New Order Checker Program

[unclemike]

Online Order Entry And Validation (3rd Cycle)

URL: http://fallofromegame.com/alamazeorders/login.php

The following provides important information on how to use the order entry website:

1) Register your username/password preferences by sending an email to support@alamaze.co. Nothing vulgar and both fields are case sensitive. Spaces are allowed after the first character.

2) Enable pop-ups for your browser to use the website (very important!). After you successfully login, the next page is displayed in a new browser session so you will need to allow pop-ups to continue. No cookies are being saved by this program but your browser may save certain form data by default. You can disable or clear this through your browser security settings. No harm either way to your online orders.

3) Before assigning actions for your kingdom, first select the appropriate GAME/KINGDOM from the Home page's dropdown list. This will auto-load your previous turn's kingdom information and populate the site for you to issue your actions. However, this auto-load process will not load your preexisting orders that you may have saved on the server. You will need to press the LOAD ORDERS button to load your preexisting actions that you had previously saved in order to make any adjustments to your turn before its due date.

4) Press the VERIFY ORDERS button to verify your orders (check messages displayed in box).

5) Press the SAVE ORDERS button to save your orders to the game server. Just entering your orders or pressing the Verify Orders button isn't enough, you actually have to press the Save Orders button to record your actions to the server. You may save an unlimited number of times (so save as often if you like) but only the last version will be used for your kingdom's actions. If you happen to change your mind about a particular action for the turn on another day then press the Load Orders button (as described above), make the change, and press the Save Orders button to record the new version to the server.

6) Always try to submit your orders at least 24 hours before its due date. There may be any number of reasons why our web service may be unavailable at the time that you enter your orders so try to commit your actions ahead of the due date. We are not responsible for internet outages or connectivity problems so always try to submit your orders at least a day or so in advance.

7) While assigning your actions for the turn, check the S.O. (Standing Order) box to convert the order to be a standing order. To cancel a preexisting standing order from a previous turn, go to the OTHER menu tab and select the Cancel Standing Order option.

8) Press the EXTRA ORDER button to create a new order on the page. This may be necessary to create extra orders than the standard sole action orders for the turn (e.g., issuing multiple Escape From Prison actions for your emissary).

9) Always complete your current order by assigning values for the appropriate fields that are displayed before moving onto another order. This includes selecting LEAVE EMPTY for the remaining fields of an action in order to fully complete it. When an action is properly completed, the page will be redrawn with your chosen actions listed in numerical order. If this doesn't happen then the page is waiting for you to complete your order before accepting it. The transfer actions under the Military menu-tab are the most complex in that some fields are mutually exclusive with each other (e.g., choose either wizard initials or level) and one with a trailing artifact shortname field that needs a value to complete. So if you're not specifying an artifact for the transfer, enter the number zero and press the Enter key on your keyboard to complete the action (see #12 below).

10) If you change your mind about issuing a particular order then select NO ACTION (top of each dropdown list) to clear the action. The same applies while you're in the midst of filling out an order and you change your mind about a particular field. Always clear the order with No Action then start over.

11) Check the message box area for the running total of your food/gold amounts and other events such as receiving troop reinforcements.

12) For text box fields that require you to manually enter a value (e.g., artifact shortnames, skeleton codes), you'll have to press the Enter key (preferred), click on Verify Orders, or refresh your browser after typing in the value to register it. If no value should be specified (e.g., not including an artifact when transferring figures to another group) then enter the number zero and press the Enter key.

13) For map dropdown lists (e.g., group movements), select STOP for the next column if you have less than 8 movement areas to specify.

14) If you wish to bookmark or make this site a favorite, do so at the above login link that requests your username/password. Do NOT bookmark any subsequent page(s) in an attempt to bypass logging in since the login procedure looks up your current game/kingdom information that is registered under your account. If you try to bypass this step, the next page may not load correctly and you'll eventually have problems entering your orders.

15) For Ready enabled games, goto the Ready menu to see when your next turn is due (approx. time). Press the Ready button to indicate that you are ready for your turn to be processed. Make certain that your actions for the turn are final since the game may be launched fairly quickly after all players have indicated that they are ready. After the game's turn has been processed (either all players are ready or the normally scheduled date has been reached), please logoff and log back in rather than waiting at a particular page on the online order website. Relogging is necessary since our order entry website is not an interactive website and you will need to log back in order to update your kingdom/turn information after a turn has been processed. Eventually this step will not be necessary when the site is upgraded to being an interactive map but for now, you will need to relog to update the kingdom/turn info before your next turn.

