So much going on at the moment! The past week or so I've had a little work for a distant relative, which has been good. But now, back to TK redevelopment!
The latest addition is the Jockey Page - and instantly I've been able to get some quick wins by simply plugging in functions like Scheduling, history, and results. Yay!
The biggest item here though, is not so much a bugtest but an exploration of a "new perspective" on Jockeys.
Firstly, a new "description" of Rapport, breaking the current categories into 5 "Types"... nothjing has changed, but hopefully this ceases to present them as "levels" and starts to promote the fact that each Rapport type has its' benefits.
Secondly, I've included a "pentagraph" describing the relative importance of each stat to each jockey. This really helps you get inside the mind of the jockey... and understand what the most important stat for a jockey is. I've long been trying to educate players that simply "maxing out" each stat on a jockey is not necessarily in their best interest... and hoping that this graph will address the imbalance.
*EDIT*
I've just completed the "Graduate Jockey" feature.... but I don't really want to promote my apprenticex to test it out!
I'm fairly confident that it will work smoothly...... but if anyone would like to test it, I'd be glad for your help!
If I don't get any takers in the next few days reporting on whether it worked, well, I'll have to do it myself and then try to "hack" my apprentice back into my stable lol!
Just adding to this thread - I'm definitely going to change the Rapport with horses field, because it doesn't suggest that there can be advantages for a jockey with a lower rapport. Instead, I'm dropping back to the original model.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I'm also dropping some of the extra headings for Jockey Traits. Reverting to a simple list as per the original model. Sometimes you just have to accept that it's possibly displayed in the best way possible! Maybe I might list the Traits with numbers to show their ordering, hopefully giving the viewpoint of ordering and heirarchy - and potentially, equality.
The graph does what I want it to do, however I know I need to make an adjustment to ensure that it always shows the 5 traits in the same order... this will create the different shapes to help people recognise jockey mentalities.
These changes will be implemented approximately 12 hours from this comment....that is, when I wake up and have had an hour or two of work again!
OK, changes mentioned above have been implemented now. I think this is actually quite a powerful model. The sideline is going to have to be that the Racing Video Library offers more training points for apprentices than it currently does, as the "accurate description" thing becomes largely irrelevant??
ReplyDeleteI've also added the "Haggle" function - now to complete the picture with the sign contract function, and then the hire a jockey page. Hoping this should all be in place by Friday evening my time (early friday morning TK time)
OK, Have finished mucking about for today. Signing and haggling should be active (just find a jockey from the base site and then open him up in the new site the same as you open up a horse in this new site) - Feel free to test!
ReplyDeleteShould also mention - please take note...if you haggle and sign a jockey, does he correctly get added to your list of jockeys in the left?
DeleteTodays work finished. Today I added the contract negotiations for jockeys - extending and ending.
ReplyDeleteEnding a contract should banish tje jockey from your left-hand list, and update their page.
Extending a contract should correctly update all your links with the new extension date. (Also added that same feature to gelding a horse or servicing a horse... so hopefully they work!?)
Hmmm. I happen to be a big fan of the Demystifying Thread so early on I have understood that maxing all jockey traits isn't ideal. I have also looked at the traits of the jockeys star stables train and use for additional guidance. Doesn't mean I have a decent grasp on jockeys nor their relationship with the horse during a race.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't think any of the small changes you've made to jockey traits (including the rapport bar you first added before changing it) gives too much away. I might just be that daft though. My interpretation of how to play the game constantly changes which I think is good. This happens even if nothing changes. I will just continue to go "hmmm" and search for enlightenment race after race, training after training.
With the editorial posted, I have noticed a couple things.
ReplyDeleteAssuming the traits and the graph are bug-free in this observation. A few days ago my newbie app's graph wasn't a shape at all and lines went out of the circle. That has been fixed since and I didn't use the app points.
Anyway, the actual observation. Some of the traits are grouped into the same priority. Understandable with my newbie jockey but I have a pro from another stable like this too. Yet in the graph (assuming bug free) they have different named values. Not sure I understand the graph. The ranking and grouping of priorities I like though. I'm probably more confused than ever but that's okay. I am hardly a jockey expert but maybe players that are a little more experienced will learn something new with this new setup.
There's a reason for the second issue you describe, but it's due to a "rounding" process. To give more infor is a bit more than I'm comfortable with - I think there's a chance it would start to give more of a peek into the structure of a jockey brain than I'd be happy to open up!
ReplyDeleteFair enough. I think the reorganization of how the traits are displayed including grouping rapports and giving temperament its own category is good. A little more to think about perhaps.
ReplyDeleteFinally, training of jockeys is completed - and with every training update the graphs on the pages are updated, so you get feedback in real time about the effectiveness.
ReplyDeleteI actually really enjoyed using it.... hope you guys do too
Looks like "Racing Width" isn't displaying correctly. Both of my apps have a low level in this but both are displaying "sits on rail" in new TK. Other traits look OK best I can tell.
ReplyDeleteCheers - you were right... typo was at the heart of that problem. Fixed now, seems correct
DeleteGraduating the Jockey is now possible..... would really appreciate someone who may be willing to promote an apprentice testing this out and reporting back on the success.... You should see
ReplyDelete- The jockey graduation page update itself
- The "icon zone" of the Jockey presenting a Refresh link
- Any links to the jockey updated to remove the '(A)'
- If not hired to your stable, the jockey link should be removed from your left-hand Stable menu
If there's no replies then I'll get onto it soon
I will test for....1 million credits!
