Yeah, I'm now fully experiencing the 502 slow crawl of undeath as well. It particularly sucks now that I'm newly Ascended and have all these new toys that I wanna try out. ;-)
"Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life." - - Kevin Smith
"Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life." - - Kevin Smith
"Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life." - - Kevin Smith
"Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life." - - Kevin Smith
6+ second load times and frequent 502 errors this morning. I've got a session to run tonight so I pulled a backup, I'll need it in the likely event that these issues aren't resolved by late afternoon.
Here's a little explanation of the problem we're facing with the errors and slow load times. OP is running on two main servers the application server and an asynchronous server.
The asynch server is in charge of taking care of jobs like, map tiling, sending some emails, serving some static content, etc. There was some unavoidable hardware issue on Amazons end that took that server out.
I was however able to get a new server built and setup but there are still some services that aren't able to talk to the application server so some jobs are getting backed up. Actually reaching out to Micah on this one and we're still having some issues.
I know it's annoying and, trust me, I'm just as annoyed but we'll get everything back ASAP.
For the time being if you happen to get a 502 error, try waiting a few seconds and refreshing a few times.
I'll pop in here and post some updates as we go along and feel free to ask my any questions!
It's normally a pretty quick process to resolve issues like this but we're still getting up to speed with all of the intricacies of OP that have been developed(and some forgotten about) over the many years.
Having taken over some development projects from others before I fully understand how much of a pain that can end up being, thanks very much for popping in and letting us know what is up with it.
Thanks for the update. Any chance updates to the Twitter feed could also happen here simultaneously? Some of us avoid social media because it is just too much of a time sink otherwise.
It's looking like Haste is going to take a backseat while I'm working with the team on a few things, expect monthly episodes instead of weeklies at this point.
I will create a stickied Site Status forum thread for you guys and we'll update accordingly there for issues like this when they arise.
I'll look in to maybe putting a twitter feed plugin in the sidebar here or something.
After the stretch goals are wrapped up ;)
Stretch goals are looking good by the way!
File storage locker/size upgrade is about 80% done. Name gen is functionally ready, just working on getting more races generated than just humans and dwarves. We're also looking for sources for new map markers as we speak. Natural editing is also underway but will take a bit more time, I'd estimate it's about 20% done.
Anything specific you all would like to see happen for the name generator and map markers?
I'd like to see more functionality that lets you connect with other players online.
I could currently list my game as online and looking for players, but I can't find ways to join an online game without going to the forums of another site.
The ability to distinguish between online and offline games, games that are in planning, current, completed and looking for players (I think the previous OP could do most of this).
A function that automatically lists a game as either dead, dormant or on hiatus if it hasn't been updated/played in like a month or something (This was an issue with the previous OP layout).
A Dice roller function (Old OP function).
This may be stretching, but more online character sheet functionality, perhaps crowd-sourced (Like Roll20).
More intuitive webpage layout. The old Obsidian Portal design wasn't pretty but it had a lot of functionality.
Also a search option in the main "campaign" page would be nice.
Kphan1212: I like all of these ideas. They will obviously take the backseat until we get these stretch goals that you guys deserve in to production but we are currently planing future enhancements and things like this will definitely come up in our planning.
I've actually given thought to a few of these things and I'm glad you brought up the ability to tell if a game is online or offline. Originally I thought to have an option to search games "in your area(0-20 miles or so)" but having filtering/tagging options like you suggested makes a lot more sense.
Lastly, when you say a serach option in the main campaign page do you mean a single campaigns dashboard? Because if so there is one in the main nav bar at the top. Or are you talking about the global https://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns page?
I'd like to see the updates released in rolling status where possible. If you have the human and dwarf names generator ready, let us test it out! Stuff like that will really show the people (especially those who don't frequent the forums) that the site is being updated again. That, or run another beta group of volunteers from the site.
Otherwise, my only other request at the moment would be more updates on the site, rather than facebook or twitter only. The blog is already two months without updates again. I understand Jerry has said Haste will take a backseat again for now, but the blog can still be used for status updates (like it used to be).
Please keep up the good work, and keep us informed!
_~Mae_
Building off of what Maesenko is talking about, I would recommend taking an "Agile Design":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development approach to the further development of OP. As Mae points out, this method will get features into the hands of the user base faster which will allow for you guys to get some Analytical data on the usage of the features as well as some additional feedback more than likely rolling in.
