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Suggestion(s) for Sleuth improvement
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Huglover
Huglover
Old Shoe

Jan-25-2008 11:08

In order to try to make a contribution to the improvement of Sleuth Noir, I have decided to give away 5 "prices" of 1 month gift subscription to 5 different sleuths that already have or during the next period will come with the best suggestion(s) to improve Sleuth Noir on one or more following areas:
* Doing something to improve the game-speed
* Getting more people to subscribe to Sleuth Noir
* Making Sleuth Noir more fun to play
* Something else the judges approve of

So, it's time to open that creative vein of yours, and come with suggestions and post them on this board. It's no part in the judging whether the suggestion will be implemented into Sleuth Noir or not, as this is for Sleuth Admin to decide. In my eyes, it doesn't even have to be your idea originally.

Even though I haven't asked them, I had hoped that a jury of
Jojo, Stooby, Roamie, Secret Squirrel and Lady Jas would voulenteer to search out the most worthy. I would be happy if you made a reply to this posting saying whether you accept or not. Please decide among those of you accepting the task how you would like to organize. You all seem to be active on the boards, and I do trust that you will be fair. You are also free to "adjust" the important topics, but I have put down my suggestions, and what I would like to encourage. Also, decide for how long the "competition" will last. Preferably less than a month.

I myself don't have the capacity to search out and find the good recievers of a gift subscription, that's the reason why I humbly ask those mentioned to join forces and help me with the task. I would guess (but may be wrong) that the "recivers" are less than 100 days old, as the older might already have long lasting subscriptions, and one additional month would be as a drop in the sea. Also, I think that the jury themself cannot be among the "recivers".

I hope that when the jury have made their decicion, they will post it here and send me a PM with the name of the selected winners

Replies

LoveHugs
LoveHugs
Well-Connected

Jan-26-2008 10:50

Well, I (Huglover under cover), have left the job for the judges, but I cannot see why this idea would not fit into the "criteria". I did not mean the criterias to be too tight. If this is something people find handy, and like the suggestion, I am so naive that I think it adds to the fun of the game.
- and whoa, you are inside of the criterias ;-)

Ms Helen
Ms Helen
Con Artist

Jan-26-2008 10:59

ctown I'm all up for that idea too. Not so much because I care about others using my equipment but more because when newer agents join an agency and start out in Shangri la it's a great way of showing them what they can or can't take. Or if someone has requested an item it can be marked with their name.

Sinus Felina
Sinus Felina

Jan-26-2008 12:28

Suggestions for better game speed that don't interfere with programming:

Proxy servers: Put up proxy servers to cache everything that is not dynamic, i.e. images and static pages.

Cluster webservers: Put up several webservers to handle the load. Make sure there is a decent network between the webservers and the database.

Tune everything: Everything is tuneable. Database, webserver and network configuration should be reviewed to ensure they is configured for optimal performance.

Message Board:
Edit/Delete option for your own messages. A spellcheck would also be nice for us who haven't grown up speaking English.

Payment options:
Give us more alternatives when paying for subscriptions. Credit cards would be fine with me: Master Card, Visa, Diners ...

I have been subscribed before, but I didn't like to set up a PayPal account just for this. The transaction from my bank to PayPal was also very slow, and it took away the impulse factor: "What a great game! I have to subscribe at once! Lets see... PayPal? Uh-oh.." (three weeks later) "Wasn't there something I should remember...?"
---
Great initiative, Huglover! Give the free subs to someone who haven't been subbed before.

LoveHugs
LoveHugs
Well-Connected

Jan-26-2008 13:53

Interesting :-)
I am now making my answer as a private person, not to influence on the judges ;-)
If you were to share the load between two webservers (with one database for each of them), I come to think it would be good to share on cities and other actions.
Say webserver (+database) 1: took hand of New York, Shanghai, Shangri La, and the chatroom.
Webserver (+database) 2: took hand of London, Delhi, Cairo and the Message Boards.
All the agents need to be in both of the databases, as when an agent moves to another city or the agency is moved to another city, or.... they need to re-locate to the other webserver/database. It will mean that those transaction will take more time.
It's an interesting thought. But it will sure cost more money than the current Sleuth server solution. - and that part also needs to be taken care of. Ben is doing an imense job as it is, and I don't want him to end up loosing money....

When it comes to payment options I think you already have what you are searching for. When I use the subscribe link, it sends me to paypal, sure, but I can choose paying with credit card right away, and don't even have to establish a paypal account. The moment I return to Sleuth after payment is fulfilled, I have to log in again, and when I log in, I log into a subscribed account. :-)

Sinus Felina
Sinus Felina

Jan-26-2008 14:29

The thought in my suggestion of more webservers is to share the workload without messing with the database/game engine. It is very easy to run several webservers, serving the same content, getting data from the same database. It is tricky to split the database into several parts, it requires some (a lot) of programming.

A third solution is to cluster the database without splitting it up. It is possible to cluster the database, but it is not easy. I did not mention this in the previous posting, because of the complecity of the solution. With clustering I mean running two or more equal databases on different machines. This solution should only be tried if one are totally sure the database etc. are optimally tuned.

PayPal: it ask's me to open an account/log in right away. Perhaps it depends on which country you live in? Or do I just miss the right link? *wondering*

roamie
roamie
Well-Connected

Jan-26-2008 15:16

I really like the idea about having a notes section in the locker room. I can see where this could be beneficial in a number of ways. I don't know how many times me or one of my co-directors thought it was time to clear out the locker to make some room and someone was wanting to keep an item we had sold. Apartments help this a little bit, but for those agents who cant afford one yet it would be nice if they could put a note in the locker stating they want to keep their gear. Great idea Ctown!

Sinus Felina
Sinus Felina

Jan-27-2008 15:45

Excuse me for diverting from topic, but I have to admit it: I'm link blind (and feeling stupid). But it's not all bad, because I'm one happy subscribed sleuth again!

Eikichi
Eikichi

Jan-28-2008 19:55

Make more avatars; more races.

Eikichi
Eikichi

Jan-28-2008 19:56

Races as in ethnicities.

Eikichi
Eikichi

Jan-28-2008 19:57

Oh, and custom avatars. It is extremely annoying seeing the many people with the same avatar.

(Don't flame me please)

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