Now that most of the kinks have been worked out of the international side of things, it’s time to start thinking about the next patch. This one is likely to be quite a lot of work, and as a consequence of that we’re looking at doing some open testing before we set it loose. The preliminary release date for the next patch is the 29th of September 2009. This is not a definite date; depending on how the testing goes it could slip a bit, but the 29th is the current target date.
Archive for August, 2009
Next Patch: Targets & Testing
Monday, August 31st, 2009
Back to testing
Friday, August 28th, 2009
AirlineSim used to have a comprehensive set of automated tests. This means, most functions of the game had at least one corresponding test which ensured the respective function behaved as it’s supposed to. The big advantage of this approach is that you can easily test hundreds of different situations with a simple click of a button. If you apply a change to something at one end of the system which breaks some functionality at another end it’s likely to show up in one of the automated tests.
AirlineSim used to have a comprehensive set of automated tests. This means, most functions of the game had at least one corresponding test which ensured the respective function behaved as it’s supposed to. The big advantage of this approach is that you can easily test hundreds of different situations with a simple click of a button. If you apply a change to something at one end of the system which breaks some functionality at another end it’s likely to show up in one of the automated tests.
Patch to Version 1.3.20b
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
Nicosia has been patched to the latest version. Changes this time include:
Version 1.3.20b
================================
BUGFIX: Cancelled and finished flights blocked leasing/sale of an aircraft
UPDATE: Registration is a link in the list of owned aircraft on aircraft sale page
UPDATE: All columns of the list of owned aircraft on aircraft sale page are sortable
UPDATE: Aircraft age is displayed in the list of owned aircraft on aircraft sale page
UPDATE: Additional information on offices page
UPDATE: Icon marking interlining partners on airport info page
UPDATE: Locked flights are deleted 24 hours after scheduling
UPDATE: In aircraft flight planning the route’s service profile is set to the flight’s profile if it has been null before
UPDATE: Operating figues displayed on IPO page
CHANGE: Automatic cancellations cause a penalty
CHANGE: Company update runs more frequently to avoid wrong update times
NEW: List of all owned buildings and their contracts
NEW: Progress bar at head of page to help new players find their way into the game
NEW: Display of the 10 most recent trades on stock page
As usual, please let me know what you think on the forums or on in the comments and report any problems that might occur to our support address.
Nicosia has been patched to the latest version. Changes this time include:
Version 1.3.20b
================================
BUGFIX: Cancelled and finished flights blocked leasing/sale of an aircraft
UPDATE: Registration is a link in the list of owned aircraft on aircraft sale page
UPDATE: All columns of the list of owned aircraft on aircraft sale page are sortable
UPDATE: Aircraft age is displayed in the list of owned aircraft on aircraft sale page
UPDATE: Additional information on offices page
UPDATE: Icon marking interlining partners on airport info page
UPDATE: Locked flights are deleted 24 hours after scheduling
UPDATE: In aircraft flight planning the route’s service profile is set to the flight’s profile if it has been null before
UPDATE: Operating figues displayed on IPO page
CHANGE: Automatic cancellations cause a penalty
CHANGE: Company update runs more frequently to avoid wrong update times
NEW: List of all owned buildings and their contracts
NEW: Progress bar at head of page to help new players find their way into the game
NEW: Display of the 10 most recent trades on stock page
As usual, please let me know what you think on the forums or on in the comments and report any problems that might occur to our support address.
More payment options in Italy and Poland
Friday, August 14th, 2009
We received news from Ukash today that their vouchers can now be easily purchased throughout Italy and Poland. But I suggest you just read for yourself:
Ukash is proud to announce that consumers in two of Europe’s largest cash markets can now get Ukash at point of sale or online.
1250 epay terminals in independent convenience stores across Italy are now issuing Ukash vouchers in 10,20,50,100 EUR denominations. And, in another move to make getting Ukash as easy as possible, vouchers from 10 – 100 EUR are now available online to consumers in Italy with internet banking.
Plus, in Poland Ukash is available for the first time at point of sale. 6500 epay terminals in independent retailers can now issue 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 750 PLN vouchers. This extends the availability of Ukash in this growing economy beyond the established online issuing from Dotpay.
We received news from Ukash today that their vouchers can now be easily purchased throughout Italy and Poland. But I suggest you just read for yourself:
Ukash is proud to announce that consumers in two of Europe’s largest cash markets can now get Ukash at point of sale or online.
1250 epay terminals in independent convenience stores across Italy are now issuing Ukash vouchers in 10,20,50,100 EUR denominations. And, in another move to make getting Ukash as easy as possible, vouchers from 10 – 100 EUR are now available online to consumers in Italy with internet banking.
Plus, in Poland Ukash is available for the first time at point of sale. 6500 epay terminals in independent retailers can now issue 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 750 PLN vouchers. This extends the availability of Ukash in this growing economy beyond the established online issuing from Dotpay.
