MMC Dev Notes: From the Trenches (June 2, 2022) It's taking longer than hoped... but we're not surprised.

[Mini Militia Classic Alpha Force]

We have been very quiet, but that doesn't mean we have been sitting idle. We saved a lot of unfun work for the end of the Alpha. It's not sexy, it's definitely not fun to write and test, but it's important and means we get to keep on playing the game. Once we get over this major hurdle (purchasing system), the game will have only some slight tweaks before we get into official Beta. Our roadmap is still very tentative, it is hard to predict priority until we dive-in and start changing code. However, we have made a wishlist of items that we think are absolutely necessary for moving to Beta. And that is the list we are currently working towards.

Thank you for your understanding and patience! Keep playing, keep hammering the system. We're getting the data we need to fix things you didn't even know were broken!     

-Hunter

SERVER STABILITY ALERT

I want to inform everyone there is going to be some minor, unavoidable interruptions to our servers and database that will affect SOME services from time to time in the near future. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you, but we're charging forward getting ready for the next updates and there are some big pieces on the server-side that have to lift and shift to accommodate. If you run into some timeouts now and again that seem out of the normal, this is likely why. No interruption should last more than 15 minutes [please universe don't prove me wrong!]. There is the potential for dozens of non-isolated events to be occurring over the next week (or more) starting now. This may include some game server restarts, but we'll try to save those for mid week.

ROADMAP UPDATE

We have changed the names of the roadmap phases to remove the association of the app release states. Google and Apple have a complex process to manage beta releases and we have discovered that some users may access the app in different ways based on how we release different versions and how Google/Apple make those releases available. The tasks of the roadmap however, will continue to move forward in the order we've already written. So the new phase names are Beta 0, Beta 1, Beta 2, and Production/Post Launch. The tasks are still outlined the same, only the names of the phases have changed to remove the release state. We will add notes to the bottom of each column to show what type of release Google/Apple have.

So what is left before moving to Beta 0?

There are some tasks that must be completed before we can post a version of MMC to Beta 0. The roadmap notes a "pre-registration (or pre-release)" stats. This is a notification state within the Google Play Store. When we move MMC to a Pre-Reg/Release status, users will be able to see MMC in the "pre-registration" category of apps in the Play store. Players can then click on "pre-registration" to be notified when the download becomes available. 

We haven't decided if we are going to use this feature. It may not be worth the extra steps or time to manage because it only affects Android users and it doesn't change what version of the game those users get to play. Everyone signed up to the Alpha Force list will get the exact same downloads. This sign up process is really only useful for anyone not already testing MMC that wants to be notified of the Beta becoming public. We will figure this out when we have to make that decision.

Regardless of the release status in the app stores, we still have a to-do list to work through and these are the only game issues/features we are able to think about right now. 

• in process - IAP: Build the consumables system (one time purchases)
  
  • Need to be able to purchase tokens (sacks of tokens) 
    
  • Create passes for day, month and year
    
  • Research recurring system to make sure model can handle it
    
  • Determine cost matrix

• Validate the monetization system is released and working
• Stabilize Cv4 META (still to be defined)
• Stabilize & prepare the game servers
  
  • Current release crashes fixed (on-going)
    
  • Add scaling to auto create/spin down/delete/quarantine servers
  • in process - Add regional support to give players a choice of region to connect to
    • mostly done - Need UI worked out
      
    • mostly done - Client side filtering
• Adjust user XP rank level requirements? (being considered)
  • Merge Alpha players into new system
• Review new player experience 
  • Logged in vs not logged in (limiting what anonymous users can do)
  • Legal compliance requirements met
• Leaderboards performance issues resolved for scaling

MMC WIKI

In preparation for more players joining MMC during the Beta phases, Comms Officer Martin has been hard at work getting our frequently asked questions, help support documents, and game play instructions loaded into our wiki. Check it out: https://mini-militia-classic.fandom.com/wiki/Mini_Militia_Classic_Wiki

If you have text to add, contact Martin at the following email testingfeedback [at] appsomniacs.com