[Postponed] Decrease amount of download (possible??)

[Captncrunch]

OK:This suggestion isn't calling for a change of rules, but I am unsure of where to post this, so please forgive if I'm on the wrong forum.

I'm not sure if this is technically feasible, but is it possible to decrease the amount of download needed to play the game? I'm thinking (if possible) that the "Pirates Glory" app should keep a copy of all the graphics it downloads from the game for re-use, as my guess is it's the graphics that use up the most download.

PS: What does having the "Pirates Glory" app installed on your browser do anyway?

[Mohammed]

there is no downloads required it is a problem with your browser i hope

[Captncrunch]

By downloads, I mean all the stuff that is on each page. IE: every time you go to the map screen, the browser has to download the map image before displaying it (that's how browsers work). What I am trying to say is, if it is at all possible, it would be nice if the "Pirates Glory" app would store the often used images and use them when needed, so that my browser doesn't have to re-download the map image (or any other often used image) every time I go to the map screen (or any other screen in the game). If it is possible to do, it would speed up the game, decrease the amount a user downloads (significantly over a long time span) and also decrease how much the game server is sending to the users (which is a cost to the owner of the server).

[Captain Jack]

Other than the map which changes everyday, most of the graphics are only downloaded once, given that you use a modern browser.

We use extensive caching which allows what I described above. What you suggest used to be a popular choice back in the years when websites used poor caching techniques and browsers could not afford the extra space to do the caching required.

I wonder why you ask this, do you access the gamer through a mobile phone? I would like to have a discussion with people that use the game through mobile phones. We do want to create a new interface, solely for mobile usage as current interface is good till about 10 inches of screen.

Adding PG as a chrome application, allows 1-click access to the game through the app icon. this is the sole (still important) service offered to those that use the Chrome application. Other than that, no data is downloaded on your pc.

[Captncrunch]

I have been playing via mobile broadband, but recently I passed my monthly download limit and was working at near dial-up speed. I understand that my browser (a security enhanced version of Chromium: Comodo Dragon) should cache, but am unsure as to how much it would cache per site or in total, or how long until items in the cache expire. What I had noticed was that, in going from page to page at near dial-up speeds, I could see the graphics actively downloading onto each page in the game (even ones I had been to moments ago), hence came to the conclusion that maybe caching could some how be improved.

As for developing for mobile platforms, I highly suggest using Opera Mini for PC edition, which emulates the Opera Mini used on mobile platforms, and allows testing of different screen resolutions. Opera Mini also decreases download size, effectively by using Opera's servers as a type of proxy, where those servers send a compressed version of web pages (including the choice of compressing graphics by decreasing their quality) back to the device (works for both mobiles and PC edition).

I have just had a quick test of Pirates through Opera Mini for PC, and so far (at highest screen resolution, highest compression=lowest graphic quality) there seems to be no problems - only the map screen works slightly differently. In fact, things seem to run faster (maybe because of the compression, or are you sending smaller graphics to mobile users??) If you want, I could keep testing: just let me know the lowest screen resolution you want to target for, and I'll test using that resolution.

Maybe there could be a section of the forum devoted to mobile users, so anyone who wants to test or play can report mobile platform problems there?

[Captain Jack]

For a start, we will immediately create a low-size map, available through settings. This should save about 200KB a day (6 MB a month).
EDIT: It appears that the map image is about 110KB. Which means 3.2MB in total for a month. I suggest for those that have issues in that amount, to avoid the map screen by using the active ports page (click at top left of the screen, where the big M of the ship is - where the anchor starts).

I am fully aware of Opera Mini, I also recommend it. Although I believe it used to be far better when I used it in the past.

[Captain dungeness]

I would definitely use a mobile version of PG if it were available. I used to play from my phone... but with changes to the trade routes page and adding voodoo I couldn't stand all the tiny buttons.

-Captain D