Posts by Klabbauter

Quote from Naike

what I understood with the migration from flash to HTML5 it was more or less copy/paste and not completely rewritten.

There are two interpretations of that "copy/paste".

First is to copy code lines that controlled Flash to code lines into html. This is not possible. Though my impression of their first attempt was, that they had hoped for that. However, Flash is an app that runs on the player's computer and must be triggered by commands (and parameters) to change what we see on the screen.

So flash is like a machine on our computers, on which the commands from backend/server/html/javascript press buttons, and flash does all the calcualtions needed, the size changes etc. to animate what we see on the screen.

Different from that, html ist not the control, but the RESULT. Html code is the result of what the server programs calculated. So many of the algorithms that create what we see, must be prepared on the server. Version 5 of html brought a lot of new functionality to change things on the screen, colors, sizes, positions and even data and animations, but the html code line must be prepared and (almost) completely "written" by the server code.

Second meaning of copy/paste is: not to copy the code lines, but the algorithms. And that is, what they finally did (seem to have done).

Example: if you want to add two numbers, one programm language might need that written as "c := a + b;" while another one needs that as "sum(a,b)". In such cases, the algorithm is to add a and b, but the code line must be rewritten.

And here is one possible problem: if the algorithm is correctly transferred, there might have been a bug in the calculation of b. So if the value of b is wrong, the very same but will be in the flash version and in the html version. During the transition they might have looked at the variables a and b, and found to better have used d instead of b ... that would have fixed that bug, but it looks like they didn't do that, so we still have a lot of bugs known in the flash version already.

(But it's understandable ... HMR said it: they needed time, much time, especially when it came to the third attempt when a year had already gone ... no time to quickly look up and change bugs, even if they were just typos)

So, simply said: Flash (and engines like Unity) so much of the work on the computer of the player, while html code comes from the server and must already contain most of the stuff that will happen on the screen.

Quote from Rmtcp

Aren't they expending to much money and time already because of the mess made when changed from Flash to Html5?

Well, we don't know the code, we can only look at what we see when we play RN ... and we can make conclusions, if we want to help them, and think about the future of the game that we love so much.

Reading Rmtcp and HMR and others, I must agree: there IS a problem. Many problems even. There are too many bugs, so my first thought is: Is the game maintanable at acceptable costs and time? And when you mention html ... it took 2 years, with 3 attempts (new starts to change), who can pay a team working 2 years and starting 3 different plans to do the change? Why start 2 concepts that failed to move to html? And also: there were too many bugs already in the Flash version, and they did not vanish, though during the change they must have seen a lot of the bad code lines ... and did not fix them. And also haven't fixed them when html version was running.

We also must not forget, that bugs tend to interfere each other, and that to add functions, programmers have to either fix bugs that interfere or code workarounds for known bugs into the new code parts ... and to remove them, when some time later the bug is fixed. So much time lost, so much money spent ...

At some point of software development, when bugs and other bad code is not avoided or fixed in a timely manner, maintenance of the product cannot be done with an acceptable budget. Once they started to decrease bugfixing in favor of new elements (new GUI - still not finished, new functions, new attempt with html, ...) bugs interfering each other and coded workarounds will make it impossible to even find the bugs' reasons not to mention to fix them.

We cannot blame anyone. Looking at some details of the software, the programmers and devs ARE skilled. But the results, that we have to play with, are buggy, and in some parts not really working. We don't know why they decided to go that way ... so what can we do to help them, tell them that we notice the many problems, and maybe even discuss a way out of them?

My guess is same as yours: bugfixing, changing the bad code into good code, is not an option (if the goal is to have a game with only few bugs). It will take too much money, too much time, too many employees.

Will the ambassadors reduce costs, time and manpower needed? I guess no. Ambassadors will not change the amount of work that has to be done.

So at the end I also think, that the best way for the future of this great game idea is to write it new from scratch.

With a clear, streamlined concept on GUI, program modules, server client communication ... but will they help us to feel good about the future? Will they join this discussion? Or is it really better to wait till a different company can make use of the license of the game idea?

Quote from Rmtcp

I'm not suro but I think Opera browser still have flash player working

Maybe, some browsers still accept the flash addon. But how about 2022? How about 2023?

If you look at the website of Bright Future, the studio that develops (and should maintain) RN, they started a new project. Work title "Emerald".