I would also suggest, personally, that you guys consider getting a "Community Manager":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_community_manager hired up that works with the team and does the primary interaction with the Community. This will help to keep some things better consolidated and likely allow for a better flow of information between the development team and the community. Heck, I would be happy to fill such a role myself (and I am sure there are a number of others in the community who would do the same - there is a strong core who does their best to address things around here already with what details we have available).
While I used Wikipedia article as my sources for these principles (not really the best of sources), there is obviously a lot more detail to be found on them and I personally feel that both of these facets would benefit OP greatly moving forward. Just my personal two cents on the matter from working to get my own online business up and rolling, but either way things go I am gaining more and more faith in the future of OP from what we are getting already.
Agile Dev is definitely what we're used to as a company and what I'm personally used to as an architect. For the name gen, we spec'd out a full featured generator for the feature launch but if the community corroborates the idea(which it seems everyone does so far) of just Human and Dwarf names; I have no problem pushing the update by the end of next week or so.
Also, we already have a great community manager in Jerry(DreadGazebo)! I have to give Jerry major accolades for being so patient during the transition period. He's not just the community manager but he's our portal into a community we haven't experience before and it's great. And probably driving him nuts.
But I guarantee you that while he may have been less frequent with his posts here recently he has been constantly keeping me informed and, woefully, he's been waiting on me so he can give you updates on what we're doing.
Gotcha, that makes things much clearer in that regard. I am very glad to hear Agile is the design method of choice as well, as that will just get things pushed out all the faster (even if a lot of times they are smaller things here and there). I wasn't aware of Jerry's actual title at this point, so knowing he is the defacto Community Manager is also good.
Looking forward to seeing the generator, I have one Campaign here that may benefit from it (assuming it is primarily fantasy based, going on the description). Map markers are another one I am eagerly awaiting since the current selection is rather limited.
As a final aside, awesome to see the back and forth really rolling again here. Might be worth considering slapping in an updated Community Forum after getting some of the primary goals out. This one has become rather dated.
Alex Redeye as long as we can get the stuff that is on these forums- there are still tons of coding nuggets that I find from time to time, and I have been here a looong time. So I just don't want to lose that stuff.
By the way, @schwing Tell us about yourself please!!!
No one is happier that things are moving forward than I. Having been a vocal supporter, and vocal critic, for over 4 years now, it is great to see involvement again!
As Jerry knows, I am willing to promote OP when I can....
killervp
"A God...Rebuilt":https://a-god-rebuilt.obsidianportal.com
"OP's COTM April 2012":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/a-god-rebuilt-aprils-cotm/
Over 350 Fans, and Looking for More!
Comments
Ptolus, City by the Spire - 2016 Campaign of the Year
"Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life." - - Kevin Smith
They know these forums exist. One post...with info...?
Unconquered Kingdoms, July 2016 CotM
"https://twitter.com/obsidianportal/status/605049147738214400":https://twitter.com/obsidianportal/status/605049147738214400
Unconquered Kingdoms, July 2016 CotM
Just trying to help out.
Ptolus, City by the Spire - 2016 Campaign of the Year
"Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life." - - Kevin Smith
Ptolus, City by the Spire - 2016 Campaign of the Year
"Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life." - - Kevin Smith
Just trying to help out.
Unconquered Kingdoms, July 2016 CotM
Ptolus, City by the Spire - 2016 Campaign of the Year
"Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you: In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life." - - Kevin Smith
GM of Rise of the Durnskald: Wrath of the Fallen Goddess - February 2016 CotM
GM of Core: The Ashes of Alcarna - April 2020 CotM
GM of Stream of Kairos
Need CSS Help? It may be covered here: Abersade's CSS Hub
It's Adam again!
Here's a little explanation of the problem we're facing with the errors and slow load times. OP is running on two main servers the application server and an asynchronous server.
The asynch server is in charge of taking care of jobs like, map tiling, sending some emails, serving some static content, etc. There was some unavoidable hardware issue on Amazons end that took that server out.
I was however able to get a new server built and setup but there are still some services that aren't able to talk to the application server so some jobs are getting backed up. Actually reaching out to Micah on this one and we're still having some issues.
I know it's annoying and, trust me, I'm just as annoyed but we'll get everything back ASAP.
For the time being if you happen to get a 502 error, try waiting a few seconds and refreshing a few times.
I'll pop in here and post some updates as we go along and feel free to ask my any questions!
-bort
"Morwindl":https://morwindl.obsidianportal.com/
Campaign of the Year - 2018
Unconquered Kingdoms, July 2016 CotM
It's normally a pretty quick process to resolve issues like this but we're still getting up to speed with all of the intricacies of OP that have been developed(and some forgotten about) over the many years.
