The blog
What happened to GODJonez's Workshop?
2009-08-21 4:23 PM PDT
So last week I posted about the Xfire 1.113 beta on Friday even though the beta was released a couple of days earlier. And normally I have something else to post in my weekly workshop post on Friday. I guess it's time for an explanation.
The thing is, I ordered parts for a new computer over 3 months ago. Thanks to the problems with supplying Radeon 4770 cards to the market, I had been waiting and waiting and adjusting my order for quite a long time. Last week, the same day the Xfire beta was released, I got my computer parts, excluding the video card. No way I would pass on the chance to finally get my hands on the new shiny things, so I even skipped my duties to write up about the beta here on the blog.
But we are all gamers, aren't we? So getting the new computer set up for gaming takes priority. Do we have an agreement on this? Well, I hope most of you who want to participate in the Xfire Beta program already had joined the Xfire Beta team and got a notification from there directly once the beta testing was open.
Now that I have this settled in, I can get back to normal operations and provide insightful technical articles once again, once a week.
If you want to read the full story of my computer related adventures last week, see my personal Xfire blog:
Half-new computer, part 1
Half-new computer, part 2
It's in two parts because apparently there is a limit to a blog post length on Xfire blogs and I managed to hit it. So yeah, there is quite a lot to read there. Or you can just look at all the photos I took from the two days
Oh, btw, did you notice that the bug with editing community members with that search field has been fixed? That is, if you knew about the bug at all... but now you know Xfire team has just fixed one more bug to make the service closer to perfection
So see you next week with the more or less usual content.
Joonas
The thing is, I ordered parts for a new computer over 3 months ago. Thanks to the problems with supplying Radeon 4770 cards to the market, I had been waiting and waiting and adjusting my order for quite a long time. Last week, the same day the Xfire beta was released, I got my computer parts, excluding the video card. No way I would pass on the chance to finally get my hands on the new shiny things, so I even skipped my duties to write up about the beta here on the blog.
But we are all gamers, aren't we? So getting the new computer set up for gaming takes priority. Do we have an agreement on this? Well, I hope most of you who want to participate in the Xfire Beta program already had joined the Xfire Beta team and got a notification from there directly once the beta testing was open.
Now that I have this settled in, I can get back to normal operations and provide insightful technical articles once again, once a week.
If you want to read the full story of my computer related adventures last week, see my personal Xfire blog:
Half-new computer, part 1
Half-new computer, part 2
It's in two parts because apparently there is a limit to a blog post length on Xfire blogs and I managed to hit it. So yeah, there is quite a lot to read there. Or you can just look at all the photos I took from the two days
Oh, btw, did you notice that the bug with editing community members with that search field has been fixed? That is, if you knew about the bug at all... but now you know Xfire team has just fixed one more bug to make the service closer to perfection
So see you next week with the more or less usual content.
Joonas
Fancy new broadcasting system is fancy!
2009-08-20 2:14 PM PDT
Heeey, I'm back! After a "small" encounter with the flu, I'm now back on my feet and ready to take care of things again. And, now that I'm back, I should tell you of one of the newest things with Xfire. I talked a little bit on twitter and facebook about the much anticipated MSN support that's now been added, but there's another thing as well, and that's the kick-ass changes we've implemented on our live streaming video's.
One of the main improvements that comes from us switching provider of the broadcasting feature is that you no longer need a separate plug-in to watch the video's, and we all like that, you know, the whole "keep it simple"-mantra.
And, after watching a few videos just now, it seems like we've really ironed out some of the more irritating stuff with how it worked before. It's all pretty smooth now, not choppy and the quality is good!
You should really go check it out too, and why not try it out for yourself?
Why should you broadcast? It's simple! Because you own, and the world should get to see it.
Check out live video's currently beaing broadcast here!
Hans
One of the main improvements that comes from us switching provider of the broadcasting feature is that you no longer need a separate plug-in to watch the video's, and we all like that, you know, the whole "keep it simple"-mantra.
And, after watching a few videos just now, it seems like we've really ironed out some of the more irritating stuff with how it worked before. It's all pretty smooth now, not choppy and the quality is good!
You should really go check it out too, and why not try it out for yourself?
