ABN Positives, Negatives and "To Do" List - Everyone add to the list!
  • dGhostdGhost
    Hi all,
    I thought that putting together a list for BirdLeader about things us ABN users like, dislike, and also suggestions of new things to add to ABN would be helpful. Also, bugs would be a good thing to include on the list. Feel free to elaborate and add to my simple list that I have come up with:

    Positives:
    •Great resource for finding how to 3 star levels and improve scores
    •Nice leaderboard
    •Good gathering for Angry Birds fans
    •Everything in between :P

    Negatives/bugs:
    •Screen lags up for roughly 3 seconds because of animated adds on the side (even with fast internet and cable)
    •Public profile always has "0 views"
    •The writing space in private messaging is sticking out onto the dark blue background
    •As Rovio would put it, "minor bug fixes" :)

    Improvements:
    •Comment counter
    •Forum categories
    •Forum admins/moderators
    •A "breadcrumb trail" for the walkthroughs, rather than having to constantly open tabs or hit "back"

    I think that's it for now... Everyone, please add!
  • 52 Comments
  • BirdLeaderBirdLeader
    I like this. Just be polite when leaving your replies. ;)

    RE: Ads - They are a necessary evil I'm afraid, as running this site isn't cheap. I have seen the lag myself on occasion and have tried to narrow down the problem, but as of yet the cause has eluded me.

    Update, I have fixed these two:

    •Public profile always has "0 views" (removed this as it's bugged)
    •The writing space in private messaging is sticking out onto the dark blue background
  • FatBirdFatBird
    i hate how every time you navigate away from the site it logs you out so every time you come back you have to log in again, how about a checkbox that says Keep me logged in
  • BirdLeaderBirdLeader
  • cjquinescjquines
    Thanks! But can you post the walkthroughs as a bunch of pictures? Videos totally lag my internet.
  • JazzBirdJazzBird
    To add on the Breadcrumb trail, you should make the level guides like what you see on the level selection on the apps, also make it so that you can also navagate by Episode as well.
  • dGhostdGhost
    Found another problem: On the leaderboards there is no space in between you ranking and the level pack name. An example below which I copied and pasted:
    Mighty HoaxYou're Ranked *INSERT RANK HERE* out of 893
    Should be a space between Hoax and the You're. All the leaderboards are like this.
  • cjquinescjquines
    Oh. Never noticed that. Good eye dGhost!
  • AMslimfordyAMslimfordy
    I think you may need to clear your cache. The header is left & right justified (just double-checked on iPhone and Chrome; all good). That is:

    Mighty Hoax ________________ You're ranked 1 out of 893

    (Ignore the underscore; it doesn't like multiple spaces)

    For the sake of information, what browser are you using to view the page?
  • cjquinescjquines
    It's not dGhost, I have the same problem as well. Cache clear, reboot, stuff, all the same.
  • AMslimfordyAMslimfordy
    What browser, so BirdLeader can check the coding? Like I said, mine appears fine on both iPhone's Safari and Chrome (Vista)
  • dGhostdGhost
    Well I have Chrome and Firefox, but I usually just use IE10. Sorry about the slightly slow response, different time zones, so I've just woken up now ^_^
  • dGhostdGhost
    Intersting. The PM system - the text box still floats on the background on my IE10 but on Google Chrome it doesn't...
  • BirdLeaderBirdLeader
    The leaderboard the space may be gone now, as I've pushed some updates that now show if you've hit the threshold to achieve the score addict achievement. If you have it shows how far over it you are, and if you haven't it shows how many more points you need.
  • dGhostdGhost
    Yeah, thanks BirdLeader, I noticed it :)
  • dGhostdGhost
    Whenever I post a comment, discussion on something on Activity, the post loads but my avatar next to it doesn't until I refresh the page. Not a major glitch, but it would make it more aesthetically pleasing to have the avatar load at the same time as the post/comment. Once again, keep up the good work BirdLeader and Slim! Hopefully I can "join the ranks" sometime in the future ^_^ Sometime...
  • dGhostdGhost
    @BirdLeader
    On the forum, if you could, instead of loading the whole page whenever you flip over to a new topic in Discussion, etc, you should make the inner part of the page load, almost like an add-on. Now, I don't know how your website runs, so I don't know if that's possible for the format you're using. Also, you should have a "friends" system to find people you need/want to contact faster.
  • BirdLeaderBirdLeader
    The loading part is likely not doable, but it's a great idea. Now the friends system is something that is on my to-do list. Actually, some of the top things on my to-do list -- after the bug system -- are social in nature (e.g. add to friends, game center, twitter, etc).
  • dGhostdGhost
    @BirdLeader
    Thanks for taking the ideas into account! I would also be happy to help test changes on the website for you. I also have some Joomla coding experience, (I don't think this would currently be of any use, but, you never know what the future holds!). Thanks again.
    Daniel
  • JazzBirdJazzBird
    Suggestion, can you please use the in-game sound for the walkthroughs instead of the Angry Birds theme song.
  • AMslimfordyAMslimfordy
    @JazzBird This is not possible with DisplayRecorder -- the software that FujiToast uses. It records video very well but does not record the audio. Despite this, DisplayRecorder is one of the most highly recommended "video capture" recorders for jailbroken iOS devices.
  • dGhostdGhost
    @JazzBird
    Plus, I don't think sound in the walkthroughs is really necessary - all that matters is that we know how to do it!
  • JazzBirdJazzBird
    This websites fourms really to be organized into catagories that we don't have to look through countless pages to find your discussion if interest.
  • AMslimfordyAMslimfordy
    There used to be categories, but they weren't really used so it was scrapped. You can use the search bar (right above the word "Discussions") to search the forum.
  • JazzBirdJazzBird
    @AMslimfordly with the website becoming more popular, you should try using categories again and how that goes.
  • looxloox
    1. The ability to edit your post after submitting it.