And they use the game engine Unity for that new game. So they have learnt from their html5 attempts. I have not (yet) tried Unity myself, but I heard good news about it, and also some bad. At the end, it is another third party game engine, they will depend on.

Would be interested to read your opinion: Would changing to a game engine like Unity be a good option to create a new RN from scratch?

Quote from Rmtcp

jihCINU.png

WOW ... well, the question was posted twice ... so some moderator or CM must have chosen to remove the thread with the answer, so my link to it is now invalid.

neww or flawless ... do you think, that was the perfect move, not to merge the two threads, but to move the one with the answer into the hidden basement of the forum?

Good that likkaon posted the helping answer a day later too.

look at your other thread: RE: Three Coins
Edited:

On the station screen, klick the lottery. There are 4 buttons, 3 to buy tickets and one for a list of the wins. (German: "Gewinnübersicht)

Click that 4th button and the coins appear above the possible and taken wins.

If - as you say - it did not originate from an RU Server, that origin must have been an "international" server (unless there was a bug in the transfer before). The rule is: transfer is only possible within the same "domain" ... and they count international servers as a different domain to "US" servers. One exception: from international servers you can transfer to any other domain ... but as you see, not back.

However, as I see it, there is another point: if you purchased gold, especially to the international server you played on, you gave real money, which means you made a contract to be able to use your virtual currency (gold) in the game. But that's, as it went, is now restricted to RU servers only, which it wasn't. when you purchased the gold.

So, maybe you can talk to support, explain, where you got the gold, and ask them to transfer to US or international servers. so you can get it back. There are two things that might happen. They might either tell you "You should have read the TOS and transfer rules more carefully so your gold will stay in RU only servers" .... or .... they might be happy about a customer willing to play more and transfer your gold for you.

Hi Oliver, welcome.

First I was surprized to read about "new CM", but then I noticed that "new addional". So nEwW is not gone, you are two now for the English speaking community.

Plus: you and I can both claim as JFK did decades ago: "I am a Berliner"

Though I still miss your predecessor Samisu and his creative ideas to keep us active, to give answers and get desired information, I am happy to notice you are a team now, two of you, so this will become a great journey.

So, have a great start, enjoy a great community full of enthusiasm, creativity and suggestions ... but most of all: HAVE FUN!

That looks like a job well done. Thanks for showing us. So good to see enthusiastic railroad fans all around.

I hope, Lego will like your idea, as your supporters do.

Nope.

Each new login activates your account again. You have to delete again, and then wait those 3 days WITHOUT logging in to that game world again.

After 3 days without login, that game world is deleted from your list of game worlds.

The good thing here is: we got translations of the original intended message to the customers in 3 languages. So those, who are familiar to those languages, can realize those little differences between them.

Of course, people ... customers ... think about the arguments. And they all contained health, some mentioned sleep, some mentiones hours and nights of watching ads ...

So, customers of the gaming industry want to have fun. They ARE funny, they got a sense of humor, some know irony, some even sarcasm.

I was not surprized (knowing the above) so read somewhere "more than 56 vids are unhealthy".

Not surprizing though - yes - there were several lines between "health" and "56", but the customers got the connection anyway ... and made a joke of it.

Bringing in the argument of health (and was there even that of pathological gaming?) might not have been the brightest idea of Bright Future company as I said, I was not surprized to see customers joking about that. Why not let them enjoy that joke? Health was mentioned as a good (?) reason - is it that good in times of covid19? - and 56 in a later paragraph ... I love customers who put those 2 arguments together and create something new from it.

Also, I made up a survey and a scientific study in my brain, and it tells, that the magic number is 68 ads in a row. That is, when the earwax starts to melt and gives way directly to the brain, so the ads have an brain washing effect. So we can talk about "health", when it's ad no. 69

Also: yes there are customers, who watch hundreds and maybe even 1000 videos on one day (or night) ... but does anybody really think, they WATCH them?

See, when I "watch" ads, latest at the 3rd miramagia or travian legens or aldi I do no longer watch, and I even switch off audio from my bluetooth connection. I clean my desk instead.

Quote from nEwW

As explained in Your Video Limit Concerns: Rail Nation Team Response thread, there are several reasons why there is a limit introduced on the videos.
As we explained, we are open to suggestions and therefore, we will include the question about the limit into our March Global Survey.
We will be more than happy to read your feedback in our survey so we can take it into account to make decisions.