Why should you broadcast? It's simple! Because you own, and the world should get to see it.
Check out live video's currently beaing broadcast here!
Hans
Xfire Release 1.113
2009-08-18 1:53 PM PDT
The beta of 1.113 is no longer beta. It's official. As always, the official release notes are available at http://media.xfire.com/xfire/readme.html, but this time there are even Technical notes available.
As mentioned in the Beta post, this release includes community favorite servers inside the client for easy and quick access.
Several improvements and changes were made to the video recording system. Now you can upload videos right after exiting the game just like you can do with screenshots. No need to go find the video from the client and right click on it to upload anymore. Maybe even bigger change is Xfire moving the live broadcast feature using service from Livestream. This feature is still in BETA, so various things are being run through and experimented with to find out the best possible way to implement it. The new broadcast streams are also embeddable, something many people have longed for.
Many people also faced a bug that when there are lots of uploaded screenshots, they start to disappear from the client making managing screenshots that way quite impossible. This bug is now fixed, thanks to helpful beta testers providing valuable information to the Xfire developers.
The technical notes also mention support for MSN protocol. Now it is possible to add your Windows Live Messenger account in Xfire similarly as you have been able to with AIM accounts for some time. This feature is still in very early stages and has lots of problems, some small, some bigger. In fact, it might not work at all for some people. But it is the valuable input from Xfire's users that drives development forward. Good reports of what is broken really helps the developer team to fix them. And there has been a lot of data from users from during the beta period of 1.113 and it wouldn't be a miracle that there is going to be a lot more now that everyone has moved to using the new Xfire version.
Well, excluding those who already use other multi-messenger programs with unofficial Xfire plugins, instead of the real...
As mentioned in the Beta post, this release includes community favorite servers inside the client for easy and quick access.
Several improvements and changes were made to the video recording system. Now you can upload videos right after exiting the game just like you can do with screenshots. No need to go find the video from the client and right click on it to upload anymore. Maybe even bigger change is Xfire moving the live broadcast feature using service from Livestream. This feature is still in BETA, so various things are being run through and experimented with to find out the best possible way to implement it. The new broadcast streams are also embeddable, something many people have longed for.
Many people also faced a bug that when there are lots of uploaded screenshots, they start to disappear from the client making managing screenshots that way quite impossible. This bug is now fixed, thanks to helpful beta testers providing valuable information to the Xfire developers.
The technical notes also mention support for MSN protocol. Now it is possible to add your Windows Live Messenger account in Xfire similarly as you have been able to with AIM accounts for some time. This feature is still in very early stages and has lots of problems, some small, some bigger. In fact, it might not work at all for some people. But it is the valuable input from Xfire's users that drives development forward. Good reports of what is broken really helps the developer team to fix them. And there has been a lot of data from users from during the beta period of 1.113 and it wouldn't be a miracle that there is going to be a lot more now that everyone has moved to using the new Xfire version.
Well, excluding those who already use other multi-messenger programs with unofficial Xfire plugins, instead of the real...
Xfire Beta release 1.113
2009-08-14 2:39 PM PDT
Hello everyone! I know I am a bit late with this since the beta was released some days ago already, but I have a good reason why I couldn't post this earlier. You will learn about my busy week in near future; for now let's just say that this was my computer on the day the beta was released:
Lovely condition, isn't it?
This day is not for talking about the destiny of my computer, however, but about the upcoming Xfire version which is still available as a beta for you to test. The full Xfire update installer has already been created by now, so your beta reports will not get to influence the official 1.113 version, but you can still install it to take a sneak peek of what will come next week.
New in Xfire 1.113 beta
Many people were asking whether Xfire will support other instant messengers than AIM and what will be the next one. Now the next step in multiple IM networks has been taken with an introduction of Windows Live Messenger support; you can use your Windows Live account and chat with your MSN buddies using Xfire client, so you no longer have to miss a chat even when playing games!
As with the AIM accounts, these are controlled in the "Manage Instant Messenger Accounts (ALPHA)" found from Tools menu. Since this is a completely new addition to an ALPHA feature, it is far from complete and does have some problems, you can read more about the problems on the Beta Forums.
