Official Roadmap to the future

[NewSheriffInTown]

Major Command Roadmap​

UPDATED: MAY 5

This is the roadmap we have right now.
This roadmap is dynamic and will continually change as we progress.
Things will be added, and some things may be removed. So this should always be considered just a guideline as we move forward.
I will try to keep it as up to date as possible.

I have added a preface to each section to help explain it better.​

STAGE 1​

STAGE 1 is the most essential step to complete - we can not deploy anything from STAGE 2 until STAGE 1 is complete.

The current website is a bit of a tangled up mess, so in order to make changes without breaking something, we need to untangle everything, and separate the various components in to their own separate containers. Because everything is tangled up, then if we change a bit of code with one thing, it may inadvertently and unexpectedly affect something else.

It's like taking a jar of mixed jelly beans and separating all the colors in to their own container. That way if we change something with the red jelly beans, we know it won't affect the yellow ones.

# Untangle and isolate the various parts of Major Command

• Detangle and isolate the various components - starting - in progress - completed
• Place each component in to it's own separate container - starting - in progress - completed

# Move to a new server

• Get a new server to have a clean start - starting - in progress - completed
• Configure the new server to run all of MajorCommand's containers - starting - in progress - completed
• Create code so MajCom can run all these new containers - starting - in progress - completed
• Migrate all the separate containers to the new server - starting - in progress
• Test the new site, and test again - starting
• Switch the live site from the old server to the new one (may require downtime)
• Decommission the old server

STAGE 2​

STAGE 2 is where you will start seeing improvements and changes as players. These fixes and improvements will be the most visible.
Please note that even if something in STAGE 2 is marked completed, it can not deployed until STAGE 1 is fully done.

Once we have done the separation, we can work on the various parts of the code, without fear of breaking unrelated sections of code. So far there are 3 areas of code that we need to work on. MajCom is made up of a lot more than just these 3 areas, but to start with, these are the sections we will focus on first.

# The new game engine: Is basically everything to do with how the game works.

• MAJ-01: Find and hire a new developer to help with backend programming - starting - in progress - completed
• ENG-04: Implement a schema versioning mechanism with Flyway - starting - in progress - completed
• ENG-30: Engine resolution schema and gateway access methods - starting - in progress - completed
• ENG-31: Resolve the engine HTTP endpoint when proxying a request - starting - in progress - completed
• ENG-12: Update the engine details on service startup - starting - in progress - completed
• ENG-07: Engine resolution schema and engine access methods - starting - in progress - completed
• ENG-23: Create an endpoint to retrieve the rank that matching a score value - starting - in progress - completed
• ENG-18: Engine continuously restarting due to duplicate actor names - starting - in progress - completed
• ENG-25: Expose legacy score endpoint - starting - in progress - completed
• ENG-50: Separate the GameMap from the Game - starting - in progress - completed
• ENG-35: Search maps should be dynamically loaded from the database - starting - in progress
• ENG-42: Materialize the game state after each action
• ENG-44: Load game from materialized version
• ENG-43: Unload game when doesn't need to be in memory <-- This should stop the "games not loading" issue
• ENG-45: Gateway-only resolution of the game engine
• ENG-11: Implement the scoring system
• ENG-46: Replay game actions
• ENG-47: Improve error handling
• ENG-48: Improve bootstrapping code
• ENG-49: Make the engine stateless
• ENG-51: Load single copy of each map version
• ENG-40: Engine statistics
• ENG-41: The chat shouldn't be modelled as a game action
• ENG-39: Game tournaments
• ENG-38: Medals
• ENG-52: Multiple engine support
• ENG-53: Implement system health checks
• ENG-54: Game diplomacy
• ENG-55: Create a more compact game map representation
• ENG-21: Deploy the fix to the bombardments
• TEC-01: Implement email turn notifications for players

# UI (User interface): This is about the look, feel, and functionality of the all the pages on the website.

• Find and hire a company to work on the frontend and UI - starting - in progress - completed
• Rebuild the website's interface starting with /beta pages only:
  • Create a mock-up of the current UI - starting - in progress - completed
  • Rewrite UI in modern framework like Angular - starting - in progress
  • Identify data needed to make UI functional - starting - in progress
  • Create new API endpoint needed for each component using Laravel - starting - in progress
• Rebuild the website's interface for all pages except /beta pages:
  • Create a mock-up of the current UI
  • Rewrite UI in modern framework like Angular
  • Identify data needed to make UI functional
  • Create new API endpoint needed for each component using Laravel
• Fix current issues within the gameplay area
  • long list of issues and improvements
• TBC

# New map management: This is only about uploading and creating new maps.

• Implement a way to upload new maps
• Implement a way to define map settings and special features
• Implement a UI for map makers to manage their maps from the frontend

I hope this give everyone an idea of where we are, and where we're going. This is will be updated whenever something changes.​

 

[Hortik]

Great to have an update Sheriff!

Looking forward to see all in Bleu

 

[matildathehun]

Aces.

