Gotta say I like this idea, one great feature I'm going to implement for Mys v1.4.0 is the new ACP that is much more customizable than the previous versions. You should be able to give or remove permissions for users to do all sort of things.

Thank you, and that's really good.

I really look forward to the new version of the script.

I am a bit worried though. How different will the code be from the last version?

Will it be hard to upgrade our sites?

Or at least easy to update the database? Files can easily be remade.
But databases, I don't want to do a clean wipe and have my users (When I open), loose their pets

The code will be essentially a completely overhaul, it will use a full-fledged MVC/ORM architecture. Upgrading a highly customized site is pretty much impossible, but its pretty much the same story with earlier versions. Theres a chance that database can be updated, it will need some work but will be much easier than editing script files from Mys v1.3.x to work with Mys v1.4.0.

Oh come to think about that, the very first new feature for Mys v1.4.0 has been implemented. It is not a big feature like Stats system, Clan Group and new ACP, but some of you may find it useful. Mys v1.4.0 will support multiple SQL databases instead of just MySQL, while having PDO enabled is no longer a hard requirement(you can use MySQLi, SQLite3 and other DAO API). The supported database systems are: MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, OCI8, and Microsoft SQL Server(if you run windows hosting environment).

Yea, it's always hard to upgrade customized websites. Like from phpbb2 to phpbb3. But you can keep all the posts and user data.

I just want to be able to keep all the pets, user data, and so fourth. I will upgrade all my custom codes myself. So my site will start off as a v1, and then finally released on 1.4.0 as v2, and so fourth. Because I can't wait to release my site after 1.4.0 is released, I already have the artist working on art XD

As for the support of multiple databases, I really like this idea. I've seen mention mention it on the virtual pet list. Is this idea, to help keep the site running? Like if one database crashes, it still has access to another database? I'll have to research this concept.

I don't know if this is even possible, but I'd really like a tweak to the breeding system. Specifically, a genderless system where the pets don't have a gender and any pet can breed with any pet (unless there's a species restriction or something). I have the feeling that might not be easy with the way the code is currently, but I'm not a programmer so I figured I might as well ask.

Edit: Also, you've been mentioning a lot of features I'm not sure would fit my site (stats, etc.). Will these be mostly optional?

And adding to the Avatar Suggestions, can we have a bunch of avatars for the users to choose from instead of uploading their own? That'd make sure the site was safe for kids.

Maybe a start on a basic exploration feature, for example, "You are here, would you like to search for animals" and then let us configure a chance of finding one". Also an energy system so they can only explore so many times per day.

Maybe also give an incentive to where you get a double chance of alternate animal.
IDK it would really make the site interactive.

Another feature that would be cool is a battle system. It would tie in stats and the adventure system really well.

Maybe in the message system an ability to retain the previous message? Like how if you respond to an e-mail it'll say "RE: Message Topic" and have the original message above or below where you can type?

Or a global way to let users know about updates. Example: Gaia Online's Announcements bubbles.

Another suggestion is being rewarded with random items or currency from clicking on the site's actual pages; not an actual exploration page, but just giving users a small reward for actually using the site.

Item requirements for specific adoptables? Such as you want to adopt a cow but you need the item "Carrot" or "Hay" in your inventory. Multiple items can get you the adopt but you only need 1. Have an option when creating the adopt that says either XX currency or item is required. You could implement them both at the same time if you wanted.

I do really like the idea Tequila had with the treasure chests. If there was a way to have a code that grants specific items for specific images, that'd be even better but I think that would be considered a mod, right?

These are the only things I can think of at the moment.

Those are good suggestions Nya. I do have a plan for global announcement, which can be set through ACP. Item requirement for specific adoptables can be a good idea too, I will consider. For treasure chests, yeah its most likely to be a mod if it ever comes out. Actually with the itemdrop mod you can achieve something similar to this, but with some minor modifications.

Oh yeah, using the item drop mod would work, wouldn't it... Now if only I could figure out how to make an individual drop rate for each item... xD;;;

Would you be willing to make the top links (Adoptables, User CP, Explore, Community) link to a Site Map instead of /index? I made my own right here. It would accommodate touch-screen users.
(I used a table instead of a list because generally screens are wider than they are long.)

