Update to 0.6.3

Out of Character Updates
1

Exploit: Zero Day has been updated to version 0.6.3. This is part of the Alpha Zero phase.

Changes:

  • System and cluster lists are now paged.
  • We fixed the appearance of the account page for narrow screens like phones.
  • Job messages are now ordered by the date at which they became available to you.
  • System solution time now starts at your first ping, not when you load the page, so slow loads don’t penalize you. Existing solution times have not changed.
  • Job messages now display the issuing user’s handle instead of an internal user reference.
  • Systems now show who created them. In some cases, systems will say they were created by entities like sk3tch or Samsara Digital, but this may just be the person or group responsible for providing the hardware or connecting it to the darknet.
  • The algorithm for drawing paths between nodes has been heavily tweaked. This should make complex systems far more readable.
  • Miscellaneous style improvements.

We have one known issue with this release: the user’s avatar is not showing on the system page. For some reason, that page and that page only is sending a CORS preflight instead of doing a simple cross-site request, and our forum server isn’t responding to it correctly. We can probably fix the second part, but it’s a mystery why the first part is happening at all. There may be a hotfix to fix this in the upcoming days.

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For an example of the difference in the path algorithm, look at the old version of this fiendish system by @hamuka:

…and compare it with the new version:

We find the second version far more clean-looking and readable.

4

I think changing the path’s hue based on the components it connects to would make it even more readable. A splitter would make it more purple, while a blocker would make it more red.

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5

Hmm! Good idea, although we would need to use a light touch to avoid systems turning technicolor. I’ll note this suggestion down.

6

That feeling when you come back from a long leave to see that your level was used by the creator of a game to demonstrate an update, and that even he called it “fiendish”. It’s amazing. :smile:

I have to agree, with the paths avoiding the nodes, the result is a lot easier to decipher and solve, and a lot easier to see through when creating levels like this. Nice update, I’ll be sure to put it to good use very soon. :wink:

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