The feature update on this beta that has most significance to me personally is the new advanced option to disable game detection on startup. This is an advanced option because by disabling the automatic detection many people could easily forget it and then wonder why Xfire will not detect any new games they install. If you decide to go to the advanced options...
Lovely condition, isn't it?
This day is not for talking about the destiny of my computer, however, but about the upcoming Xfire version which is still available as a beta for you to test. The full Xfire update installer has already been created by now, so your beta reports will not get to influence the official 1.113 version, but you can still install it to take a sneak peek of what will come next week.
New in Xfire 1.113 beta
- Support for Windows Live messenger (aka MSN)
- Advanced option to disable scanning for new games on startup
- Video broadcasting feature completely redone
- Community favorite servers will now appear in the client on Servers tab
- New video uploading dialog
Many people were asking whether Xfire will support other instant messengers than AIM and what will be the next one. Now the next step in multiple IM networks has been taken with an introduction of Windows Live Messenger support; you can use your Windows Live account and chat with your MSN buddies using Xfire client, so you no longer have to miss a chat even when playing games!
As with the AIM accounts, these are controlled in the "Manage Instant Messenger Accounts (ALPHA)" found from Tools menu. Since this is a completely new addition to an ALPHA feature, it is far from complete and does have some problems, you can read more about the problems on the Beta Forums.
The feature update on this beta that has most significance to me personally is the new advanced option to disable game detection on startup. This is an advanced option because by disabling the automatic detection many people could easily forget it and then wonder why Xfire will not detect any new games they install. If you decide to go to the advanced options...
Aha, the sneaky schedule!
2009-08-10 2:19 PM PDT
I was just looking at our events calendar, just to discover there really wasn't a lot in there. But I just so happen to know that we have some cool stuff going on.
Before presenting what's currently going on, just let me sort of a language issue of sorts.
In Europe, there's a sport that many of us call "Football" (Fussball, Fotboll, and so on). This is not the same as what we refer to as "American football", in which you have a lot of heavily armored guys playing a game of rugby. No, what we call "football" in Europe is actually what you Americans refer to as "soccer".
So, now that we've settled that, let's move straight on to the first event of the week.
August 7th - August 17th
Football Superstars Play 2 Win
If you like football, you'll love Football Superstars.
You know, since it's a game about football.
Also, you can win some pretty cool stuff if you play it while we are running this event, like a real football table (the kind with small dudes that spin on a stick and kick a ball), a match shirt and loads of virtual items.
Foooooootball!
August 11th
Wolf Team Live Chat
Did you ever get the idea of creating an FPS where you play either as a werewolf, or as a soldier, and set out to kill each other? You can drop that idea, since Wolf Team already did it. And guess what? We have some Wolf Team loving here on Xfire right now. Tomorrow, parts of the Wolf Team, eeerm, Team(?) will be chatting live on Xfire. And pretty much all you need to do to join the chat is to join the Wolf Team community here on Xfire.
And, if you miss the live chat tomorrow, there are plenty of other Wolf Team things going on this week. You can check it all out by joining the community!
Wolf team team?
Check out the Age of Conan community too, or you'll be missing out on awesomeness!
Dear diary:
Today was my birthday. I just spent some time with some friends to celebrate. It was fun. Now I'm going to bed. Have a nice...
Before presenting what's currently going on, just let me sort of a language issue of sorts.
In Europe, there's a sport that many of us call "Football" (Fussball, Fotboll, and so on). This is not the same as what we refer to as "American football", in which you have a lot of heavily armored guys playing a game of rugby. No, what we call "football" in Europe is actually what you Americans refer to as "soccer".
So, now that we've settled that, let's move straight on to the first event of the week.
August 7th - August 17th
Football Superstars Play 2 Win
If you like football, you'll love Football Superstars.
You know, since it's a game about football.
Also, you can win some pretty cool stuff if you play it while we are running this event, like a real football table (the kind with small dudes that spin on a stick and kick a ball), a match shirt and loads of virtual items.
Foooooootball!
