BBO Web-client V34

[fred]

Version 34 of the BBO web-client is now available. You can find out more about the changes in V34 here:

 

Link to V34 announcement post

 

Feedback, suggestions, and bug reports are very welcome. We may not respond to every post that will appear in this thread, but I promise that we will read and consider what you have to say.

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

[tozbek91]

I like everything, just except for the new BBO masterpoint symbols... :)

 

Kindly,

Tekin

[0 carbon]

Some suggestions/observations:

 

1. In the bidding box, why not layout, left to right, NT...♣. This puts the suits always in the same space, reducing misclicks. Should simplify programming too.

 

2. Why not show, for each completed hand, the double dummy maxes that GIB can calculate. Could be in a box in lower right corner, currently unused space. Would settle some arguments without having to use the HandViewer.

 

3. For profiles, why not a right-click menu item to close. Would be very useful to folks like myself who park them on the edge with just a smidgen showing. Would also be useful if a double click moved the profile so all of it was on the screen.

 

4. For the Who's Online list, why not allow sorting by name or status? Would be useful to ID friends who are not currently playing.

 

5. Join in table list not set correctly in ACBL tournament.

 

6. In tournament lists, why not a column for board count, eg 12 for pending, 02/12 for running. This could also be added to the table lists for running tournaments. Useful for sorting, or for joining choices.

 

7. Why not have the substitutes button apply to the list of tournaments shown, eg, for ACBL, BBO, free, all tourneys, rather than always for all tourneys.

 

8. In Tourneys lists, I can select and drag the column divider - but it has no effect.

 

9. In the My Results list, why not allow seeing "Other Tables" for boards completed by everyone.

 

10. Sometimes in the Main club, "Other Tables" for completed hands shows no other tables, and the score is "--" forever, no matter how good or bad you did.

 

11. Columns in tourney lists not resized properly when subwindow is expanded and then contracted. Tourney name stays wide, other columns very skinny.

 

12. Why not dump the "join" column and use the tourney name as the selection area? Dump the "more" column and use a floating box when the player hovers over the tourney.

 

13. Why is there a description column for tourneys or tables? It's always empty.

 

14. For bidding tables, why not keep previous Deal Source for each player.

 

Hoping to see all these fixed in v35!

 

Thanks for a great site.

 

tOM

[A2003]

My BBO

convention cards

 

Recommend to "Add FD cards". Currently no easy way to add FD cards.

====================================================

My BBO

Recommend to add "Chat Manager" in main page MY BBO. This will allow to be more visible for frequent use.

[fred]

14. For bidding tables, why not keep previous Deal Source for each player.

Can you please explain what you mean by this?

 

10. Sometimes in the Main club, "Other Tables" for completed hands shows no other tables, and the score is "--" forever, no matter how good or bad you did.

 

All boards will eventually be played 16 times, but sometimes this takes a while. In a non-tournament context, the scores displayed in "My results" and the lists of results at other tables do not update themselves automatically. You have to click on a given one of your results in order to see an updated score for that board and in order to fetch any new results from other tables.

 

Most of the "why's" you ask have a answer. Some of them are good answers (like user interface consistency), but some of the answers have to do with either limitations imposed by Flash or the backend (server) architecture of BBO.

 

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

[Kafir732]

Hi Fred,

 

First of all, thanks for a splendid site. I have a few notes, though, about things I'd like to see implemented:

 

1. Allow the dummy to complete the hand when the player disappears in mid-game. It is frustrating for both dummy and defence when this happens, and a new player coming in from trick 6 or 9 obviously cannot play the rest of the hand very well except in rare cases. Therefore: Wait with the replacement until such a hand is finished.

 

2. When the Crown suddenly stops playing or bidding, even if it is for several minutes, there is no way to get rid of him/her. Why not implement an option for the remaining three players to boot the Crown if they all agree?

 

3. I want more space in my player profile to tell what conventions I apply, and also to explain especially what some of my bids mean in situations where I know or suspect that the bid could easily be misunderstood.

 

Thanks for letting me share my thoughts with you.

[eleanorsf]

Thank you, Fred. Your work is very much appreciated.

 

1. I really like the new MP symbols. But now a star seems less important as it's only one color. Maybe a red border or some other special distinction. Before the stars were always the first thing Isaw. Now with the bolder MP symbols they are second.

 

2. The soft gray is lovely.

 

Two other comments not related to new release.

 

3. How can I change Language? I would expect to find it in Profile but I don't see it.

 

4. Many free tourney TDs are putting their Rules in some place that can be read prior to the tourney. I would expect to see a button on the More window to access Rules but there isn't one. Is there some other way to find the Rules for a given tourney?

 

Best of luck in Reno.

[helene_t]

13. Why is there a description column for tourneys or tables? It's always empty.

You can enter a description. For example "Se habla espanol" or "We play strong pass". To help prospective players decide whether to join this table.

 

It is indeed rarely used. Maybe it would be an idea once in a while to put the hint to use the description field more often on the daily news.

