Download Browsing backend changes

[Delphy]

Hi All,

You've all probably noticed how slow the site can get (especially recently) - this is due to a number of factors, specifically the turning off of the download caching (since it wasn't working as well as I wanted it to), as well as one of the servers dying and having to be rebuilt. A key factor in this is also the design of the actual download browsing pages themselves and how they are coded.


:here: Download Browsing

Today I have implemented a change to the way the pages (that is, the ones you see when you use the Download navbar drop down) are generated. In tests, this has shown a dramatic improvement in page speed and general browsing experience.

From now on, download pages will only return a maximum of 2000 threads, unless you select the "Show All Downloads" link at the bottom, in which case it will return all but obviously be a lot slower.

2000 hits is approximately 125 pages worth and, to be honest, how many trawl through 125 pages worth of downloads without filtering for specifics? Not many - but for those who really want to, I've retained the "Click here to see all" link at the bottom.

Another small change to these is in the way the Navbar Breadcrumbs gets generated for viewing a specific members downloads.

Previously if you wanted to view all my downloads, it would say Downloads -> Body Shop by Delphy. Now, it says Downloads -> Delphy -> BodyShop, which I think is more intuitive.

:here: Edit Post

I've also streamlined the Edit Post screen so that you no longer get the "Maxis Recolour / New Mesh / Mesh Recolour" box in forums that don't support them, nor do you get the Mesh List boxs for non recolours. A couple of other tweaks and other backend changes round out the changes here.

Thats it. Pretty minor, but hopefully should see a nice speed increase.

Regards
Delphy

[Petchy]

Thanks Delphy (Innit groovy First and All)
Just would like to ask, The FrontPage?
are ads beginning to take over MTS2 or was that planned? (The move about etc) :(

Much Grad:

PETCHY14

edit: Oh and also...

Monkeys (http://www.modyourpanties.com/hosting/1500_080402102942Untitled.jpg)

[Delphy]

Front page redesign was on purpose and Silver Monkeys will be added to the navbar when I get a chance.

[Petchy]

Front page redesign was on purpose and Silver Monkeys will be added to the navbar when I get a chance.

Ok, (I'll small the image) Thanks again.

[treeag]

I like the old front page better... But thanks for the revamp of the downloads page :D You're the best.

[Delphy]

The front page may change back - the primary goal was to bring the buttons up from hiding under the ads. The downside is that now it has lots of white space on widescreen monitors.

[treeag]

What if you put the ads below the buttons?

[Delphy]

Can't. Ads have to be "above the fold" - ie visible without scrolling.

[crocobaura]

I like the new frontpage, but I'm not always seeign it since my links point directly to the downloads page. :D Thanks for taking care of the site and the speeds Delphy. :)

[Littlevargs]

Thanks Delphy! You've done an amazing job with this site. Front page looks good! I personally like the change and I have a wide screen monitor, the white spaces actually look really proportional on my screen if that helps. I'm willing to deal with the ads too, since without them we wouldn't have this great site!! :D

[Floginz]

I think that this change is cool. I dont really mind about the ads. They are there to just make money anyway. The thing I don't like are pop-ups. Don't use them please.

Anyway, good job and I really love this site. :up:

Keep up the great work mate.

[falesha]

"Click to see all downloads" really does show ALL downloads now. It's not working with the filter to eliminate downloads for expansions I don't have. Was this intentional, or is there something I'm missing?

[Delphy]

Update: Yes I know there is an issue with browsing past Page 1 of the Top Items. It'll be fixed tommorow. :)

falesha: Advanced mode or Compatible mode?

[falesha]

Compatible is what I was using, but I took your question as a suggestion and tried Advanced, as well. Advanced isn't filtering anything at all, as far as I can tell. It comes up with Original game and Nightlife pre-chosen for me (which is what I have,) but when I click filter downloads, it still shows downloads from all expansion packs.

So, short answer, "both." Neither one is working for me.

[Hanefcik]

I think the Site looks great how it is right now, it's... brighter ^_^. I have no idea whether the background colour has any influence on the Site's speed, but It seems to be working extremely fast now!

Thank You for all the effort You put into maintaining it...

[Pandie_]

Compatible is what I was using, but I took your question as a suggestion and tried Advanced, as well. Advanced isn't filtering anything at all, as far as I can tell. It comes up with Original game and Nightlife pre-chosen for me (which is what I have,) but when I click filter downloads, it still shows downloads from all expansion packs.

So, short answer, "both." Neither one is working for me.

yeah.. me too :(

[treeag]

I think the Site looks great how it is right now, it's... brighter ^_^. I have no idea whether the background colour has any influence on the Site's speed, but It seems to be working extremely fast now!

Thank You for all the effort You put into maintaining it...

The background color changed? I'm seeing the same blue-white color scheme ?!

[Phaenoh]

Um, I was trying to hit the 'Next' button in the Top Picks section, and it throws me to page 2 of regular downloads...

[Canoodle]

Um, I was trying to hit the 'Next' button in the Top Picks section, and it throws me to page 2 of regular downloads...

Yes it does! We know about it and Delphy is working to fix it. Thanks for your patience. :)

[bspearman37]

I do notice the difference and your work and dedication are, as always, very much appreciated! Thanks Delphy!

[Delphy]

Mkay, should now work for browsing page 2 and onwards of featured items. I can't see any issues with Compatibility/Advanced mode though or the Show All one - Show All in Compatible mode still only shows the particular EPs you have.

