Date Posted: 11th Mar 2007 at 1:04 PM

Hey All,

Last Friday I upgraded the primary database server that MTS2 uses from mySQL 4.0 to mySQL 5. I had to fix a whole bunch of queries, but that was ok - I was expecting that. In the process, I found some really good mysql reporting scripts that have enabled me to determine which queries take the most time, and can be optimised to speed the site up.

See, this is what sets me apart from the vast majority of people on this site - I don't get enjoyment from creating Sims 2 items becuase I don't create. I don't play the game so I don't download. Instead, I get enjoyment and think it's fun to delve deep into mySQL index optimisation, FULLTEXT queries and all the funky stuff that a DBA would do.

I get pleasure from making the site speed up, from fixing small bugs and overall just making it all work with a limited budget, limited servers and limited coding team (ie me).

Yes, I know, I'm weird.

Date Posted: 10th Dec 2006 at 3:44 PM

Hi All,

Todays changes to the site include:

• Addition of /creator/ shortcut, to go directly to a creators profile by name
• Addition of /member/ shortcut, which acts like the above
• Change to the download pages, whereby the Featured items now get shown in pages other than the download root, so you can, for example, go into the Sims section and see only the featured Sims.
• Changed some of the links to the members profiles on the download screen to use the new shortcuts above

Date Posted: 6th Dec 2006 at 3:37 PM

Hi All,

Here is the changelog for today:

• Added a new IP address to the thumbnail server, and switched port 443 to port 80 on this new IP - should fix problems with people getting broken thumbnails
• Added thumbs2.modthesims2.com to point to new IP address
• Changed all scripts and templates to remove references to port 443 and instead use thumbs2
• Removed old vBulletin scripts from the thumbnail server
• Added ability to show Avatars in Thanks type posts
• Added note underneath download quick reply indicating which reply button to use for what kind of post
• Re-activated the detection of if you have already thanked a thread - this displays as "You have already thanked this thread" in place of the usual thanks button
• Tidied up extraneous HTML for showthread
• Fixed bug with meshlinks not working properly if they have p= in the url
• Changed upload form so that when moderated uploads are submitted, it takes you back to the user control panel, whereby you can easily see the status of any uploaded threads
• Fixed bug with attempting to view scorecard when user has no downloads
• Fixed bug with Sims2Pack's that have filenames containing ampersands breaking the XML parser and giving an error on upload
• Staff only: Added "Remove from featured within thread view" option
• Staff only: Removed "Remove from featured" within the download main screen
• Added ability to search Journals
• Changed the background of the collapsable tutorial sections within the Help and Create pages to white. (This has been done a while, now but figured I'd add it here for completeness)

I also did some minor cleanup of the templates and activated a hidden feature of MTS2 which may or may not see the public light.

Date Posted: 10th Nov 2006 at 8:26 PM

Hi All,

Okay I keep forgetting to update this (like most of my blogs), but here is a couple of changes:

• Added automatic custom content viewer that looks inside zips/rar, extracts the Sims2Pack files, then looks into those to grab the custom content. This code has been in use in the moderation queue (hence how we can tell you've included all custom content without having to download anything) but I'm moving it to the public side becuase of other changes soon to come.
• Slightly changed the wording of the help link on the download page so hopefully more people will click on it.

Everything else is all backend stuff and you don't need to know about that :P

Date Posted: 30th Oct 2006 at 9:14 PM

MTS2 has had 799,000 members registered at one point or other.
We've purged a little over 203,000 members for inactivity.
The highest members online was 3,476, set yesterday.

Date Posted: 26th Oct 2006 at 12:17 AM

Okay, changes today:

• Created this journal
• Revamped Game Mods section as per Site News announcement, and deleted the 2 Archive sub-forums
• Fixed up the Creator Scorecard showing black/unreadable lines in some styles
• Added an Edit button on the Creator Scorecard that takes you directly to edit the firstpost of a thread
• Added field to the user database table for some upcoming changes
• Added field to the thread database table for some other changes
• Fixed up some formatting on the Game Help page (not released live yet)
• Did some revamping of the staff forums
• Fixed up some code on the reset password page, and added some more explanatory text

More tommorow or when I next do work on the site

Date Posted: 25th Oct 2006 at 11:59 PM

Hi All,

Okay so I've decided to try and keep a journal for all the public changes I do on MTS2, both so I can track things, and also so you all can see the things that change here - I'm doing it as a journal so as not to clutter up the news with stuff most people wont be interested in anyway

Delphy.