Infra's SurfTimer - Update Notes

[Infra 714 / 12,401]

This is a simple thread where I will be posting notable change logs for my fork of the SurfTimer plugin, which is currently being run on all of the GFL CS:GO Surf servers. Until now, we've primarily been sharing update notes in our Discord server, with major updates being an exception (often getting their own thread as they are much more detailed than the regular updates we push). The only other place that has received a steady stream of update notes is my private development Discord, and so I figured this thread would be a good way to consolidate any future update releases!

 

This is just for update notes relevant to my fork of SurfTimer, and nothing else. If you would like to stay tuned to the latest updates for everything Surf, such as map releases and miscellaneous fixes, please join our Discord: https://discord.gg/gfl

 

If you would like to check out my other plugins and info about them, check out my GitHub: https://github.com/1zc. Additionally, here are some quick links to some past milestones with the project:

• The v1.1 Milestone (The SaveLoc Update): https://gflclan.com/topic/74918-server-update-the-saveloc-update/
• The v2.0 Update: https://gflclan.com/topic/78258-surf-the-v20-update/
• The 1-Year Anniversary Update: https://gflclan.com/topic/80136-surf-the-1-year-anniversary-update-v22/

 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is this plugin public? Can I use it for my own server?
   • This specific fork of SurfTimer is a personal project of mine and is not currently public. This is simply because it is beyond complicated to set up due to it being designed and revamped to address very specific performance needs on GFL, such as requiring an intermediary Rest API server and a few other quirky infrastructure needs. Instead, I recommend checking out the public SurfTimer project, as it is maintained by a team of awesome people and is well supported by Surf's equally awesome community of server owners and developers: https://github.com/SurfTimer/SurfTimer
2. Where can I make suggestions for features and/or report bugs I've spotted?
   • Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/gfl
3. Is there a list of commands that the plugin currently offers?
   • Yes! Courtesy of @ItzTropicalx, this thread includes just about every command on our Surf servers:
4. How do I join the testing team?
   • At the moment, the testing team is invite only. As we grow, I hope to expand on this to better the quality and extent of our testing! For now, I usually just invite people from the community that I trust to keep a few secrets and have helped out a lot in the past with issues and projects. If you help out a lot with reporting bugs and providing feedback on our servers, I'll likely shoot you a message asking you to join the team!

 

If you have further queries about the project, feel absolutely free to message me on Discord, Infra#0001, as I'm always happy to talk about the things we've worked on and what our plans are for the future. 😄

 

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We'll start this thread with the v2.2.2 update notes!

Update Release - v2.2.2    - Plugin Build ID: 4014.

• Added the /reset command, an alias for the /restart command.
• Players can now set what rank you compare your checkpoints to! This can be configured to preset values using the "Toggle CPR Mode" option in /options > Miscellaneous Options, or by setting exact ranks using the /compare # command!
  • This works for all styles.
  • A shortcut to this feature will also appear when using /cpr.
• Advanced HUD splits will now show 3 decimal places when comparing to PB, WR and custom CPs.
• New replays will now save pre-strafes!
• Fix a bug with the /newmaps command sorting the list of maps incorrectly.
• Fix a bug that allowed invalid group numbers to be used in the /mrank commands, causing odd results to be printed.
• Fix more inconsistent chat colours, should be much less triggering now.
• Fix a bug with replays getting stuck saying that they are in use after /fixbots is used.
• Fix an issue with the timer's VIP flag checking system causing certain members (hi FrenZy) to not be able to use VIP features.
• Various minor bug fixes and performance optimisations derived from the "Competition Edition" variant of this plugin, featured in the GFL Surf Tournament 2022.

 

Here is a preview of the new custom checkpoint comparisons feature, courtesy of @Dini:

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Infra 714 / 12,401]

Update Release - v2.2.3    - Plugin Build ID: 4040.

