BG:EE feature request compilation--unfinished
caruga
Member Posts: 375
@caruga has been working on compiling a list of all the requests that have been made on the forum. While the list is still not complete, it would be great if you check his list before making a new request to be sure that it hasn't been mentioned yet.
You can find the list through the link that caruga posts below.
Click here to go to the compilation.
http://baldur.hostzi.com
Note: Navigating the document does not work in Internet Explorer. Solution is being looked into.
Please tell me in this thread or via PM if you have issues in any other browsers, and specify which browser and version you are using. Thanks!
Click below for an announcement:
[spoiler]I am not currently accepting requests for this list because there is already a backlog of over 600 suggestions on this forum and others. If you have posted an idea in the Feature Requests subforum on here, it will make it into the list in due time.
Trust me, it will be sooner than you think.
I will accept requests after the database is basically complete, to help me with continued upkeep.
Current state of development.
12/Aug/2012: I've been relying on a programming library called 'jquery' while developing this project. During my work I ran afoul of two bugs in it previously undiscovered--one having existed for several jquery versions, the other since its inception (the latter preventing internet explorer form working with it--it is up to them to fix it).
Fearing being unable to trust somebody else's code, I inquired into the possibility of developing everything 'from scratch' in pure javascript, but came to the conclusion that it would be too much work. So i've decided to bite the bullet and to try to work around the bugs in the bug-minefield that jquery apparently is.Anyway, the short of it is that my work has been set back a day or two by this detour of contemplation, but I'm still confident of getting things done in a 'timely' fashion if you ignore the lateness of the project in general (it should have been done months ago).
08/Aug/2012
I am currently refactoring the code to make it easier to extend.
In future I want people to be able to see the date that an idea was added to the database. This will allow for sorting by 'most recent' etc. so that people's ideas don't go under the radar due to it not being apparent what has been added lately.
Because it is important to me that this feature is in place, I cannot add any more ideas to the compilation until this feature is done, so it is at the top of my list over anything else.
For it to work, I need a way of entering them automatically rather than editing the file by hand.
I have a few ideas for a solution. I expect to see it done in the next few days, this weekend at the latest.
Thanks for your patience.
Changelog
| 01/Sep/2012 | Version a1:101: Works with internet explorer, now. |
| 09/Aug/2012 | Version a1:100: Document is now only as big as it has to be to see everything, resizing as necessary. Horizontal scroll is now adjusted more to the right to help see where you are in the document. |
| Version a1:025: Minor refactor, no surface differences. | |
| 08/Aug/2012 | Added an announcement to the page explaining a few things. |
| Re-styled the page and wording. | |
| Version a1:024: Added entry count. | |
| Version a1:023: Externalised strings to text file. There aren't much in the way of surface changes, but it makes the code easier for me to maintain and extend. | |
| Version a1:022: Added dynamically generated string showing the last time the database file was uploaded (i.e. when ideas were last added). | |
| Version a1:021: Fixed glitch when zooming out. | |
| 06/Aug/2012 | Version a1:02: Added better feedback when hovering mouse. |
| Added 13 more ideas to database. Version a1.01: Fixed bug with nesting. | |
| 05/Aug/2012 | Version a1: Uploaded test version. |
Current state
Alpha version (1.02)This is a test version: Expect the real thing in the near future.
Oncoming features
Pending filling this in.Earlier posts here:[spoiler]
05/Aug/12:
Visit here to see it.
This is an alpha version preview, to get input from people; the data and interface are not complete. It is rather bare at the moment because most of the work I've done so far went in the programming. Transfering the data across is the 'easy' part.
It won't work at all in internet explorer--yet!--i'm making it a priority to fix it, but right now I've only had it working in Chrome and Firefox (untested in others).
Please let me know whether or not it works for you in your browser.
A quick brief on how to use it:
1. Click on the visible chapters to 'unfold' them: the window will scroll such that the clicked chapter moves to the top left corner and zooms in proportionally. Immediate children of the selected chapter and adjascent ones will pop into view.
2. You can click on the currently selected chapter to zoom up and out to the parent chapter, so that you can get a better view of where you currently are in the hierarchy.
3. It will save your position if you navigate away, and across browser sessions.
You may notice some other minor features, but I'll let you notice them.
Questions i'm interested in:
1. Are there any bugs?2. Do things seem proportional and readable?
3. Does it look acceptable/ugly?
4. Does the interface seem ham-fisted and awkward, or helpful? Would I have been better not bothering with the zooming and scrolling feature and just have everything spread out?
5. Which do you think I should set as the priority for the next week: adding the next 150 ideas in, to make the list somewhat complete, or: work on the interface further?
The latter has a fair todo-list. Along with a general code refactoring/cleanup of the code, some of the features I wish to implement are:
- Ability to peek a forum post when clicking on a link without navigating away from the digest page.
- A floaty window on the right hand side that gives better feedback and control over navigating the document.
- Keyboard navigation mode.
- Marginalia, i.e. client-side comments that can be left inside the ideas.
- Tag-based searches.
- 'flat-mode' where all ideas are visible at once; you can CTRL-F to and select an idea then switch to the view you see currently and it will navigate to its location in the hierarchy.