Well, there are some explanations that answer questions, that were put, several times, since videos were introduced to the game. Which lets - though I appreciate those answers - a little bad guy in my ear ask: "Why are we allowed to know that now, why not already years ago?" One very interesting answer (never given before) is, that your ad partner values (and pays?) 100 customers watching 1 vid per day much more than 1 customer watching 100.

The other one ist idea of surveys. Especially when the number 56 is discussed. There is no need to test and try, if 56 is the best limit thinkable. That could have been surveyed long before you planned the upgrade. You tested it on PTR, where vids are not really needed, cause they get some gold to test ... so not only a small target audience, but also the wrong one. But to ask for a limit, there is no try needed, experienced players could have answered immediately - according to their objectives in the game - where their pain threshold is if a limit is discussed.

And as for a later survey ... there is a big group, who hate ads and their trackers and tracers (they would vote for: take them out of the game), there is another big group, that give their time and allow to be tracked to help their friends in the association to have more income (they would vote for a limit of 1000), there might be bots (their owner will vote for: unlimited) and there are groups that watch a vid now and then ... and don't care about a limit. And many more groups.

The groups of target audiences are so different, that a survey that wants a vote, aims on a majority ... the max count of votes will not give you an answer.

And another point: Waiting 4-8 weeks in the internet is a very long time. People often decided much quicker for a different game. In my perception there are two big unhappy groups right now: a) those who collect vids, because they want to increase the income of their friends, and b) those who watch vids, because of the bonusses and gimmicks they can get, no matter if they love them or if they cannot afford to invest much real money to play.

Waiting weeks, will not make all of those 2 groups to go away, but part of them ... and they will be lost, no matter what the survey will tell us.

Just some thoughts about the explanations ...

Quote from nEwW

Regarding discord.
We wanted to provide a tool that is more up-to-date and allows us to talk to the community directly.
Discord is one of the most used communication channels in today's gaming industry, allowing us to create more and more interactive content for you, our players, but also to get faster feedback on possible technical problems and allow the communities to discuss all kinds of topics in one place.

I guess, the central word is: "directly".

However, the community also is HERE, in the forum. You can talk (write) to us directly here, you just do that.

And you can get direct answers here.

I love Discord very much.

But if it comes to directly, there are some cons and pros.

- Yes, we can talk, by voice. Will it happen? Should it be scheduled when you are available for answers? Will there be times, when experts of your staff will be available for a voice discussion?

- Another aspect of "directly" ... imagine I want to bring a suggestion. Here in the forum I can search if there is a thread already about the idea. In Discord I have to scroll back hundreds of short posts, to find same or similar ideas ...

---> so this brings up the question: Will you CMs pick out suggestions, creative posts, questions, ideas, messages that are good enough to be repeated here in the forum, in a special unique thread, there they can be honored, discussed, worked on, where more creativity can be added and alternatives can be addressed ...

So, I like the idea to use Discord, but for the real meaning of "directly" Discord and forum should be a combination, which means: there is a new part of the CM job to bring Discord content into the forum, where it can be put in searchable threads and discussions.

Quote from Samisu

It has been the most wonderful ride I got to experience with all of you. Since 2016, I've had both the honor and the pleasure to share this time with you - members of the Rail Nation player community. I've packed my bags full of precious memories and stories from my time as your Community Manager.

My journey has taken me to a whole new world filled with rich fantasy and wars, a world called Arkheim. While I'm off to new adventures, yours will continue with new Community Managers joining the team early next week, together with a new community platform:

Samisu, reading this makes this Sunday a sad day for me.

Maybe Arkheim looks like an an upgrade to your job. Maybe it is meant as a gratification, as an appreciation for your good work. So congratulations to your advancement. If changing to Arkheim really is positive in your perception (and the perception of the company) I am happy for you.

But to be honest: I don't think, that Arkheim will be a success. (Don't want to discuss the reasons here)

HMR said it: "We will miss you."

You have been one of the very few of the employees, who posted from the heart, who included emotions, who could motivate to positive thinking, who displayed so much creativity and positive thoughts, who cared for the customers, who reacted not with punishing but with humor and deescalation to "bad" posts.

From all the CMs that I witness here in RN forum (there might be more perfect ones in other languages) you are the one, who really deserves to be called a true representative of both of the two parts of the title: You LIVE COMMUNITY, and you are a real GREAT MANAGER. Plus: a great teamplayer.

You made the English forum enjoyable for me. Here I felt to be a welcomed customer, to be more than just a user with the duty to deliver bug information and documentation in the only accepted form.