• The classic center HUD has been revamped and now refreshes at a much higher rate! It should now run closer to 30 FPS rather than the rather slow ~10 FPS it usually updates at.
• A few minor optimisations to the way the plugin interacts with the API when times are saved which should result in times saving quicker on the more populated servers. This is a very light change but prepares for much more optimisation in future updates.
• Slightly lowered the percentage of players that can be in groups 1, 2 and 3 on all maps, making them slightly harder to achieve.
• Nerfed point reward scaling on Tier 1 and 2 maps that have high completion counts.

 

While this update's notes are rather short, this introduces some very large changes to the way tier 1 and 2 maps scale upwards in point rewards based on number of completions. It is no secret that you gain a ton of points for completing beginner maps with 20,000+ completions, often to an unfair extent. This update takes two simple yet incredibly effective steps to bringing balance to the system:

1. Groups 1, 2 and 3 are now slightly harder to achieve across the board on all maps.
   • Now, you will need to be Top 1% of all completions to attain Group 1, Top 5% of all completions to attain Group 2, and Top 10% of all completions to attain Group 3. These are reduced percentages from the previous numbers of Top 3.125% (G1), Top 6.125% (G2), and Top 12.5% (G3).
2. Point reward scaling for Tier 1 and 2 maps has been reduced.
   • The system now requires more than double the number of completions before the points start to scale upwards. Additionally, the amount of points earned at every level on these maps has been brought down to approximately half of its current values when being scaled up due to number of completions.

Here is a graph of the previous point rewards distribution, with tier 1 and 2 maps having 10,000+ completions, compared to the new system:

 

While these small steps aren't a long-term solution, they have a significant effect on our inflated points system. You may ask, "inFRA!!!!! THERE WAS NO INFLATION!!!! YOU STUPID BITCH WHY DID YOU TAKE AWAY MY POINTS FOR NO REASON?!!?!?!?!?!?" - and while that's a great question (not really), the graph above really showcases just how bad this inflation was, as highlighted below:

Spoiler

 

 

AS A RESULT OF THE ABOVE CHANGES, THE TOP 2500 PLAYERS HAVE HAD THEIR RANKS FORCE RECALCULATED. THESE RECALCULATIONS MAY TAKE A FEW HOURS TO FULLY KICK INTO EFFECT. I am very sorry if you dropped in rank, take this as a sign to start grinding out those higher tier maps! If you ranked up, congrats, you're now closer to where you belong up the ranks - time to go even further!

[Infra 714 / 12,401]

Totally didn't forget to post 3.0's update logs here, I promise.

Update Release - v3.0    - Plugin Build ID: 3000+

Announcement post:

 

Major Changes:

• Replays of your personal best map runs are now saved if your run is either faster than the average map time or if the map has less than 100 completes! Use /avg to check what the average map time is.
• VIPs can now watch their saved personal best map runs! Use /replays in game and select Map Personal Best Replays to watch any available PB replays you have on the current map. Works for all styles!
• VIPs that manually initiate replays using /replay will now have access to the Replay Controller, which allows them to pause, skip and rewind a customisable number of ticks/seconds in the replay!
• WRCP replays are now synced throughout all servers.

 

Other Changes:

• The /tier command now displays the number of checkpoints if the map is linear.
• The stage time/WRCP saving process has been revamped to use a new backend system, which should resolve current issues with bugged stage times. Furthermore, they should now save much faster than before.
• The process that deals with saving map PBs has been revamped to use a new backend system on the SurfAPI, which should make map PBs save significantly faster than before, especially on full servers.
• Player connect messages will now include their rank placement.
• Player connect messages will now only print in chat after the player's settings have fully loaded.
• Fix a bug with pre-strafe messages sometimes being spammed randomly when the server was full.
• The center HUD when spectating has been revamped.

 

Private Servers:

• Private server clients can now opt-in for demo recordings on their servers! This will allow you to record demos of your runs or replays on your server. Simply make a Private Server ticket in our Discord to inquire further on this feature.