Built-in chat
Today I publish OCTGN 0.10. It contains a few fixes plus a new built-in chat client, so that it is easier for people to connect to #octgn and find players to play with.
This client is in fact an IRC client and still uses the same #octgn channel as we do today. So you don’t have to use it in order to see players in the channel.
This new IRC client is a bit experimental, which means:
1. hopefully there won’t be too many bugs;
2. it is not as full-featured as a “real” IRC client.
Point 2. is important. The built-in IRC client basically has only 2 features today: channel chat and private chat. It’s key advantage is ease of use for people who are not used to IRC and easy access from OCTGN.
This means that if you are a moderator of #octgn you’ll probably don’t want to use it. If you already have a good client like mIRC, you probably won’t either. On the other hand I expect people who use mibbit from the website (or worse: who use nothing!) to switch to this new option.
In the future I’d like to build a simpler way to invite people for games on top of that client and maybe other features (like filtering people by the game they have installed, or sharing files maybe).
Comments are welcome.
OCTGN.net development 
June 13, 2011 at 11:08 pm
there’s a lot of really useful features in the lobby mod that you should look into for future features. Are you going to implement the server-based game hosting? I really like how in the lobby you can create a game and have it appear on the games list for other players to see and join. It’s a lot more organized than having people post IP addresses, especially those who don’t even know what an IP is or how to use it.
June 14, 2011 at 12:15 am
I agree. While I appreciate the work you do on OCTGN, the OCTGN w/Lobby build is a bit sleaker.
June 14, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Besides the fact that lobby octgn wouldn’t exist without jods’s work, I agree with brine about merging lobby code (maybe just the server hosting and game creation part) with official build. The main problem which prevents new people from joining octgn community is its complexity regarding hosting of games. This is not a problem for me or brine because we know how to handle correctly router config and such, but the normal user is forced to learn how to portforward routers and things like this, and when he sees that even if we explain step by step how to do that it isn’t working, he simply gives up and return back to other programs.
Lobby solves this problem in a brilliant way, at least from the point of view of the simple user (I don’t know if the server part is programmed well or not), but it creates another problem, which is community fragmentation. As I already wrote in lobby octgn blog, there are users who stays exclusively in lobby and don’t frequent irc chat anymore, and other users who even don’t know that lobby exist, but comes in irc chat, ask for a game, and when they don’t see any answer they simply go away.
Merging the two octgns (using the new chat system for, well, chat, and lobby for hosting games) would solve definitely the main problem that octgn brings on itself since its first steps… I hope you will consider this solution soon jods 🙂
Sorry for the long post!
June 14, 2011 at 4:40 pm
“If you already have a good client like mIRC, you probably won’t either.”
Hmm… You’re right. I’ll still stick with LUnix and its Contiki IRC.
http://www.ircstorm.net/stats/?m=c&p=status&chan=%23octgn
June 14, 2011 at 7:27 pm
@Gaspare: the lobby version does one thing, which I’m not going to do at the moment. It hosts the OCTGN server (which has always been available separately from the main program in Octgn.Server.dll) on a dedicated server machine.
I don’t have and don’t want to setup dedicated servers, but you are free to do so. In fact, the Octgn.Server.dll library has always been available for that very purpose, and the lobby author is the first person to actually use it, with my help to overcome a few limitations.
I agree that saying that there’s a library isn’t very helpful and I am going to package it into an easy to use program, so that you can create your own servers.
June 26, 2011 at 4:31 pm
Actually, the Octgn.Server.dll file has built in limitations that REQUIRE it to communicate with the Octgn client. I had to actually modify the code in order for it to work. I also kind of resent the fact that you said that I needed your help, as I did the entire project on my own.
Just for the record I also contacted you to ask that you directly support the new Lobby, which would require MINIMAL work on your part, and haven’t gotten a response yet.
