In-Game Music format

Hi, thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately that feature is technically not really feasible. Right now what happens when you switch a tab is that the music fades out, and when you switch back in it fades back in. The game does not get the information from your browser in how many tabs you are playing it and from which tab to which other tab you are switching.

The old graphics don't have certain technical features which wouldn't allow us to include sound effects with the full feature set (like dynamically adjusting volume).

We also want to have an exclusive incentive for switching to the new graphics. To be honest the old graphics mode is not very future proof and thus won't be in our focus anymore.

freezy wrote:

To be honest the old graphics mode is not very future proof and thus won't be in our focus anymore.

VorlonFCW wrote:

freezy wrote:

To be honest the old graphics mode is not very future proof and thus won't be in our focus anymore.

To prevent a mass panic this doesn't mean that it will be switched off in the near future, simply that spending resources to improve the older canvas graphics is not a priority.

I get it, that the old graphics set is not a priority. But as much as I try to force myself to use the new set, the older one is just easier to use on a PC....and on my tablet. I have literally years of experience with it, but only a year on the new set.

But, the thing that would improve BOTH sets immensely, would be to fix that dang memory leak that each page has!

Regardless of that, there IS a relatively simple way to get multiple tabs to sync up the music....and probably several ways. But the easiest that I'm thinking of would be simply to create a separate process thread when the game is created, one in which it keeps track of all instances of the game being opened. It would do this by recording the PID of each tabbed window instance as it is spawned by the front page.

Also, because the game is sometimes reopened without going through the front page (i.e., by cut and paste a closed tab address, or by reloading a crashed browser), it makes sense that only the front page can spawn this master threaded process such that only the master threaded process can keep track of all spawned game windows. And to accommodate the fact that those tabs might not be opened via the front page, the master threaded process will occasionally query the list of all open tabs for a unique Bytro's Call of War identifying game signature which would be used by each game window (using a "foreach" or similar search structure). Doing this would ensure that all tabbed windows get "known" by the master thread and then the music can then be synced up whenever a thread goes into the background (which would update the master thread the current alignment of the music track).

In other words, once per minute, the master threaded process would query the browser as to any other tabbed windows open which have the same game signature and then acquire their PID if it's not already in the current list. Then each tabbed window will inform the master threaded process whenever they go out of focus and into focus, while keeping the master process apprised of the music status. Perhaps, even the actual management of the music could move to the Master thread process while keeping the controls in each new graphics-set window. Thus, pausing the music in one window would pause it on the master level. Then un-pausing on another window would un-pause it on the master level. Thus the music would be synced across all windows. BTW, if there should be more than one front page open, there would be more than one "master" process created, so they would have to self-close each other such that the first one recognized in the process list closes all other copies after scanning it for it's own list of tabs and acquiring any that aren't already known by the first list.

It's all a piece of cake if you have a good understanding of the threading process in web browsers and in garbage-collection programming languages. (That same understanding of garbage collection programming languages would help the developers eliminate the pesky memory leak issue, but they don't seem to want to prioritise that.)

Properly prorecessing threading (including all the edge cases) is by no means easy. I'd say programmers shouldn't focus on a feature which most players turn off as their first action.

I've actually come to like the music. But after hearing it a few dozen times, I turn it off also. It's not a bad track....it's just limited. We need more music....with built-in random play. If they can't get more music (due to royalties, or a lack of talent to create their own new music), then they ought to create an online web-source where you can give it an address of other music on the web, or else be able to upload your own music (though the latter would probably be considered a violation of copyright, but that could be mitigated by making it not an "upload" but just pointing to your local music source on your computer and having the page play it. And yes, that's a basic feature that could be done without Call of War via music apps or even players on your computer. But having a built-in CoW music player would be super easy to implement (I've done it for one of my applications in the past), so why not add that?

ONE MORE THING.....on the subject of "additions" to the game, we need the make-units-invisible button for the advanced graphics set. It's still needed. Also, a cluster of separate aircraft are extremely difficult to group-grab with the purpose of moving to a new airbase that they are patrolling over (all the red from each vector overlap makes it impossible to see the airbase, and the new closer-without-snapping feature takes away the ability to trust that the aircraft will actually just go to the airbase if you click "close to" it).

BTW, why is it that I can no longer get .gifs to show in my signature (like just below this text)? Having art in a signature is a great way to make a name for yourself in this forum.

