Admiral Keth

All, I am aware of a couple issues at The Scenario Depot, and I'm attempting to allocate time to repair them. I'll do my best to correct them this week, in between hunting for jobs and brain dumping information for East Indians to take my job.

Photos are nice...now onto more important topics...regale us with tales of local potables. Perhaps that is the local pub in the second pic? I'm afraid if I somehow managed to make it to Belgium (last European trip only made it as far as Taunton, England (beer=good, food=dreadful)), they'd never be able to crowbar me out of the place.

Mullet??? I'm sorry, you've mistaken my trusty M43 Luftwaffe feldmutze for some aboriginal hairstyle. I, sir, prefer a military-style trim. With regards to the Old T-34...the majority of the so-called populace which reside in that foetid pit wouldn't know good beer if kicked them in the groin. What's more, they wouldn't even accept the fact that it was good beer (cite Mike's example, above). What's even more, I wouldn't waste a single drop of my Old T-34 on them. Just made an all-grain batch on Saturday. OG 1.100, which translates to 10.68% ABV. Now less about beer (wow, who would have thought I would have ever said that???) and more about blowing up things. GGGGrrrrr :mad: :mad:

Mullet??? I'm sorry, you've mistaken my trusty M43 Luftwaffe feldmutze for some aboriginal hairstyle. I, sir, prefer a military-style trim. With regards to the Old T-34...the majority of the so-called populace which reside in that foetid pit wouldn't know good beer if kicked them in the groin. What's more, they wouldn't even accept the fact that it was good beer (cite Mike's example, above). What's even more, I wouldn't waste a single drop of my Old T-34 on them. Just made an all-grain batch on Saturday. OG 1.100, which translates to 10.68% ABV. Now less about beer (wow, who would have thought I would have ever said that???) and more about blowing up things. GGGGrrrrr :mad: :mad:

Oddly enough...after a couple of my Old T-34 Russian Imperial Stouts, noises emanate from many things I don't question it any longer, I just accept it. ...1 sec, Riverside is starting to rattle their sabers...must supress them.

Oddly enough...after a couple of my Old T-34 Russian Imperial Stouts, noises emanate from many things I don't question it any longer, I just accept it. ...1 sec, Riverside is starting to rattle their sabers...must supress them.

I've already started in with Irvine (they've had it coming for a while). Next, I'll annex San Diego (up-and-coming beer mecca), then I'll move onto Los Angeles. The guy in the picture was an uber-twit...nuff said. ..and beer is not a fixation...it's a lifestyle choice. As soon as I procure gainful employment, I'm tempted to don my fire-retardant liederhosen and trounce the lot of you.

I've already started in with Irvine (they've had it coming for a while). Next, I'll annex San Diego (up-and-coming beer mecca), then I'll move onto Los Angeles. The guy in the picture was an uber-twit...nuff said. ..and beer is not a fixation...it's a lifestyle choice. As soon as I procure gainful employment, I'm tempted to don my fire-retardant liederhosen and trounce the lot of you.

**Steps into room, actively fending off Wafflers with pointy stick** Just friggin' great. I took your little test and answered the 45 question list. This is what is spit out at me. <div align="center"> What Famous Leader Are You? <font size="1">personality tests by similarminds.com</font></div> Now I'm going to have to eliminate some major portion of the population just to feel better about myself. Thanks guys...Ggggrrrrr :mad: :mad: **Leaps out of nearest door to avoid being hit by a largish bundle of red sticks with what appears to be a sparkler attached**

**Steps into room, actively fending off Wafflers with pointy stick** Just friggin' great. I took your little test and answered the 45 question list. This is what is spit out at me. <div align="center"> What Famous Leader Are You? <font size="1">personality tests by similarminds.com</font></div> Now I'm going to have to eliminate some major portion of the population just to feel better about myself. Thanks guys...Ggggrrrrr :mad: :mad: **Leaps out of nearest door to avoid being hit by a largish bundle of red sticks with what appears to be a sparkler attached**

Love that broomhandle mauser. Is that the .30 or the 9mm?

Agreed on the server-side aspect. Prior to your suggestion, I was going to break the huge form up into a tabbed submission form, where the first section posted, and subsequent sections updated the record. There are all manner of partial record issues associated with that, but it's still a viable option. That, along with using strlen() and maxlength to enforce field string limits, ought to do the trick. The thought I had with regards to solving the partial record issue is have an ActiveRecord flag which only gets set once all the required fields are filled in. Obviously this is still in the concept phase.

Sounds like a volunteer. OK, here goes... 1) Create a text file containing "This Is Only A Test File" and zip it up. Entitle the zip file as follows: a) Prefix it with a 1 Add the First and Last Initials of your name. For example, if I were to create the file I would add KM. c) Add the game type, i.e., CMBO, CMBB, or CMAK d) Add a B for battle, O for Operation, or M for Map Therefore your final file would look something similar to: 1KMCMBOB.zip 2) Log in to The Scenario Depot as normal. 3) Submit a new battle or operation synopsis using the following format a) The Name of the battle, operation, or map should be identical to the zip filename you just created, but without the .zip extension. Fill in the minimal information in the other fields. In Brief Description, enter "NOT A REAL BATTLE". c) Submit the synopsis. d) Upload the test zip file. 4) Attempt to download your file. You should receive the now familiar file download dialog box. I will be observing results as they occur. The test submissions will be deleted shortly thereafter.