It's looking like Haste is going to take a backseat while I'm working with the team on a few things, expect monthly episodes instead of weeklies at this point.
I will create a stickied Site Status forum thread for you guys and we'll update accordingly there for issues like this when they arise.
I'll look in to maybe putting a twitter feed plugin in the sidebar here or something.
After the stretch goals are wrapped up ;)
Stretch goals are looking good by the way!
File storage locker/size upgrade is about 80% done. Name gen is functionally ready, just working on getting more races generated than just humans and dwarves. We're also looking for sources for new map markers as we speak. Natural editing is also underway but will take a bit more time, I'd estimate it's about 20% done.
Anything specific you all would like to see happen for the name generator and map markers?
Thank you very much for the inputs.
Unconquered Kingdoms, July 2016 CotM
I could currently list my game as online and looking for players, but I can't find ways to join an online game without going to the forums of another site.
The ability to distinguish between online and offline games, games that are in planning, current, completed and looking for players (I think the previous OP could do most of this).
A function that automatically lists a game as either dead, dormant or on hiatus if it hasn't been updated/played in like a month or something (This was an issue with the previous OP layout).
A Dice roller function (Old OP function).
This may be stretching, but more online character sheet functionality, perhaps crowd-sourced (Like Roll20).
More intuitive webpage layout. The old Obsidian Portal design wasn't pretty but it had a lot of functionality.
Also a search option in the main "campaign" page would be nice.
I've actually given thought to a few of these things and I'm glad you brought up the ability to tell if a game is online or offline. Originally I thought to have an option to search games "in your area(0-20 miles or so)" but having filtering/tagging options like you suggested makes a lot more sense.
Lastly, when you say a serach option in the main campaign page do you mean a single campaigns dashboard? Because if so there is one in the main nav bar at the top. Or are you talking about the global https://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns page?
Yeah,the global campaign page feels like its the natural front page of the site and should have most of the site's functions (including a search bar)
Otherwise, my only other request at the moment would be more updates on the site, rather than facebook or twitter only. The blog is already two months without updates again. I understand Jerry has said Haste will take a backseat again for now, but the blog can still be used for status updates (like it used to be).
Please keep up the good work, and keep us informed!
_~Mae_
~Mae
CotM Selection Committee
I would also suggest, personally, that you guys consider getting a "Community Manager":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_community_manager hired up that works with the team and does the primary interaction with the Community. This will help to keep some things better consolidated and likely allow for a better flow of information between the development team and the community. Heck, I would be happy to fill such a role myself (and I am sure there are a number of others in the community who would do the same - there is a strong core who does their best to address things around here already with what details we have available).
While I used Wikipedia article as my sources for these principles (not really the best of sources), there is obviously a lot more detail to be found on them and I personally feel that both of these facets would benefit OP greatly moving forward. Just my personal two cents on the matter from working to get my own online business up and rolling, but either way things go I am gaining more and more faith in the future of OP from what we are getting already.
--
Alex
Agile Dev is definitely what we're used to as a company and what I'm personally used to as an architect. For the name gen, we spec'd out a full featured generator for the feature launch but if the community corroborates the idea(which it seems everyone does so far) of just Human and Dwarf names; I have no problem pushing the update by the end of next week or so.
Also, we already have a great community manager in Jerry(DreadGazebo)! I have to give Jerry major accolades for being so patient during the transition period. He's not just the community manager but he's our portal into a community we haven't experience before and it's great. And probably driving him nuts.
But I guarantee you that while he may have been less frequent with his posts here recently he has been constantly keeping me informed and, woefully, he's been waiting on me so he can give you updates on what we're doing.
Looking forward to seeing the generator, I have one Campaign here that may benefit from it (assuming it is primarily fantasy based, going on the description). Map markers are another one I am eagerly awaiting since the current selection is rather limited.
As a final aside, awesome to see the back and forth really rolling again here. Might be worth considering slapping in an updated Community Forum after getting some of the primary goals out. This one has become rather dated.
By the way, @schwing Tell us about yourself please!!!
No one is happier that things are moving forward than I. Having been a vocal supporter, and vocal critic, for over 4 years now, it is great to see involvement again!
As Jerry knows, I am willing to promote OP when I can....
killervp
"A God...Rebuilt":https://a-god-rebuilt.obsidianportal.com
"OP's COTM April 2012":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/a-god-rebuilt-aprils-cotm/
Over 350 Fans, and Looking for More!
Just trying to help out.