August Update 2 – Map Loading Speeds

70% Faster Loading Times!

 

Map Loading Time Improvement

 
So after posting an update last week, we have even more (and better) news to update you with. As you can gather by reading the title, we have cut the loading times of Classic Massive and Europe Massive by 70%!
speedometer gif
Previously, on a good day, Classic Massive would take 50 or 60 seconds to load if you were lucky, and sometimes not at all. Well those days are gone. We have brought that loading time down to 16 seconds. That’s a 70% improvement.

After the database and game archiving Marcos did last week, we noticed an odd anomaly. Classic Massive and Europe Massive showed no signs of improvement at all. All the other maps loaded in around 6 seconds, but those two maps still took a full minute to load. So we did some digging in to what made those two maps different from the rest. Because the issue rests with how Adobe Flash handles the data, there was no way to analyse what was happening in the Flash code in your browser, so we started looking at some external variables.

We always assumed that Classic Massive and Europe Massive were slow to load because they has the most regions and territories, but a comparison of the maps showed that 12 Domains was almost the same size and has almost the exact same number of regions. However, 12 Domains took only takes 6 seconds to load, while CM and Em took 50 seconds. Obviously there was something we were missing, something other than size and regions….

Long story short, we figured out what Adobe Flash was having problems with and we immediately worked on fixing the issue. An unfortunate result is that you will have less Troop Colors to choose from, but the good news is, those Maps now load faster then they ever did!

The other good news is, which you already know, we have moved away from Adobe Flash and our new game engine will be in HTML5. Meaning no more compatibility problems or other issue associated with Flash. 🙂

Missing Data Under Intel Tab

 
Last week, some players depending on your physical geographical location, may have experienced missing data under their Intel tab when once the map loaded. This was caused by our CDN (Content Delivery Network). We use CloudFlare which have servers located around the world to help deliver our images and data to you quicker. For some reason, which was never explained to us by CloudFlare, some of their servers, but not all of them, caused this error to happen with our game. It only affected some players but not others, which is what made it so odd to figure out. Somehow Marcos connected the issue with CloudFlare which made it easier to solve. Turns out that a setting on their control panel that we have been using for 4 years, suddenly started causing problem. Once we narrowed it down we simple turn off that setting and everything is back to normal.

Back in the 90’s someone once told me that a person can make a mistake, but it takes a computer to really f things up.

Nonetheless, Marcos is going away on a well deserved break for a week, but he is leaving us with a working and fast site. I just hope nothing unexpected happens in the next 7 days!

Have fun and Enjoy the games!

P.S. It’s also my birthday.

August 2017 Game Update

What’s New With Playing RISK Online?

 

AUGUST 2017 UPDATE

RISK Game update
It’s been a few months since we posted an update, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy. In fact, it’s been a very productive few months. So let me break it down for you.

NEW RISK GAME ENGINE

 
As you know we’ve been developing a new game engine that is more flexible and more responsive.
It is now in the BETA testing stage, and is currently being tested by our Game Testing Clan.

* The new RISK game engine is currently being tested by players
* Loading times and Responsiveness have greatly improved
* Still missing lots of features (eg. no team games implemented yet)
* Some connectivity issues
* Lots of UI bugs to work out

Before you ask, our Testing Clan is currently full, but as we add more features and the closer we get to completion, the more players we will need to test it. So if you are a paying member, you will be getting an invite to help play testing at some point, so just hold on to your hats for now. 😉

CURRENT RISK GAME ENGINE

 
There have been some issues in the last few days regarding Map Loading times. And yes, honestly we have let the current game engine slip since it is no longer being actively updated, and we are putting all our efforts in to making the new game engine functional.

However, obviously being able to play a game of RISK online properly is vitally important. So we pulled our attention away from the new engine for a couple days to address the current problems.

Marcos has focused on the size and efficiency of our current database to solve the Map loading time issues. Today…

* We archived 32,000 old and completed games
* We reduced the size of the Database by over 30%! (Which should noticeably improve performance)
* We have plans to archive another 20%-30% of files, bring the total size of the Database to less than 50% of what it was yesterday.
* We also set the archiving script to run daily, so the buildup and bloating of the DB won’t happen again.
* We are also working on recalling the old game chat records so that it can be read when reviewing an archived and completed game

Remember though, the old game engine is still the old game engine so it will inherently be slow and cumbersome, but we have done all we can to make it as functional as possible with what we have. The real improvement will only be noticed once we adapt the new engine. Currently smaller maps should load without issue, but larger 24p/Massive maps may still take up to a minute.

