Official Fall 2024 Update

[NewSheriffInTown]

Fall 2024 Update.

Right now there are a few things we are working on. Each task has a different timeline for completion, and a different release order. On top of that, there is still a lot of backend stuff that really isn't interesting to most players, so I won't dwell on that.

Nevertheless, this is what's on the boiler plate:

• As mentioned in a previous post, the Points for Team Games have been calculated incorrectly since, well since the beginning of time.
  • Fixing the code was easy enough and we already released the corrected code a few days ago, so team game now calculate points correctly.
  • But there still are 14,707 instances of incorrect points being allocated to players for team games prior to today. And of course we want to correct those points without messing up the entire database while doing it. This is a bit of a delicate operation to get correct, but we are feeling confident this can be done relatively soon, and without incident. Meaning that sometime in the next week or two, any player that was involved in a Team Game will see their points adjusted (either up or down) when we roll out the corrected totals.
    
• Second priority after points: We are also working on an email verification system, which is absolutely needed before we can send 'turn notifications' to your inbox. This is so you don't miss vital turns, and more importantly for new player retention. Currently there is a unacceptable amount of new players who sign up, join a game, and then never return to the site again. So email turn notifications is essential to bringing them back and following through with their turns. Setting this up requires a lot of backend, frontend, and 3rd party API integration work. So it still may take a month or more before an email verification system will be functional. After that is all installed, we will start working on a mechanism that actually sends out the turn notifications. So add some more time before that happens.
  
  
• There is also ticket to get ranks displaying again, but we haven't starting looking at that yet.
  
  
• Finally, another major undertaking that we started working on recently is the Tournaments feature. This is huge, so don't expect it until well after Christmas at the soonest. The main tournament framework (frontend) is starting to take shape. But we don't have any backend logic yet. That will happen after the first two issues are resolved. Here are some screenshots to let you know what it looks like:

 

[once]

tournaments are great news. this, together with diplomacy, is the feature i miss the most here.
while you are working on the points for team games - it would be great if you could also make sure the score for players in a game is not locked in at the time of joining, but either when the game starts or is finished? not sure which of the two is better, but having the score locked in at join time has taken the scoreboard into bizarre territory. thanks for the update & fingers crossed.

 

[bilsi]

Thanks for the update but I still say Password Protection is very important...How hard can it be???

 

[Daniel7]

Thank you for the update, sheriff.

 

[-LionHeart-]

Thank you team for the improvements made, we look forward to these new developments

 

[bilsi]

What's up with MC, it doesn't show games list...

 

[engelbrekt1390]

I noticed. I cant find my current games

 

[bilsi]

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[bilsi]

We need Password Protection now. Then I can start tournaments again. I'm sure most players are missing them.

 

[bilsi]

OMG...Now we're getting Ads here? What's next, Ads in the game? No update either...

 

[needpapertowel]

OMG...Now we're getting Ads here? What's next, Ads in the game? No update either...

where are you seeing ads?

 

[T79boy]

How often are updates due ? Every quarter ?

 

[JCUK]

@NewSheriffInTown How are you planning on managing the tourney setup, same as it use to be with tourney organisers?

 

[NewSheriffInTown]

it would be great if you could also make sure the score for players in a game is not locked in at the time of joining, but either when the game starts or is finished?

Yeah, that is the plan, to make use the points a player has when the game finishes. That was the old system and that is what we are planning to go back. Unfortunately this requires the help of Marcos (our old dev). He is the only one that knows how to replay games in the game engine (which he created), and he is very very very very unavailable. I manage to get his attention every 3 or 4 months and when I do, he promises to help with a list of stuff that only he can do, but so far he never follows though. So fixing points is quite painful from my point of view, but I haven't given up yet....

Thanks for the update but I still say Password Protection is very important...How hard can it be???

This is not hard, but it is part of the "setting and options" section.

The website and game have many many components, and jumping back and forth between them is not efficient (in terms of programming). You can get a lot better results from your developer if you make him stick to one component at a time. Then his focus is only on that one thing. Right now it's on "emails and notification". But I will say this to you though - when I get the opportunity to take my dev's attention and place it on "setting and options", then passwords (and notes) will be the first thing I'll get him to do.

This list is not in order of what needs to be done, and the list is much longer than what i clipped, but your request is on there and marked as "major".

We need Password Protection now. Then I can start tournaments again. I'm sure most players are missing them.

Answer is above, but hopefully you can work around it for now. Let me know if there is something I can do to help (that doesn't involved coding passwords yet!)

OMG...Now we're getting Ads here? What's next, Ads in the game? No update either...

I noticed that too a few weeks ago. Google automatically started an "experiment", as they call it, and decided to show ads to some people without telling me. I went into MajCom's google account and turned off all experiments. I think that stopped it.

How often are updates due ? Every quarter ?

They happen whenever I have something new to announce..... or when I feel social.

@NewSheriffInTown How are you planning on managing the tourney setup, same as it use to be with tourney organisers?

Currently it's open. Anyone can set it up. But that just because I haven't created the code to restrict it to tourney organizers only. I'm not sure if I will do that, or just leave it open. It's a long way off so I still have time to think what is best (and easiest).

 

[bilsi]

I see email notifications are working...TY
PW protection needs done.

 

[NewSheriffInTown]

I see email notifications are working...TY
PW protection needs done.

Yeah sorry, that may have been a false start. We tried to deploy the updated code and ran into a heap of issues. The turn-notifications worked as you noticed (and 50 notifications were sent in the brief period of time it was active) but other strange issues occurred, namely the entire website was open for anyone to view even if they never logged in or had an account!

So obviously that was not permitted, so we quickly reverted the deployment and are trying to find the bug.

It's our dev's last day of work, so we'll try again after Christmas. But I don't rest, so while he is enjoying the holidays I will be working on stuff, including PWP.

 

[Daniel7]

Thank you Sheriff. . Make sure you get some holiday, you doubly deserve it, Merry Christmas!

 

[edsdad]

Good job buddy.