[falesha]

I suppose it could be an issue with my browser or something, but I just checked, and going to Advanced mode and clicking "filter downloads" with just Original and NL checked still shows me items for all expansion packs. The issue with Compatible mode is a moot point because the "click to show all downloads link" isn't showing up at all today (for ME.)

If all this is just some issue with my set-up though, don't worry about it. It's a nuisance, but just not that big a deal. Thanks for checking into it though.

[CasioMan]

Delphy -
If all members were to "Log Out" when they have finished using this website, would it make this website any faster?. By the way, the people who are running this website are doing a good job - keep up the good work.

[icy96]

Cool :bunny: !Although the Tagged downloads might not show up they can still be acessed throught creator pages right? that way we don't have search all the time just find the creators name and find out what tagged downloads they have.The title looks great Delphy! But why did you have to remove the Silver monkeys downloads section? I think some people might've wanted to download it.

[Canoodle]

The Silver Monkey goodies are still here. Look for them under the "themed sets" area on the download nav bar. :) Happy downloading.

[Delphy]

falesha, I just checked that exact same thing - Advanced Mode, Original and Nightlife checked - I then see only downloads that have both those and nothing else.

I tweaked the Show All so it only appears if the filter result gets limited to 2k results or when it's needed (ie if you search and only have 1 page of results anyway, it's pointless to show it)

[beakergirl]

can i ask what happened to lodgings, i looked at them one day and the next they were gone?

[Delphy]

Absolutely nothing happened with Lodgings, however these types of lot are for Bon Voyage only, and according to your profile beakergirl, you don't have Bon Voyage, hence you can't see them.

Please update your profile to indicate which games you have (there is a link for it when you click on Compatible in the Filter box).

Thanks

[treeag]

Delphy, can you make it so that we can select multiple categories when uploading clothings? Sometimes we have some outfits grouped together that are available for Adults and YA, or everyday and formal, or teen and child, etc. Is it hard to implement that? Just asking. :)

[Delphy]

treeag, thats something I've been thinking about for a long time (about 2 years now). It's a good idea but would require quite a few changes to the uploading and download browsing systems.

It's on my list of things to look into though.

[treeag]

Ok then, thanks :) If you think it's too much of a hassle then I'm fine with the current system.

[whiterider]

CasioMan - no, it wouldn't. Login cookies are stored on members' computers, and don't have any effect on MTS2's servers. :)

[Deluxe Designs]

Great idea, much faster, thanks:D

[Kims*Designs]

Big improvement, site is much faster! Thankyou :)

[Yeshanu]

I'll have to be honest and say I'm still finding it very slow. I downloaded some stuff yesterday, and the download speed was about 5 kB/second, and I have DSL. I can't even get into the CEP v. 8.0 page--I've been trying for three days, and every time, it stalls on me or times out. Is there something I could be doing from my end to speed things up? I've tried using both Firefox and Explorer, and I can't get the CEP download on any of them.

[Delphy]

Yeshanu, there is a difference between "getting into" a page and actually downloading.

Right now, with these and other changes, browsing through the site is very fast - even to the CEP page. Downloading, on the other hand, depends on time of day, connection, number of people downloading, etc. Doesn't really matter if you have DSL if hundreds of people are downloading at a time.

[Yeshanu]

So if browsing through the site is very fast, why can I not get into the CEP page? I guess that's my actual question...

[JustaSimpleton]

QUOTE=Delphy]Hi All,

You've all probably noticed how slow the site can get (especially recently) - this is due to a number of factors, specifically the turning off of the download caching (since it wasn't working as well as I wanted it to), as well as one of the servers dying and having to be rebuilt. A key factor in this is also the design of the actual download browsing pages themselves and how they are coded.


:here: Download Browsing

Today I have implemented a change to the way the pages (that is, the ones you see when you use the Download navbar drop down) are generated. In tests, this has shown a dramatic improvement in page speed and general browsing experience.

From now on, download pages will only return a maximum of 2000 threads, unless you select the "Show All Downloads" link at the bottom, in which case it will return all but obviously be a lot slower.

2000 hits is approximately 125 pages worth and, to be honest, how many trawl through 125 pages worth of downloads without filtering for specifics? Not many - but for those who really want to, I've retained the "Click here to see all" link at the bottom.

Another small change to these is in the way the Navbar Breadcrumbs gets generated for viewing a specific members downloads.

Previously if you wanted to view all my downloads, it would say Downloads -> Body Shop by Delphy. Now, it says Downloads -> Delphy -> BodyShop, which I think is more intuitive.

:here: Edit Post

I've also streamlined the Edit Post screen so that you no longer get the "Maxis Recolour / New Mesh / Mesh Recolour" box in forums that don't support them, nor do you get the Mesh List boxs for non recolours. A couple of other tweaks and other backend changes round out the changes here.

Thats it. Pretty minor, but hopefully should see a nice speed increase.

Regards
Delphy[/QUOTE]

I would like to say a big "Thanks" to you and all the other creative minds that keep this site not only working, but absolutely awesome! I do not have your knowledge, or your creativity, but do have genuine gratefullness for all the hard work and long hours that you put into keeping this site great. My health has dictated alot to my lack of learning from this site, but please never forget that you are responsible for giving and contributing a lot of joy to a lot of people who otherwise would have very limited game experiences and interest. Thank you again for giving me a lot of help, and a lot of fun! :)