Development – OOTP Fantasy Leagues Blog

1.0.1 Maintenance Update Release

February 14, 2012May 19, 2020
by jfox015

A new release is available today for the OOTP Fantasy Baseball Leagues mod. Version 1.0.1 is a maintenance level release that upgrades the mod with better OOTP 12 support and some slight admin updates. The following changes are included:

Enhancements

Added function to the admin dashboard to delete mod database tables. This is a helpful function if you choose to remove the mod from your server and don’t want to have to manually clean up your database.
Added check for required database tables and a redirect if they are missing
Added a new field to the installer and game settings page in the admin dashboard to select the OOTP game version being used (the mod defaults to the current release version of the game if none is specified)

Bug Fixes

Fixed a bug on the player profile page where the mod was trying to resolve a player’s state/territory of birth from a non-existent column in the OOTP 12 data dump.
Fixed an incomplete PHP initiator tag on the member controller

How to Update

If you have an existing fantasy league mod site setup running 1.0 Final, the patch release features just the changed files plus an upgrade script. To update your site:

Download the patch release ZIP
Unpack the ZIP file and upload all files to the webserver (overwriting all existing files when promoted).
Browse to http://[Your Fantasy Mod URL]/[fantasy]directory]install/upgrade.php
Click the Upgrade Now button to run the update script.
Log-in and continue to use your league.

League running OOTP Fantasy Baseball Leagues 1.0 Release Candidate 1 or earlier must uninstall their league and use the full installation instead.

If you run into errors, please either post a note in the mod support forum (please submit a request for a forum account via our contact form if you do not already have an account on the forum) or submit a bug report.

Patch #4 is on the way (with screengrabs)

March 18, 2011May 19, 2020
by jfox015

I’d like to call it developers prerogative to change my mind about the direction of the mod.

I’ve seriously gone back and forth on the re-architecture of the mod and while I do have grandiose plans for the future of the framework and CMS tools that power OOTP Fantasy Leagues, I felt a strong desire to:

Run another beta fantasy season
See the last big “must-have” features baked into a final 1.0 release

So on that note, I’ll segue gracefully into:

New Features

After some internal hemming and hawing and despite some very long, late nights of coding, patch #4 is well underway and on its way. Here’s a quick rundown of the major additions general users will see with this update:

Trades
Rotisseries scoring (Standard 4×4 roto with potential for an extreme 12×12 roto league)

Admins always need to get some good stuff each patch and #4 is no different. Admins will see:

Update news tools for player news
Sim Processing Summaries
A faster, more efficient sim processing engine

There are likely to be a few more little things thrown in for good measure, but that’s the bulk of it for now.

Want to contribute?

OOTP Fantasy Leagues is 100% free and open source and the source is publicly available on GitHub. Head over to the official Github page, fork it and send a pull request with your updates.

So what’s next? A couple of thoughts.

January 15, 2011May 19, 2020
by jfox015

After a brief two-month break, OOTP Fantasy Leagues patch #3 sprung up pretty quickly last month and is now out. I only planned to fix a couple things, but ended up throwing in a lot of administrative features I knew site owners would want.

Put a fork in it – OOTP Fantasy Leagues gets moved to GitHub

With 0.3 I’ve also officially moved the source code to GitHub. Two reasons.

For my job, knowing Git and GitHub is going to be necessary. Someone we work for will be using it sometime soon.
The community. There are some good coders in the Github community and a lot of CodeIgniter projects are hosted there. Not a bad idea to try and tap that group to help further development.

So if you are a Git user, you can find the repository on GitHub at https://github.com/jfox015/OOTP-Fantasy-Leagues. Pull it, fork it. Hack away. The more eyes and thoughts on it, the better.

Next Steps

I still have a ton of things on my “to-do” list for the mod but I’ve come to a decisive point in the process. I could continue with the current code base which, while not great, is pretty clean and organized (thanks predominantly to it’s MVC nature and usage of CodeIgniter). I imported some things almost verbatim from StatsLab, which is not MVC based, which I’d like to clean up or rewrite altogether.

Then there’s some of the higher-level work. I want to expand on user management and give admins full control over users. The mod right now uses a hacked version of ReAuth, which is good, but just in patch #3, I fixed a couple glaring issues with the changes I made back in the summer of 2009.

Next, there’s my integrated CMS improvements. While they do allow for rapid creation of editor forms and provide powerful list and search capabilities, to truly make the mod work like a real CMS would take almost a complete tear down and rebuild. So at this point, I am turning to the web and more specifically GitHub.

To CMS or not too?

There are three projects that recently caught my eye and two of them are strong contenders towards being the auth system/cms backend I want to port the fantasy leagues too. FuelCMS is one. PyroCms is the other. Both are based on CodeIgniter and PyrcoCMs can claim some of the leading contributors to CodeIgniter as it’s own contributors.

