In-game content development is progressing slowly - mostly because I need to be in-game a lot for that, and it's just not possible during office hours (and I don't have enough motivation left to work after office hours). But there are some things which I can work on (and which I totally am working on) during the day. They're things that you folks won't notice right away, but in the long term will yield huge benefits.
TL;DR version: as soon as I have time again, there will be more updates than ever before thanks to our recent efforts and the efforts we'll be making in the few weeks to come. I will also no longer have to spend a lot of time dealing with non-coding related stuff.
The long version:
What we've been working on the past weeks (and months):
-> I have added extra debug information in regards to disconnects
-> I have thrown out the developer's environment that I used for the past 6 years and migrated to a new one
-> We have started using an advanced source control system
-> We have developed an automatic server update system
-> I have developed an automatic donation refund system (along with an automatic chargeback processing system)
-> I have added shop and alch logs (not yet applied to the actual server)
-> I'm educating myself in project management, workflow and good coding practices (reading books and articles while bored@work)
That's nice and all, but what does it mean for you?
Once applied to the actual server, the debugging information in regards to disconnects will help us identify the cause of mass disconnects and resolve it. It's our highest priority, but because no error reports are generated during mass DC's, we are still unable to find the cause. We'll find it though - we always do. At least it only happens on rare occasions.
The new developer's environment allows me to write code much faster, which means less time is needed to develop new content.
The source control system offers many benefits. There's no chance of losing our source code if my computer crashes, we can look up previous versions of our source code and we can easily compare two versions of the server. If a bug is introduced in an update, I can easily look up what I had changed and find the bug this way.
The automatic server update system allows me to perform updates with just 3 commands from my computers' terminal, taking no more than a few seconds (and I won't even need to be in-game for it). In the past, every update used to take me several minutes and was a rather lengthy process. There's now also less risk of making a mistake during an update and we can very easily roll back our server code to a previous version incase an update goes wrong.
The automatic donation refund system allows me to perform a donation refund in a matter of seconds, with just a few mouse clicks. The server will automatically look up and confiscate the right items and issue the actual refund. In the past, this was a manual process which would take me anywhere from 10 minutes to a full hour (for each refund).
Furthermore, I will no longer have to spend any time chasing down fraud donators, as any chargebacks will also be automatically processed by the server. It will automatically confiscate items or (ip)ban the account. Once again, this means I will have much more time for actual content development.
Shop and alch logs will allow moderators to trace items more easily. Only items with a value of 1M coins or more will be logged. They will be logged as trades between the player and 'Pkhonor'.
My self-education in regards to project management, workflow and coding practices will further help to make the correct decisions, work faster and make changes to my workflow that will further benefit PkHonor in the long term.
But wait, there's more!
I still have four weeks of internship left to go - time that will be spent on several things that will directly or indirectly help Pkhonor grow faster and better.
Firstly, after the automatic server deployments, Rapsey and I will be working on automatic client deployments as well. Up to now, a client update takes up to several hours and mistakes are very easily made in this process. Once automatic client deployments are done, they will take me no more than a few commands and mistakes won't be easily made.
There have also been suggestions and speculations about Dylan becoming a developer for PkHonor. Although nothing has been decided yet, I will give him a shot and test his capabilities to see if he can become a valuable addition to the team. If it works out, many more updates will be released in the future. If not, at least we've tried.
The main reason this was not possible in the past, is because I do not wish to entrust anyone with my source code. It's not only of high value to me personally, it's also of high value to PkHonor. If anyone were to leak the server code, there would be devastating consequences. I trust Dylan more than I trust most people, but even so I do not want to take any unnecessary risks.
Thanks to Rapsey's magic in regards to our source control system and automatic server deployments, we finally have the tools we need to add another developer to the team, without risk of source code getting leaked (though I still wouldn't hire someone I don't entirely trust). I will be creating a stripped-down version of the server (without the Grand Exchange, Hunter, Construction, etc.) where Dylan can work on. This way, no code of value can get leaked.
He will be able to deploy and test his work on a test server very easily in just a few seconds time. Thanks to the magic going on behind the screen, the Grand Exchange, Hunter, Construction and all the rest that I stripped out of his server will work just fine on his testserver. Don't ask how - you wouldn't understand it anyway
I wouldn't blame anyone for leaving because they're bored and have no new content to enjoy at this time. But if you do that, I'd certainly recommend checking back in a month or two. It'll be worth your time.