16) From the Home page, press the ALL GAMES button to see some miscellaneous info on your pending turns coming up.

17) Please logout (by completely closing the browser) when you are done with your orders. This step is necessary before accessing your next turn's information because the order entry website requires users to login to access game information. So if you leave the browser open after a turn is processed, you may not see the next turn information for your game. If this occurs, logout by closing the browser and relog and you'll be ok.


Browsers

If you can, use the latest version of Chrome for this site since that is what I use for development and it will display everything on the page in their proper size and configuration/color. Different browsers may display the various fields differently from each other with Chrome and Opera displaying the page similar to the original design, Firefox and Safari are second best but truncate some fields, while Internet Explorer has many differences and should not be used.


Updates/Reload Website

Whenever there is a notice that the online order entry website has been updated, please ensure that you have the latest version of the site's files.

For Google Chrome, clear the cache by: (1) click on the 3 dots or bars in the upper right corner of the browser, (2) go to Settings, (3) go to Show Advanced Settings or Advanced (at bottom of page), (4) scroll down to Privacy and Security section and click on Clear browsing data button/section, (5) select Cached images and files. Then press Clear browsing data button at bottom. When done, go to the Alamaze online order entry website and logon. The browser should automatically download the updated files.

As an alternative (not as good though), you may login the order entry website and at the Home page, hold down the Shift key on the keyboard and click on the browser's refresh button. You will need to do this on all menu tabs (Political, Covert, Divine, etc.) and not just the Home page since each menu tab is a separate HTML page. If you are using a mobile or PDA device (which doesn't have a keyboard), you may have to clear the browser's cache manually (as above) before visiting the Alamaze order entry website to force the browser to download the latest files.

[unclemike]

To change your ruler's name/gender, issue the following on turn 1:

Order #990 - Change Ruler Name
Column A: name (4-20 characters, no spaces first two characters, no special characters like a dollar sign)
Column B: "M" for male (king) or "F" for female (queen) [or leave blank for king]
Cost: 0 gold

This action is located under the Political menu as a King Action (only on turn 1, any other turn the site won't display this order). Choose your original ruler when selecting this action. If you issued a king's action earlier in the turn (and used up its slot on the webpage) then press the Extra Order button and select your ruler to issue this directive. Changing your ruler's name does NOT count as a sole action for the ruler.

The Ancient Ones kingdom who has 3 consuls instead of a ruler may not rename a consul's name at this time though in the future, this order will be expanded to include consuls as well.

This action will count towards your turn 1 order limitation. Since this order will be executed at the end of the turn, you need to specify the original ruler's name when issuing orders on turn 1 that require your ruler's abbreviation (e.g., Increase Influence or Enamor Region). You may start using the new name with your turn 2 orders.

Special Case: Keep in mind that if you issue order 11 (Kingdom Customization located on the Other menu under Miscellaneous) or 510 (Hire New Figure-Tavern located on the Kingdom menu under Miscellaneous) on turn 1, either of those orders may randomly create a name that may have the same two initials as your new ruler's name (and prevent this order from executing). So if you wish to change your ruler's name, issue this order on turn 1 and delay issuing order 11 until turn 2 or 3 if you are planning on selecting a new baron/ambassador as an award. Otherwise, you may issue order 11 on turn 1 if you specify other awards that don't have a political name. If issuing order 510 on turn 1, you must specify a unique name for the figure while considering your new ruler's name or the program will randomly create a name for you which may conflict with your ruler's new name.

[unclemike]

Since most orders in the game are sole-actions (consumes the entity's action for the turn), users should typically use the standard listing on the web page for specifying their actions.

When to use the Extra Order button:

Political menu
- Any action for a missing or captured diplomat (e.g., Escape from Prison)

Covert menu
- Escape from Prison (for a captured agent)

Divine menu
- {None} All divine orders are sole-actions and consumes the entity's action for the turn. Even the Summon Avenging Angel spell which may be cast against multiple targets (popcenter and multiple enemy groups) requires multiple priestesses since the spell is a sole-action. The Extra Order button is left on this page for future use.

