[Site] Conquer Club Mobile App

[GrimReaper.]

First plz use a form an second just add cc to ur homescreen and it becomes it's own "buttton"

[owenshooter]

Make an iPhone App for conquerclub.com
There is an enormous market of gamers with iPhones. This would take CC to the next level.

fill out the form and explain it all.. iphones don't need an app to run CC, as you see the internet as is
on an iphone. i love taking turns on an iphone during a boring lunch or dinner conversation... i've even
been known to fire off a few posts underneath the table cloth, that got me banned while coffee was being served at the end of a meal... so, you need to be more specific and fill out the form, because the iphone
is one of the few devices that CC works just fine without any tweaking... the black jesus has spoken...-0

[Boss_oss_ss]

I think i know what you mean- clickable maps for example would work great on the iphone/ipod touch

[astronautg117]

This would be an awesome thing for someone to do. I hate having to scroll everywhere just to see the map and attack/reinforce my troops. Clickable maps would be awesome. If someone did that I would give them a cookie.

[stormbind]

This post outlines some current problems with using conquerclub.com on mobile devices and suggests delivery improvements.

The device used is a BlackBerry 8707 on a 3G connection with Opera Mini software. However, similar issues would confront users of comparable devices and configuration.

In the first instance, Opera Mini provides a 'mobile view' for fast and ugly rendering. In this mode, the game maps are not displayed though other images are.

Consequently, I have used 'desktop view' and this looks correct on relatively high resolution phones including my old 8707.

However, JavaScript is not fully supported in Opera Mini and the pages load slowly. Consequently, I have been unable to complete my last turn. I ran out of time during my assaults, leaving my position terribly exposed. This will probably cost me the game.

I am sure conquerclub.com founders do not intend to put certain customers at a disadvantage. Consequently, I tentatively suggest that a number of changes be made that would result in the game being mobile friendly.

Fortunately, an Opera Mini emulator is available for desktops and Blackberry.com provide resolutions specifications.

You can then sell the game for mobiles and increase your incomes. Its a good audience because BlackBerry users tend to spend more on subscriptions than most of the general population.

Best wishes

[stormbind]

I am sorry for not providing specific technical solutions. Unfortunately, I do not own a PC and will be unable to assist due to time constraints.

Furthermore, I'm using my phone to write this and it doesn't have built-in script editors (I wish it did)

However, I am certain that a solution can be found!

[blakebowling]

This is a computer game, not a mobile game

Seriously though, I think the best solution would be for someone to make apps for the Blackberry / iPhone / G1, instead of turning the site into just a mobile site.

[stormbind]

I think you have not taken my statement seriously.

This is a website to be viewed a web browser. These phones have web browsers that display websites in the same way that a desktop computer does. Therefore, desktop users would experience no cosmetic change. In other words, desktop users are a non-issue.

The problem is that all web browsers behave slightly differently and this website has not been tested on all current browsers. Consequently, some browsers experience difficulty.

Opera Mini, for example, displays the site correctly. It looks the same as Safari/Firefox/Exploder. However, it does not behave the same.

There are some markup problems with conquerclub.com that force Opera Mini to refresh after each change. For example, if I select a region to assault from, the browser must refresh before I can select a region to assault!! This takes a lot of time and 1 hour is not enough for a big turn.

For example, in my current game, I wiped out one opponent and won a bunch of extra troops. Accepting these troops and deploying them took at least 30 minutes. I was unable to complete my turn simply because the site uses optional markup that is not friendly to Opera Mini.

This does not require a whole new application to be written for BlackBerry phones. It requires a few small edits to the HTML.

[stormbind]

This is a computer game, not a mobile game

This is not a video game, it is a website.

[blakebowling]

This is a computer game, not a mobile game

This is not a video game, it is a website.

Did I use the word video... No, I said computer... which means it is to be played on a COMPUTER.

I think you have not taken my statement seriously.

This is a website to be viewed a web browser. These phones have web browsers that display websites in the same way that a desktop computer does. Therefore, desktop users would experience no cosmetic change. In other words, desktop users are a non-issue.

The problem is that all web browsers behave slightly differently and this website has not been tested on all current browsers. Consequently, some browsers experience difficulty.

Opera Mini, for example, displays the site correctly. It looks the same as Safari/Firefox/Exploder. However, it does not behave the same.

There are some markup problems with conquerclub.com that force Opera Mini to refresh after each change. For example, if I select a region to assault from, the browser must refresh before I can select a region to assault!! This takes a lot of time and 1 hour is not enough for a big turn.

