I've banded this around for long enough now - it's time to deploy it

During the evening of Sunday 29th September, the game will be taken offline for a short time whilst the new interface is deployed.

Don't get me wrong, it's not the finished article and it'll be a work in progress for some time, allowing me to deploy new pages in phases as and when I get time to do so. But it is fully functional, in that it delivers the functionality that the current interface offers (and more), whilst providing me with a platform on which I can continue to deploy further updates to FG in the future.

But wait, it's not just the interface that is changing! The entire backend has been rewritten as part of this, using modern programming techniques and modular, reusable components wherever possible - something I've been dying to do for a while, so thought i'd take the opportunity - this isn't to criticise the work done by M or N between 2001 - 2011, who did a fantastic job initially writing this amazing game and then keeping up with manager demand for new features (mostly).

Obviously, with rewrites come unavoidable issues, bugs, niggles, undocumented features - call them what you will. Whilst I can't stress how much I've tested it over the last month or two, since I've considered it complete, there is never a better test than an end user getting their hands on a product and breaking it. I will be monitoring the game closely and will be on hand as much as possible, following the go live to resolve any problems that may be found due to the update.

I'll update this thread this week with details of some of the benefits FGNI (geddit?) brings the game, but you can always check out the beta site (that has been running for some time now) @ https://beta.footballglory.com. I've also spawned a new thread on the forum for your thoughts and there's a channel in Discord - I'm not saying I'll action any suggestions, but I've taken on board manager feedback as much as possible since I started this project (after all, you guys are the reason I still do this ) and if it's worthwhile, i'll squeeze it in this week, or add it to the next phase.

Oh and as a teaser, there's a new YTF officially in the works..

_________________
Bryan

FG Gamemaster

Feature #1: Overhauled FGM

The FGM system has been overhauled front and back, providing consistency on email alerts and allowing basic interactive content to be included, such as links, text formatting and emojis.



New FGMs are sent from a dock-style system, which may eventually be expanded to allow sending from anywhere within the game, not just the FGM centre.



Replies can then be made inline, rather than on a separate page, allowing you to refer back to the message as you write it.



Messages also auto collapse to hide previous content by default, but it can be shown if required.



This concludes the intro to Feature #1!

_________________
Bryan

FG Gamemaster

Feature #2: Interface Enhancements

There are 2 independent layouts in place with FGNI, one when you're not logged in and another when you are logged in. Let's start with when you're not logged in.
Some pages, such as player and team pages can be viewed through the unauthenticated design and the menu system at the top allows you to navigate to these pages.



When on a desktop PC, you can also login from any of these pages - viewing them on a mobile phone gives you to access a slightly different menu with a link to the login page.



Once logged in, the authenticated design presents you with a menu to the left, with which you can access any page in the game (if there's any missing, i'd love to know!), along with the server time for paying managers - this can be collapsed for extra space, using the "hamburger stack" icon and gives you hover options for navigation.



The menu at the top provides you with a quick search, for teams, managers and players (maximum 15 results when entering 3 or more characters) and a manager menu for quick access to account functions - Paying Managers will see a numbered icon to display the number of unread FGMs they have. The manager image is automatically taken from Gravatar (my Gravatar was taken following a particularly successful trip to the barbers ) using your registered email address and this feature is no longer limited to just Paying Managers - this is also displayed in a few other areas, such as the FGM messages (see above post).





Finally, the manager profile is one of the first pages to receive a complete makeover, along with announcements (using the same editor as FGMs), player rename and almost all admin pages.



One of the next ones to be overhauled following Go Live will be the squad page - the first step being to amalgamate 8 different versions in to 1 reusable template..

This concludes the intro to Feature #2! Check out the Beta server if you can't wait until Sunday to try it out!

_________________
Bryan

FG Gamemaster

Feature #3: New Manager Registration

Whilst the registration itself isn't a new feature, it has been completely overhauled - especially, there's no more waiting around after signup to get a team. The process goes like this:

You enter some basic details (vastly reduced from the original)..





You're sent an email to verify your address..



Upon first login you set up your manager profile..



Finally, you're allowed to pick a team from the vacancies straight away as a one-time deal.



Before being logged in to the clubhouse!



Once you've managed at least 1 team you can no longer do this and must go through the usual application process. It's hoped that this will increase the managers that sign up (due to their being less to fill in to get going) and increase the chances of them sticking around (as they're straight in to the action).

_________________
Bryan

FG Gamemaster

The game is down and the deployment is underway..

_________________
Bryan

FG Gamemaster