AGS Awards 2021 Ceremony - Heads up

Snarky · Thu 16/12/2021 13:34:51

Just thought I would give people a heads up that I do not intend to make a version of the AGS Awards client for the 2021 ceremony.

The list of people who can realistically take on the job is short, but if any of you want to, I'd be happy to hand it over. Meanwhile, the organizers are exploring other options for how to present the awards.

Edit for clarity: There will be an AGS Awards ceremony. It just may not be through the playable AGS client that we have used in recent years.

Update: Dualnames has taken on the work of implementing/updating the AGS Awards client for the 2021 ceremony.

Kastchey · Thu 16/12/2021 16:55:01

Thanks, Snarky! Everyone needs a break once in a while. Let me take this opportunity to thank you for all the amazing work you put into the client and the awards event throughout the years.

Also to ensure this is clear to everyone, Snarky is only referring to the ceremony client. Up until then, everything will likely go the same way as always and as for the ceremony, we shall see.

More to come!

vga256 · Thu 16/12/2021 17:07:20

FWIW, if someone is willing to take the reins of the 2021 client, I will be happy to continue producing Mac/Linux and iOS ports for the future.

Laura Hunt · Sat 18/12/2021 17:03:24

Well, that is a real bummer to hear, but I totally get it. Thank you so much for your amazing work all these years, and here's to hoping somebody can take on the task. Stepping into that virtual hall and seeing everybody gathered there was one of my favourite things about the Awards, and it would be really sad to lose that.

Danvzare · Sun 19/12/2021 13:05:14

Quote from: Laura Hunt on Sat 18/12/2021 17:03:24
Well, that is a real bummer to hear, but I totally get it. Thank you so much for your amazing work all these years, and here's to hoping somebody can take on the task. Stepping into that virtual hall and seeing everybody gathered there was one of my favourite things about the Awards, and it would be really sad to lose that.

Same here. Thanks for all of the years you've worked on the client for the award ceremony.

ukz530 · Sun 19/12/2021 19:35:10

I couldn't attend the last 2020 Awards due to port forwarding issues, but the 2019 Awards experience was an unforgettable experience.
Thank you so much Snarky!

I will not forget your hard work.

Ponch · Tue 21/12/2021 22:08:00

I've only missed one awards ceremony since we started using the majestic blue cup theater to host the event. I'll be sad if it isn't around for the next event, but I certainly understand how life can get in the way of dedicating time to the community. Thanks for all your hard work over the years, Snarky. I hope you can find time for us in the future.

cat · Wed 22/12/2021 08:08:05

I just want to point out that while there will most likely not be an AGS-made awards client, the AGS Awards and a ceremony will happen next year. We are already discussing options about how to do the ceremony.

The rest of the Awards is not affected and will happen with the same procedure and categories as in the last years. This means, you can already start playing the games released this year

Cassiebsg · Wed 22/12/2021 18:09:12

Just how much programming is involved?

If it's just a matter of adding the nominees and stuff, I could give it a try.

Dualnames · Wed 22/12/2021 18:29:20

I have semi-limited time, but I volunteer myself as a tribute, if no one has already offered.

Ponch · Thu 23/12/2021 02:01:22

Quote from: Dualnames on Wed 22/12/2021 18:29:20
I volunteer myself as tribute.

Let the Hunger Games begin!

Snarky · Thu 23/12/2021 07:56:17

Quote from: Cassiebsg on Wed 22/12/2021 18:09:12
Just how much programming is involved?

If it's just a matter of adding the nominees and stuff, I could give it a try.

Thank you for the offer!

The minimum needed each year is to update the nominees and resources (including things like the title screen), which requires some fairly rote code changes. There is also a bit of setup that needs to be done on the IRC end, and there are some passwords and things I change each year for security (mainly to ensure that people don't accidentally connect with last year's client).

For the last few years, Kastchey has been doing most of the work of collecting and prepping the resources (they need to be formatted in a certain way), but there's also some work involved there, particularly when game authors don't submit something. And if we're going to stream the ceremony again, we need to do a better job of documenting and ensuring the copyright/license status of the music tracks used, as this has been a problem in recent years.

Then there are the other parts of the show that should ideally be updated (like the music act, the memorials we've had for AGSers who have died, and the anniversary last year), which requires a bit more codingâ€"although a lot of it can, if necessary, be left in and simply not triggered. Of course, if we'd like some new performance or other new part of the show, that would have to be created and scripted. (It is a good deal more complicated than just playing a cutscene, since it needs to be broadcast and synchronized to the different clients.) And there are always requests for other improvements and updates: some people have asked for an upgrade to AGS 3.5, for example, or complain about the positioning of characters on stage. We have a long TODO/wishlist of features and fixes.

There's a bit of messing around needed to build and package the Mac and Linux ports (you have to disable the Clipboard plugin, for starters): vga256 has handled the Mac side, and I see he's offering to build for Linux and iOS as well.

And finally you need to be able to control the show during the ceremony, a largely undocumented process that relies on familiarity with the code.

The biggest challenge is probably to figure out how it all works, just where to make changes, and which parts should absolutely not be touched. The codebase is pretty big, and some parts are remnants of old versions that aren't really in use any longer, or things that were started but never completed.

I do think that if Dualnames is willing to do it that might be a better option, since he is familiar with the overall system architecture. (Or if you're both willing you could share the job, it's up to you.)

Cassiebsg · Thu 23/12/2021 10:38:40

Rather have less features and old bugs in than no client at all.

But since Dualnames has been so kind as to offer his help, I think it's best he keeps the code.

I can help gathering and formatting the info, if that helps with the load.

Dualnames · Thu 23/12/2021 19:29:27

Given that I now have a 300x better internet even, i can probably stream the whole thing on twitch, if i can stream, haven't tested if I can.

Snarky · Thu 23/12/2021 19:47:54

I would advise against having the person who directs the ceremony also be the one to stream. The job is much lighter now that nominees and winners are announced automatically, but there's still a lot of busywork of launching each category and so on, and it's not something you want visible to the viewers.

Dualnames · Fri 24/12/2021 05:25:46

Yeah forgot about that, but i can potentially launch two clients too!

Dualnames · Mon 27/12/2021 10:02:46

Anyway, I have the files, I remember half the process, so it shouldn't be that hard. I think we can do it!

Crimson Wizard · Mon 27/12/2021 10:10:02

Quote from: Snarky on Thu 23/12/2021 07:56:17And there are always requests for other improvements and updates: some people have asked for an upgrade to AGS 3.5, for example

So, this came completely on sudden, but we found out that 3.5.0 has a unintended and undocumented change in behavior where the fully transparent GUI (Transparency = 100) would not accept clicks on them (historically in AGS they would). Which would break something in this client from what I heard. Unfortunately 3.5.0 is long out and i prefer to not touch it, but 3.5.1 has this fixed, so if you're upgrading perhaps it will make more sense to upgrade to 3.5.1 (this is a minor release that contains only fixes and perfomance improvements).

Dualnames · Mon 27/12/2021 10:25:50

Would upgrading to 3.6 make sense? Cause that was my plan to be honest. Haven't fully decided to that part yet.

Crimson Wizard · Mon 27/12/2021 11:09:54

Quote from: Dualnames on Mon 27/12/2021 10:25:50
Would upgrading to 3.6 make sense? Cause that was my plan to be honest. Haven't fully decided to that part yet.

I can't tell whether it makes sense because don't know about your requirements. 3.6.0 is relatively usable now, but there were alot of internal changes and some secondary things may still be untested (just yesterday it was found that there's something wrong with the video playback).