN --env VALIDATE \
                --env TRAVIS_TAG \
                --volume "$HOME"/build-cache:/home/wesnoth-travis/build \
                --volume "$HOME"/flatpak-cache:/home/wesnoth-travis/flatpak-cache \
                --volume "$HOME"/.ccache:/root/.ccache \
-               wesnoth-repo:"$LTS"-"$BRANCH" \
+               wesnoth-repo:"$IMAGE"-"$BRANCH" \
                ./utils/travis/docker_run.sh
     fi
 fi