Can I suggest doxygen-style comments for the classes and functions? Doxygen automatically generates a wiki thing (.html) with information on all classes and functions from just comments, making it easier in my opinion for us to search for stuff. I know it kinda sucks to comment everything, but since you will be changing the code a lot and since some of the older functions and core classes are already commented, I thought I'd suggest doxygen-style comments: http://www.doxygen.nl/docblocks.html

The generated .html pages look awesome:

http://i.imgur.com/xwg2V9c.png (example of a function description (detailed) - it has the call graph and the caller graph!)

http://i.imgur.com/O8nIDdC.png (example of a class list, it shows undetailed member functions with the details at the end of the page - it has a search function! it also shows class hierarchy, files, etc!)

Thats a good suggestion IntoRain. And yes I've been working on the documentation system as well, it will be similar to JavaDoc style. By the time the new version is about to be released I will generate the documentation so you all can read and see how to use the classes. Some complex class methods may even get their own examples on how to use effectively.

Can't wait!

(Is there a projected release data for v1.4? We're a few months out still, but just curious. :happyc:)

I do not have a projected release date yet, but the time period should be around summer. I'm currently working on the model/domain layer of the application, aka new database and model design and object-relational mapping. Perhaps I should post a thread indicating the progress of the new version and update it whenever something happens?

That would be perfect, thanks!

Thank you so much! That sounds pretty neat!

You are very welcome. For now I can update you guys/gals on some information on Mys v1.4.0, its not anything like an official update but should give you some clues on what will become of the project.

-- It will support the following database systems: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Sqlite3, OCI8 and MSSQL, though MySQL is highly recommended.
-- It will have around 70-80+ database tables(60+ data tables and 10-20 settings tables), thus doubling the number from Mys v1.3.4.
-- It will have an improved friend system, users can set privacy options to make certain part of their profile or other properties to be viewed only by friends.
-- It will have an ignore system, similar to the friend-system. If you get tired of some users pestering you with messages or trade offers, it will come in handy.
-- It will feature a moderation system in which you can selectively approve/disapprove actions by certain users.
-- It will come with a pseudo-cronjob system that runs scheduled tasks. You can create cron job scripts and link them in ACP to enable scheduled events.
-- It will feature an improved plugin/hook system, making true addon scripts possible rather than mods that require editing core script files.
-- It will offer internationalization support, although only English is available for the official package.


If you find any of the above updates interesting or confusing, please let me know and I dont mind explaining them in details. I'm currently working on the model layer(aka the domain/business and infrastructure layers) of the new script, things are shaping up nicely for now.

Thanks for the update! How would 'true addon scripts' be created? I'm worried there's gonna be a massive learning curve.

A true addon script is a hook/plugin event like script that does not require modification of core script files. This way its very easy to install, all you have to do is to upload the plugin files and install it through ACP(you can manage all plugins/mods through ACP with Mys v1.4.0). It will make lives easier for non-coders, and moreover the plugin is most likely to be effective even after you upgrade to a newer version of the script.

The way it works is that the script keeps track of a list of plugins at a certain location, they are saved as collection of event-like objects(or callback objects) that are executed before or after a certain point in program flow. One example of such 'plugin-point' is before/after loading data from database. A plugin would possibly modify the SQL query so if you add a new column to a database table, this column will be loaded and later saved properly. Without a plugin/hook system, you have to edit the query in the core script file, and this change will not last once you upgrade your site.

It should have a learning curve for those of you not familiar with OOP and how design patterns like observer/event works, but it should not be a massive learning curve. I will provide guidelines for creating plugins once the system is complete, so it will not give you too much headache.

That's wonderful! I think this would be amazing. If you feel like explaining it now (you don't have to!)...would it be like taking current mods and copy-pasting the code into the new format? How much do you think we'd need to modify the mods?

Well yeah, a good addon plugin should require absolutely no change in files from Mysidia Adoptables' official package, and you only have to download the new files and upload them to your server, then install the plugin through ACP. In Mys v1.4.0 chances are there will still be non-addon mods made by users since it will take time for people to get used to making addons. Also the plugin system will be improved over time. For me though, I will try to make sure to release some of my mods as addons to give you all examples of how it can be done.