NEW RISK GAME MAPS

 
Our Map maker Shepherd has been busy creating a new RISK game map. If you haven’t heard about it yet, then you can catch up in our NEW RISK MAPS thread in the forums. It is obviously a very cool looking map, and it is quite complex, even for experienced players. So again we have our team of RISK Game Testers working overtime to try and make it perfect!

It will be released as soon as it is perfected and approved by our testers and map makers! 🙂
 
map
 
Thank you and have fun!
Sheriff Badge

Changes to the Website

Future of Major Command Games

As you may know, MajorCommand has been struggling financially. After a long debate, it has been determined that our best chance to stay financially viable is to do a major overhaul to our website and all our games. We will be trying to appeal to a more lucrative audience.

Over the next few months, we will slowly be fading out our “RISK” style conquest games. And as a replacement, we will be targeting the highly sought after 8-14 yr old female tween demographic. We will be introducing popular gaming titles such as ‘Pretty Pony Day Care’ and ‘Baby Barbie Makeover’.

We are aiming to launch our new website at the start of the new school year in September 2017. So you will still be able to enjoy the current RISK games we offer until the end of summer. Thanks for your understanding.
 

ScreenHunter_150 Apr. 01 04.51

 

Thank you for Playing
RISK at MajorCommand.
I hope you all enjoy the
First Day of April. 🙂

 

Feel free to keep this site great, and Pretty Pony free, by donating below! 😉

 
Sheriff Badge

Major Command Game Updates

Game Updates for 2017

RISK Game update

Now that we can update the website without going offline, we’ve decided to compile a list of game updates so you can follow the progress. Keep checking back because this page will be constantly updated!

PROBLEMS? As always, if you experience any problems after an update, please REPORT THE PROBLEM IN THE FORUM!

 

March 20 2017

(1) Diplomatic Agreements Filter

Risk Diplomacy Agreement– We are now implementing another new game feature to help with all those Diplomatic Agreements! This feature was written by one of our players, gfunk74. Now you can filter Diplomatic Agreements to see which agreements are still active, and filter to see only which agreements are just yours. A great idea. Thanks gfunk74!
 

(2) Mesopotamia Game Medals!

No need for introduction here: 😉

Mesopotamia Bronze Risk Game Medal  Mesopotamia Silver Risk Game Medal Mesopotamia Gold Risk Game Medal Mesopotamia Onyx Risk Game Medal

 

March 05 2017

(1) Tournament Games Under Awaiting Tab

– Finally! For all you Tournament players out there, you can now check to see the progress of your Tournament Games under the Awaiting Tab. You’ll be able to see Tournaments you’ve joined that have not started, and Tournaments in which you are waiting for the 2nd or 3rd round to start. No more forgetting about these games, or scrolling through the Tournament section (which you are still free to do if you want!)

Awaiting Tournaments

And there is an Expanded View when you click on it.

Awaiting Tournaments Expanded

 

 

February 20 2017


 

ViewGameTeamTurnButton

– We’ve got a great new feature to help with Team Games. Now you can see if it is your Teammate’s Turn straight from your Active Games Tab!

ViewGameAWOLButton

– And to double up with buttons, you can now also see if you have gone AWOL in a game for some reason.

Have fun!

February 8 2017


 

– Fixed the “Disappearing” Displayed Medals Issue. When a player receives a new medal, it replaces a displayed medal on their Profile page. However, the replaced medal does not show up in the background until the players actively deselects it from their medal selection box. This will fix that issue, however, in order to do so, every player will have their displayed medals reset to the default display. This will only happen ONCE when the fix is installed today. Afterwards, all players can choose their favorite medals again to be displayed without issue from the setting page.

– With the help of players in the Forum, We have created a 14 language Popup Agreement for Users who are creating a new account. Or for players who are creating a SECOND account!

 

User Game Agreement

– And a few minor fixes and more improvements to the new game engine.

January 16 2017


 

– 14 different bug fixes and improvements to the website that include better email verification and protection from spam users.

– We have made major steps forward with out new game engine and are nearly ready for Beta testing.

Watch the YouTube Video
Read the Forum Discussion

 

 

January 9 2017


 

Gravatar– We have a New Stats Page!
– Avatars will be given to players who do not upload their own Avatars. They will look something like this:
– The Medals Displayed on your Profile Page are now grouped together.
– The Medals Display Box in the Setting Page is now sorted alphabetically.
– The Most Decorated section on the Scoreboard now contains a row with the actual Medal count.

 
Thank you!
Sheriff.