For example, in my current game, I wiped out one opponent and won a bunch of extra troops. Accepting these troops and deploying them took at least 30 minutes. I was unable to complete my turn simply because the site uses optional markup that is not friendly to Opera Mini.

This does not require a whole new application to be written for BlackBerry phones. It requires a few small edits to the HTML.

Taken directly from the homepage

This website will not work on some outdated web browsers. For best results use Firefox.

The reason the site uses javascript and AJAX is to only refresh part of the page while taking a turn, therefore making it faster for most browsers. My suggestion is to either buy a computer... or start playing Mobile games

[stormbind]

Well, a BlackBerry is a computer so I have bought a computer. Furthermore, there is presumably a reason why I haven't bought something bigger? Big computers are like anchors that encourage extensive growth around the waistline. I'm scared of experiencing that particular side effect

As of yet, FireFox has not been ported to BlackBerry computers. There are at least four other browsers available for BlackBerry. These are:

• Opera Mini*
• Opera Mobile
• Research in Motion**
• Bolt

I did not ask that conquerclub.com stick their heads in holes and refrain from ever updating their site! In contrast, I asked that the site be dynamic and forward-thinking. I suggested supporting another browser, particularly where FireFox is not available.

The problem is not that AJAX speeds up most browsers. In contrast, the problem is that Opera Mini "fast browsing mode" cannot display the game because of errors in the HTML markup. Opera Mini can work around the HTML errors by using a "slow rendering mode" that takes too long..

I am asking that conquerclub.com fix the HTML errors so that the map displays in Opera Mini set to "mobile view/fast and ugly".

* the most common on mobile computers
** requires subscriber fee

[chipv]

This is a perfectly reasonable request but the execution is rather more complicated because the site is currently XHTML Strict 1.0 compliant.
A website would need to comply with XHTML Basic 1.1 (more or less a subset of XHTML 1.1) to be mobile-friendly.
Upgrading the whole site or even just the games pages is not easy, there is quite a lot of work.
Alternatively you could argue for a separate mobile-friendly site/part of the site, but the maintenance work on this would, I think, make it unlikely right now.

I can see the validation errors in the mobile web page validator preventing Opera Mini from executing its mobile view, and although they don't look difficult to fix, it would be a non-trivial task to keep the site mobile-friendly.

[stormbind]

Hi chipv,

Thank you for your reply.

I would like to be optimistic because XHTML standards have changed very slowly in recent years. Perhaps management would consider trying mobile compatibility as a beta trial?

[owenshooter]

works fine on an iphone... and do i need to link the multiple threads on this very topic to help the OP? or perhaps he can do a search and find them himself... they are out there, they exist, search is your friend... some of them are actually very informative!-0

[lancehoch]

works fine on an iphone... and do i need to link the multiple threads on this very topic to help the OP? or perhaps he can do a search and find them himself... they are out there, they exist, search is your friend... some of them are actually very informative!-0

I agree that it works well on the iphone, but the iphone/itouch use a different system than BlackBerrys. I have used both and the BlackBerry interface looks the way the site looked when there was a lot of server trouble.

My suggestion to the OP would actually be to try and find a way to load Firefox or Safari onto your BlackBerry (and let me know if you can/do). I think that would be the easier fix (if possible), rather than recoding the entire site. I do understand your point about mobile compatibility, but I think that since right now there is not a large portion of the CC population that uses BlackBerrys to play, lack is more interested in making updates that will affect a greater portion of the CC populous.

[stormbind]

I'm not sure what the post about iPhone is trying to say *shrug*

Well, BlackBerry is Java-based so it's going to be difficult to get FireFox and there is no chance of getting Safari. Besides, I'm using Safari on a public computer and it is showing HTML errors too (in previewing maps).

Supporting XHTML Basic 1.1 does not require 'recoding' the entire site. I think some replies are exaggerating the scale of the fixes.

For anyone who discovers this thread using search: BlackBerry phones with lots of memory can run the Bolt browser with XHTML and AJAX enabled! However, like most phones, my own BlackBerry is constrained to Opera Mini

[chipv]

Run the games page on the w3c mobile web page checker to see whether or not this task is trivial, both to fix , and then to maintain.

[stormbind]

Regarding maintenance. You may serve a different CSS file for each browser, thereby removing the need to deal with awkward quirks. To do this, simply replace static CSS file with a dynamic include that checks the user agent string. Dynamic pages are quicker than server redirects.

...the site is currently XHTML Strict 1.0 compliant.

