Bi-Weekly Update for 5/4/09

[Ramsey]

Bi-Weekly Update for 5/4/09

1) Update Overview (TOC):

• Object & Saving Restructure (major project)
• Internal Testing
• Creature Handler
• Structure Revamp
• Missions Update
• Deed Revamp
• QA Team Update

Body:

Object & Saving Restructure:

One of the few annoyances of the current Core3 code, from a development standpoint, is the lack of a central Object Manager. Saving and Loading objects is even a bigger mess because there are no standard save / loading functions. DB calls are made in various functions and serialization is almost never uniform across the board. This had let to a LOT of hard-to-trace bugs (inventory/bank) and will become increasingly hard to maintain. That is why the SWGEmu Development team is now pushing two major projects through the development cycle; Standard Saving/Loading + Object Restructure.

The Object Restructure focuses on moving ALL server object creation through a single pipeline in the Object manager. To make this possible TheAnswer (TA) has; modified Engine3 to improve object serialization, optimized object hierarchy, and created a more sensible structure to object scripts. A lot of research has been done by TA as to how the client manages objects internally - something ALL emulator teams have modeled solely after packet reversing until now. It is important for us to improve SWG specific systems of our code based on the best available reversing research.

As for saving, we are changing the structure of the database to accommodate complete object serialization. Saved objects will follow a node-system where parent objects expand or compress into objects that belong to the local container. The new save/load functions will; make object-state saving much more straight forward, give players & server admins a better degree of accuracy from DB restores, and improve overall stability.

For those of you that keep a close eye on our SVN, TA branched the object restructure to SerializeTest. We are looking to get these major changes in as soon as possible. Major retesting of already-implemented systems will be required, but after, new code will most likely have fewer bugs.....all in the name of rock-solid software

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Internal Testing:

The Quality-Assurance team has been an excellent asset to the project since it's creation. With the launch of an Internal Test Center (ITC), SWGEmu Developers can push potentially unstable code onto the ITC and have it tested by the QA staff. This process is now becoming a standard procedure. After a feature has passed stability testing on the ITC, the code is pushed to General Testing on Nova where it is subject to community scrutiny in terms of accuracy and/or completeness. The results speak alone, TC: Nova has been running for five days straight without downtime while establishing a total of over 31,000+ sessions (not simultaneous, yet ) - taken from nova.swgemu.com:44455 on 5/3

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Creature Handler:

MrTopas has been hard at work fixing bugs in the recently committed Creature Handler code. The creature handler code has become more stable every day thanks to the work of the QA team. New features were added the creature handler. Pets can join groups and do tricks and special attacks. The redesign of the vehicle/mount classes paid off. Pet mounts can be added without any changes to the mount code.

IMAGE: http://www.swgemu.com/swgemu/images/...59g6cjzn8n.jpg

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Structure Revamp

cRush has been working steadily on his structure revamp now for the past month, and the fruits of his labor are finally starting to come forth. All Harvesters and Generators have every function fully operating, and housing is in the sights for the coming weeks. The code is being looked over with a fine tooth comb currently on the ITC, as is insisted by cRush. Initial inspections look good though, and it shouldn't be long before we see the introduction of fully stable and persistent Harvesters and Generators on TC! Not to mention the addition of structure permission lists! Now you can add your friends to the Hopper and Administrator list!

Housing is his next concern, and he has already laid a great portion of the framework by knocking out all the bugs with installations. Furthermore, groundwork for Player Cities is also in the works, setting it up to be a swift painless implementation when the time comes.

Be on the lookout for Harvester and Generator testing to creep into the Phase Testing in the upcoming days. Of course, deeds will be available on the blue frogs.

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Missions Update:

Ramsey is holding off on Lair-Destroy missions until after the Object Restructure, to minimize the amount of rewritten code that will be required. Instead, he will be implementing and rolling out Delivery Missions on the ITC mid-week and Nova by the end of the week. Scripted-Timed Objectives will soon be possible and a few missions along the lines of "Kill ___ amount of creatures and deliver ___ in ___ minutes" will hit TC to test this new feature.