August 11th
Wolf Team Live Chat
Did you ever get the idea of creating an FPS where you play either as a werewolf, or as a soldier, and set out to kill each other? You can drop that idea, since Wolf Team already did it. And guess what? We have some Wolf Team loving here on Xfire right now. Tomorrow, parts of the Wolf Team, eeerm, Team(?) will be chatting live on Xfire. And pretty much all you need to do to join the chat is to join the Wolf Team community here on Xfire.
And, if you miss the live chat tomorrow, there are plenty of other Wolf Team things going on this week. You can check it all out by joining the community!
Wolf team team?
Check out the Age of Conan community too, or you'll be missing out on awesomeness!
Dear diary:
Today was my birthday. I just spent some time with some friends to celebrate. It was fun. Now I'm going to bed. Have a nice...
GODJonez's Workshop - Saved usernames
2009-08-07 5:34 PM PDT
Were you pondering on what would be the subject this Friday on my weekly blog post? Well, I know for sure that at least one person was thinking hard on what I would write today. And that person was me...
I've been working at Physics department in University of Joensuu this week. It's very exciting work but due to the schedule it's a bit tiring too. Of course since what I do includes some high technology equipment and top class laboratory environments, I am not really allowed to disclose what I am exactly doing there, but one word will cover it: science. (this always reminds me of Jonathan Coulton's song Still Alive, the ending song of Portal, "I'm doing science and I'm still alive"
Anyway, from physics to computers! Today's Xfire tip will be about the saved usernames and passwords in the Xfire client. Sometimes you might mistype your username to the program and it will remember that; whenever you face the login screen and see the username list, your typo will haunt you. Sometimes it can be even so bad that you mistakenly type in your password to the username field and it gets saved. So it's good to know how to clear the list, in case you ever need to.
While there are plenty of settings you can change in Xfire itself, there are lots of other things saved in your personal preferences than those available in user interface. The local settings are stored in a file XfireUser.ini, located in your Windows user account's application data folder. This file also stores the usernames and passwords (if selected) of the login screen, so in the event you want to clear the list, this is the file to edit.
Note: Make sure Xfire is not running when editing any of Xfire's files
You can access it by typing in %appdata%\Xfire\XfireUser.ini to Windows Run box or the Open dialog of your text editor (such as Notepad).
When the file is open, locate [CachedLogin] from it. Look at the screenshot below to see what kind of data it has:
All the data there is encrypted to prevent malicious programs from...
I've been working at Physics department in University of Joensuu this week. It's very exciting work but due to the schedule it's a bit tiring too. Of course since what I do includes some high technology equipment and top class laboratory environments, I am not really allowed to disclose what I am exactly doing there, but one word will cover it: science. (this always reminds me of Jonathan Coulton's song Still Alive, the ending song of Portal, "I'm doing science and I'm still alive"
Anyway, from physics to computers! Today's Xfire tip will be about the saved usernames and passwords in the Xfire client. Sometimes you might mistype your username to the program and it will remember that; whenever you face the login screen and see the username list, your typo will haunt you. Sometimes it can be even so bad that you mistakenly type in your password to the username field and it gets saved. So it's good to know how to clear the list, in case you ever need to.
While there are plenty of settings you can change in Xfire itself, there are lots of other things saved in your personal preferences than those available in user interface. The local settings are stored in a file XfireUser.ini, located in your Windows user account's application data folder. This file also stores the usernames and passwords (if selected) of the login screen, so in the event you want to clear the list, this is the file to edit.
Note: Make sure Xfire is not running when editing any of Xfire's files
You can access it by typing in %appdata%\Xfire\XfireUser.ini to Windows Run box or the Open dialog of your text editor (such as Notepad).
When the file is open, locate [CachedLogin] from it. Look at the screenshot below to see what kind of data it has:
All the data there is encrypted to prevent malicious programs from...
Aaah, finally!
2009-08-05 2:30 PM PDT
Press View entry to see the entire chart, and my awesome comments!
