You may have noticed that we've put up a new version of the "SET" card game. We're quite excited about this because not only is it the first update to Gamepixies in a few years, but it also features balloons (Play the time trial and see).
The web has moved on a lot in the almost five years since we started Gamepixies - I ended up with some time on my hands, about a million things I wanted to do with the site and a heap of web technologies I wanted to play with so it was pretty exciting to build the new version of SET and see what could be done.
We hope you like the new version. If you run an older browser (e.g. Internet Explorer version 8 or below) you may have problems with it. If that's the case, may we suggest getting hold of Google Chrome or Firefox - you'll probably find the whole internet starts looking prettier, birds start singing, etc. but most importantly you'll be able to see our balloons.
To get to the new version, go to the SET game (or time trial) of your choice and click on "Try the new version of SET". It will remember your preference for next time, or you can go back to the old version for now (but it won't be around for ever).
We're still finishing up a few bits and pieces and trying to test it in more browsers - please write below if you have any ideas or comments.
[Update 24/11/11] - We've tested it in a few more browsers and added more features that were in the old version (e.g. support for colour blind users, statistics at the end).
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25 comments:
so, I, who am a slow player am very frustrated w/the new program. After 2 days of not being able to access it, it doesn't respond to my "clicks" to indicate I've located a set. When it finally does respond, it tells me it wasn't a set (but it was)...... bring back the well done original!
Hi, thanks for your feedback on the new version. What web browser are you using, this might help us to track down the problem. And are you doing the time trial or the multiplayer game?
You can still use the original version for the time being, we want to fix problems with the new version before taking it away.
Hi,
I'm very appreciative of the Game Pixies website; not only have I found a place to play SET against many others, I have also discovered some new games, such as Edel and LightUp, that I would never have otherwise found.
Unfortunately I've not yet been able to get the newer version of SET to work on my computer (even though I'm using Internet Explorer 9), which is a shame, but I'm sure with some fiddling I may be able to fix that.
I was thinking, playing games with people better or at a similar SET ability as yourself can be very rewarding, and for that reason I feel adding a 'chat' function to the website would be a good idea, if possible, as you could congratulate others and maybe newer players could ask for tips?
Thank you very much for all your hard work, and I'm very glad to have found Game Pixies.
Hi 3D_Goggles - Thank you for your comments about Gamepixies, it's nice to be appreciated! :)
It's interesting you say it doesn't work in IE9 - I tested it the other day, had to make a couple of tweaks but thought I got it working. There have been a couple of updates since then, however, so I'll take another look. When you say it doesn't work, does it come up at all or give you any cards?
I think a chat would be a good idea - indeed we have one in the Games room for some of the other multiplayer games, and it's nice to be able to interact with other players. It's something we'd like to look at for Set too.
As of when I posted the comment I was able to see a grey/black rectangle and a button with the word Set on. However this is all that appears.
Strangely enough I get further when using IE8, and I can also see a white rectangle, but never have I seen any set cards.
How bizarre - it still works perfectly for me in IE9. I wouldn't expect much out of IE8 at this stage - it doesn't support SVG graphics by default and requires a plugin, which *should* work but doesn't as yet (that's for another day!)
Never having seen a Set card isn't good! I wonder what's tripping up your system there... Does the browser throw up any scripting errors that you can see? (I think IE9 might disable script errors by default so you may need to enable this in the browser preferences) And do you have any other browsers installed that you could try it on, if so I'd be interested to know whether that works.
Thanks for your input - it's good to have users who will speak up and tell us when things are broken!
Helen
Hello again!
After downloading Firefox I've been able to play the new SET. The first thing I notice is that the shapes, particularly the 'dotted' or half shaded cards are much nicer to look at. The background is also much sleeker, the cards on black rather than grey/blue is very nice.
The change of background when a SET can be collected is a good idea, helping players know when it is their go. Having balloons in the time trial is pretty cool too.
The text that appears when it is a player's go 'Now choose you set' is much better than previously, but I feel that the previous '[player] took too long' is better than the new ' set was cancelled ' message, although none of this really interrupts game play, so it doesn't really matter.
It feels, and perhaps this is just my computer, that you cannot click as quickly on the cards in the newer version as you could before, and that you have to leave a slight gap before clicking the next card in your set. Also, as the cards are bigger it takes longer to click cards on opposite sides, so I suppose average time trial times will go up, although once everyone is using the same version, that won't be a problem.
When three extra cards are added, they go slightly out of the boarder, once again, this doesn't really affect neatness, but still may be worth noting? I haven't yet seen what six added cards looks like though.
When doing the time trial, I think it would be nice to still show how many points the person has got, as it gives an idea of how far you have to go.
The other thing is that although both versions are entered into through the same page, they do not lead to the same game as far as I can tell, which although, once again, will not be a problem when there is only one version, currently means that you are less likely to end up playing anyone, as it not only depends on what room you are in, but what version you are playing too.
Thanks again for all your work.
Hi again. I'm really glad you got it working in Firefox, although I'll continue to look at the IE problem.
Thanks so much for your detailed feedback. I'm glad you like the new graphics (and the balloons!).
I think there's still a bit of work to do on the responsiveness of clicking, and I hadn't considered the effect of size on how fast you can click! It should actually resize when you resize the window (such is the wonder of scalable vector graphics!) although I've put a lower limit on that so the cards don't go super-tiny. The problem with extra added cards is something I noticed too - again, it seems to right itself with a window resize but will need fixing properly.
