Released: Blades Forge

[Aran]

The Blades Forge is now open for public use.

 

Reviews are not yet available. They will be added some time before next weekend, hopefully. Syndication of the Spiderweb Tables and CSR ( xml ) may follow depending on success of the site.

 

Beta-test organization (including mailing lists, private forums+downloads, automatic publishing and reply-scanning of Beta Calls here and on SV, the works) may come around the new year if there is demand for it.

 

In general, the site right now is good only for hosting scenarios, graphics, scripts and articles.

[Lazarus.]

One step closer to Aran assimilating all of spiderweb.

 

I love the Blades Forge idea, for the record, and am going to have lots of problems if it doesn't take off. So you clowns start using it or I'm going to have to start busting skulls.

[Nioca]

Um, still can't register. Now it tells me that the User Name field is required when I tell it to Create new account, despite the fact that I've entered a user name.

[Celtic Minstrel]

Quote:

Originally written by Nioca:
Um, still can't register. Now it tells me that the User Name field is required when I tell it to Create new account, despite the fact that I've entered a user name.

Ditto.

It wouldn't have anything to do with the space in my name would it?

Edit: Oh, by the way: Pixel Profusion is missing in the links to external graphics sources.

Edit 2: If this page is any indication, the [spidweb] tag doesn't work. Nor does the

tag. (Or it could be just an error in that page?) And the example for [table] isn't very clear. Does the tag allow you to format multiple rows and columns, and if so, how?

I notice your smileys are absolutely identical to the ones on this site...

Edit 3: The avatar system seems a little odd in that it scales the image up if it's too small. Shouldn't it just leave it? (Obviously it should scale down if it's too large though. )

[nikki.]

Quote:

Originally written by Lazarus.:
I love the Blades Forge idea, for the record, and am going to have lots of problems if it doesn't take off. So you clowns start using it or I'm going to have to start busting skulls.

Seconded, but with possibly less bloodshed, and more "unexplained illnesses".

[Aran]

The avatar does not scale up nor down. The preview in the form just has a fixed size, so the image will look scaled up until you save your profile.

 

Spaces are not currently allowed in names. This is probably a bug, since Jumping Salmon evidently got his account before this happened, but I do not currently know how to fix this. If you really want a space, I can put one in for you after you register.

[Celtic Minstrel]

Oh, I see. The avatar thing is confusing. A note about that might be useful.

 

As for my name, removing the space does not work. I get a "User Name field is required" error.

[Kelandon]

I get the same error.

[Swimmin' Salmon]

Quote:

Originally written by Arancaytar:
Spaces are not currently allowed in names. This is probably a bug, since Jumping Salmon evidently got his account before this happened, but I do not currently know how to fix this. If you really want a space, I can put one in for you after you register.

I'll just go ahead and put it on the record.

I am an anomaly.

[Celtic Minstrel]

So... when will we be able to register?

[Nioca]

It'll be soon, probably. Arancaytar thinks he's identified what the problem is, and will fix it at some point in the future.

 

Unfortunately, that may end up being next weekend.

[Celtic Minstrel]

It still won't let me register.

[Nioca]

This week, hopefully, but make sure to bring your grain of salt.

[Aran]

I hope I can be excused for spending the beginning of the vacation first catching up on my sleep deficit and then helping my family with the decoration, dinner, so forth.

 

I promise that I'll have registration working in about 6 hours from now.

[Celtic Minstrel]

That's nice, but since it's Christmas, I'd be satisfied with 36 hours from now. I wouldn't expect you to work on Christmas Day or even Christmas Eve (but if you want to, I won't complain).

[Aran]

I wouldn't normally, but I meant to do this for weeks and finally can get SSH+vi to work again without a two second lag for each letter (yay for broadband internet!).

 

It took a bit longer than I expected, but then I started later than I said, and I fixed a minor WTF in Drupal core along the way.

 

Edit: And because I kind of silently implied that - user registration is supposed to work now. If you still get trouble, yell on AIM; I'll be around.

[Nioca]

YES!

 

*clears throat*

 

Sorry. Just got a bit excited.

 

(and yes, that means it works)

[Celtic Minstrel]

Yay! Finally it works.

 

One thing I noticed: when I logged out, the page didn't update to reflect this. (Bypassing my browser's cache fixed it.)

 

Edit: How long does it take for bulk graphics to be processed?

[Aran]

Technically? Under ten seconds.

 

Actually? Directly dependent on how often the batch job runs. Never -> forever.

 

There's a problem I haven't yet fixed, and until then the batch job can't run.

 

---

 

On a positive note:

 

Scenarios are now filtered by released state. By default, unreleased scenarios are hidden in the list; they can be shown optionally.

 

Actually showing whether or not the thing is released is right now a different matter.

 

Edit: And this different matter is also solved. The CSS rule that does it is a thing of beauty.