- July 27th - August 2nd
01. World of Warcraft
02. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer
03. Call of Duty 2 Multiplayer
04. Counter-Strike: Source
05. Warcraft III - The Frozen Throne
06. Battlefield 2
07. Guild Wars
08. Call of Duty: World at War Multiplayer
09. Silkroad Online
10. Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
11. Eve Online (+1)
12. Team Fortress 2 (-1)
13. MapleStory (+2)
14. Combat Arms (-1)
15. Metin 2 (+2)
16. Left 4 Dead (-2)
17. The Lord of the Rings Online (-1)
18. Call of Duty Multiplayer (+1)
19. San Andreas Multiplayer (+5)
20. Counter-Strike 1.6
Compared to the last edition of the Xfire charts, where we had pretty much absolutely nothing at all happen, this time we have quite a lot of stuff going on!
Metin 2 and MapleStory seem to be doing really well at the moment. Another two slots gained this week for each of them. I heard something about some sort of celebration in MapleStory, that could possibly cause the increased amount of players, but I won't swear that it's true. Perhaps someone knows a bit more about that?
In contrast to Metin 2 and MapleStory, Left 4 Dead seems to be doing pretty poorly. I guess it's not a game to count out just yet, but it'll be interesting to see what will happen.
Combat Arms dropped a little this week, but I think we might get to see a considerable jump up, either next week or the week after. I heard that they just rolled out a pretty big content update (at least here in Europe). And content updates tend to make things happen here on the charts.
San Andreas Multiplayer had a sudden increase in play time too, and from what I could see just now, it seems to be continuing. We might even get to see San Andreas go up another notch or two for next week.
And by the way, you should really check out the contest we're running right now in Sudden Attack.
The prizes are some of the most awesome ones ever to be offered in one of our contests, and since...
(A not so) Sudden attack!
2009-08-03 11:56 AM PDT
Haiyaaaa! Judo Chop!
Aha! I caught you by surprise there, didn't I?
I guess you could call it a sudden attack from my side, which in some way manages to lead us in to the theme for this weeks schedule.
Sudden attack. That is!
If you haven't been totally isolated for the last two weeks, you should already have seen me write something about our Sudden attack contest. So, I guess I don't need to tell you about the several THOUSAND dollars worth of prizes that we're handing out? Or the fact that this is one of the most popular games in Asia? Or, that it's free?
Yeah, I won't tell you about that, since you should already know that. Buuuut, just in case you missed any of it, head over to the Sudden attack page to find out all about it, including what prizes we are giving away. It's time to start hurrying though, the contest only runs until Friday!
July 28th - August 7th
Sudden Attack Play 2 Win
You all know what I said up above. Go-go sign up!
Man. Talk about awesome prizes.
Check out the Age of Conan community too, or you'll be missing out on awesomeness!
Dear diary:
I just got a new watch! (Yaaay!). I like wristwatches. They have a purpose, and there are plenty of models that look really nice. The one I got now is a fairly cheap Seiko Diver, but it's going to be my everyday watch, so I didn't want to get one that's too expensive. I bet pretty much all of you are using your cellphones instead of a proper watch, and I understand that.
But, perhaps soon, you will also understand the beauty of a nice watch. I hope so.
Do have a nice time until next time!
Hans
Aha! I caught you by surprise there, didn't I?
I guess you could call it a sudden attack from my side, which in some way manages to lead us in to the theme for this weeks schedule.
Sudden attack. That is!
If you haven't been totally isolated for the last two weeks, you should already have seen me write something about our Sudden attack contest. So, I guess I don't need to tell you about the several THOUSAND dollars worth of prizes that we're handing out? Or the fact that this is one of the most popular games in Asia? Or, that it's free?
Yeah, I won't tell you about that, since you should already know that. Buuuut, just in case you missed any of it, head over to the Sudden attack page to find out all about it, including what prizes we are giving away. It's time to start hurrying though, the contest only runs until Friday!
July 28th - August 7th
Sudden Attack Play 2 Win
You all know what I said up above. Go-go sign up!
Man. Talk about awesome prizes.
Check out the Age of Conan community too, or you'll be missing out on awesomeness!
Dear diary:
I just got a new watch! (Yaaay!). I like wristwatches. They have a purpose, and there are plenty of models that look really nice. The one I got now is a fairly cheap Seiko Diver, but it's going to be my everyday watch, so I didn't want to get one that's too expensive. I bet pretty much all of you are using your cellphones instead of a proper watch, and I understand that.