Military menu
- Nearly all of the actions possible in a group's dropdown list may be issued in consecutive order within in a turn (e.g., attack multiple groups, attack popcenter, train troops, recruit, move group, transfers, ...etc.) so the Extra Order button may be used quite often on this page. Keep in mind that the displayed group's location will be the original value from the start of the turn so if you issue a transfer or move order, the page will continue to display the original starting location.

Magic menu
- Only select Extra Order for a wizard who has been moved into another group from a transfer order. After selecting the wizard, choose the group that you wish the wizard to belong to when casting the spell (select the group where the wizard will be AFTER the transfer).

Kingdom menu
- Select Extra Order if you wish to issue more than 5 standard actions.

Other menu
- Select Extra Order if you wish to issue more than 5 standard actions.

[unclemike]

Also select Extra Order for a newly created figure that may be given an action later in the turn.

So if you create a new agent/fanatic with order 510 (Hire New Figure-Tavern) or 512 (special Halfling order), you may select the new figure from the Extra Order button on the Covert page. The same regarding creating new adepts/wizards with order 511 (Hire New Figure-Barracks) or 512 (special Halfling order) where you may select the new figure from the Extra Order button on the Magic page.

This will allow you to issue a post-create action for the new figure (e.g., recon for agents or raven familiar for wizards). Just keep in mind the execution order and only issue actions that trigger after the figure's creation (e.g., greater than 510 will be valid for the new figure but not before).

Newly created political emissaries or noble maidens won't show up in their respective Extra Order listings since these figures cannot be issued an action after they are created (all of their possible actions occur before 510).

IMPORTANT: There is one aspect however that needs to be taken in consideration if you decide to cancel the creation of a new figure. If you create a new agent/wizard and haven't given them an action yet to perform in the turn then feel free to cancel the 510/511/512 order by selecting No Action. However, if you had given the new agent/wizard an action to perform but changed your mind about creating the figure then you must clear the figure's action BEFORE clearing the 510/511/512 order or that pending action won't be cleared.

So the proper sequence is to first select No Action for the figure's pending action under the Covert/Magic page then clear the 510/511/512 under the Kingdom page. The reason for this is that the website will remove the figure from its session memory when you clear the 510/511/512 so if you don't remove the figure's action beforehand, that action will hang around and won't be removed.

The website operates in this manner (rather than automatically searching the pending action queue and removing such orders itself) to prevent the accidental deletion of valid orders that may have the same name/abbreviation as the one that is being deleted. In other words, if a player created a new agent with the same name as one of their emissaries then notice the error after they clicked on the Verify Orders button, if auto-cleanup was in place, the website may accidently remove the valid emissary order rather than the erroneous agent order since only a figure's abbreviation is specified in a column (which would be the same two initials for both orders).

Since the website only has access to limited information that may be gathered from the format of orders and their syntax, to be on the safe side, it's better if the website didn't attempt to automatically remove an action from the pending queue and instead have the user clear their actions as appropriate.

[unclemike]

New feature was added to the website to allow online access to your kingdom's turns.

Just login and you'll have access to all your turns in case you've ever misplaced them or you're on vacation. To access your kingdom reports, scroll to the bottom of the Home page and select the Kingdom Report button (bottom right corner). You'll have access to every turn of the game along with your initial turn 0 Kingdom Setup file.

If you ever need to reference other game related documents while filling out your turn, you may do so at the Help Guides link (on login page) or 3rd Cycle Documents (bottom of Home page) for the map and various rulebooks of the game.

BTW, the Kingdom Report feature is also available for all 2nd Cycle games though you will only be able to access the Home page to reference your reports (and not rest of the website).

Note: A copy of the kingdom report will also be emailed to the players but these emails may eventually be phased out. More on this later...

[unclemike]

Just a reminder that if you encounter an issue with the online order entry website (or with validating/submitting your orders), clear your browser cache first. This will cause the browser to reload the files and images the next time you visit the website. Every browser is different to clear their cache so search how to do so with your particular browser. For Chrome, you can follow what I posted here (http://www.kingdomsofarcania.net/forum/s...1#pid48271) though Chrome modified their setting options a bit since that post. Clearing Chrome's cache from what is listed on the Basic tab should be enough for our websites.