Well instead of using an ingame music playlist you can also just mute the ingame music and run your own music playlist via Youtube or spotify or your locally installed player. Much simpler solution for everyone involved

freezy wrote:

Well instead of using an ingame music playlist you can also just mute the ingame music and run your own music playlist via Youtube or spotify or your locally installed player. Much simpler solution for everyone involved

Sure, that may sound disrespectful, but you gotta admit, it wasn't your best solution...even if it was only in jest. Regardless, I would like to see more game music FROM Bytro, intended for the whole community, not just my own music of my own choice (though that's always a nice option that we've already -- always -- had (independently), but having a built-in player for using our own music would at-least encourage players not to sit in silence, forgetting that they have access to their own music.

Devious Rancor wrote:

That's a bit of a copout, though...."We the developers say you should just mute and do your own thing, ignoring what we did and absolving us of any responsibility."

Sure, that may sound disrespectful, but you gotta admit, it wasn't your best solution...even if it was only in jest. Regardless, I would like to see more game music FROM Bytro, intended for the whole community, not just my own music of my own choice (though that's always a nice option that we've already -- always -- had (independently), but having a built-in player for using our own music would at-least encourage players not to sit in silence, forgetting that they have access to their own music.

Regarding new original music added: Always have to juggle mobile memory consumption though as we are pretty tight on that front already (before you suggest it, no we won't make desktop exclusive additions), plus of course we have to weigh costs (also opportunity costs) vs. benefit. Our soundtrack is admittedly not very long, but again I have to say compared to other free2play games we are quite good already.

I personally would love to add more music to the game though, maybe it can happen in the future.

freezy wrote:

(before you suggest it, no we won't make desktop exclusive additions)

freezy wrote:

it would be an expensive feature that is rarily used.

freezy wrote:

It may also dramatically increase server costs if the inserted music becomes stored on our servers, and will also create licencing issues.

Devious Rancor wrote:

Well, all this mobile promotion kinda falls on deaf ears for most of the dedicated community. The simple fact is, that serious empire management must be done on a desktop. The mobile solution is — at best — merely a way to check in on small matches (i.e., early in a match) or just to check on a few things that you already know what and where you are going to do. Vast empire management is far too impractical for the mobile version and even the new graphics set makes large-scale empire management somewhat less easy to perform (and I've been trying to force myself to use it more, lately.

Technically, what I have in mind would cost very little to implement since it's just a rudimentary set of calls to the built-in browser features that merely require a little code to include them, as well as a bit of a scripting language to embed them into the gui of the game. Trust me, I've done it myself in one of my own apps, it's actually quite easy to do.

The idea I had wasn't to have user-submitted music stored on the servers (though that's an interesting idea). No, I simply meant making a built-in set of music player controls that can access local music stored on one's own system. It's a very simple solution and the controls would simply find all music (or choose a folder) on mobile, and would ask the user to pick a folder on desktop. It is really such a simple idea, as it's almost not worth bothering the devs to do it, since any coder in the community could probably implement it for them without even having to look at the core code.

Your solution to me sounds more like a good browser extension than an ingame feature. I really don't see a reason or benefit why this must run ingame and cannot run in the browser or on the local machine itself. So why not have the community coders make such a browser extension that everyone is free to install? As you said yourself its almost not worth bothering our devs about it.

freezy wrote:

Interesting fact: We already have more mobile players in CoW nowadays than desktop players. So even if you think playing on mobile is not possible, the majority apparently can handle it

I hate to be the one who has to say it, but you (the developer) and your friends on the inside of the company need to remember and value us, the long-time (and not so long) players who make up the real community of gamers, those whom play this game, learn it, live it, and love it. We are the heart of this gaming community. We are (some of us) the vocal ones on the forums and the chats. We are the ones that try to help new players and take them under our wings to show them how to play. We are the ones who make the individual matches worth playing for everybody else just trying out the game, since the human mind of a community player is far superior to the AI, no matter how "elite" you make it.

We are the ones who faithfully and repetitively support this game....in dollar and in deed....whether through High Command or Gold purchases (those of us, that is, that can afford it) (and those that do support this game repetitively are the ones most likely to be willing to change that support to other methods like swag purchases or mod purchases, or gamer skins, etc.) or by supporting it via other means, like contributing to the help chat or encouraging flailing players who are about to quit, and showing them that "yes, in-fact it's possible" to replace the starting units that they lost on day 2.