DeleteNo worries - I amended it to be "offline" and tested...got it all smooth and lovely. So the only "untested" parts are the database updates which should work as they are copy/pasted from original TK!
DeleteShould be all sweet.
I was just teasing. Lost focus on what I was trying to accomplish with my apps so was willing to get rid of both. Can't right now because both have regional races and threw an error when I tried (which is to be expected?) I can try after though if you want something specific to be tried.
DeleteJust used the new system to train my apprentice and bit confused by the results. Started with 39 points. Tried to increase awareness by 1 point and reduce speed by 1 point. Awareness popped by 1 but speed did not change, yet 3 points were removed from training. Tried again to reduce speed and 2 points removed from my training hours but no change to speed. Bit nervous to do anything else as my app needs all the training he can get and about to graduate to pro.
ReplyDeleteNo worries - will refund some points in the morning and have a look at what might have gone wrong. To be honest, I don't think I tested the negative movement of stats, so the problem probably lies there somewhere.
DeleteI had a handful of points to play with a few days ago and was working with apps. I don't think I lost any points but I wasn't paying real close attention sorry. Definitely tried going negative though because I was playing with how the grouping of traits are now in this new TK. Its how I noticed the "sits on rail" bug above.
DeleteI know one of them worked going negative (I think it was chase) because it was on the edge and going up made it go up a level so I had to back it back down to where I wanted it. Again, I didn't take note how many points were taken and should be fired as a bug tester promptly.
All set, ladies - and I actually tested it myself too ;-)
DeleteRhed, have returned credits, and the up/down thing should all work perfectly now. Bug was that I was doing a double-negative thing on some stats (not others, because of different rules on how they work behind the scenes)
Just a quick thought - the up/down arrow option is quite close together and possibly some people will end up doing what I did which is decreasing rather than increasing a trait. Since people can get quite whingy about such things, thought it might be worth mentioning.
DeletePS pls excuse posting my last message in wrong section.
Up/Down button distance can't really be changed without making those input fields taller.... which then would mean I'd need to make all input fields taller.
DeleteI think if using a touch device and things are difficult, might just have to resort to actually entering a number in the text field manually? Or enlarging the page (reverse-pinch gesture / Ctrl and +)
Cheers HB. Will promote him in the next day or so if that is still of use.
ReplyDeleteI've just used this to train my jockeys and it behaved well for me even though it wasn't a great test as no pops, but I think they have gained sub-levels if you are happy it's all working well in that respect. However i do agree with Rhed that the up/down buttons are quite close together. Especially for touch screen users, on my daughter's laptop we couldn't isolate the buttons and had to move to mine.
ReplyDeleteUp/Down button distance can't really be changed without making those input fields taller.... which then would mean I'd need to make all input fields taller.
DeleteI think if using a touch device and things are difficult, might just have to resort to actually entering a number in the text field manually? Or enlarging the page (reverse-pinch gesture / Ctrl and +)
I can see where the buttons could be an issue. I tend to use them for jockeys as I want a point by point increase or decrease as I customize a jockey whereas I manually input training points for a horse for example.
DeleteWould forward/backward style buttons on either side of the input box suggesting negative/positive points resolve the issue without reverting back to the plus/minus style buttons we have in old TK?
Not without me building the feature myself.The current layout is "out of the box" from JQuery, which means I can be 100% sure it works on all browsers, all platforms, all touch devices, and in all resolutions....all I need to do is customise the little bits and pieces to work for TK, such as setting and checking the max/min values etc.
DeleteMaking my own would probably be a day or two effort, but more painfully, would necessitate testing on all those platforms. Particularly because those "spinners" are used on several other input fields around the place too - they're being used on Training page, Vet page and other places besides..
For now, I'll go with the "leave it and see"...as mentioned, it's still possible to enter text in the field. If it needs improvement later, then it's a job for another day.
I graduated one of my jockeys and it threw an error but they got graduated. I put them in class 6 and didn't give them a trial contract. Best I can tell everything else seems okay.
ReplyDeleteHmm... just played around a few times myself and it seems to have been bug-free for me? Don't suppose you recall what the error was? Just a generic "200 - A problem has been encountered" sort of bug?
DeleteYup that sort of bug. I had both old and new TK's open and I think I went back to check on something in old TK and noticed the jockey had indeed left my list so went back in shock to new TK to check around as part of testing. Errors instantly make me think nothing worked underneath every time. I should know better by now but I guess I forgot :)
ReplyDeleteIn tile option, I opened 2 jockeys to compare and when you scroll down on the top one and then try to do the same on the 2nd tile, the 1st jumps back to the top. I am assuming this is not how you want it to operate.
ReplyDeleteI think the bug you mention is happening when you use the tabs? And it seems to happen no matter what the window type is....jockeys, horses, whatever.
DeleteFrom my experimenting, basically if you're looking at one window, then click a tab on a second, the previously active window scrolls to top.
You can get the comparison thing happening with some fiddling, byu clicking the tabs you want in the two windows and then scrolling them down...but it's annoying I agree. I'm not entirely sure how to fix this one, especially because it might be inside the Tabs plugin code that I'm using so I might have to try and fix someone elses code to make this work properly.
I'm on it though ;-)