Curse Client 2.1 RC1 Release!

I know it's been a while since I posted my last status update for the project. I apologize for the silence, but we're nearing payday!

So now, after several months of intensive development I want to bring to you guys the first release candidate for the 2.1 line.

What's New‽

Well, almost everything! Well, almost.

What were the issues again?

Here is a brief recap of what I posted in my last announcement as some of the major issues.

   * Ignoring manual deletions
   * Installing over addons
   * Downgrading addons
   * UI feedback failures
   * Poorly worded options and button text
   * Too much automation in some places, too little automation in others
   * Lack of features that are considered defacto standards
   * General reliability 

Now let's talk about what we did about them.

What we did about them!

UI Changes

The UI has gone through some major overhauls. Hrm, how can I explain this......

The old client

The new client

There are more changes than can be seen in that screenshot, but I think it gives a rough idea.

New Features

Well we didn't get everything I talked about in the last message done. Here's the list. I've struck through things we've finished. Things that are works in progress I'm marking with italics.

   * Alternate Packages - It's back!
   * Dependency Resolution
   * Manual Deletion Detection
   * Alpha Support
   * Multiple Game Support - Even over network drives!
   * Version Pinning
   * Submodule support 
   * Saved Variable Scrubber - It's not 100% tested and polished yet.
   * Automated and Manual Backups 
   * Real Configuration Box - The game manager takes the place of most options.
   * Deletion before upgrade
   * Uninstalled Package Listing - It's the unknown addon listing.

We'll be finishing things up as soon as possible.

Changed Behaviors & Methods

Discovery and Detection of versions

If anything we're too conservative now. We've gone through extraordinary pains to make sure that we know exactly which version of the addon you're using. If we don't know, we don't touch it. It can still get a little confused sometimes, mainly if an addon is shared by more than one project. We'll be working out a tweak for that situation shortly.

Changes to Defaults

Yep they got changed. You may not like some of them, but you shouldn't find them offensive!

Popup Questions

Well, 99% of the time you'll never see a popup question. Unless you're doing something that you can't undo. Like deleting an addon. We don't want a misclick to make you a sad panda...

The Mac Version

Do you want the good or the bad news first?

I'll start with the bad. It's not here.

The good news is, we're now actively getting it ready for it's first night out. I can't promise exactly when just yet, but Soon has never been so close. I hope to start leaking alphas out next week, but again I can promise nothing!

Conclusion

The one thing I don't think anyone can argue with is that this client is hands down superior to it's predecessor. There is not a doubt in my mind regarding that.

Is it perfect? Of course not. Are there bugs? Sadly, yes I'm sure there are. However, there was no way we could justify continuing to hold back this update and letting people continue to use the old version.

We're looking for feedback as we're getting ready to put this out there to all 700k+ users in the next few weeks. Please use the ticket tracker I'm going to link below to report any feedback. But please, try and see if the ticket already exists.

I also want to apologize to all you guys who've been struggling with the 2.0.0.14 client for so long. Support on it has been weak to non existent, I'm going to be keeping a tabs on things much much closer with the new client in order to ensure that the same backlog doesn't happen with this one.

So guys, last thing I'm going to tell you is how to get the new client. So make sure to check the link section below!

Links

• 2.1 Installer: Use this link to get the latest client installer.
• Feedback Tracker: Please try not to put up a bunch of repeats!
• Forum Thread: I'm keeping the old thread, also linking to the current page. not the first one.

1. 32 comments

Downtime Monday (Done)

Hey all, we're planning on having a downtime on Monday, January 19, 2009. Planning on starting around 10 AM CST and it shouldn't last more than a few hours.

This will affect the repositories and the website, but not forums.

We're planning on migrating from MySQL to PostgreSQL, since we've had just far too many issues with InnoDB locking up the database making the entire site inaccessible for minutes at a time, and we can't afford to lose transactions and ACID compliance by switching to MyISAM. Here's hoping it fixes the problem.

Addendum: And we're all done. Very anti-climactic, if you ask me.

1. 6 comments

Forum maintenance (done)

Hello, friends.

We're doing some maintenance on the forums system, moving boxes around in the server room and all. We expect the downtime to last no more than a couple hours.

To pass the time, here's a kitty:

1. 9 comments