Thank you so much for the years that allowed me to witness one of the best examples of a COMMUNITY MANAGER in the internet.

Ah, I love communities giving some special greetings to each other on special occasions ... like holidays for example.

I also love to add some pictures to it, though my photoshop skills are not that good. But here is my pic for the German forum today:

No English version of that text ... but my wishes for you are the same:

We have had a very special year 2020 ... so my first wich for 2021 is: HEALTH.

Let us all make 2021 the year we defeated Covid19, by vaccination, by continuing to protect each other, to take care of each other.

Staying healthy means we can set up goals for 2021: being successful, being happy, having fun ... set your goals for the new year and GO for them!

Thank you so much, Samisu, for your holiday greetings and information. Very much appreciated. I really love the English forum part ... it's just my feeling, but for me it's so much cooler and so nicely accepting informal friendly interaction here.

As you came up with a christmas picture, I would like to add mine, that I made for the German forum (I know, not the best photoshop work, but both: funny and connecting RN and christmas). A young pair, sitting in their lounge room, enjoying the advent time with champain and cookies. And like most of the RN employees they are so enhusiastic about their jobs, that they keep at least part of their company clothing even when celebrating christmas. Also: watch the great choice of modern art, that they hang to their lounge wall!

Merry Christmas to everyone, RN employees, RN volunteers, supporters, forum teams ... and to all players, customers and friends.

Hi Nikki. First of all: Welcome to our community.

Maybe I misunderstood, but I think you are German and live in Germany. So my first question is:

Will you do your introduction and a thread like this in the German forum too?

I really appreciate that you started in English, as very often I feel, us Germans get the information first, and though (my opinion) discussions in English forum are so much cooler, I would love to see you introduced to my German friends too.

My second question:

Looks like you are one of those to sit between the two chairs: between us customers (well, when I hear "community" the picture in my head shows the community of customers and forum and fb users) and the company. Salix often could not answer quickly, cause he had so many internal tasks to do. So the question is: on your position between customers and company ... where are you looking at most of your time?

One big theme will be: the bugs. There are so many here in the forum, users, workers, programmers, IT specialists, normal people using software ... whose experience is to shout and blame even few bugs. Or expect, bugs to be fixed within the same year (too often: fix that till tomorrow morning or pay the fine for breaking the contract). Well, I know, the F2P business model gives you more freedom, more excuses, more rights ... but wouldn't you agree, that a number of bugs that goes into the hundreds, is not a good base for a good partnership between customer community and the company?

And something that HMR mentioned already: RN is a strategy game that very much builds groups of players (customers): associations, cities, regions, friendships, fractions ... so communication between players is essential. But neither the ingame chat nor the news system are by any means only acceptable. Both create some letters, somtimes to rarely, but most of the time they are unable to chat with or to give information to others (and find it back). So, a big PLEASE: please put in all your influence to make the team create something, that we can communicate with. And please put that on top priority.

OK, I will stop here. I am called a novel writer in this forum. Too long, too much. So I will stop at 4 topics today.

Thanks for your introduction ... and have fun in your new job ... be sure, we are all friendly, all enthusiastic RN players, ... but that might be the reason, why we sometimes (rarely) shout and cry and whine ...

Quote from MSVblader

Was ist mit dem Neustart DE 402? Sollte der nicht um 14:00 Uhr sein? Ich sehe den Server bei mir nicht

German answer:

Die ersten konnten einloggen. Die Serverprobleme im RN-Netzwerk sind ja kurz vor Serverstart aufgetaucht ...

MSV is worrying about starting P-X server Schwarzschild ... looks like the server problems hit that server start too.

Many cannot log in, also on German servers, some get bad gateway errors.

So, looks like Travian has some problems in their server network.

Well, first of all, let me say this: any company has all rights to set rules as they want. It is THEIR company, so they have the right to set up a rule, that at the end means that anything they consinder harmful ... at the end IS harmful and can (or even will) be punished (or not) according to THEIR decision. So, on first thoughts there is nothing wrong with a rule that allows them any interpretation using language that feels like dense fog.

Well, they have those rights, but that doesn't mean, that I like rules like that one.

Why?

First:

It's a one sided rule. And I hate one sided rules, because they destroy trust and confidence ... and cause discussions that at the end also make people who stand up to ask for an appeal, for support of the punished, ... to leave the game.