    2. My second suggestion relates to the description that accompanies a walkthru:

    On some sections (AB: Rio, I believe), BL includes the score achieved in the video. I find this information very useful when going for high score achievements.

    For example, on AB:Seasons, each walkthru begins, "Below is our 3 star walkthrough video for Angry Birds Seasons Ham’o'ween Level 2-7. If you have a different method....".

    I really like the walkthrus that read, "Below is our 3 star walkthrough video for Angry Birds Seasons Ham’o'ween Level 2-7. IT YIELDS A SCORE OF xx,xxx. If you have a different method...". (apologies for using all caps... I don't know how to underline text on my iPad.)
  • JazzBirdJazzBird
    loox, you can edit your own posts here on AngryBirdsNest.
  • AMslimfordyAMslimfordy
    You can edit posts in the forum, but not in the main site. Would be a good functionality though. I'll see what BirdLeader has to say about the doability of this.

    Adding the score to the title takes a bit more time, and we usually create the pages before Fuji even uploads his videos to YouTube. Maybe we can add some, but it's a lot of work.
  • FujiToastFujiToast
    @loox
    Yeah, we typically only add the score in the description when we have more than one walkthrough on the page. Mainly as a way, for users to decide which type of video they are looking for. For example, some folks are just looking to get 3 stars in general so they want an easy strategy while other users want the highest score possible.
  • dGhostdGhost
    I've noticed this for a while, but never thought of reporting it: I notice that when you hover you're mouse cursor over the header image and link bar, (Walkthrough, Achievements, Leaderboards, etc) on the top of the page, the ME's beak opens. However, when you hover you're mouse cursor DIRECTLY over the link to the homepage, the beak closes again. I'm not sure if this is meant to happen or if this can be stopped, but I believe this is a glitch of sorts, (because when hovering over links such as "Leaderboards," the beak still stays open. It's just when the mouse hovers over the Homepage link that it closes).
    Thanks.
  • dGhostdGhost
    Sorry, but for some reason my discussion disappeared from the top of the discussion list, and I'm not sure if my point was seen by BL, etc. Delete this post when you get my message, and sorry for causing any inconveniences.
    Daniel
  • AMslimfordyAMslimfordy
    Seems to be a small glitch in the forum system. Working on it.
  • BirdLeaderBirdLeader
  • dGhostdGhost
    @BirdLeader
    Thanks for that, I also notice the updates to the forum. But regarding to my post about the ME beak above, is this a glitch?
    Thanks
  • dGhostdGhost
  • AMslimfordyAMslimfordy
  • dGhostdGhost
  • ChaosTsarChaosTsar
  • dGhostdGhost
  • MPeteMPete
    It's pretty nice to get the gold trophy for top score on any level. It would be nice to see a complete list of top scores across all levels but more importantly a personal leader board list of all my own best scores across all entered scores - I like going to "my leader boards" and sorting my scores by "Off High By" and seeing some only hundreds off points off. I'd love to see a complete list or at least "top 10 scores" so I can see a handful that are the closest and try and focus on improving those to get top score.
  • dGhostdGhost
    @ChaosTsar
    Yep, school internet was the problem.
  • ChaosTsarChaosTsar
    Stupid school ;)
  • BirdLeaderBirdLeader
    LOL.

    @MPete Great ideas. I've actually been working on the leaderboard quite a bit. My first objective was to speed them up by optimizing a ton of queries. That's done. And I don't know about on your end, but on mine they are WAY faster, which is nice.

    My next goal is build out boards for individual worlds. I've started on this, but it's actually a bit of a challenge, so it's not something I'll have done tomorrow.

    Beyond that, I want to give users who want more "advanced functionality" the ability to pass some custom parameters. I'm not exactly sure how this will play out, but for example you could append something like, "&show=topscores" and that would print out the results you desire. Just to be clear, this doesn't work yet, but it will at some point.