[0 carbon]

14. For bidding tables, why not keep previous Deal Source for each player.

Can you please explain what you mean by this?

 

10. Sometimes in the Main club, "Other Tables" for completed hands shows no other tables, and the score is "--" forever, no matter how good or bad you did.

 

All boards will eventually be played 16 times, but sometimes this takes a while. In a non-tournament context, the scores displayed in "My results" and the lists of results at other tables do not update themselves automatically. You have to click on a given one of your results in order to see an updated score for that board and in order to fetch any new results from other tables.

 

Most of the "why's" you ask have a answer. Some of them are good answers (like user interface consistency), but some of the answers have to do with either limitations imposed by Flash or the backend (server) architecture of BBO.

 

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

Currently, when setting up a Bidding Table, when you login, the previous "Deal Source" text you used has disappeared. Would be nice to keep it between logins.

 

10. When in Main club, sometimes no one else plays the hand you played - so for that 1 board, there is no comparision, so both sides get an average instead of having comparisions. I have checked back 30+ min later and still no "other tables".

[0 carbon]

13. Why is there a description column for tourneys or tables? It's always empty.

You can enter a description. For example "Se habla espanol" or "We play strong pass". To help prospective players decide whether to join this table.

 

It is indeed rarely used. Maybe it would be an idea once in a while to put the hint to use the description field more often on the daily news.

Yes, in the Clubs, but not in the Tourneys.

[mohitz]

In the win version, when a friend logs in, you can have an automated chat delivered informing that the friend has logged in. If she gets disconnected, the color of the same chat would change.

 

It would be nice if this happens in the web version as well.

[rd6789]

I agree with an earlier post about the bbo masterpoint symbols. To me these are intrusive and also of no interest (since they give no indication of how good a player is just how many points they have collected).

 

What I would like to see alongside each player's name is an indication of their skill level. Then I can choose to join a table where all the players are at a level I would like to play with, or quickly find potential partners in tourneys of the right skill level.

 

You could for example use initials, P=private, B=beginner etc (they are all different!), or colour codes.

 

 

Thank you for the site. It really is excellent.

[helene_t]

In the win version, when a friend logs in, you can have an automated chat delivered informing that the friend has logged in. If she gets disconnected, the color of the same chat would change.

 

It would be nice if this happens in the web version as well.

This is problematic because the WEB client does not get that information from the server. The client would need to poll the status of people that are visible in the chat box every so often. Or alternatively subscribe to status changes, but that would cause problems when the user scrolls or enlarges the chat box, as the server would not know this. So you would need a combination of polling and subscribing. The costs in terms of server load and bandwidth might be too high.

[rwbarton]

I was playing in a tournament using the flash client, and in one round, the first board was played slowly, and the second board was skipped (automatically, it seemed) with both sides assigned Ave. When the clock ran out and the next round started, something strange happened in my client. I no longer recall the exact details, but I think it looked like I was in the next round, with new opponents' names on the screen, and a new hand. However, there were no buttons for chatting to the table/kibitzers/opponents/tournament, and I was unable to bid despite being dealer, I think; either I had no bidding box, or clicking the bidding buttons did nothing, I forget.

 

Partner had the same (or at least a similar) problem, which is why I assume the fact that the previous round ended with a skipped hand is relevant. Eventually we both logged out and back in, which resolved the situation.

[fred]

I was playing in a tournament using the flash client, and in one round, the first board was played slowly, and the second board was skipped (automatically, it seemed) with both sides assigned Ave. When the clock ran out and the next round started, something strange happened in my client. I no longer recall the exact details, but I think it looked like I was in the next round, with new opponents' names on the screen, and a new hand. However, there were no buttons for chatting to the table/kibitzers/opponents/tournament, and I was unable to bid despite being dealer, I think; either I had no bidding box, or clicking the bidding buttons did nothing, I forget.

 

Partner had the same (or at least a similar) problem, which is why I assume the fact that the previous round ended with a skipped hand is relevant. Eventually we both logged out and back in, which resolved the situation.

Thanks - we are working on it...

 

It would be helpful if you could tell me:

 

1) The BBO user ID you were logged in as when this happened

2) The date and approximate time (including your time zone) when this happened

 

Thanks,

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

[rwbarton]

It would be helpful if you could tell me:

 

1) The BBO user ID you were logged in as when this happened

2) The date and approximate time (including your time zone) when this happened

1) rwbarton

2) Last Saturday (3/27) between 1 PM and 3:30 PM Eastern Time (UTC-4)

[geofspa]

Would it be possible to know which version of Flash the web BBO is designed for ?

 

 

Thanks

 

Geof

[fred]

Would it be possible to know which version of Flash the web BBO is designed for ?

 

 

Thanks

 

Geof

I am not certain, but I think that the web-client will run only if you have at least version 9 of Flashplayer.

 

But I strongly suggest that web-client users (not to mention everyone else) make a habit of updating their Flashplayer to the latest whenever a new version is released.

