Bug Fixing Update!

[Ross Przybylski]

Hi everyone!

So, I've been working on these bugs - and thank you all for the very comprehensive list and diligence in reporting your issues and stuck games.

It's looking like the stuck games are mostly being caused by desyncs in the card decks, tho I'm not sure yet why this is happening. Hopefully will know more as I continue investigating.

The good news that I wanted to share is that I was able to isolate the cause of another annoying bug where you would not see the replay animations of actions you missed while playing an async game. In one of the last updates, I introduced delay command that spaced the time between replayed animations so they wouldn't blend together. It turns out that this was causing the last turn command index to grow beyond the range of commands actually logged. I have a resolution for this, but unfortunately, it's a client-side fix, meaning I'll need to apply it to an update. Due to the long review processes for app stores, I will hold off patching until I determine whether or not the game-stuck issue is also a client side bug or a server bug.

I'll also be taking a closer look at why victories/defeats are being flagged improperly for some games.

Keep your observations coming my way!

~Ross

[Ross Przybylski]

After much investigation, I came to the conclusion that a majority of the bugs users have been experiencing on Hero Mages including stuck games, victories being recorded as defeats, turns not submitting all moves correctly, and failed expansion purchases have been the result of lost database communications.

I suspect this was happening because the game's database was located on a different machine than the server, and that any heavy traffic fluctuations on that server could result in lost packets of information which resulted in games becoming out of sync.

Example: You draw a card as part of your turn. A command is submitted to add this change to the database *but* along the way, the communication is lost and the database never gets updated. Now, during your opponent's turn, they don't receive that communication that you previously drew the card, so, according to their client, they can draw that same card and do just that. Now, what do you think happens when two players have the same card and try to use it? That's right...runtime error! And, consequently, stuck game!

I'm pleased to announce that today I created a new database server on the game server and migrated over all the Hero Mages data. Now, the game server can communicate these critical changes to the database instantly without having to gap the internet. This should *hopefully* eliminate many of these bugs in the future. The downside? Well, should the game server machine go down, we'll also lose access to the forums during that period. If that happens- email me directly at ross@d20studios.com.

So, now that I *believe* I have rooted the cause of these problems, I can start dealing with the games stuck on your records that are preventing you from enjoying a hassle-free gaming experience. For the short term, I can resolve the stuck-game issue by filtering out all games that have been inactive for over a certain period of time. This would remove these games from your list without actually deleting them- and you would receive neither victory nor defeat status (basically like the game never happened). Eventually, I can add some updates to include filtering options on the client side so you can control what games you see on your lists (as Elementa suggested in Feature Requests).

Should you experience any more "stuck" game issues on matches created after today, please notify me right away so I root out any other potential causes.

Thank you all for being such a great and supportive community!

~Ross

[Ross Przybylski]

Phew! Busy, busy week of bug fixing!

Alright everyone, once I was able to rule out the remote database factor, and upon closer examination of bugged out games, I've been able to identify and resolve most of the known issues.

Special thanks to everyone who reported issues! Hero Mages v1.8.3 should be provide a much more stable and enjoyable experience for everyone. So far, the browser version is updated, mobile versions on the way!

The next big task will be addressing the performance issues on HDD displays like the iPad4 and Nexus 10.

Please remember, for reporting new bugs, include the version number of the game. Games that were created in v1.8.3 should be less prone to bugs than previous versions.

[Ross Przybylski]

So, how has the game been since the update?!

Anymore stuck games, issues I should know about?

I've personally got about 20 open games right now, all working just fine

[pb125]

Hi Ross,
            I've got a couple of stuck games, both of which are showing 'Ready to attack!' in the games list:

Examples:
#60422 UR   Will display the final move when I open the game, (the other player’s last character dying) but will not allow any action after that. Usually the game would pop up a message at this point. It also appears as if the character animation has not completed. i.e. the mage still has his sword out in front of him.

#59951 R      Will not allow me to make any move (cast spell, move players etc), but will not allow me to end my turn either. IIRC I did complete all the moves I could do, and then the game crashed. It looks like it has recorded that I have used my moves, but not what the actual moves were.

Is there any way I can end / remove these games?

Regards,

Pete