June 26, 2011 at 5:50 pm
Just to be clear: I was referring to the fact that we exchanged a few mails regarding the way the server library works. You did all the coding on your own, indeed.
Sorry for not having replied by now but it’s an unfortunate side-effect of how little time I currently have to spend on OCTGN. I took note that you have decided to create a “helper” to help people play games (OCTGN but others as well) more easily. When you’ll have something up and running let me know and I’ll see if I integrate it inside OCTGN. (Sorry but I prefer not to commit myself to do it right now and disappoint you in the future, should I not do it.)
June 15, 2011 at 3:06 am
the lobby dev is working on a new version which looks like an external client instead of an integration. If he is able to run the client’s chat through the IRC channel instead of the built in chat, while maintaining his dedicated server-based hosting and matchmaking queues, then we may have the perfect solution.
June 19, 2011 at 9:56 am
I think a way to improve UI quality in terms of some card game is the ability to play facedown
and maybe to highlight cards in hand
June 19, 2011 at 10:26 am
Playing a card face down is actually possible, I think that I need to provide a hint to players since many people aren’t aware of that: use the shift key when dragging the card and it’ll be played face-down.
Highlighting cards in hand should work but it has to be exposed by the game itself (just like highlighting on the table in fact).
June 19, 2011 at 12:36 pm
Am I the only one having issues with the octgn forum lately? I haven’t been able to view it at all this last week
June 19, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Indeed, it looks down to me, too. The website is up but the forum only returns a blank page to me. I’ll forward a message to Zark…
June 20, 2011 at 10:43 pm
People still are using version with lobby, im sure really no one(who knows that lobby exist) will use new version of official octgn..
June 21, 2011 at 3:49 pm
Hey I don’t decide what people choose to use and I think the world is better that way.
But unless the lobby dev decides to support it and merge every change from the official OCTGN (unlikely), it’s going to become interesting next time I break OCTGN compatibility with older version because I add a new feature.
June 22, 2011 at 3:37 am
that is unless I break the MTG game def’s compatibility with the old version first ;p
He’s working on a new version of it which looks like an external program so far, so maybe that’ll solve the issue with compatibility.
June 26, 2011 at 5:00 pm
The latest lobby with be external. It WILL support Octgn, with or without support.
June 22, 2011 at 8:32 am
yeah new lobby looks so bad, integrated lobby with octgn is so cool.
June 26, 2011 at 4:33 pm
I appreciate your concerns, if you have any ideas on how to make it “look” better, please let me know, http://www.skylabsonline.com/blog/2011/06/14/sneak-peeks-of-the-new-lobby-system/
June 26, 2011 at 4:37 pm
I would also like you to know, that the latest Lobby is designed to be as lightweight as possible. If you run Octgn you know that it takes up quite a bit of ram and cpu power. Also the new Lobby will have support for new games, not just Octgn, which is why having a lightweight client is important. The “look” is designed to be lightweight, easy, and clean.
June 27, 2011 at 9:34 pm
Kelly Elton, making separate lobby isn’t good idea, can’t it be integrated with octgn, like it is now?
June 27, 2011 at 10:42 pm
its not even out yet, at least try it out first before you start judging it.
June 27, 2011 at 11:34 pm
No, can’t be integrated, because it’s too much work to try and keep up with development. Making it separated is a great idea. If you don’t like it, don’t use it!
June 22, 2011 at 7:01 pm
Been using this few times now, and I must say that it rocks! It is simple, yes, but it really does its job.
Good idea for other people to see what games you have installed and what kind of games you are searching for (maybe by hovering mouse on top of your name), waiting for that.
June 29, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Dunno if it’s a bug or expected behaviour, but i can open as many chat windows as i want by simply start a new game, change nick, host the game, then exit the host window and enter the chat.
Tested it with 4 nicks on the same pc, had 4 chat windows opened 🙂
July 4, 2011 at 10:48 am
Kelly Elton, so can i use with friends old octgn with lobby or can’t?