What really is pulling me to look at and try out FuelCMS is it’s built-in ability to use either static view OR CMS pages in the database. It also allows you to convert static pages to CMS pages within the Admin tool. This sounds like just what I need for what I want to do with my mod.

The other consideration is my other online project that shares it’s CMS root with the Fantasy leagues mod, The Comic Rack, my online comic book database site. Although I personally conceded defeat to Graphic.ly before this actually became anything for public viewing, it’s still in the back of my head. And a solid back-end could be the thing to jump-start another look at getting it going.

Onward and upward

So that’s the state of things right now. A fourth patch is possible if some more big issues are found as people download and try out 0.3, but I’m tabling any new features until I decide on a direction for where the development of the overarching auth system will go. The demo’s are in progress. A decision is imminent.

Quick Change of Plans

January 10, 2011May 19, 2020
by jfox015

I planned to release 0.3 beta (patch #3) tomorrow morning, but I’ve had a quick last-minute shift in idea.

I have some overarching stuff I want to do with the mod (and more specifically to the CodeIgniter extensions that form the foundation of the mod), and I don’t want to keep putting off jumping into them.

So I plan to add two last enchantments to the mod, a league schedule editor (in progress), and a scoring period editor (requested by peba commissioner Corsairs). I feel these two additions will at least let online league owners run some fantasy season while the mod is in beta and I can then turn my focus from the mod and onto the larger items I want to hit.

In the short term, this is likely to irk a few folks who have trade support, rotisserie scoring support, and some of the other goodies on their must-have list. The long term benefit, however, to both the source code and the end-users are substantial for me to feel this is a justified move.

I’ll be making notes of and discussing the progress of this shift in direction over the coming months. As for patch #3, I’m hoping I could have a version out by Wednesday or Thursday, but most likely another ten days from now. So stay tuned.

Version 0.3 beta in development

January 5, 2011May 19, 2020
by jfox015

As we ring in the new year, I thought it high time to resurface of sorts and throw an update on the state of the Fantasy Leagues mod.

The Third Beta Update

OOTP Fantasy Leagues 0.3 beta is in progress and will be released in the first or second week of this month. It is aimed mainly at adding some administrative features to the site and includes some critical bug fixes and several enhancements thrown in for good measure as well. As with 0.1 and 0.2, this update will be available as either a patch or full install. I’ve run numerous test installs using both methods and have the majority of the kinks worked out.

I’m also planning for this to hopefully be one of the last releases under the “beta” program. The mod has been in beta since July, so I think it’s in a pretty stable state now. I hope to run one or two more beta seasons on my nabl.aeoliandigital.com web site in the next couple weeks and I expect and plan to patch and upgrade moving forward as well. I also know how the “beta” label can cause some people to want to wait to install and use it, so I want to try and remove that blocker and get it out to as many users as possible.

Bug Fixes

Peteg9699 identified a significant issue where loading a historic MLB leagues was causing problems when trying to view the player’s stats page and, more importantly, running a draft. This was because the stats engine was defaulting to using the current calendar year when fetching players stats and not using the year defined in the OOTP league table. The stats engine patch fixes this glitch and adds support for historic leagues now in place. A few additional issues on the team rosters page and the player’s profile have been resolved as well.

Installer Updates

One big area where issues have seemed to keep cropping up is within the installation process. Because this mod is based on CodeIgniter, it requires several core config files to be updated with the unique system properties and then written to the server during install. The way CodeIgniter is built, there’s just no way around this. Server script access is always a touchy area for non-technical web users, especially those using shared hosting where permissions are limited and information about what is write accessible and what is not can be scare. So I’ve tried to enhance the installer process to accommodate these issues.

The installer has previously tested whether directories were writable just before attempting to write the necessary data to the config files but after the database had been loaded up. Now, the installer tests before anything is committed to the database to help users of the mod tackle these issues before they get too far along in the process.

New Features

Well, I can’t release a new update without throwing in some new features as well, right? So in that spirit, there are several new additions to the site to go along with this release.

StatsLab Compatibility Mode

A new option has been added to the Global Setting screen to enable StatsLab Compatibility. This feature prevents conflicts between the two mods when they are both run out of the same MySQL upload folder or the same database. A change to the database connection script used to upload MySQL export data to the database is also included in this patch release.

Admin Dashboard

Editors to the dashboard for the Roster Limits and Scoring Rules
A live version check widget to assure the latest mod version
Google Analytics support, which can be enabled and account info set in the Global Settings page
Revised upgrade messaging and workflow

Global

Removed version information from the site footer for security purposes
Added site-wide breadcrumbs
Made minor authentication workflow changes
Added ability for admins or league commissioners to manually edit players roster assignments on the player profile page

Installer

Fixed error checking and improved error messaging and instructions to resolve issues
Added a database test script to confirm database permissions and access
Removed potential database conflicts with StatsLab

So that’s the high-level view. Again, more information is still forthcoming. Watch for the official release announcement and complete change list soon.