 

I get a notification (typically when I restart my computer) if my installed version of Flashplayer is outdated. Probably the same is true of everyone. I suggest that you do not ignore these notifications.

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

[runewell]

I think I've mentioned this elsewhere before, but the new software lacks chat and therefore a capability for unknowns to arrange and play team matches, requiring me to stay on the old version, which I would happily forgo except for this one item.

 

It would be nice if there were a facility for seeing people interested in a random team game. The current format is as follows:

1. One person shouts out to the lobby the intention to run a match.

2. Any number of people (from not enough to way too many) respond.

3. The director has to key in everyone's names, and in the minute it takes to do that, sometimes people go off and do something else.

4. Sometimes the director now has to ask again for more names.

 

Team matches are an important part of BBO culture, I think there should be an area where people sign up to play a match. You could have options to match all experts, all advanced players, or combinations. Or someone could arrange a specific match and people could see it and sign up to play themselves.

 

This might be deserving of its own thread. Any thoughts? Or is this too small a subculture to worth the attention?

[paulg]

I think I've mentioned this elsewhere before, but the new software lacks chat and therefore a capability for unknowns to arrange and play team matches, requiring me to stay on the old version, which I would happily forgo except for this one item. 

 

It would be nice if there were a facility for seeing people interested in a random team game.  The current format is as follows:

1. One person shouts out to the lobby the intention to run a match.

2. Any number of people (from not enough to way too many) respond.

3. The director has to key in everyone's names, and in the minute it takes to do that, sometimes people go off and do something else.

4. Sometimes the director now has to ask again for more names.

 

Team matches are an important part of BBO culture, I think there should be an area where people sign up to play a match.  You could have options to match all experts, all advanced players, or combinations.  Or someone could arrange a specific match and people could see it and sign up to play themselves. 

 

This might be deserving of its own thread.  Any thoughts?  Or is this too small a subculture to worth the attention?

You and X others like this.

[fred]

I think I've mentioned this elsewhere before, but the new software lacks chat and therefore a capability for unknowns to arrange and play team matches, requiring me to stay on the old version, which I would happily forgo except for this one item. 

 

It would be nice if there were a facility for seeing people interested in a random team game.  The current format is as follows:

1. One person shouts out to the lobby the intention to run a match.

2. Any number of people (from not enough to way too many) respond.

3. The director has to key in everyone's names, and in the minute it takes to do that, sometimes people go off and do something else.

4. Sometimes the director now has to ask again for more names.

 

Team matches are an important part of BBO culture, I think there should be an area where people sign up to play a match.  You could have options to match all experts, all advanced players, or combinations.  Or someone could arrange a specific match and people could see it and sign up to play themselves. 

 

This might be deserving of its own thread.  Any thoughts?  Or is this too small a subculture to worth the attention?

Doing something to improve the process of starting team matches in the web-client has been near the top of our list of things to do for at least a year.

 

Unfortunately it seems that every time we get close to attacking this problem, something else surfaces that requires our attention.

 

I can't make any predictions as to when we will actually do the necessary work in this area, but I am confident that, when the time comes, what we produce will be much better than what is available now in either client.

 

Thanks for your patience.

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

[babalu1997]

i still remain in the windows version.

 

the web version is ok if i have prearranged to meet a partner or opponents.

 

sometimes i log on to wait for a partner and want to play at the main club till the partner comes, or, sometimes i want to play in the main club when there is no partner available.

 

 

as the software is running, the only way to join a table is to use the help me find a game version, which invariably takes me on an acid trip of bids and play. the only other alternative are the 00 locked tables, but those people are on acid often too.

 

by the time i look up some profiles, and having no means to at least scan the skill level or system played the table is full.

 

with the windows version, after a few misses i can find somewhere to play.

[Ant590]

the only way to join a table is to use the help me find a game version

Have you tried selecting "list all tables", rather than "help me find a game"?

[babalu1997]

y i sure did, but because the screen does not refresh the seat is is occupied byt the time i click

 

either the hmfg folsk beat me to it or it is no longer available when permission is required

 

the reason i says this is

 

a newcomer logging on for the fst time at bbo will likely run scared as they might not want to jump directly into a tournament

[0 carbon]

14. For bidding tables, why not keep previous Deal Source for each player.

Can you please explain what you mean by this?

 

...

 

Most of the "why's" you ask have a answer. Some of them are good answers (like user interface consistency), but some of the answers have to do with either limitations imposed by Flash or the backend (server) architecture of BBO.

14 -- I always have to paste in my "Deal Source" every time I log on. Why not store it in a flash cookie and restore it in the Deal Source box when I set up a bidding table.

 

It would be nice to now which suggestions are "impossible" (=difficult).

 

As for UI consistency, I think all my suggestions are consistent with the current UI. Which aren't? And why? It seems to me half my suggestions enhance consistency!

 

For example, having the "substitutes" button work for one displayed tourney and not for the displayed list of (eg free) tourneys is inconsistent.

 

It is inconsistent for some columns to have extra space and others too small.

 

It is inconsistent to show a column resizing cursor which has no effect.