Some of you may be aware that a brand new version of the MK8 Players' Page is under development. If you haven't heard of this, it's true!--I've been working on it for the past year along with Mick and Scott Abbey (IsThatAGoodTime). You can read more here: http://www.mariokart64.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1426272560 (although some of this info may be dated).

There's still plenty to be done before the site is ready to go live and replace the current Players' Page. However, we'd like some help testing the site in the mean time. As of now, the main features that have been developed are an account system (you heard it!) and a submission form to submit your new records (which is great news!)

We're looking for testers for two reasons: (1) to make sure the site functions properly, and (2) to get some feedback to see where we can improve things. If you'd like to be considered for our testing program, feel free to sign up below.

We can't invite everybody to test our site, though. We need to keep the pool of testers fairly small, at least for the time being. Mainly, we are concerned about active MK8 players, as well as people who have played MK8 but are more active in the other games. But please don't shy away from putting your name on the sign-up list - we'd love to see everybody's interest in this project!

We'd like to get the testing program rolling starting some time next month (April). In the mean time, let this thread be the official discussion thread for the Players' Page upgrade.


A special thanks to our testers:

Blaze
cwifier
Cynda Quil
Frederiek Warreyn
Lafungo
Max (TengusQua)
Sam F
thewebinator
Tim van Ham

can help test.

I'd be willing to help in any way I can. You know my Skype already from the pp chat, so you can add me there to contact.

I could help.

&b wrote on 04/01/16 at 06:02:10:

We have enough people for our testing purposes at this point.

However, if you want, I can put you on a waiting list for when we will expend the beta further and open it to more players

Awesome. I can totally submit my stuff on all the MKs

Just an update on the development status:

• The submission system is developed, and players can submit times on our test site using a form (no more YahooGroups or Forum submissions with a specific format to follow -- you just type the times into boxes for each track).
• There are profile pages which list a player's times, and another page with a list of all the players on the site.
• There are charts for each of the courses, and a total times rankings page (for both non-DLC and DLC). The other rankings, such as AF, will be done later, as it is much easier for me that way.
• You can view the PR history for each player (i.e., a list of all the times a player has submitted over time, even if they are outdated PRs)
• There are some other pages such as a site/regional/national records page.

The next step is for me to get working on the "verifications system", where trusted members can verify the times that players submit. This is a big chunk of the development and will replace the "times updating" system that the updaters use now.

Feel free to leave any comments or questions about the new site, I'd love to hear!

I like these ideas, but some more thoughts about it:

Quote:


This is an interesting idea, and I've thought of it before. However, what if they had 100 verified times but several rejected times? Then what? Are they trusted? We could say that they have to have a 100% clean record, but if they make a typo once, are they now un-trusted? Something to think about. Edit: When I originally thought of this "auto-update" feature months ago, my idea was that times by any "trusted" players should still go through the verifications system, but they will appear on the site right away. This is just so we can prevent typos or other fakes more easily.

Quote:


I'd say that they should only be warned if they have auto update. Either way, the verifiers will be warned. This is an attempt to catch possible cheaters/liars more easily.

Another edit: It is worth noting that there are different "roles" staff can have on the new site: "verifiers" are responsible for verifying submissions; "moderators" have more power over players' profiles and their submissions (I haven't decided exactly what these powers will be), and "news updaters" can edit the news.

Frederiek wrote on 12/04/16 at 12:04:28:


Auto-updating status would be a relatively limited privilege, not something handed out like candy.
Also, attributing such status would have to be well justified, and could possibly require the opinion of more than a single person of the staff.

The details on how to implement such feature are still up for discussion, and it's unsure it will be in the first version of the site since it's not absolute priority, but it could still be a good addition even if, as you say, updating should be much faster than before.