New Gaming System For Our Website

[keith]

A new gaming system is coming to our website

My only problem is ensuring that everyone retains their scores and trophies. That being said, I'm in the process of testing the upgrade on a different website and database. I'll keep you informed and let you know of the new features shortly.

[sebbieprops]

Thanks for the update. Can't wait to see the results!

[keith]

I posted the history of this situation in my Blog. Click the link below to read it:

http://www.morrisania.com/forum2/weblog_entry.php?e=149

[sebbieprops]

Thanks for sharing all the information with regard to the website updates.

There's one thing, however, that I don't quite understand - why wouldn't it be possible to keep the game section on version 2, while the rest of the site upgrades to version 3?

[keith]

Thanks for sharing all the information with regard to the website updates.

There's one thing, however, that I don't quite understand - why wouldn't it be possible to keep the game section on version 2, while the rest of the site upgrades to version 3?

It's impossible to install the gaming system on version 3. The code is way too different.

I believe you're picturing it in terms of "linking" them. But it's not like that. The other sections are built "on top" of v2/v3.

More or less, when I move us to v3, I'm going to have to install the v3 software, then add the other software applications. That being said, if I was to attempt to add the software for the game system, it wouldn't work.

Another way of thinking about is with an operating system for a computer. Picture v2/v3 as Windows and the other scripts (Game, My Page, etc) as programs like PhotoShop, MS Word, etc.

Now if PhotoShop isn't compatable with Windows, there is no way possible for you to use it on your computer if you have a PC.

Get it

[keith]

Attached is a snapshop of the new gaming software I'm going to add to our website. The picture is from the test system that I'm currently working on (before I run the conversion on this site).

As you can see, the main game page is vastly different. On the top left you'll see a "Best Player" section. This will list the name of the person with the most wins. Beneath that it shows all of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places you have.

This is better than the way we currently have it. Currently, we would have to go through each game to see how many 1st, 2nd, or 3rd places we have.

Also on the top-left you'll see something new... "Best All Time Player". Again you'll see your 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. The "Best All Time Player" is useful because we are going to have a tournament feature... So it's good to see who was the best player of all time.


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To the far-right you'll see "Top 10 Activities". This list shows the top 10 most played games. To the right of that you'll see "10 New Activities'. This is the 10 newest added games.


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Beneath all of that you'll see the "Category" selector... which isn't new. You'll also notice a "Search" option to search for games. We have that now, but with the new software its easier to locate - because it's right there.


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The most noticeable change is that the games are automatically listed under "Categories" instead of showing all of the games at once. As you can see though, there is an option to view "All Games".

Upon clicking one of the Categories, you'll then see all of the games in that respective category. Like they are now, the games are listed in decending order from 'date added' by default.

In the screenshot you don't see the "Tournament" option. We had to disable that as some errors are being fixed. Normally it's right above "All Games"

Another big change which I don't like is when you select a game it opens in a new window... instead of staying in the 'overall frame'. This is going to change when the next release of the software comes-out so we won't have to deal with that much longer.

OK... That's it for now... I have work to do.

[sebbieprops]

Thanks for sharing all the information with regard to the website updates.

There's one thing, however, that I don't quite understand - why wouldn't it be possible to keep the game section on version 2, while the rest of the site upgrades to version 3?

It's impossible to install the gaming system on version 3. The code is way too different.

I believe you're picturing it in terms of "linking" them. But it's not like that. The other sections are built "on top" of v2/v3.

More or less, when I move us to v3, I'm going to have to install the v3 software, then add the other software applications. That being said, if I was to attempt to add the software for the game system, it wouldn't work.

Another way of thinking about is with an operating system for a computer. Picture v2/v3 as Windows and the other scripts (Game, My Page, etc) as programs like PhotoShop, MS Word, etc.

Now if PhotoShop isn't compatable with Windows, there is no way possible for you to use it on your computer if you have a PC.

Get it

Okay, now I understand. Thanks for the explanation.

[keith]

I hired a programmer to work on a converter so we can switch from our current game system to the new one without losing scores, critical game data, etc.

I spent the last few days creating a new test website, game system and database that we (the programmer and I) are using to run the converter script on. We are not setting a hard completion date because I don't want to rush this... I prefer to measure 3 times and build once, over measuring once and building 3 times

I'll keep you posted on how things are going

[sebbieprops]

Wow, this seems like quite an undertaking.....

[keith]

Wow, this seems like quite an undertaking.....

If you only new...

One of the major problems is the way the database of the two systems uniquely identify the members and their relevant data. Each of them are fundamentally designed differently.

[keith]

Good news so far The programmer was able to convert the fields that I felt were mandatory and much more.

We can't get too happy yet though because that was just the back-end database test without a live environment

Our next step is to install the new gaming software in a live environment... overwriting the files of the current software (which is going to cause havoc). We're then going to run the database update that comes with the new software (& cause more havoc), then test the convertor script. This will be the real test.

We'll be going back and forth with this installing, testing and correcting process over the next couple of days. I'll let you know as soon as we get some positive results

[sebbieprops]

Nice to hear it's coming along smoothly!

[keith]

By the Grace of God, for the most part it's a success Everything is converting properly except for in a couple of minor areas.

The biggest nack is the "Favorites" (games added to your Favorites list) isn't converting over. This is currently being worked on - in addition to a few other nicks on the admin end.

Like I said though, I'm considering the converter a success. These little tid-bits are just the cherry on top if we can work them out.

Chances are I'm going to wait until next weekend before I install the new game system. I'd rather wait until the weekend because I'm going to have to run it around 1-2 am when many people are not using the website. During the upgrade process many of the website's sections will not be available.

I must admit, this whole testing process has been a drain I can't even remember how many times I had to uninstall, then re-install, then update the game software and 2 databases on the test website.

I'll let everyone know once we have a final version. As a side note, even though I paid to have a programmer work on this with me I'm going to release the converter as open-source so others can utilize it for free

[sebbieprops]

Thanks for the update!

[keith]

So far 98% of everything is converting correctly - including the Favorites We have a small problem with the "Best Player" and "Last Time Played" tables.

I'm going to do another round of testing on the latest version of the converter tonight. This should be all set and done by tomorrow. Like I previously said though, chances are I won't be converting this website over until this weekend - and that's only if I finish the integration into the My Page section of the website . As a reminder, these are some of the features we're gaining:

Tournaments - The ability to easily setup tournaments in the games amongst members

Best All Time Player - I may switch this off... there's something annoying about it that I don't like.

1st, 2nd & 3rd Place - There will be 3 trophies instead of two: Gold, Silver & Bronze. You will easily be able to see the amount of trophies you have of each.

Top 10 - A list showing the top 10 games played and added. I'm going to switch this to the top 3 or 5 though. Having 10 clutters the page too much for my liking.

Categories On Main Game Page - The main Game page (when you 1st go to the Games section of the site) will display the the game Categories so you can easily get to the type of games you like.

Highscores For The Month - The ability to easily see all of the highest scores for each respective month.

Improved Search - A better search engine for the games

Upgradable - When I switch us to a newer Forum version, the games software will be able to be upgraded as well.


Unfortunately, we're going to lose the ability to have all of the games in an easy drop-down list.... which is a big convenience loss in my opinion. Another big change will be that the games open in a new window instead of the same window (like on this site now) - which I don't like. I will be working on changing this almost immediately!

All in all though, I think positives greatly outnumber the negatives