Forge version 1.4.4

[spr]

Actually, while I am on the subject. ...

Something to consider. On the download server you create a text file, say "status.txt". Prior to downloading, Forge checks for this file and downloads if it exists. Its subsequent download behaviour is then dependent on the contents of this text file which could be anything you want. For example, it could contain a temporary increase in the throttle interval which overrides the hardcoded value. Or the existence of this file could simply be a way of telling Forge to disable downloading, perhaps containing a message to display to users - "Sorry, site is down for essential maintenance...". The point being, Admin can restrict Forge to a finite resource (download bandwidth, etc) with a simple text file and no code changes.

Cheers,
Steve

[Max mtg]

I don't believe that's when it was removed, I think Max just got rid of it one day, and I told him that Rob asked that to be in there specifically.

I don't think we should break historical archiving due to this however.

It was removed to eliminate the user unfriendly experience when one cannot play yet and has to wait until all 12k+ pictures arrive (assuming a clean installation).

Assuming that a picture gets downloaded instantly and the delay is set to half a second, the full download would take 2.5 hours, that a player has to wait and cannot make any use of Forge.


Things would be better if that download were performed by a background thread giving priority to cards currently shown in match ui.

[spr]

Things would be better if that download were performed by a background thread giving priority to cards currently shown in match ui.

Max, unless you want to have a look, I wouldn't mind having a go this -

- Download images in background thread.
- Priority to images already in cache.
- Refresh images in-play.
- Admin-configurable throttling.

Cheers,
Steve

[Max mtg]

Things would be better if that download were performed by a background thread giving priority to cards currently shown in match ui.

Max, unless you want to have a look, I wouldn't mind having a go this -

- Download images in background thread.
- Priority to images already in cache.
- Refresh images in-play.
- Admin-configurable throttling.

Cheers,
Steve

Steve, feel free to implement any points on your list.

[friarsol]

It was removed to eliminate the user unfriendly experience when one cannot play yet and has to wait until all 12k+ pictures arrive (assuming a clean installation).

While true, acquiescing to the request of the person actually in charge of the website where the downloads are going seems more important. If the website was shutdown because of the ISP, the user experience would be "wait X time to not download thousands of images" which seems way worse than "play without picture for a bit, and let the downloader run overnight."

[Rob Cashwalker]

The host allegedly "resolved" the problem. Not sure how or why.. they didn't make any issue of the content or how it was being retrieved. (fine print says that all traffic must be generated by users browsing the site live)
Chris, try the release script again, let me know of any error, I was able to FTP successfully.

I would rather have an on-demand download process. Even if there was no delay, or better, a multi-threaded download where multiple images were pulled at once, the overall impact on the server would be minimized. (unless someone tried to highlight every card and set in the deck editor)
Traffic records indicate the average user pulls down 20k to 50k+ files, 500MB to 1.8 GB in a minimum of 3 or 4 sessions. It's less about the bandwidth than the sheer number of requests being processed. Hell, I'd even consider just allowing a single-archive download (still in-game) with subsequent updates card-by-card..

So really, how many previous releases should be maintained? Can I dump the snapshot builds for the non-current release?

[Max mtg]

Sol, note that the site failure happened after a few months passed. Why did it break only last weekend and not right after the delay was removed?

If Steve is lucky to implement picture downloads in a background thread, the problem is to be solved.


I think we should encourage people to download full set images elsewhere (and give link to viewtopic.php?f=15&t=445&p=105934 for instance) and give away some pictures from cardforge.org only by demand to show cards while thay are playing to avoid these one-gigabyte sessions.

[LordHelmchen]

I think we should encourage people to download full set images elsewhere (and give link to viewtopic.php?f=15&t=445&p=105934 for instance) and give away some pictures from cardforge.org only by demand to show cards while thay are playing to avoid these one-gigabyte sessions.

I know that you prefer to have people use LQ pictures due to memory and slowdown issues, but as your example link seems to indicate HQ pics, I could not resist to chime in here and once more propose synergy with Magic Album and its picture torrent.

I imagine that staying compatible with MWS paths will loose its importance once Forge can be used for online multiplayer and thus make MWS obsolete.

[friarsol]

Sol, note that the site failure happened after a few months passed. Why did it break only last weekend and not right after the delay was removed?

Because there was an influx of a new users slamming requests against the server, as Rob mentioned below.

[Chris H.]

The host allegedly "resolved" the problem. Not sure how or why.. they didn't make any issue of the content or how it was being retrieved. (fine print says that all traffic must be generated by users browsing the site live)
Chris, try the release script again, let me know of any error, I was able to FTP successfully.

 
I was able to release a snapshot build this morning and everything appears to be working correctly.

[Chris H.]

I think we should encourage people to download full set images elsewhere (and give link to viewtopic.php?f=15&t=445&p=105934 for instance) and give away some pictures from cardforge.org only by demand to show cards while thay are playing to avoid these one-gigabyte sessions.

 
Mark has maintained a link to all of the images for some time but I think that this tends to get overlooked. I do not want to overwhelm him and his link and I think we should be careful.

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=468

[Chris H.]

Should we release 1.4.4 on Friday August 2?

[Sloth]

Should we release 1.4.4 on Friday August 2?

Everyone aimed for the release last friday, so a release earlier than friday would be welcome.

[Chris H.]

Should we release 1.4.4 on Friday August 2?

Everyone aimed for the release last friday, so a release earlier than friday would be welcome.

 
Is the project stable enough for a release at this time?

[moomarc]

Should we release 1.4.4 on Friday August 2?

Everyone aimed for the release last friday, so a release earlier than friday would be welcome.

 
Is the project stable enough for a release at this time?

Is it just me that can't play beyond the first game in a constructed match?