- Better indicators next to the chapter headings, showing ideas, ideas with links (as some ideas are just containers), and icons indicating comments (hovering will show which idea it corresponds to).
01/Aug/12: Just a little update: I'm still working on this, and hope to be done by the 9th. Things are marching on (I missed the 'big announcement' by a week or more, have been quite occupied), so I'm anxious to still be relevent in doing this. The fact that there's post-release support is part of the reason I'm still bothering.
I ghosted the OP because the 'idea digest' has gone from what would have been a simple flat html document to an interactive interface. I've had a few diversions and upsets 'playing with' the javascript.
The principle feature will be having a 'tree view' (there are others, like a 'flat mode') where you can click to zoom to a particular (nested) chapter, and when you zoom in enough then the idea descriptions with links to the relevent forum post(s), pop into focus. This is already more-or-less working, but it's still not where I want it. There are other neat things I've done with it as well but I'd rather you saw them in action than try to explain them verbally.
In the meantime, it would be very useful to me if this [1] / [2] were implemented, though I realise Overhaul are v. busy right now...
Brilliant: I spend a day and a half working on this and get "Body is 41414 characters too long." (and it's not even close to being finished) when cutting and pasting it in. I think that's killed my enthusiasm permanently.
Now I think on it though there's no reason it wouldn't work as a regular html page. I just need to find somewhere to upload it and then link to it from this thread. Any suggestions for a good free hosting site?
Or someone could alter my posting rights so I can post longer messages?
For those who are interested: it hierarchically groups every single idea suggested in the 'new features' subforum, serving as a hub thread, which helps to screen for repetition and just see at a glance what has been suggested and where things need to be expanded on. I would actively maintain it and people could send me PMs if their feature thread isn't listed.
So far i've only completed the appendix which now has linked every currently existing idea in the forum. Afterward I intended to post in a few more of my own (things that didn't migrate from the beamdog thread; there are a few; as well as a few things I've since thought of and haven't yet submitted). Then get down to the real business of categorising everything.
Hopefully this is all still doable. Even if the devs internally have everything organised (no idea if they do or not) I don't think it makes this redundant, as it is an aid to anyone posting here.[/spoiler]
Comments
[spoiler]This is what the TOC looks like. Tell me what you think of the categories; whether there is a more logical organisation with less overlapping, or if you think this is the right one to run with.
[/spoiler]
I think you might have the same bug that I have that sometimes doesn't let me post long messages or upload files to the forum.
I think that any attempt to try and organize all the requests would be great. Newcomers to the board could quickly see what features have already been requested, and if you even provide links in the list, it'll let everyone find the discussion they want to read more easily.
Definitely needed as the gate has been opened %)
I've been sidetracked by some personal and health issues, and not had the opportunity to work on it the last week or so. Last time I was working on it, I was working toward encoding all the data in xml and generating a page in javascript from that (obviously no longer to be hosted on this forum). This would actually make it take less time to finish in the end as well as make alterations to.
I didn't get very far with it though, though the 24 hours of work I did before that (and tried to post as the OP here as a WIP, but it was far too long to upload) was quite significant and will come in handy.
I have a particular design in mind that I think will make it especially easy to process, organise and go through the information, so I really want to be the one to tackle it, but I fear factors out of my control might let me down. I will see how the next few days unravel. I really want to be on a roll with it within the next 4 days and present something within the week to you all.
But if someone is specifically counting on me, I'll say it won't hurt my feelings if, right now, someone else wants to undertake any similar task to a similar end. Just so long as they in turn wouldn't get similarly upset if I were to suddenly pick my own version of the project back up again. I'm sure we can work it all out together.
By the "gate has been opened" I meant that link to this forum has been posted at the main page: http://baldursgate.com
I'll try upload a preview in the next couple of days that'll just illustrate the mechanics of it, and see if I can glean any feedback or suggestions for improvement.
I wonder if people aren't looking because they don't know what "aggregation" means (?) Trying to think of a catchier title...get back to you
Hehe. Never thought of the word eluding people.
As for titles, I fully intend to change the title to something like "Check if your idea is listed here first--The BG Feature Request Compilation" or so. And see if a moderator would be so kind as to sticky it. But I can't do that before the job is actually done. This is, as I said, just a preview, to get some feedback on the interface.
I think I'll finish it anyway because I'd like to see a job well done. Frankly, this what I've procured so far is weak compared to what I visualised when I set about on this project, and when it looks exactly as I envisioned I think it will rock off some socks (on a moderate scale, not comparable to BG:EE itself). Or not, but w/e.
Edited the OP from jeans & t-shirt to dinner jacket.
Great "aggregation".
Perhaps description (of topic\idea) should serve as a link?
Instead of: We would have:
I'll sticky this in the Feature Requests forum to give it a bit more visibility.
Though maybe your opening post needs to be more to the point.
Could you please add this one under game mechanics?
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/comment/18260#Comment_18260
-Galactygon
Did you try clicking on them? Your cursor doesn't change, but stuff is clickable.
Getting it to work in every browser is my first priority atm--though it might require a huge code overhaul for internet explorer, since people much more knowledgable than me on the coding front have been unable to answer why it isn't working.