-MTH

 

[MNatt]

Great stuff - we like a plan. Double dutch to me ("Implement RabbitMQ....frontend HTML5/CSS3/PHP skills to work on the UI!!!??"). But that's just my ignorance - I'm sure it's a subtle and cunning plan.

Well done.

 

[NewSheriffInTown]

Great stuff - we like a plan. Double dutch to me ("Implement RabbitMQ....frontend HTML5/CSS3/PHP skills to work on the UI!!!??"). But that's just my ignorance - I'm sure it's a subtle and cunning plan.

Well done.

frontend vs. backend

frontend = things you visually see on your computer screen
backend = code on the server that makes it all work

HTML5, CSS3, PHP = Those are the main 3 computer languages a person needs to know in order to build a webpage

UI = User Interface.

A webpage can be static, with no User Interface. If you think of Wikipedia, or some Blog or Article you read on a news site, then for the most part, that webpage does not have a UI because you do not interact with the webpage. You simply read the words on the screen, and that's it. There is no interaction.

An example of a webpage with a UI is our "create a game" page. That has a User Interface because you interact with the webpage. You click on the maps you want, you click on the settings you choose, you click on the "create game" button to start a new game. Those are all User Interactions, and that's what a UI is.

Summary:
frontend HTML5/CSS3/PHP skills to work on the UI
Someone who knows the 3 basic computer languages (HTML5/CSS3/PHP), who can work on the User Interactions (UI) that happened on the computer screen (frontend).

------------

RabbitMQ = I have no idea, but Marcos said we need it.

 

[engineerairborne]

All sounds good, if you need help with Beta testing anything let me know.

 

[Leor888]

Thanks for the updates! As I'm Dutch I don't have big problems with double dutch

Isn't a MQ (message Queue) a kind of 'orchestrator' in an application taking care of handling the actions and replies in correct order?
Perhaps Marcos has previous experience in RabbitMQ. The product appears in 'top10' contest.

 

[Redstorm]

Awesome. thanks for the update, sheriff

 

[Wisescarab]

Hey very cool to see the roadmap, looking forward to watching it come to fruition!

 

[Tankiteasy]

hi! have not been on the site in awhile and i see that there is much work to be done. are the games playable in the current state? I just included myself to play a few games.

 

[NewSheriffInTown]

hi! have not been on the site in awhile and i see that there is much work to be done. are the games playable in the current state? I just included myself to play a few games.

Yup. All the games are playable!

Occasionally a game does not load, but if that happens, just post in the forum and we will fix it asap.

The other thing that is not working is the point system. So all games are for fun. Just play what you want and enjoy!

 

[blee]

Thanks for posting this here Sheriff - I know many of us appreciate the transparency!

 

[Tankiteasy]

Thanks sheriff! When I last played things seemed to be working swimmingly. Can you point me to the thread that advises as to what had happened?

 

[RjBeals]

Nice plans there Sheriff. You have passion for this site for sure.

 

[NewSheriffInTown]

Nice plans there Sheriff. You have passion for this site for sure.

Great to see you stop by!!

Thanks, we'll do our best to keep it going. And you're welcome to stop by and gift us with talent whenever you're feeling creative again!

 

[JCUK]

Great update and thanks for keeping us informed. Looking forward to seeing the progress and eventually getting back to making and playing in tournies.

There are certainly some features that have been mentioned over the years that other sites have incorporated that in time would be amazing to see in MC when the site is stable enough to progress to the next level. I'm keeping my hopes up for sure.

After spending some time exploring other sites, the one thing MC really has going it are the tournies and team play ability, not to mention the positive culture. It will be good to get back playing full time here. MC will definitely not be short of paying players now that the complexity of flash has gone and usability increases.

Usability on phone is a must when considering the UI.

 

[periwinkle]

I totally agree.....i've made a laundry list for the sheriff...let's chat sometime!

 

[ndrm31]

hi, I love the site, but it become nosense since there are no points no ribons, Ill comw bach in the future

 

[engineerairborne]

hi, I love the site, but it become nosense since there are no points no ribons, Ill comw bach in the future

Look at it this way, this is a good time to try out different playing styles or strategies with no consequences.

 

[matildathehun]

Look at it this way, this is a good time to try out different playing styles or strategies with no consequences.

Yeah - I've been tweaking my strategies as well.

I used to think that I didn't care about points -- and I still think that I care less than others (maybe most). I've always approached this as a game and not so much a competition.

But since points have been taken off the table, I find I play better -- perhaps less conservatively. When I realized that, I leaned into it, playing way more aggressively that normal just to see what happens.

One of the big things I've noticed is that I haven't had any games last longer than a month or so. In the old game, I had one going for like 18 months or something. (Although I no longer play anything except Escalate, so that is at least part of it...)

Another thing I noticed (just realizing now) is that I haven't run into any abusive/unsporting situations. So -- for me, anyway -- there has been a positive effect of not having points (if there is indeed a connection). I get way more upset with people purposefully ruining the game for everyone than losing that game.

That being said, it's sometimes a bummer when I *do* win big multi-player games -- it's like, "Look at all those points I didn't get!" lol

Looking forward to all the improvements, but still having fun until then. I'll come back a leaner, meaner Matilda...

-MTH