But, perhaps soon, you will also understand the beauty of a nice watch. I hope so.
Do have a nice time until next time!
Hans
Oh, how exciting!
2009-08-02 3:57 PM PDT
Press View entry to see the entire chart, and my awesome comments!
- July 20th - July 26th
01. World of Warcraft
02. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer
03. Call of Duty 2 Multiplayer
04. Counter-Strike: Source
05. Warcraft III - The Frozen Throne
06. Battlefield 2
07. Guild Wars
08. Call of Duty: World at War Multiplayer
09. Silkroad Online
10. Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
11. Team Fortress 2
12. Eve Online
13. Combat Arms
14. Left 4 Dead (+1)
15. MapleStory (-1)
16. The Lord of the Rings Online
17. Metin 2 (+1)
18. Battlefield Heroes (-1)
19. Call of Duty Multiplayer (+1)
20. Counter-Strike 1.6 (+1)
I'm sorry about the subject of this blog post. This really isn't very exciting at all. As you can see, barely anything happened this week. And out of the stuff that happened, nothing was truly ground breaking in my eyes.
Battlefield Heroes, Metin 2, MapleStory and Left 4 Dead account for most of what happened this week. And that really doesn't make for a great thriller.
But you know, this is good in a way. It means that people play the games they like, and don't mess around too much with other stuff.
I guess that basically sucks for people who sell games, but whatever. As long as people are happy, I guess it's good.
Since there really isn't too much else to talk about, you should really check out the contest we're running right now in Sudden Attack.
The prizes are some of the most awesome ones ever to be offered in one of our contests, and since the game is free, what's there really to lose? Go check it out now!
I'll be back tomorrow with a more thorough description of what's happening here on Xfire in the weeks to come. I hope you tune in then!
Hans
GODJonez's Workshop - Communities
2009-07-31 9:44 AM PDT
As I mentioned in my previous post, there has been a major update to the Xfire site. While the graphical presentation has not changed very much, there are still some very significant differences. And as always, theblog is the place where you get to first know all of it!
As the post title hints, the changes this time are mostly around "Communities", the new name for the feature previously known as Xfire Clans & Guilds.
Quick changelog:
Impressive list, isn't it?
Before taking a closer look into the changes, I'll remind you first of an important thing:
If you see missing images or other weird things on the website, refresh the page (usually F5) to make sure your browser is not loading old content from cache.
Since the biggest changes in this update were related in Xfire Clans & Guilds, now Communities, it's natural to start with that one. The new http://www.xfire.com/communities/ page looks like this:
You can also see the new image resizing code in effect here. Click the the original link to see it fully. If you cannot see the image above, then take my previous advice and press F5 to reload the page and the new image resizing script.
The image shows how the page is laid out. The list of communities you are in are listed first, as earlier....
As the post title hints, the changes this time are mostly around "Communities", the new name for the feature previously known as Xfire Clans & Guilds.
Quick changelog:
- Xfire Clans & Guilds is now Xfire Communities
- Three different types of communities: Core, Unlimited and Official
- New style for community rosters
- New style for recent community forum posts
- Online and in-game member counts are now displayed for unlimited communities
- New way to count community gameplay hours, supporting unlimited communities too
- Two new community types: Group and Club
- Maximum number of community games increased from 10 to 30
- Big images are automatically resized on blogs and forums
- New embeddable video player
- Fixed bugs in XML feeds
- New Spotlight feature on Home page. The miniprofile box was moved to the bottom of the page.
- Link to the official Xfire blog 'theblog' is now in the page footer on every page
Impressive list, isn't it?
Before taking a closer look into the changes, I'll remind you first of an important thing:
If you see missing images or other weird things on the website, refresh the page (usually F5) to make sure your browser is not loading old content from cache.
Since the biggest changes in this update were related in Xfire Clans & Guilds, now Communities, it's natural to start with that one. The new http://www.xfire.com/communities/ page looks like this:
You can also see the new image resizing code in effect here. Click the the original link to see it fully. If you cannot see the image above, then take my previous advice and press F5 to reload the page and the new image resizing script.
The image shows how the page is laid out. The list of communities you are in are listed first, as earlier....
