Testers Required : Ingame online lobby system.

I need some kind folks to test (break) this system for me. At the moment it's just a basic GUI with the IndieNet product stuffed in the backend (ooer) handling all the server side communication. All peer to peer communication is handled by bNet.

I'll be making this available for test in a few days, please email me if you are genuinely interested and can spare the time.

I am particularly interested if you are sitting behind a router.

I'll volunteer if you need a linux tester, i'm also behind a router

Hi JimJams, Windows only for the test I'm afraid. Thanks anyway.

No takers? oh well..

Download : http://www.indiepath.com/tim/lobby_test.zip

Hidden behind the lobby is an early development version of the game Shisen-Sho. You need to set up a session with another lobby memeber to play. If you get stuck in the game press "h" for help. The game currently has no win state, this project was for me to learn networking, I think I've done alright in a couple of days.

To Exit the application press "ESC", you will then be removed from the server correctly - no worries if you don't do this your old session will be deleted the next time you log on.

On the registration screen (and login screen), tab would be really nice to move between the boxes! Also what does enter do, it just seems to defocus the current edit box without accepting the form?

View Profile does nothing.

When It ran Windows Firewall threatened to block it so I said unblock. This should be documented.

I challenged myself and got "This member is unavailable". Same when I tried to challenge member "g". Refersh showed them in the list but I couldn't challenge them.

Double click a lobby to enter it would be nice.

uh, how you exit? had to End Task it.

so I couldn't play anyone, sigh.

Heh, good start then.

Tab is an issue, it seems to be a limitation of iGLass. Enter takes you into a lobby ie. "Enter the lobby"

View profile does nothing: Correct!

No issue about the firewall, you'd get that with any app that's trying to access the internet.

When you challenge yourself you should get a witty message telling you that you can't play with yourself here!

g Was me, dunno why it did not respond.

Double click would be nice but again it's an IGlass thing.

How do you exit?

Managed to break it a bit, but then I thought I'd try it without running it straight out of the .zip file, and then it seemed to work fine. Only "Sponge Bob" was online (in Lobby 1), but he was perpetually 'unavailable', no matter how many times it offered to refresh the listing for me.

In case it matters though, when I ran it straight out of the .zip file (and thus presumably from a temp dir on my system), I couldn't register for all the 'Internet Server Timeout' errors I was getting. I kept trying (per the instruction), and then eventually (25 attempts?) got this:



Oh - I took the passwords out of that screenshot (coz I'm so uberl337!), and the timeouts I was getting were despite it asking and me permitting it access through the firewall.

PS: One more thing - with the timeouts, I tried picking a 'fixed port' in the Advanced section too - I picked port 80 since I figured it'd be well and truly open... just in case you notice that in the screenshot and go 'huh?'.

Also Enter on the registration screen does nothing. Btw is the login case sensitive or not. Perhaps I logged in with a different case and when I clicked myself in the lobby the SQL was not case insensitive so I didn't get the witty "play with yourself" message, just a hunch.

Okay Sponge bob was me but I had my firewall up at the time.

It should not matter about running straight from the Zip as the files are Moleboxed.

Timeouts sound a bit strange, the system attempts to connect for 10 seconds and then spits an error. Not sure if port 80 is going to be okay since it's reserved for http.

Thanks for the help so far people - weeding out bugs is a horrible process.

@Grey, you mean the ENTER key, there is no ENTER button.

Login is supposed to be case sensitive but appears not to be - thanks for that one.

yeah enter key.

Also, on mine I had to type slowly because the text box could't keep up. even with medium speed typing (if you can imagine it. good, keep it in your mind. runs away)

I got through to the lobby but no-one else was there. XP firewall asked me to unlblock you which I did. I'm also behind a router.

Windows XP, sp2
intel 2.6
1.5 gig ram
geforce 6800 LE

oh yea i'm using Wanadoo Wireless and Talk which is a router.

Oppsies, when I quit I got this:


oh dear. I tried to twice to make sure. I'm using Avast anti-virus and it scans in the background. Only happens when I've successfully joined and then quit. If I quit before joining it halts and I have to task manager it to death.

Yeah thats the old version of Molebox that I'm using that causes that alert. I best upgrade it.

Is anyone going to be online tomorrow say from 9am until 12Midday UK time who can assist me with sorting this out.

Thanks

my MSN is : tim.fisher@...
my Skype is : indiepath.tim

I can help at 11:30 when the kids are at the childminders, but not earlier I'm afraid. I don't do MSN, sorry.

Grey, you got Skype? www.skype.com . It's VoIP I use it for all my business stuff. That's if you are like me and prefer to talk rather than hide behind MSN.

Hopefully catch you at 11:30 ish... Cheers.

Probably should get it. I use Wanadoo Wireless and Talk which is VoIP, the phone plugs into the router and when you pick it up you dial and are making a call over the Internet and it's very cheap plus people can call me on it, it's an 0845 number. Only problem is a very slight delay makes it feel like a satellite call. Does skype have this?

Emailed ya.

LINK Removed for further testing.

OK Ready