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.


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.

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

Last edited by Delphy : 2nd Apr 2008 at 04:44 PM.

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

Last edited by PETCHY14 : 2nd Apr 2008 at 05:05 PM. Reason: 1: Image 2:Added Image now Linkified

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.

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

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.

What if you put the ads below the buttons?

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

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

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

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.

Keep up the great work mate.

"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?

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?

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.

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...

yeah.. me too

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Cool !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.

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