Next up, a look forward to patch #4 and some of the BIG things that will be coming up soon for the mod and the effect these will have on the overall direction of this and associated projects (oh yes, I said projects).

Second Patch is in the works

October 3, 2010May 19, 2020
by jfox015

So were are at 0.1 beta release day +3 and a few glaring shortcomings have come up rather quickly. In addition to the missing tables bug found by Corsairs Wednesday which promoted a quick first patch to be released, I also found a couple of other minor cosmetic issues that I addressed.

I also found that as the mod gets updated, there is going to need to be a way for league owners to upgrade without having to replace all the league files and re-run the installer. So for the second patch, I am working on a system to update both the database with any changes needed as well as three of the core CodeIgniter config files that contain custom league data.

The process is pretty easy. I’m just replicating the same steps I take in the installer, just using *_upgrade.php files instead of *_install.php and using the information already in the global config files. Pretty easy as they’re all constants. The one pain is that to get this system installed and running is going to require anyone using 0.1 or 0.1.1 to make a manual change to their constants.php file. No biggie, though. It’s just a couple of lines.

Corsairs had a good suggestion for functionality regarding required database files and pointed out some bugs in the individual table loading page which will also be addressed.

I need to make sure this new upgrade process is going smoothly before patch #2 comes out, but it will likely be by or before Wednesday. So stay tuned.

Have you downloaded the mod and are giving it a try? Drop a note and let me know and give me your thoughts about it thus far.

Oops…One Last Bug

September 29, 2010May 19, 2020
by jfox015

HAPPY BETA RELEASE DAY!

Of course, as I’m doing my final checks and run through I found a big scheduling bug in the league model that has to be fixed before this goes out because it will come back as a bug pretty quickly. So I’m working to fix that ASAP then I will start to bundle the release. Stay Tuned.

0.1 Public Beta to be Released September 27th

September 15, 2010May 19, 2020
by jfox015

The public beta release of OOTP Fantasy Leagues 0.1 is currently going to be Monday, September 27th. The source files to load and install the mod onto user web servers will be posted to this site, the OOTP Public Forums, and sent to PadresFan for inclusion on his mods site as well.

A full administrator guide is currently being completed and will accompany the source code. A user guide is in the works and will be ready for the final 1.0 release (for which no release date is known).

Once the beta goes live, I will also be releasing the source code for the project to the open-source community via GitHub. If anyone has any preferences, please let me know.

I’m very excited and happy to see that almost two years of different types of development work culminate in this release. See you in a week and a half!

0.1 Public Beta Release and Plans for 0.1.1

September 15, 2010May 19, 2020
by jfox015

I am very excited about the upcoming release of the first public beta version of OOTP Fantasy Leagues. What started as a custom two-page addition to Frank Esselink’s StatsLab mod has morphed into its own unique and challenging animal of a project. It’s one of my most ambitious personal development projects I’ve ever attempted, and I’ve tried a few.

What will the public 0.1 beta entail? I will release the code for interested users to download and install on their servers and then pretty much wait for the bugs and feedback to start rolling in. At this point and time, the site is feature complete for what I want in the 0.1 release, so I won’t be adding much, if anything, to the 1.0 final release. Just clean up what is there already if need be. For what I wanted to do and could accomplish time-wise this summer, I am delighted with the feature list thus far.

Working with John Rodriguez (Corsairs in the OOTP Forums) and the rest of the private BEBA and OOTP beta team gave me the chance to test drive the site, and it’s features and get some critical feedback from real users on what they’d need to use the mod daily. What we worked out and added to the 0.1 release adds, in my mind, at least, the most critical and vital scouting and management tools that are necessary for people to start enjoying this with their online leagues.

My ultimate hope and goal here is that the mod adds a new dimension of immersion and just plain fun to the running of the OOTP online league for their commissioners.

I already have a long list of possible additions. One might ask, though, why would you want to try and move this project from hobbyist work to full out development and release all within working and having a third child (which is in itself a full-time job sometimes too). Well, I guess it’s just in my nature to want to express myself. Anything that helps promote and can help to benefit a game that has given me many hours of fun and challenging distraction from life little complexities is well worth the effort to me.

Category: Development

Enhancements

Bug Fixes

How to Update

New Features

Want to contribute?

Put a fork in it – OOTP Fantasy Leagues gets moved to GitHub

Next Steps

To CMS or not too?

Onward and upward

The Third Beta Update

Bug Fixes

Installer Updates

New Features

StatsLab Compatibility Mode

Admin Dashboard

Global

Installer

HAPPY BETA RELEASE DAY!