    Oh, and I should point out, that these features are still on the agenda as well:

    1. Notification email when someone beats your top score
    2. Points and badges tied to the leaderboard
    3. Ability to add friends
    4. Game Center and device info
    5. Send a challenge request
    6. Compare boards
    ...and more

    Now, if I can just find the time....
  • sal9sal9
    ha excellent, love the features !
    Thanks for all your doing for the community.
  • CWizCWiz
    @BirdLeader
    Leaderboards seems to update faster indeed. Site has been a lot more responsive lately too in general for me, thanks a lot for that ;)

    Boards for individual worlds : do you mean to replace this page ? http://www.angrybirdsnest.com/leaderboard/angry-birds-seasons/?level=794
    Can you tell us what you'd like to add ? Couple of quick enhancements I may suggest, add a line in the cartridge like in the main leaderboard "Your Rank: 41 out of 1,483". You could put the logged in player score in a different color too (color the whole line yellow/green/whatever, much easier to spot where you are). Then when you'll add the friends feature, you'll be able to put friends scores in another color too, which would be awesome to see where you stand from your friends at a quick glance.

    Advanced stuff : all for it if you have time for it.

    1) Would be pretty cool
    2) Near top priority ?
    3) Mentionned above with the coloring, would be cool too
    4) That's already in right ? Thanks by the way for adding the main device feature, I really wanted that one, it will hopefully help to distinguish per platform glitches in the long run
    5) Why not
    6) Definitely the one feature I would love the most. Even if it's only as an advanced feature (let's say some url like www.angrybirdsnest.com/leaderboard/angry-birds-seasons/?u=2248&v=1834)

    First implementation could be really simple, 3 columns, one for level, one for player one (u) one for player 2 (v), color up the highest score on each line. That would be awesomely helpful for comparing to your friends. You could definitely add more feature (a fourth column indicating the point difference, a line underneath each score that shows in small how far from average/high score the score is, etc).

    Other ideas for your already too long todo list and too short time available :
    - Country in profiles. Not for patriotic purposes but could be helpful to make leaderboards by country : as the user base grows, it can be disheartening for new users to see they rank low. Can give an additional incentive for them to participate. Also can be helpful when talking to people (not everyone is a native english speaker, knowing where they are from can help you understand them better in my experience).
    - In the individual world score page (this one http://www.angrybirdsnest.com/leaderboard/angry-birds-seasons/?level=794), display the device used as an icon (new column maybe, I would have said next to nickname buy you put the badges/rank things in there)

    I had a lot more ideas for you but they aren't coming back to me right now. I'll post again if they come back. Anyway, thanks again for your very cool site, it's been fun watching it evolve and get a whole lot better. Best of luck for the future.

    Edit : One thing I forgot was :
    - In both individual world score page and leaderboard page, show ranking on device (Your Rank: 41 out of 1,483 within iPad users). Clicking iPad would open an iPad only leaderboard. That would be pretty cool.
  • laylaqlaylaq
    Since it isn't my money, perhaps a way to upload screen shots of high scores. Maybe just saving all but top 10 or however many.
  • AMslimfordyAMslimfordy
    We have discussed adding some sort of feature like that. Basically, instead of a flag, it may link to a user-supplied screenshot. You could still flag it afterwards, but as a way of showing the user has indeed submitted something.

    A major issue with that is, some devices (most Android devices) are not really user-friendly with taking screenshots. Some of them are nearly impossible, even with rooting. So it becomes a bit difficult in that sense.

    Ideally, it would be cool if you could upload directly to ABN, but I'm not sure how great that would be for the servers. But even linking to external hosts -- such as flickr, yfrog, picasaweb -- could serve as an intermediate solution.
  • JazzBirdJazzBird
    For organizing AngryBirdsNest, here is an example (in three parts):
    http://twitter.com/Jazz_Tenor_Sax/status/142808377033109504/photo/1
    http://twitter.com/Jazz_Tenor_Sax/status/142808565399298048/photo/1
    http://twitter.com/Jazz_Tenor_Sax/status/142808692193116161/photo/1
    (to make it easier on the eyes here's the URL: http://www.uni-bb.org/forum/)
    THIS IS ONLY AN EXAMPLE. THIS IS NOT FOR PROMOTING THE WEBSITE!
    Calmface :) ;) :P Santa Claus FacePalm
  • sal9sal9
    Do you have a system, or plan one to show that a score was confirmed and approved after it has been flagged ?
  • mcc8206mcc8206
    I have a minor suggestion - probably only useful for those of us who live where daylight savings time isn't observed. Is there a clock feature that could be made available within our profiles to indicate no DST? During this time of year, all post times are off for me by an hour.

    Unless this is a super-easy fix, I wouldn't give this an urgent priority. It is just a "nice to have" for me.

    ETA: The time is correct in the forums, just not in the main site.
  • AMslimfordyAMslimfordy
    @sal9 Yes that has been proposed. Ideally, if a score has been "confirmed" or a screenshot submitted, click the flag would first show the image. If you still question it, you could continue the flag, but that would be super rare. It is a great idea tho.

    @mcc8206 The forum uses local time. The main site uses the current time in Los Angeles.
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