According to the W3C Mobile Checker, errors in the forums are caused by your use of obsolete inline attributes rather than CSS. Furthermore, according to the W3C Mobile Checker, your chosen doctype is "transitional" rather than "strict". It would be ideal to change this for XHTML Strict compliance. I realise this is a little time consuming, but it would make your long term maintenance for desktop browsers a simpler affair (unless you're aiming to be a FireFox-only site?)

The W3C Mobile Checker gives other warnings such as useless white space. There is a boolean value in Apache to correct this. In other words, you can set your web server to remove white space and reduce bandwidth. Personally, I would prefer to parse the static files and do the removal of space only once - rather than each time a page is served. The effects are not visible in rendering or in compatibility, however, removing the spaces would make the site faster; reduce your company bills; and reduce the wear and tear on your hard drives.

The same checker then identifies the use of inline attributes instead of separate CSS files. As I said before, switching to stand-alone CSS files will reduce maintenance time. It may help to bring your site nearer to XHTML 1.1 Strict and XHTML 1.1 Basic. Furthermore, the use of stand alone CSS files can significantly reduce server bandwidth and reduce running costs.

Use of JavaScript is a non-issue as it's already well done. For example, it's used to enhance existing features rather than replace them. In other words, the site works without it. The only improvement I can suggest is to make sure it's not inline code. External JavaScript files share many of the same benefits as external CSS files. You can also replace the flat code with a selective page in the same way that I advocated in my opening line. This way you might serve a different JavaScript file to MSIE and FireFox respectively, without the need for awkward client-side browser checking and the downloading of redundant code intended for a different browser.

User input, in contrast, is a major concern because unsupported inputs can work with the downside that they force mobile browsers to reload the page when a value is changed. This wastes time and money. Fortunately, the checker suggests this can be corrected quite eailly. It would not make a difference to desktop browsers and cannot be opposed on grounds of aesthetics.

I'm not sure where you have used floating layers as I haven't looked at your code, however, this is probably the sticking point! In the worst case scenario, it might require a re-engineering to the way maps are displayed. However, the problem also represents a fun "strategic" puzzle and (judging by the site content) that is precisely the kind of thing that Conquer Club would enjoy doing!

So in part, I might agree with chipv when it comes to displaying maps - I am not sure because I'm too lazy to look at the existing code in detail. However, I tentatively suggest that chipv's concern over maintenance is largely muted by the site's inevitable need for maintenance changes resulting from a few poor design decisions - these may have been inherited from phpBB rather than home-grown!

[chipv]

Very nice post, stormbind. I agree with pretty much all of it, and none of these are major problems.

I think a bigger problem may be the use of pixels.

The main sticking point concerns the games pages. The maps are specified in pixel sizes too large to be mobile friendly.
The armies come from a generated .png overlay. For this overlay to match it must know the precise size of the map.

There are 2 map settings , large and small, for which there are 2 sets of coordinates. This is all fixed
so you can't offer dynamic resizing of the map because the armies won't be placed correctly. So ems for example can't be used.

By the way, you are right, I look at the pages today and they are transitional. I could have sworn they were strict when I posted last but never mind.

[SonnyBono]

I'd be happy to take a shot at an iPhone app. Is there an API/Documentation?

[supergeek24]

that would rock i check out alot of cc stuff on my iphone

[karelpietertje]

the iphone
is one of the few devices that CC works just fine without any tweaking... the black jesus has spoken...-0

hey black jesus,
I think CC works mediocre with iPhones, but I can't deny that it works.
however, CC could be optimalized in a way that all smartphone-like devices can work better on it.
there are a lot of parts on every page on www.conquerclub.com that I don't really need to see.

(i.e. if I want to Give Premium or Buy Merchandise I can do so from my computer, I don't need those links when I check my turns on an iPhone (or in my case an ipod touch))

[sgtKronos]

I agree with karelpietertje;

I have an Android Powered phone and all that is needed is a special formated pages for smartphones to just show the needed info for the game, just to clean it up a bit. It would be cool if there was a widget made that notified you when it was your turn and how much time you have left to take your turn, then you click on the widget and it just opens the webpage for you.

As for the web page you would just need a log in page, a list of current games and then the game board. The only reason why I would say one might want a seperet program is if you had your actions at the bottom of the screen no matter where you zoom or pan on the map. I'm sure one could find a way to do this through a web browser, but I'm not sure.

[rchammer90]

It's not very fun taking a turn on the iPhone's safari. When you pick an amount to deploy/advance, it zooms in really close so you have to keep zooming in and out to see the map. A simple app could make it so that the player sees the map and can pick amounts of troops without zooming in

[GrimReaper.]

i think instead of an app, there needs to be a mobile version of cc