I am very surprised that pet grouping isn't on the list for this upcoming update? x) It is probably one of my favorite features out of all of the sites I go on. Having all of my adopts in one place just seems really messy and unorganized to me. c:

(Also, maybe make it so users cannot adopt more of a pet after they send their original to the pound? So for instance, if they adopted 2/2 allowed of a pet, and they were both the same outcome, they send one of the two to the pound and then they adopt a new pet. There might be a way to fix this, but as of right now I've figured it out before any of my users have, so..xD)

I am extremely excited about the multi-alternate images!! :D

tbh I dont really quite get what pet grouping is supposed to look like, can you actually describe it in detail so I can see what you want?

umm I thought in Mys v1.3.4 the adoptables number/owned-number conditions are working properly even with the pound system. Are you saying that the number restrictions do not hold if users pound their pets? Weird, if so I will definitely look into the script and see what it does wrong.

It's basically putting pets in groups and being able to see those groups, instead of all pets together in a huge table. So if we had "cats" and "dogs" we'd be able to separate the cats from the dogs. Or the adults from the eggs. Or the rare breeds from the common ones. I've seen dropdown menus (like Tale Of Dragons) and also tabs (like World Of Umbria)to be able to navigate from group to group

Pet grouping is either done manually by the user or automatically through the coding (which may be based on species, sex, level, etc). When done by the user, as it is often preferred, it allows the user to create a new "Adopt Group" from their "Myadopts" page. They should be able to name the group, and decide what the trade settings are for it (commonly allows other users to make trade offers on pets in that group, or not, and some sites make it so you can create a group that only you- and no other users- can see).

After the new group(s) are created users can then select the pets they'd like to move, then move them to the chosen group. They can also, once going to their page, choose which group they see.

Essentially it's a way to organize pets.

^^These two have explained it perfectly. c:

Yes, at least they are not holding for me. c: I pounded my extras on my site, and when I went back to the adopt page, I could adopt more of the pet of which I had just pounded. c:

I see, so its just like categories for items? In Mys v1.4.0 there is a field called 'family' which specifies what family the adoptables species belong to. Its used to replace the 'class' field since 'class' is a keyword in PHP and its easy to cause confusion. Do you like to group adoptables by their family field or do you prefer a different field rather than the family field? Note the family field is tied to breeding, since by default only adoptables belong to the same family can breed.

It's more like pokemon does with the boxes. You can put whatever pokemon you want in whatever box you want and organize your pokemon that way. In this case, the users of an adoptable site would be able to put their creatures (regardless of species, level, etc) in whatever group they want, to organize them for themselves and for visitors of their profile

I prefer to be able to create my own groups. For one thing, how are the 'families' determined? (Also, I took your post to mean that grouping would restrict breeding?)
-Automatically depending on what can breed with what (fishXfish, catsXcats, etc.)? That'd do nothing for my site; everything can breed with everything.
-By species (not fish, but red fish, blue fish, etc.)? This would not allow crossbreeding.
-When you breed X with Y, they create a family and they can only breed with each other? This is inflexible and users would have to have many adopts of the same kind.
-Users assign and unassign creatures? This is better, but would be annoying if they wanted one creature to breed with all the others.

If the grouping grouped by species (blue fish, red fish, etc.) but did not have restrictions on breeding, that would be better than no grouping. I would still prefer a custom system, though.

Hey! I had a few suggestions for Mys v1.4. (: I think most of these should be relatively easy to implement? But I'm no coder so I don't know! :P

1. Items
Whenever I buy items from my shop, I have to give them to my pets one at a time. Could there be a way to input how many items of that type you'd like to give, and then give them?

2. Usergroup icons/colors
I saw you said there will be better usergroup settings and stuff so not sure if you're already planning this, but I think it'd be great if we could put small icons next to a certain user groups names, and even make them a different color.
For example I want to put just a small little heart icon next to a donors name. I figure I could give them the usergroup "donors" or "donator", and it would get added because the donator usergroup gets a heart icon! Then I'd like moderators and such to get colored names.

3.) Improved shoutbox
It would be great if on every post in the shoutbox, there was an 'x' to delete that post and an 'o' to ban that particular member. There could be two options when banning a user. Either from the shoutbox or the whole site. And maybe there could be a time limit to the ban as well.