 

Code:

.view-field-node-data-field-released-field-released-value {  display:none !important;}td.view-field-no + td,td.view-field-no + td + td,td.view-field-no + td + td + td,td.view-field-no + td + td + td + td,td.view-field-no + td + td + td + td + td {  background-color:#fed;}

[Nioca]

Now if only scenarios could be released...

 

I posted this on Shadow Vale, but it appears you may have missed it.

Quote:

Two errors to report.

 

First, (this is the error I PMed you about) when a scenario is submitted, an error page pops up with this:

Code:

EDIT: Now gone. Sorry, Aran!

The scenario still submits, it's just that it could be a bit deceiving. I should know; I submitted Witch Hunt 5 times before realizing it.

 

Second, I can't release the scenario. Whenever I fill out the form and upload the scenarios, when I click on submit, it just takes me back to the main submission page.

[Aran]

Bug fixed. Now please remove the error message so that the page stops being broken and Google stops connecting my real name with Spiderweb.

 

Edit: Unfortunately, the bulk graphic feature is terminated until further notice. It has repeatedly failed to function in any predictable way and wreaks complete havoc on the database every time. I will need a completely isolated development and testing site set up before I can continue work on this feature, and that will take a lot of time. Until then, graphics have to be uploaded individually.

[Celtic Minstrel]

If you click Submit without first clicking Upload, the graphic fails to upload but you still get the points.

 

Edit: Also, everytime I add a graphic I get an warning of the following form:

Code:

user warning: Duplicate entry 'xxx' for key 1 query: INSERT INTO drupal_node_comment_statistics(nid, last_comment_timestamp, last_comment_name, last_comment_uid, comment_count) VALUES (167, 1198636863, NULL, 15, 0)in <path removed> on line 151.

where xxx is an ever-increasing number.

 

Edit 2: I'm assuming that means the zip I uploaded will be deleted? Because I'm now uploading them individually.

 

Edit 3: I'm getting 15 points per graphic even though the FAQ says I should get 10.

[Nioca]

Fixed; Sorry about that, Aran. The scenario release bug still appears to be present. When I attempted to release Witch Hunt, after clicking on the Submit button, it just took me back to the main submission page.

[Aran]

Muting error messages in the production version will make it rather difficult to track bugs, but seems inevitable in retrospect.

 

Also, I haven't been able to find the release bug yet. I'll take another look at it when I'm more rested.

[Aran]

Please take it out, like Nioca did.

 

--

 

I've traced the release-form bug to a simple boolean logic error.

 

Code:

if (on_a_release_form OR on_a_review_form AND NOT scenario_selected)

In my advanced state of mental exhaustion while typing that code, I forgot the parentheses around the first two to ensure the precedence worked correctly.

[Nioca]

A couple more things to report. First, when trying to submit a scenario from the main submission page, whenever I select the scenario to release, it just takes me back to the page to select a scenario to release (I was able to release the scenario directly from the scenario node itself). Second, despite the fact that my scenario is released, it's still marked as unreleased in the scenario list. It doesn't appear when the released-only filter is running, and when I view both released and unreleased scenarios, Witch Hunt is still marked off by red.

 

Also, a suggestion, so as not to put your site under siege of many variations of a similar graphic. Why not add an option that allows you to release multiple variations of the same graphic under the same node?

[Celtic Minstrel]

Quote:

Originally written by Arancaytar:
Please take it out, like Nioca did.

Huh? Is this addressed to me? What do you mean?

[Aran]

The error message in your post. The one I already PM'd you about?

 

Nioca: I'll try to fix the scenario selection issue. The released-status thing is a problem with updating the field that I'll have to fiddle with.

 

Finally, making the graphics support multiple sheets would be so unbelievably nasty in terms of spaghetti logic that I won't (tagging, etc.). Either a sheet is so closely related that you can upload it as a single image, or just make two separate graphics - the archive isn't showing signs of overpopulation. =)

[Celtic Minstrel]

Quote:

Originally written by Arancaytar:
The error message in your post. The one I already PM'd you about?

Regarding this (including the PM), I understand. I would feel the same way. I have removed the path in the error message.

Nioca: At least in some cases, the variation could just be added to the old node by uploading a replacement picture. I already added map graphics to a few of mine that way

[Aran]

Come to think of it, I could let graphics have a reference to related graphics. Scenarios already let you link to graphics and scripts used.

[Nioca]

Arancaytar, there's a not-so-small situation in the Graphics and Scenarios section. I'd post the error code, but just wander over to either and you'll figure it out soon enough.

 

EDIT: That's what I get for waiting half-an-hour to post this. *shakes head sadly at self*

[Aran]

Here's the situation: The table that handles scenario releases is one of the tables managed by the Content Creation Kit module. CCK is stunning in the simplicity with which it allows creation of custom content types and fields, but also amazingly complex in the way it manipulates the database.

 

For some reason, on the last unannounced "clean-up", triggered when I installed a new module, CCK decided that the content type "Scenario release" was corrupt, and deleted all references to it without warning.