Second:

90% of all fights about rules are caused by misunderstandings. There ARE cases that cannot be misunderstood, like offers to trade illegal stuff, for example. All other fights almost never have one wrongdoer and one who can be 100% sure about his judgement. A little piece of "guilt" will always be on both sides.

Means, if I (and I mean ME) start a PN fight with a moderator or CM (or boss) we are BOTH right, and we are BOTH wrong. I we cannot come to a conclusion, we EITHER have differend perceptions on that case, different background, different experiences in life, different views (there is no "truth [tm]")... so we could agree to think different, agree to disagree, but value the other one as a human being, worth to be listened to. OR ... we can carry on, telling our opinion, until the side with more might gives up (but who is the one with more might? The company whose rule allow to excluse customers from community, or the customer who stops plaing and thus creates less income for the company) ... OR we can discuss in a way with the intention, the objective, to find a solution, a compromise, a workaround ... OR we can call others to assist us by starting a mediation, by bringing in a third perception for example.

There is only one of these many ways made possible with that rule: RN decides about "harmful" and punishes at there discretion and never continues discussion.

Third:

Well, I also think of how we do punishments in RL. There are courts and judges for that. And if real harm is done, bad enough to exclude a person from the communiy of the others for a long time, there's (at least in the US and Europe) never a judge deciding everything. Appeals are always possible in our countries. Judges in the US will have to follow the decision of a jury, a jury of normal people. In Europe the jury people sit beside the judges, count - though being normal people - as judges and can outvote the installed judges.

Also, each wrongdoer may ask for an appeal and will be supported by ... well by an attorney, and they can bring up witnesses who support their perception of the harm done.

And mediation procedures are more and more preferred instead of lawsuits ... and mediators should be neutral, not being bound to the company.

How we deal with right or wrond or with harmful or not in RL, should at least tell us a little bit about how to deal with

Well, these 3 points tell, why I somehow hate one sided rules. But I also accept that RN has the right to set up a rule like that.

And I fully agree to that rule, if someone for example would start to sell porn ingame or in the forum.

Also, there MUST be a rule that allows them to protect their company (and product) if they see it under harmful attacks that are not mentioned in other rules.

Nevertheless I would love to see the willingless to offer appeals that do not only suggest a mail to "complaints", but also considers listening to witnesses, including mediators, giving the wrongdoer a chance to tell their perception ... yes, that will take some more time, some extra action, but will increase the trust in the decisions of the company. And make customers blamed for wrongdoing possibly change into long time customers.

(I can only repeat my experience. When I was admin of the largest forum I ever supported, I once had to ban a user from it for a week, according to one of the rules. But I staid in contact with him, ask him to return and he became my successor, and did a great job. Means: wrongdoers are not always bad people, very often they would give anything for the game, product, forum ... but will be chased away by one sided rules)

The forum software allows to quickly set up a part, where only the CM, the supporter, the wrongdoer, the witnesses, the mediators and a friend of the wrongdoer (their supporter, lawyer, attorney) and maybe a jury of experienced gamers are allowed to post and to find a good solution TOGETHER.

That's a suggestion, not a claim. A suggestion to think about. I do not ask for appeals and mediations ... I just ask to think about to use one sided rules together with an explanation, that you consider to listen to the other side too, even if in your perception a lot of harm is done.

- - - - -

Edit:

I wrote too long, Samisu was shorter, quicker, and ... better. Thank you so much for your answer, Samisu.

But I think, I will leave my text here, as there might be tiny little diamond fragments in it, that RN might think about.

Maselbart just informed us, that there will be no snowball game in the lobby this year.

Hilti was quicker ... and more detaillied.

About the starting question: there is a blog entry about the winter event, the advent calendar started today and about the snowball game in the lobby I just got the promise that the German CM will ask the team.

Explaing it to our German friend:

Quote from bernd2851

Hier ist ja alle nur Englisch. Wie komme ich ins deutsche Forum

Offensichtlich hat bei dir der Foren-Sprachen-Bug zugeschlagen, der uns immer wieder in das englische Forum zwingt.

Geh auf dein Profil (der Kreis vor der Glocke im Menu oben rechts) und dann auf Einstellungen - Allgemein (Settings - General) und stell da wieder die Forensprache Deutsch ein und mach den Haken bei English weg. Ganz unten ist der Button zum Abspeichern.

Dann siehst du die englischen Threads nicht mehr.