CEO, Goblinworks
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We found and fixed an issue with setting up proper amounts of coin in accounts for use with the Auction House and the fix is being integrated now. Following that there will be a build process which may last up to 5 hours, then a period of testing and deployment. So the earliest the Update will be applied today is 17:00 (Pacific) and it could be later.
We are going to hold off on making the decision to start the Stress Test today or tomorrow based on when the actual build process completes. If it is too late in the day (say, after 19:00 (Pacific)) we will will begin the Stress Test tomorrow. Alpha accounts and those with Alpha access will not be affected by that decision, just the Early, Explorer and Open Enrollees who don't have Alpha access.
More info as it becomes available.
Ryan says "build process" a lot. Could someone give me a description of what that looks like or entails? I'm just curious.
</em mimes the attachment of microscopic lego blocks together into a life-size model of Fort Knox, complete with vaults>
That is exactly my mental image right now. Only the blocks are larger.
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Goblin Squad Member
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Will people who have been invited to Alpha, but don't (yet) have enrollment accounts, continue to have access when the "enrollees" are brought in shortly, or will that be a separate stage of "Alpha" open only to those who have permanent access of some kind?
... we are going to open the game (but NOT the forums - see below) to all players that have Open, Explorer, Early and Alpha access (and of course all the people who have received Alpha invites will continue to have access).
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Goblin Squad Member
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Ryan says "build process" a lot. Could someone give me a description of what that looks like or entails? I'm just curious.
The Build Process basically involves compiling all the checked-in code changes into however many discrete executables and libraries are required. Often, it also includes Deployment to various staging locations for testing. It can even include running automated tests. It's one of those things that's probably different for every development team, and highly tailored to their particular needs.
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Goblin Squad Member
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@ sspitfire Okay... any agile development project will have a process document describing exactly the steps to be taken when performing cycle of specific work where that work cycle is expected to happen more often than once or twice. One of these repeated processes is apparently called a 'build', and I would infer it is a matter of compiling computer programming into an executable, or something similar involving large amounts of data in related tables. It is a 'build process', and is a large and complex activity, heavy lifting so to speak.
For the sake of convenience Those in-the-know will toss that around like a noun and know exactly what it means. Evidently Ryan, who is rather Erudite is actively engaged with those who use that jargon as their native tongue to pick up on it and use it as a now-natural part of speech.
And it tells us how integral his labors have been with his team, namely 'close'.
Or not: I'm just an innocent bystander with an odd knack for pretending I know anything at all.
~edit oh snap! Nihimon was succinct again. Ah well...
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CEO, Goblinworks
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The build process is where we convert all the source code to runnable program code.
To make that happen a big database is updated with all the changes that have been scheduled for the current build from all the people who work on the game.
Then a piece of software starts loading those individual parts of the code into a queue where it is processed by the compiler software to create the runnable program code.
Software is often interdependent so certain parts of it have to be built first, then linked to other parts that are built later, and so on.
We are managing millions of lines of code and so this process takes a very long time depending on the nature of the changes we have to make. Sometimes we just have to change a small part of the code which means we can limit the scope of the changes and it runs quickly. Sometimes we have to change fundamental things which require us to rebuild the whole source code database and that can take most of a day. Sometimes we just have to change the server code which is faster than changing both the server and the client code.
Because of these interdependencies it is possible that the build can "break". Partway through the process the compiler may generate an error of some kind that stops the process. Usually when that happens the build must be restarted once the error is fixed from scratch and the time already spent is lost. Sometimes it can be fixed and restarted with some work already done which is better. But usually its the worst case scenario.
While the code is being built we pretty much just have to wait and watch for problems. It is often hard to predict exactly how long it will take to complete the build other than "a long time" or "a short time". Which is why we can't give specific estimates for when the build will be ready to deploy. (And that assumes nothing "breaks").
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Goblin Squad Member
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@ sspitfire Okay... any agile development project will have a process document describing exactly the steps to be taken when performing cycle of specific work where that work cycle is expected to happen more often than once or twice. One of these repeated processes is apparently called a 'build', and I would infer it is a matter of compiling computer programming into an executable, or something similar involving large amounts of data in related tables. It is a 'build process', and is a large and complex activity, heavy lifting so to speak.
For the sake of convenience Those in-the-know will toss that around like a noun and know exactly what it means. Evidently Ryan, who is rather Erudite is actively engaged with those who use that jargon as their native tongue to pick up on it and use it as a now-natural part of speech.
And it tells us how integral his labors have been with his team, namely 'close'.
Or not: I'm just an innocent bystander with an odd knack for pretending I know anything at all.
~edit oh snap! Nihimon was succinct again. Ah well...
Rest assured, you are neither the first nor the last to be "Nihimon-ed" (one of our local invented words).
Compiling is for weenies. I just hit save and go directly to [Fatal error].
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Goblin Squad Member
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Ryan says "build process" a lot. Could someone give me a description of what that looks like or entails? I'm just curious.
It's a lot like compiling...
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Goblin Squad Member
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As a programmer I can tell you that the feeling when your phone rings when you know your boss is doing the build is horrific.
Recently I was put in charge of the integration testing so now I get to tell my fellow programmers that things are broken AFTER the build. I am the new voice of doom.
You mean in terms of the coding? Definitely.