That's the ticket! It seems as if that was the "Click Submit and Nothing Happens" issue. Thanks for the important safety tip. </font>

That's the ticket! It seems as if that was the "Click Submit and Nothing Happens" issue. Thanks for the important safety tip.

I have made some tweaks to the Author File Upload routine. Thus, I need a couple of authors who have had problems uploading their scenarios to The Scenario Depot. Volunteer here.....

Ralph, There are a number of issues occurring with regards to the current upload system. I'm addressing issues as I find time, but right now I'm pretty much wall-to-wall with regards to finding a job before my current one moves to India. For the moment: 1) Submit scenario synopses as normal. Note that there is an issue with regards to the amount of data being posted. Too much data and the Submit button does nothing. This is a quirk of PHP that I am attempting to code around. If you get a "Submit button does nothing" issue, eliminate some of the data from the Author Comments or Brief Description. 2) Email me the scenario file as was done under the previous system. All, My primary focus right now is obtaining gainful employment, so I would appreciate it if everyone would bear with the current SD system for a couple of weeks.

Here's the issue with uploading... The system is designed to allocate a private folder to the author if one does not already exist. For those uthors who already have a 20-chracter alphanumeric folder, the upload succeeds. For SOME authors uploading their frist scenario using the upload system, it seems to fail in rare circumstances (yet undetermined). I have a couple of work arounds. The first is to simply allow uploads to the common CMBO/CMBB/SMAK scenario folders where everyone is accustomed to downloading them. This means that authors may need to make certain that their scenarios are uniquely titled from existing works, as the upload program will not allow overwrites. The second is to revert the whole website back to SDv1 and use the previous system until I can free up some time. The third work around is for authors to post their synopses as normal, then send me the files and I'll post them manually as before. Another important problem authors are encountering is the attempt to post their scenario description and nothing happens. I have recently discovered that if too much data is attempted to be posted, MySql simply does nothing. There appears to be a physical limit to the amount of data that can be passed during a post. Therefore I am designing a new tab-based system that incrementally posts data to the site. No ETA for completion.

There seems to be an issue with the author upload routine that did not exhibit itself during testing. I'm having to manually update these files. The delete feature is scheduled for SDv3. The rating were THE most controversial aspect of The Scenario Depot. Most auhtors agreed that the system simply didn't work, unfairly rated scenarios against each other (e.g., historical vs fictional), and the system was subject to "ballot box stuffing" and other corruptive influences. This topic has been debated numerous times in other threads, thus I will not go into the detailed reasoning. Simply suffice it to say that the Cumulative Rating System is dead, gone, and buried. Each review must stand on its own now. Until someone can devise and help code a method by which every battle, operation, and map can be equally rated against one another, the current system will remain in place.

All, Had I known my job was going to be shipped to India, I probably would have held off on the website update. Obviously, there are several issues occurring which prevents authors from uploading, as well as some Mac users from downloading. There are some small issues with the ratings as well. I need to hear from people whether: 1) Keep the current site in place and muddle through for a couple of weeks until I can free up some time to address the issues, or 2) Revert to the old site, address issues, and re-test using some of the people who are currently experiencing issues as testers. I need a concensus here by 06.18.04.

There are no longer cumulative ratings of any kind. This is covered in several threads, as well as the SDv2 Features List (I think it's also in The SD Usage Guide). The entire reason was the fact that the rating system was being perverted/corrupted into an unusable system by players wishing to unfairly promote or demote specific scenarios. In addition, having a single rating system which compared historical vs. Semi-historical vs. fictional scenarios simply didn't work. Now, each and every review stands on it's own merit, and battles/operations/maps have no cumulative ratings. This is not to say that this won't change in the future. If we ALL agree on a system which has a low probability of being corrupted, then I'll look into implementing something. in the mean time, I have several tasks to which to attend. Primarily, numerous minor bugs to be squashed, as well as finding a job. Therafter, the SDv3 To Do list has a dozen items on it already.

Hmmm. Superlative ideas. I have added them to the SDv3 To Do list. However, SDv3 may be momentarily delayed whilst I secure gainful employment.

Each section of The Lists now provide a category for Top 20 Battle Reviews (# of reviews - All Time). However, this is only for reviews posted under the current system, therefore it will take some time to build up that list. I could add a field in the Search function to display CMBO/CMBB/CMAK battles/operations/maps equal to or above a user-specified value of current or historical reviews. Ive added that to the SDv3 To Do list.

This was the feature about which I received the most complaints. Issues ranged from disparate scenarios being compared against one another to "ballot box stuffing". The numeric review values were being manipulated by reviewers to give unfair advantage to some authors. The system had become pointless to most authors, thus was removed. In short, the cumulative rating system had been corrupted by the very players it had been designed to serve. Therefore I removed it in favor of a system where each review stands on its own. Indeed, there were several discussions regarding this feature, and I for one became weary of everyone complaining that it unfairly treated fictional scenarios the same as historical scenarios, that certain groups of players were manipulating scores, and that the system (which was designed by committee) didn't work. Therefore I designed the current system and we are going to see how that works.

If you have previously attempted to download these and received an error message, please re-download them. There is a minor issue with regards to file uploads not being placed where they should (the files get uploaded, but not where I want them). I am looking into this issue. @ Dook Can you give me some details regarding your operation system and browser so that I can attempt to duplicate an issue?