Surely you must see this if you play the game yourself (and I know you do), that there are novices that don't understand even the most basic elements of this game whom, were they shown how to play by living members of the community, won't up and quit before giving this game a chance. Sadly, all those "mobile players" make up the vast majority of those whom quit this game. If I'm wrong then the universe is in a tailspin and reality as we know it is turned on it's head. Surely, a few mobile gamers get this game....and do well (I've seen them)....but most do not, and the mobile format is not conducive to changing that.

Hopefully, you can see that I'm right. But even if you disagree, know that mobile players lack the one most-critical aspect to the mobile playing concept that this game ought to have....and that is a live mic with fellow players. Sure, that's not as common on a mobile platform, and it's not done at all in Bytro's games. But if it were added for mobile devices (and ultimately, for desktop also), then players could more easily help each other in this game, to understand it, to play it....and to love it.

Oh, and though I don't care that much about the mobile version except for checking in on a match, perhaps this whole new idea I've just thought of (surely I'm not the first guy to suggest it)....having a live mic....would enhance the game, proper. And, it would reduce the need for chat mods, immensely. And that would also eliminate a lot of your bug tickets for minor issues such as repeat chat violators and the like. Of course, then you'd have to moderate the live mics for non-adult channels. But that's so much easier since no reading and typing is involved in "listening" to open conversations.

freezy wrote:

Your solution to me sounds more like a good browser extension than an ingame feature. I really don't see a reason or benefit why this must run ingame and cannot run in the browser or on the local machine itself. So why not have the community coders make such a browser extension that everyone is free to install? As you said yourself its almost not worth bothering our devs about it.

Don't get me wrong, I totally agree on the part that our long term community members are very valuable to us and to the community. So we definitely appreciate their activity and their effort to help other players.

There are indeed already playlist extensions out there.

We won't endorse any 3rd party tools though, as that's often murky water. And this topic is really not as important enough to warrant news posts on the front page. If it were then there would be alot of other topics that would warrant news posts as well to inform the players about, before we even get to the playlist topic. I get that the custom playlist topic seems very important to you, but you have to ask yourself how many other players would really be interested in this. It is a topic I never see pushed or mentioned in most other games, even those which are alot more audiovisual driven than CoW. And also in CoW you are the only person I ever heard requesting this feature. So I would bet that there are alot more other topics more important to the majority of players and that only a tiny fraction of our players would be interested in this one.

If anything it's more a topic for the forums, and for players to inform eachother. Nothing hinders you to share your experience with certain browser extentions here and to recommend one to other like minded players who are also interested in the topic.

last word from me on this topic btw.

freezy wrote:

this topic is really not as important enough to warrant news posts on the front page. If it were then there would be alot of other topics that would warrant news posts as well to inform the players about, before we even get to the playlist topic.

Anywho, the front page of the game has the main news group. And above it (on the desktop version) you have the events sub-groups, as well as the games and forum tabs. Well, if "News" is the main front page tab, then why not add another for minor topics....promotions in the forums, pointers to forum Q&A, highlights from the latest community-based contests (like the Players League), and even stuff about the company and/or the sister games from Bytro and her sister companies. Maybe even do occasional biopics, like talk about what direction the devs are looking into for the distant future direction of the game, or maybe an interview with a member of the dev team, one whom doesn't regularly interact in the forums. Maybe post occasional highlighted articles from the forum. Maybe promote the chat feature....and show a list of who's currently on the chats in the past 'X' amount of time. Maybe also birthday announcements, or news events "from the front" for roll players as well as real news for current events that relate to the game atmosphere (like the WWII event where you guys took pictures of visitors with real tanks at that special real world event (I can't remember the one, specifically, just that you endorsed it).

Well, there are many possible ways to come up with filler for a fourth tab (fifth for the beta testers). And maybe like in the forums, you could let the community contribute to it (like how I like to make RP stories, there are many players who could contribute wonderfully to a 4th./5th. tab.

OK, I'll let you go now. I know I can go on long. But these are great ideas. And like with my idea for allowing modding of the game (or a subset of it) by the community, so too can this idea of a back page part of the front page (pun not intended) allow for the community to contribute in such a manner that many players would be able to view it. Yes, I know the forums are supposed to be able to be seen by all, the fact is that it's very poorly contributed to, and not well read by the community (I imagine the numbers that you have access to not only confirm that, but probably show it to be less even than I imagine it to be). Oh, and having a 4th/5th tab with news stories that include links to the forum will help to increase forum usage. And that would benefit the whole community, right?!?

freezy wrote:

in CoW you are the only person I ever heard requesting this feature.