SmallBall up to the moment weblog

2009-03-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

Season change problems today. SmallBall baseball should return shortly.

2009-02-23T12:31:00.000-08:00

Server maintenance: Trying to figure out the TP bug. Will be back shortly!

2009-01-21T21:41:00.000-08:00

We had a little problem with the Loader/updater when we did the Obama splash screen. If you have problems like:

DT doesn't work
Links like My team, news, help do not work

Try to reinstall SmallBall Baseball from here:
http://smallball.com/ball/download/smallball_install.exe

Also it's a good time to update your Java. www.java.com

2008-12-31T01:21:00.000-08:00

There is a hole in the wall of Jurassic Park. If you get a fly ball right there its a home run.

You can see it more clearly without the bitmap.

2008-12-28T07:48:00.000-08:00

We're back!

2008-12-28T06:39:00.000-08:00

Servers need to be rebooted. Be back shortly.

2008-12-20T16:48:00.000-08:00

Dixie Systems seems to be offline so as a result the forums are not available. Hopefully it will be back soon.

2008-12-13T19:57:00.001-08:00

Back!

2006-01-20T10:41:00.000-08:00

No Connection ***

We are investigating this problem now. I will post if the problem will continue past 15 mins or so. Thanks for your patience!

ADD: Still working on it, things should be back to normal soon!!

2006-01-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

Problems?!

I saw the posts on the Forum about problems. AND now I am having problems with the forum!

Just to let you know we are investigating what the heck is going on!

More info available soon!

2006-01-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

Team Page server down

We are working on the problem. The team pages should be back shortly. If it takes more than an hour I will make an update here.

Happy New Year!!!

2005-12-21T13:27:00.000-08:00

Unplanned Server update

We need to make a few minor updates to our server code. We should be back shortly. If there are ANY problems I will post more info here!

Happy Holidays!

Oh, wait, we are already back up and rocking!!! Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year, and what ever you are celebrating!!!!

2005-11-13T12:49:00.000-08:00

Currently There are no major problems.

Remember come here if things appear to be broken. We post info about problems here.

2005-07-02T16:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday America!

Fiery white sparkler
Wave it around in the air
Light trails flash behind.

Have a Safe and fun 4th of July!

2005-06-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

Sever Problem

We should be back shortly. I will post again if more info becomes available.

2005-06-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

Server Problem!

Apparently the Servers are down for Baseball AND Soccer. We suspect the ISP is having problems. We are working on it now. If we are not back up in 30 mins or so, I will post more details.

Thanks for your patience!

2005-05-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

SmallBall Football Server Problem

Looks like we may have a server problem with Football - We're on it now. I will post again when I know more. Hopefully it will not take too long to fix.

2005-03-16T10:18:00.000-08:00

DT in a Window!

We have a working version of the Deluxe Trainer in a window. We are testing it and making a few changes then we will deploy this version. We will let you know when its available.

2005-02-14T10:44:00.000-08:00

Server Problem

There is a tiny problem with the servers. We are looking into it now - Should be back online shortly. If not within an hour I will post again!

Happy Valentines day!

2005-01-11T01:55:00.000-08:00

Fixing Problems

We see all the obvious problems and are busy fixing them. I will post an update later today! We will get all these wrinkles ironed out and get back to SmallBall as usual. Things should start to get back to normal during the course of the day.

2005-01-10T01:02:00.000-08:00

Server maintenance

This season we need to perform some needed server maintenance. This will increase the down time during the season switch. We do not anticipate more than an extra few hours will be needed.

Note: During this time the SmallBall Mall will be closed.

Wish us luck!

2004-12-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

2004-12-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

Server Problem

We see the problem and it is now being fixed. We should be back in business in less than an hour. If there needs to be any change to that estimate I.... Oh wait a second its fixed! :)

Have fun everyone!

2004-11-25T13:31:00.000-08:00

Revert back for DT

We made a tiny update to the DT trying to fix some problems. It appeared ok but then complaints started to appear on the forums. Apparently there was a problem with windows 98 only. We will fix it and try again later.

Happy thanksgiving

2004-10-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

DT Line UP Bug Fixed... Halfway

This bug will mess up your batting lineup. There is a fix installed on the sever side to repair the problem. We need a few more days to fix the DT itself. You will know when its fixed (or when we attempt to fix it) when you see a DT update. Should be in a few days.

Of course this bug is a result of us trying to fix the random DT shut down problem.

2004-10-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

Line up order bug in Deluxe Trainer

If you edit your batting line up with the DT the batting order data gets corrupted. Player names get replicated and as a result violate fundemental baseball rules. To fix a broken line up please try using the Standard Trainer (ST)

The bug has been isolated and a fix will be deployed later tonight. Keep your fingers crossed!