Looking forward, there are some existing things we will be able to do with Missions - beyond anything Live did. Possibilities which include:

-Player created missions from within the game itself using the Server sent UI (kyle)

-Dynamic Missions
The ability for the server to spawn missions based on nearby conflicts or creatures/lairs and assign them to city guards, civilians, or terminals. Conditions for mission creation could depend on numerous SCRIPTED factors like; if impPopulation > x spawnMission() etc. Dynamic missions may/may not be available at all times and could have expiration dates attached to keep the needs/conflicts of a certain area relevant and fun. More on this later..

-CSR/EC spawned missions
The ability for server staff to spawn missions relevant to special events announced on the forums from INSIDE the game. This would tie into player created missions. CSR/EC would sent mission "invitations" to all players in areas where the event is taking place - players would have the option of opting into the event at any time. Again, a lot of possibilities even when production servers (like SC) go live.

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Deed Revamp

As a result of cRush's Structure Revamp, he also had to make some significant changes to the deed objects. He has simplified the code, and contained it within their proper categories. This will smooth the implementation of remaining deeds into game.

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QA Team Update

We had a meeting and came up with some decisions on the applicants; however, we were unable to come to decisions for every department just yet. We will be re-opening applications in the next few days for Combat - Melee; Combat - Ranger; and the newly formed team, Medoutainer (A combination of Medic, Scout, and Entertainer). If you think you would be good in one of these fields keep an eye on the "Announcements" forum for the new application.

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Developer Perspective ("Round Table")

Originally Posted by Ramsey

Finals this week so I won't have as much time to work on the project as I hoped..but I'll still be able to get a few delivery missions in by the end of the week.

I have gotten a few PM's about how people can help with writing mini stories (missions) for the game. Missions are completely scriptable and over time they will become easier to write. I do need to complete and post the mission script documentation after the object restructure. When the documentation is complete, I will make a notification through a BiWeekly Update and hold a few IRC sessions for those interested in a crash-course on scripting (if the documentation alone isn't enough).

Next week, I'll be tinkering with Dynamic Missions and InGame interface for CSR/EC created missions

Originally Posted by MrTopas

The last weeks I was working on ch/pets. CH and pets . I fixed many bugs and added new commands and features to pets.
I the next weeks I will continue working on CH/pets.

Originally Posted by cRush

Unfortunately, real life has taken precedent for the last couple weeks. I have school finals this week, and have been suffering a bit financially lately, making it difficult to justify the devotion of time to the project. However, school will be wrapped up after this week, and I should have more time to roll out the long advertised installation, housing, and deed revamp. Look for this by the next biweekly if all goes well.

Originally Posted by Kyle

I have had virtually no time for code the last month or so. I am finishing my undergrad this week, and preparing for grad school. I also have a baby girl on the way any day now. After wednesday I should have much more time to finish up crafting and helping with the object restructuring. There are a number of small additions/changes to resources and crafting to make them more complete, and then work to finish up professions should move along fairly quickly.

Originally Posted by Max

I haven't had much time recently and don't know when I will free up. I'll keep my thumb on the pulse for the time being and may look at when I can step back up to the plate soon.

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Closing:

In order to expand the availability of PreCU resources available to the public, the SWGEmu Team will launch the following services;

-SWGEmu video portal
This "SWGEmu-Tube" will be integrated into the main site and allow ANYONE with an SWGEmu Account to upload or view SWG-related videos. The frontend already has integrated some of the features that will be available for videos as well, such as commenting and tag searching. More on this from Ramsey in the next update.

-SOE Forum Archive
Ramsey has finally fixed the old SOE-Lithium forum backup. This will be linked to in the Archive section and uploaded shortly. We are currently adding search functionality to this archive (since the original search obviously will not work). This should make viewing and collecting old precu information much easier than before.

The persistent efforts of those logging into Nova to push the envelope of Core3 at ANY time of day is an incredibly useful asset to the project and guarantees the output of quality software. The next two weeks will bring changes that will strengthen Core3 in the long run but may not always be the easiest to test. The SWGEmu Team would like to thank those that have stuck through the hard (and sometimes fun) times on Nova. It is comforting to know that our efforts, while unique, will never be only for the niche hardcore PreCU fans...but a gateway for those that have yet to taste a REAL MMO.

Until next time,

--Team SWGEmu