Avabur Rewrite | Relics of Avabur

Avabur Rewrite May 29, 2017 19:48:32 GMT Duncan, thrayne, and 2 more like this

Post by Vysn on May 29, 2017 19:48:32 GMT

EDIT: If the beta is down, it's because it crashed for some reason and I wasn't around to restart it, or I took it down intentionally.

Well, it's been a long time coming, and we're still not all of the way there, but the rewrite is finally in a testable state.

So, with that said, let's cover some of the main questions and comments that will arise:

Why are you rewriting the game?
There are a few reasons I chose to rewrite the game in another language rather than continue with the current codebase:

The current codebase suffers when many users are active at the same time
The current codebase suffers during certain events where many details are tracked (Halloween Event, anyone?)
I'd like to add more interesting and interactive gameplay which, given the current codebase, is more or less impossible

The new codebase should prove able to handle more users with less lag. Without getting too technical about it, the amount of requests to the server will be reduced significantly and the database will need to be accessed much less often. These two things combined should provide a substantial reduction in latency for everyone.

How will this affect us, the players?
Once the rewrite goes live (which likely won't be until July at the earliest), you shouldn't notice much of a difference at all as far as general gameplay is concerned. However, there are already a few notable changes:

Actions are run entirely on the server - that is, you decide what you want to focus on, and the game will run them continuously, even if you're offline (note: actions cease at 50 fatigue if you have the game closed out)! This is one of the more important aspects of the rewrite, because it eliminates the latency factor. Have bad latency to the server? No problem. As long as you can replenish, the server takes care of your actions,
so you won't miss out on any!
Various minor UI changes
Minor gameplay additions, like the Trash Compactor's ability to save items with bonuses you select, even if they would've overwise been scrapped based on quality

But let's not get ahead of ourselves
There is still a decent bit of work to be done on the rewrite. In addition to many relatively minor aspects (buying items from town shops, viewing game stats, etc.) not being added yet, there are still five major gameplay aspects that need to be added: Clans, Market, Gauntlets, Dungeons, and Effects (including double, etc). Honorary mention to the Rankings, which also are not currently displayed.

If so much is still unfinished, then...

What are you looking to have us test?
As mentioned previously in the post, many features haven't been completed and many links don't work. I'm fully aware of that and am not looking for bug reports regarding that at this time. Here are the things I am looking to find out right now:

How does the rewrite perform with hundreds of users connected and playing?
Are there any bugs with Battling, Harvesting, Crafting, or Carving?
Any various other bugs that happen to pop up in the error log for me

Do we get anything for testing?
You get to experience the joy of server-side actions and helping make the rewrite perfect before it goes live! But no, anything you gain there will not be transferred to the actual game, if that's what you're asking. However, there may or may not be a small reward for people who test when the rewrite goes live.

Yeah, yeah, who cares? Just tell me how I can get in on the action!
A somewhat outdated (~1 month old) copy of your account should be available for you to log into at the test location.

Don't break things too badly

Avabur Rewrite Jan 23, 2018 15:49:26 GMT

Post by Vysn on Jan 23, 2018 15:49:26 GMT

Okay, it has been a long time. Yes, too long, but here we are. The rewrite is mostly complete. However, there are still a number of bugs and some behind-the-scenes changes to be made. That said, we're at a point where I feel comfortable in saying the rewrite will be ready for launch soon, so this post is to put that out there and also to urge everyone to test the beta for a bit, even if that just means logging in and leaving the tab open - it will still help (know how the current game lags sometimes when lots of people are active? Yeah, just leaving the tab open will help stress test that sort of thing).

Keep in mind that the rewrite will take over the current game (as far as code goes, at least; your character on the beta doesn't matter at all - the one on live will always be your actual character), so testing it now will help ensure that the transition goes over as smoothly as possible and that the majority of bugs will be taken care of ahead of time. Most bugs over there are a lot less fun, because they require a complete game restart to fix, so let's go ahead and get them out of the way!

Anywho, there's my request for you to test it out, so onto the current general plan.

General Plan Going Forward

The current idea for moving forward is to keep testing for 2-4 weeks while continuing to make performance improvements where I see the opportunity, to add in the rest of the moderation tools, ensuring promotions/events/purchases/etc work (or adding them in the first place), to re-check and ensure I didn't miss any features from the live game, and fixing any bugs that are found/reported.

How You Can Help

If you'd like to help the transition go more smoothly (and you should), it can be as simple as opening a separate tab and letting the beta run actions for you (this will help me get an idea of how the rewrite will handle large amounts of players). Preferably people will do a bit more, like at least messing around with a few different features and making sure everything works okay, but every little bit helps.

If you find any bugs or inconsistencies compared to the current game (other than the changes listed below), please make a thread in the Rewrite Bug Reports forum after ensuring a thread on the issue doesn't already exist.

Note: You can be logged into both the beta and the regular game at the same time. Both accounts are entirely separate (the one on beta is an old copy of your live character, and any changes in one game is not applied to the other).

Changes Compared to Live

So, you don't really want to test, but you also don't want to be a slacker? Well, you're in luck, because it's not a straight copy of the live game! Here are a few differences/changes/updates you can check out if you want something interesting (or not so interesting) to do/look at.

The biggest change is probably that actions are handled server-side. In the live version of the game, the game won't perform any actions for you without you explicitly requesting it (which is why you need to leave the game open). In the rewrite, once you select your action type, the server will run them for you, even if you close the game completely! However, if you have closed the game completely, your actions will stop at 50 fatigue (they still run infinitely if you keep the game open - no worries).
You no longer get disconnected from chat at 50 fatigue.
A sun/moon icon has been added next to the server clock, so you can tell what the game considers day/night
The 'Event Titles' list in the Account Management->Titles section has received an update.
The Trash Compactor has received an update, allowing you to select effects that you want, preventing the Trash Compactor from auto-scrapping items with any of those effects.
Randomly dropped items now have slightly randomized gemslot amounts. They can now have anywhere between the old value and the 'normal' (crafted) value.
Harvesting tools can now be shipped to your area for a gold fee so you don't have to travel to get them.
Added a preference to play a sound when your crafting/carving queue completes.
House Items that you don't have the funds to build/upgrade now appear in gray in the Quick Build list.
High level crafters can now choose effects that they don't want to be added to their items, with a temporary crafting material cost increase (the cost is only increased until an effect from the "veto group" is found).
A new house item, the Mannequin, has been added, which allows you to create "sets" of equipment. Useful if you swap action-types often.
A preference for global channel messages has been added, allowing you to choose which types of global messages you'll see (so if you normally have the channel off because of spam, but wish you could see messages related to double, now you can)
Several new ranked categories have been added
Gems that contain bonuses from the Crystal Shop have been reduced in efficacy (just so everyone knows it is intended and not a bug)
Other things I can't remember or think of at the moment - go find out for yourself!