Patch to Version 1.3.19b
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
Nicosia just received a small patch including the first of some changes mentioned in the post about last weeks usability tweaking. The detailed change-log looks as follows:
Version 1.3.19b
================================
BUGFIX: Wrong negative sign in bank account (only English version)
BUGFIX: Link to open office displayed for players without active enterprise
BUGFIX: New Zealand wasn’t displayed with untrestricted market access anymore (only German version)
UPDATE: New Layout for route managemet and flight number pages
UPDATE: Accelerated route change via drop-down menues
UPDATE: Quick access to flight numbers on a route via drop-down menu
UPDATE: Link to flight number from list of booked flights of an aircraft
UPDATE: New moderator tools in holding/enterprise screening
UPDATE: Prices of own booked flights are displayed on route page
UPDATE: Default prices are displayed next to price adjustment forms for routes/flight numbers
UPDATE: Direct links from flight info page to flight number, route and operating aircraft
CHANGE: Assigment of prices and on-board service profiles combined into one step (flight number and route)
CHANGE: Higher upper limits for taking out loans
NEW: Help/Information tooltips added in some places
Please let me know what you think on the forums or on in the comments and report any problems that might occur to our support address.
Nicosia just received a small patch including the first of some changes mentioned in the post about last weeks usability tweaking. The detailed change-log looks as follows:
Version 1.3.19b
================================
BUGFIX: Wrong negative sign in bank account (only English version)
BUGFIX: Link to open office displayed for players without active enterprise
BUGFIX: New Zealand wasn’t displayed with untrestricted market access anymore (only German version)
UPDATE: New Layout for route managemet and flight number pages
UPDATE: Accelerated route change via drop-down menues
UPDATE: Quick access to flight numbers on a route via drop-down menu
UPDATE: Link to flight number from list of booked flights of an aircraft
UPDATE: New moderator tools in holding/enterprise screening
UPDATE: Prices of own booked flights are displayed on route page
UPDATE: Default prices are displayed next to price adjustment forms for routes/flight numbers
UPDATE: Direct links from flight info page to flight number, route and operating aircraft
CHANGE: Assigment of prices and on-board service profiles combined into one step (flight number and route)
CHANGE: Higher upper limits for taking out loans
NEW: Help/Information tooltips added in some places
Please let me know what you think on the forums or on in the comments and report any problems that might occur to our support address.
Laying a foundation
Friday, August 7th, 2009
As mentioned in my last post, doing clean-up work like improving the usability and taking care of the inevitable bug-fixing and performance-tuning, is tedious. Given the prevalent temperatures and the fact that it’s Friday I decided this afternoon to pick up some stuff I haven’t touched in many months but which is a heck lot more fun than doing the stuff mentioned above: Developing AirlineSim 1.4. This post will be geared a little towards the tech-savvy so it might not be of interest to everyone.
As mentioned in my last post, doing clean-up work like improving the usability and taking care of the inevitable bug-fixing and performance-tuning, is tedious. Given the prevalent temperatures and the fact that it’s Friday I decided this afternoon to pick up some stuff I haven’t touched in many months but which is a heck lot more fun than doing the stuff mentioned above: Developing AirlineSim 1.4. This post will be geared a little towards the tech-savvy so it might not be of interest to everyone.
It’s usability week!
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
The last couple of weeks have been a stressful time for the team and me. Everybody was working towards the launch of the first international server and basically put aside most other tasks that need to be taken care of. Now that it has been 3 days since the extremely smooth start of Nicosia we finally find the time to take a look at other things again. The first thing that came to my mind on monday was usability. A friend of mine who had never played AirlineSim before took a brief look at the game and his first impression was that it was extremely difficult for a new player to find his way into the game. It’s simple things that make it difficult: realizing that you need to have an airline to open a branch office, knowing that your airline request has to be screened by a member of our support team, entering the correct airport codes when requesting it and getting the correct error message if you don’t. Most of these issues are mentioned somewhere in the tutorial or in the game itself, some aren’t. Either way, all these tiny issues make it difficult to get started quickly and easily and might scare off any new player who’s not a die-hard aviation geek.
The last couple of weeks have been a stressful time for the team and me. Everybody was working towards the launch of the first international server and basically put aside most other tasks that need to be taken care of. Now that it has been 3 days since the extremely smooth start of Nicosia we finally find the time to take a look at other things again. The first thing that came to my mind on monday was usability. A friend of mine who had never played AirlineSim before took a brief look at the game and his first impression was that it was extremely difficult for a new player to find his way into the game. It’s simple things that make it difficult: realizing that you need to have an airline to open a branch office, knowing that your airline request has to be screened by a member of our support team, entering the correct airport codes when requesting it and getting the correct error message if you don’t. Most of these issues are mentioned somewhere in the tutorial or in the game itself, some aren’t. Either way, all these tiny issues make it difficult to get started quickly and easily and might scare off any new player who’s not a die-hard aviation geek.
First game world starts tonight
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
Let’s keep it short and simple: Our first international game server will start tonight! To be exact, the launch time will be Monday, 0:01, Central European Summer Time.
We will try to ensure quick handling of holding and airline requests through all of Monday. In case of questions or problems check out the forums or contact our support. Also we’d be glad to welcome you for a little “launch party” in our chat room.
Have fun playing AirlineSim and good luck!
Let’s keep it short and simple: Our first international game server will start tonight! To be exact, the launch time will be Monday, 0:01, Central European Summer Time.
We will try to ensure quick handling of holding and airline requests through all of Monday. In case of questions or problems check out the forums or contact our support. Also we’d be glad to welcome you for a little “launch party” in our chat room.
Have fun playing AirlineSim and good luck!