4.) Daily Simple Quests
I think it'd be great if users could have like a daily task or quest they can do to earn money. As an example, a user could to the Quest page, where an NPC or other would ask them to "Bring me x amount of this item" or "Show me this species of creature" and if they could bring the items or had the adoptable species, they'd get the reward by pressing a Claim button.
Admins could make a bunch of quests like these in their CP, and the quests can be picked randomly from the list everyday, with maybe some quests getting picked less often if the admin specifies.

5.) Admin & mod alerts
In the Admin CP admins & mods can make alerts for the whole site that display at the top or something. Once clicked by the member, it goes away for that member. Or if that's too complicated it can simply go away after a day or two?
Here's what it'd look like:
http://i.imgur.com/1sbWuVO.jpg

6.) Making features optional
I see a lot of people are excited for a battling system, stats, random egg drops, item drops, etc, but also some would rather not have that, so can many features just be optional? If you'd like to have it, it can be setup in the Admin CP, but if not, it just won't show up.

These things have already been suggested and I just want to say I highly support them:
Creature profiles/stats, Member achievements, Random Egg Generator, Referral System, Limited amount of eggs at a time, Auctioning items, Random item drops

I see, I will think of a way to make adoptables grouping easier and more customizable. At this point though, I havent decided whether users are allowed to create their own groups or that it is managed by admins.


These are really nice suggestions. The usergroup icons/colors is a feature I plan to implement in Mys v1.4.0 so it will be available for sure. The shoutbox will receive an overhaul too, more secure and more configurable. The others I will consider, what I can hint right now is that Creature/OwnedAdoptable-Profile will most likely be in Mys v1.4.0. However, some features like auction is more appropriate to come out as a Mod/Plugin release than an official feature.

Awesome! Thanks for looking at my suggestions HoF! <3

No worries, you do make some really good suggestions. I have a tiny bit of request for you, check your PM later today. ^^

Oh, not sure if this has been suggested, but can there be like a small symbol next to a frozen adoptable's name, so people know that it's frozen and don't waste time clicking it? Like maybe a large blue asterisk? c: *

umm blue asterisk? I will think about that, perhaps its indeed necessary to display frozen adoptables with special chars. ^^

Hehe okay! c: I figured a blue asterisk looks kinda like a snowflake, so it'd be pretty neat! :P

I searched through some threads, and never saw this suggestion mentioned, but...what about a crafting system? Like, because there will be multiple currencies for some people, maybe have the pets produce something (like wolves produce fur, dragons produce scales, etc), then we can take those currencies and craft them into items that would benefit our pets? They could take multiple currencies (scales and fur, for example) and turn them into items you can equip to the pets?

Another thing might be to also allow certain features to be unlocked after certain levels with the first pet they have. For instance, they can't get a new pet until level 20 or something. It would cut down on usage of the pound, and make it a little more challenging for some people, but in a fun way. Of course, this system could easily be optional, but it's something I would definitely use!

Also, maybe have some sort of account-level bonuses that tie in with certain achievement levels? Like, donors could get a 0.2% increase in item drops (or more, just a random number I picked).

Something I'm wanting to implement within my adoptables site would be something of this caliber: Items that are of the format "Color, Resource Type (fur, scale, feather, etc.), Placement (Head, body, etc.), of the Alignment (Shadow, Light, Flame, etc."

One big thing I think would be an interesting optional thing would be certain kinds of alignments. It doesn't even have to be just "light or dark" but they could play into the items used by the players. Or simply by whatever is equipped. It would also tie into the Stats system, but affects other things like the very items being worn. I'm not entirely sure how easy that one would be to implement, at least not within programming, but...I think it'd be something really cool!

Also, one huge thing I would really, really love to see, is instead of a pound, what about some place where a pet can be stored permanently, when the owner wants to free up space? Like, it'll be in a special box or something that the owners can refer to from time to time, but the pet cannot ever be placed back in game, but can still be seen by the owner. I know some people might just want to make more room for a pet instead of just let it go, so...ya, heh.

I might think of other ideas, but I'm wondering if any of these would be feasible. I don't know if any of these thoughts have been mentioned, but if so, I'm sorry for adding it again. If not, I hope they might be something that could be up for consideration :3

I think this has been suggested before, but can there be a three genders for certain species? Female, Male, and Genderless?

I would love genderless option that could still breed. It would help my users out, I think.

Maybe this symbol could be used?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Background.png

EDIT: Here we go. Put myself to use and made this lol
http://i.imgur.com/lseKz7O.png