 

I spent a bit of time restoring various tables from backup (2007-12-25), but the corruption only got worse with some new tables and some old. I put the site in stasis to get some sleep, and when I looked at the problem with a rested brain this morning, I realized that at this stage the database was BORKED. So it has now been completely moved back to the state of two days ago; the last action was Nioca's creation of Across the Treshold.

 

Backups will be made twice a day from now on, if that comforts you.

[Celtic Minstrel]

I can access the Bulk Graphics page again now, and it says there is one upload in the queue. Does this mean it will someday be processed?

[Aran]

The backup reverted everything, including my failed attempt to process the bulk. That means the bulk is listed once more.

 

I've fixed the other problem and in the process also set up the testing site I should have made long ago. On this testing site, I can go nuts with developing the bulk uploader, so it's entirely possible that it will work soon. It could take up to a week, though.

[Nioca]

The Blades Forge can't find its own home page.

 

Seriously, the main page of the Blades Forge gives a page not found error. Everything else still works.

[Celtic Minstrel]

Oh, I thought the whole site was broken. Thanks!

[Nioca]

And now it's fixed again.

 

Strange.

[Celtic Minstrel]

The spidweb BBCode tag does not work at all.

[Celtic Minstrel]

The Blades Forge is currently giving me what looks like BBCode instead of the actual main page.

[Aran]

You know, if the site suddenly does something it doesn't normally do, this is almost always because I am working on it at this very moment. The next time this happens, you can find out pretty much immediately by messaging me on AIM (RealArancaytar), while leaving this topic for actual bug reports.

[Nioca]

The chat transcript you uploaded returns a age Not Found error when I try to look at the attachment.

[Celtic Minstrel]

I'm sorry, but it seemed like a bug to me. In fact, it still seems like a bug. If the site goes down when you're working on it, you should probably create a message that explains the site is being worked on rather than the seemingly random code that popped up before.

 

As for AIM, I don't have it. I don't do instant messaging. But next time (if there is a next time), perhaps I'll wait awhile to see if it's temporary.

[Celtic Minstrel]

(Urgh, double post...)

 

Okay... I have some templates in xcf (GIMP) format that would probably be useful, but there seems to be no good way to post them on the Blades Forge. They can't be posted as a graphic, because they are not an allowed format (and they probably shouldn't be, either); they could be posted as a scenario, except they're not really a scenario.

 

I don't really know if there is a good solution to this. Ideally they would be available as psd as well as xcf. (Or, if I could find a way to save as a multi-layer TIFF, that would be even better. Unfortunately the GIMP does not support this. )

 

Ideas?

[Aran]

Policy question. They're not intended to be viewed in the browser, so I wouldn't necessarily class them with graphics.

 

I could make an extra type for "miscellaneous resources".

 

Or, since I established precedent with that chatlog, you could attach the xcf template to a news entry. I can add another category besides chatlogs - "Graphics templates" - that it could be placed into.

[Celtic Minstrel]

So... which one do you think is the best choice? Should I submit a news entry or are you going to make some changes to the site?

 

Edit: There is no appropriate category available for News Entries.

 

Edit2: Oh... is the batch graphic feature officially cancelled? I uploaded a zip file, and if it's not going to be processed then I will upload the graphics individually.

 

Edit3: I'm just going to upload them individually. If my zip file of graphic is still there, please delete it (or remove it from the queue, or whatever).

[Celtic Minstrel]

The graphic categories for Blades of Exile are Creature, Dialogue, Item, and Terrain. However, there are also talking graphics (which are often also called Dialogue graphics but are a different size). Should talking graphics be uploaded as Dialogue, or do you think you should add a category for them?

 

Edit: Eek! I actually ran out of space for tags! (I wanted to set more than 15 tags for one graphic, and some of them were fairly long.) Is there a way to work around this?

[Aran]

- "Talking" added to BoE graphics categories.

- "Graphic template" added to News entry categories.

 

Just tag it incrementally. Enter tags, press "Add", enter more tags into the now empty field.

[Celtic Minstrel]

Quote:

The selected file Templates.zip can not be attached to this post, because it is only possible to attach files with the following extensions: jpg jpeg gif png txt doc xls pdf ppt pps odt ods odp.

I suppose I could change the extension to odt or something, since they are zip archives anyway, but that's not exactly a good solution, is it?

[Aran]

It's been a busy weekend, but I've managed to fix things up.

 

Slight change of plans: To avoid confusion, please use the newly created "Resource" type for anything that isn't actually News. Allowed extensions now include zip and several more.

 

Edit: Also, since I hadn't mentioned it here yet:

 

http://blades.ermarian.net/lyceum/csr

 

Updates once a day.

[Celtic Minstrel]

Okay then.

 

And I'd already noticed the Lyceum section. But I guess some people may not have.

 

Edit: You know, I can understand why the most recent thumbnail was scaled down, but I don't get why some of the other thumbnails of my graphics were scale up.