I took away the scores from the time trial as it seemed weird and irrelevant to lose points when you take too long... but you're right that it is useful. I want it to tell you how many cards are left in the deck (as well as how many sets you've taken) which I think would be even more useful.
The thing with rooms being different ones is rather odd I know, it's a side effect of the fact that there are two different SET servers running at the moment. Might have to add an explanatory note or organize the pages a bit better so they're more clearly separate.
Looks like my work is cut out for me this week! Thanks again for the feedback :-)
I've tried in both Firefox and Safari (on a Macbook Pro). The new version does not acknowledge my clicks after I've hit the "SET" button, and then times out, and takes a point from my score... and I am never able to collect a set.
The old version works fine for me.
I do love the look of the new version. I just wish it worked. Oddly enough, it was working for me (in Firefox) yesterday (a few hours ago).
I've made a few changes - the set of new multiplayer rooms is now more separate from the old, so hopefully less confusion. And you can see how many cards are left in the deck.
I've had a go at improving the click detection - it uses a mouse down rather than click event now so if you're dragging the mouse a little when you click it should still pick it up. I'd be interested to know whether this helps people who are having click problems.
I'm also trying to figure out where I can get onto a Mac to try that out.
I'm a big fan of the two new changes. Knowing how many cards are left in the pack is a nice feature (especially when the game is going slowl- it gives you the will to continue!).
And yes, the click detection is much faster now, thanks.
I must admit, I prefer the old version, but I think that's probably just to do with being used to it. Sorry.
Hey 3D_Goggles - glad to hear things are working better for you! I made a couple of behind the scenes changes too which I'm hoping will help some people who are having problems - any improvements on the IE9 front?
Hi Anonymous
It seems to be the way of the web these days that you get used to a site and then they go and change it on you!
Trouble is, web technology moves so fast, things get obsoleted, new and better things come along... we web developers hope that we're making things better but sometimes it's hard to tell how users are going to feel about it. I think new SET is better but I'm extremely biased because I made it. ;)
We were aiming to have basically the same thing running on newer technology (with a few improvements) so were hoping the change wouldn't be too jarring for users and have tried not to move things around too much. We'd like it if everybody could think it was an improvement, although that might be a bit ambitious!
If there is anything in particular you prefer about the old version, or find odd or annoying about the new one, feel free to let us know - we're always open to ideas!
Helen
Hi Hel & dgym,
All in all, I think the new Set version is very nice. The fact that it scales as you resize the window is a nice touch.
I've noticed one strange bug. If you are the first player of the Daily Time Trial (and I often am :) ), the new version doesn't seem to work. If I load the Java version and switch back, then the new version seems to work. There are times when I still have to reload the page an extra time.
There's also an unrelated problem with the Members page. When you try to sort by the last three columns, you get a server error.
Anyway, thanks for all the hard work you put into this site.
Hi Shiva
Glad you are enjoying the new version! I think the problem is that the old version generates the day's time trial deck on demand if it's not present, whereas the new version relies on a scheduled task to do it - since they use the same deck, you're causing the deck to be generated for everybody when you load the old one! (Thanks :) I've just set the generating script to run a little earlier so hopefully the problem will be fixed now.
I'll look into the problem with the members page too, though I'm not sure what causes it.
Thanks for your dedication to the site, glad you're still enjoying it :)
Helen
Thanks Hel, it worked fine this time. I didn't start right on time today, so I will try again on another day to make sure.
Oops, I guess I spoke too soon. It looks like the problem is still there for a few minutes after the new puzzle time. Nothing to worry about, though.
Thanks for letting me know, Shiva. I'll try and remember to test it out next time I'm up at that hour :)
Hi,
Long time listener, first time caller (as they say in talk radio). I like the new version just fine (though I didn't have any quibbles with the old one), though one feature I would absolutely love is the ability to hide the timer so I don't constantly distract myself by looking at the clock (and thus psych myself out). I feel like this would not be a difficult programming task--it could just be a toggle button below the timer that sets the timer font color to the same as the background (or sets opacity to 100%)--and it would greatly improve my playing experience. Thank you!
Hi Dan - that's not a feature that had ever occurred to us but you're right, it's not a difficult task at all. Next time I find some time to spend with Set (might be a couple of weeks) I'll add that in.
I'm glad you are enjoying the new version!
I'm using Google Chrome, and about one-third of the time, I'll start the daily time trial and watch the seconds start clicking away - with no cards showing. Refreshing doesn't help, closing the browser and reopening doesn't help. I did notice that I was the first one just now to (try to) play, if that might possibly make a difference.
-wasAVC
Hi AVC, thanks for the feedback. I think it might have more to do with the time that you're playing it, I never see the problem but it seems to happen close to midnight UK time so I need to remember to try that out. I suspect there's a mismatch between the day changeover code on the site, and the time the script runs to generate a new time trial.
Hi, I'm using Firefox and can never get the game to work on that at all. I have to use an IE-tab for the old version to work. The new version doesn't work at all, and metaSet is just a nightmare. It just shows me a SET button but no cards...
- evilincarnate
Hi evilincarnate... sorry you've had problems with it. I am trying to find time to work on this some more, and don't want to take the old version away until I've fixed the problems in the new one.
I've seen the problem with it not loading any cards sometimes, I find reloading the page a couple of times usually fixes it, I know that's not great but maybe worth a try?
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