ID:50434
 
Keywords: software, website

BYOND 430 is here, and it's a whopper of a release. A new interface element to use, new control parameters for great new possibilities, a better format for winset() and winget(), and myriad bug fixes all top the list. But what you may not know is that the hub has undergone more changes as well.

One major change is that when trying to play a game via the website, you no longer have to worry about getting logged in as a guest if you're not logged in on the website. When the BYOND pager starts, if you haven't created an account before you'll be logged in as a guest, but if you do have an account then you'll be asked to log in. Anyone who's already logged in on the website will login on that same account automatically, just like before.

On the hub entry page for a game, you'll now see what I call the BFBs--Big Friendly Buttons--for downloading and playing live. This was meant to bring our website more in line with what other gaming and software sites like to use. If you've already downloaded the latest version of course this will just launch the game--but unlike in days of old, it won't start immediately in Dream Seeker.

When you launch a game by using either the Download button or the "Launch" link below it (they do the same thing), the BYOND pager will start up. This will check to see if you have the latest version of the game, and if you don't, a download will begin. After that, you'll have the option to play in Dream Seeker or host the game in Dream Daemon, and you may see choices for live games.

Obviously not all games are alike. Now when you edit your hub entry, you have a way of saying that a game you've made is meant for single-player action only, multiplayer only, or both. In a single-player game, the option to host in Dream Daemon won't ever be shown, because there's pretty much no point in hosting the game for others to join. In that case when you hit the Download button, you're taken directly into the game in Dream Seeker. A game that's multiplayer-only still can be started in DS, but the pager will clarify that you have to host the game in order for others to join you.

Whether a game is single- or multiplayer will also affect how it appears on the BYOND pager and the hub entry. Since a single-player game is never live, there is no need to show options for joining a waiting list to play. The option to watch the game in your pager also won't be there, because there will never be a live game to see. This should de-clutter the hub entry a lot.

In addition to these changes, a new URL option has been added to the byond:// URLs you can use. Just like byond://Author.Game##host was introduced in an earlier version to start a game in Dream Daemon, now the ##local option starts a game in Dream Seeker. If you're making a distributable EXE file for your game, ##local or ##host may be just the right choice, but ##remote is available too if you want to direct players to a persistent server.

The goal in all of this is to improve the user experience when joining games. There are times when Dream Seeker is the better choice to start a game, and other times when Dream Daemon is better, so it's nice for users to have options that fit the game they want to play.

Alright loving the updates so fat, keep em going! (Also Love the new way to Icon! (Well the old way but you know what I mean =P))
Great job guys!
I've had the pleasure of downloading a game and getting that friendly "Host or Play" interface =D
i think this is very much inhanced and very well put together.keep it up BYOND
I love 430 so far; the combination of bar controls and scrolling panes are perfect for my current project! Continue with the great updates!
4.30 is going great so far, keep it up.
4.30 is Awesome!!
*Nice new way for making icons.
Thanks alot for killing Dream Maker for me.
Phlegmie wrote:
Thanks alot for killing Dream Maker for me.

You don't like the icon editor updates?
Not at all. Rotating the color pallete and getting rid of the greyscale part of it was a terrible idea.
I do. It's like 3.5, you can change a single color in the entire icon file with a simple double click =D

That was the only thing that excelled compared with 4.0
Phlegmie wrote:
Not at all. Rotating the color pallete and getting rid of the greyscale part of it was a terrible idea.

We can add the grayscale back in; that's no big deal. I'm sure you'll get used to the new layout, and we can even add support for custom palettes down the line. Most people seem to be happy with this change.
Ganing wrote:
Alright loving the updates so fat, keep em going! (Also Love the new way to Icon! (Well the old way but you know what I mean =P))


What new way to icon , Am i still lost in the past ! I didnt know i had another way to icon, I must be stuck in the past gan.
I do all my icon art in Paint Shop Pro, so the icon editor stuff really doesn't mean much to be, but I'm happy with the option to declare a game as single-player only. For obvious reasons.