More Later...

Happy Season 100

2004-08-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

Football: Bench adjustment

adjustments have been made to the bench this season. Now your players will not lose skills as much as before. Please try to use the bench to increase your players skills. While on the bench your players will gain Training Potential at double the rate of the other players. Please post feedback on the Football Forum.

2004-08-22T22:44:00.000-07:00

Small Problem!

We're on the case! Problem solved and normal service resumed.

Who are the Top teams in Austrailia?

2004-08-10T16:46:00.000-07:00

ProLeague Games Problem

There is a problem with starting baseball ProLeague games. When you try to initiate a game you may most likely get a "Query Faild" error message. We are fixing the problem now and it should be all better by tomorrow morning.

2004-08-10T00:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Season 95!

There was a small update made to Baseball today. Game results and stats updates will not be made to your team pages until the games finish playing. This is actually a very old bug finally fixed. One side effect is that your team pages will not indicated that your team is playing before the game ends. We will fix this in a day or two I hope.

As always be careful out there and thanks for playing SmallBall!

Only 5 more seasons to season 100!

2004-08-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

Its August 4th, 2000 and 4. The game is running fine. We are working on some new things but we're NOT ready to make any kind of announcements. Thanks for playing SmallBall.

2004-06-15T22:38:00.000-07:00

Team Pages DOA

Yes, there appears to be a problem with the TEAM PAGE server. It will be about 1-2 hours before they come back. If the problem is deeper than I'm guessing then I will post a new time estimate.

Life without the team pages is sad :(

Have you ever stopped by the chat room?

2004-06-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

Problem solved

There is a bug in the Microsoft Virtual machine. It has been located and a work around has been implemented. Now the game will run with MS VM again.

Eventually we will NOT be able to support the Microsoft VM

Try upgrading your Java to Sun 1.4 or greater. Here is a link to help:

Java

More recent Java VMs are more stable with XP! Also you get Alpha blending so the players look much better on the game field!

You can easily switch your java VM by using the Settings tool

2004-06-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

New Season, new problem

For some people the SmallBall loader will immediately close right after opening. We are on the problem now. It should not take too long to fix! I will keep you posted.

2004-06-10T00:12:00.000-07:00

New Message System

The new update is to add a new message system to replace our crude Release Notes. This new message system will provide more information and functionality. Stay tuned!

Please tell another person about SmallBall!

2004-05-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

Balance

We are going to make some adjustments to balance the prolific walks that lower skilled teams are currently enjoying way too much. These adjustments ALWAYS knock a little something slightly out of kilter. This means several tiny adjustments will might need to made throughout next season. This shouldn't be too dramatic but the end result will be a better balanced game.

After these adustments feel free to post your feedback on the forum!

2004-05-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

Tiny problem with the Microsoft VM

There is a problem for those who use the Microsoft Java Virtual Machine. The problem is being corrected now. It should be working in about 10 mins or so.

2004-05-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

Server Maintenance

There will be a short interruption of service starting at 3:00am PST for server maintenance. Thanks for your patience!

2004-05-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Back in Business!

:)

2004-05-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

Will be back soon

We were trying to squeeze in a quick server side update but a un anticipated problem occurred! It should not be too much longer before we're back with the baseball service. If not, look for an update in 20 minutes.

2004-05-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

Football Service Restarted

We are back online with SmallBall Football.

2004-05-07T09:25:00.000-07:00

Football Service outage

We are looking into this problem now. I will be back with an update shortly.

2004-05-03T01:33:00.000-07:00

New Season

The season change is progressing as planned. There are no problems and everything is going smooth. This entry is being made so that not ALL entries will be about problems!

Good luck next season!

Check out Smalls #21

2004-04-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

There was a tiny problem, already fixed!

Already being restarted. I hope it wasn't too irritating! Enjoy your free DT Friday!

2004-04-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

Houston we have a problem: Game Query Failed
There is a problem with serving up game ids and recording the results to the team pages. We are aware of the problem and are working on getting it fixed. This will mean a server reset today! Stay tuned for more info later today!

2004-04-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

Season Change over a bit longer today!

Due to a small bug with the new ProLeague qualification rules we need a little more time to fix it and change the season! If its going to take longer than an hour, I will update this blog again with details!

Congratulations to DAS-TECH for taking the first league!!!

2004-04-11T01:30:00.000-07:00

We are back in business!

Sorry for the inconvenience!

2004-04-10T23:33:00.000-07:00

Server will be down for awhile

We have some security issues that need to be tended to. Its hard to estimate how much time we need but it should NOT be more than a few more hours.

We are working as fast as we can!

2004-04-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

New ProLeauge Qualification Rules in effect!

They are not perfect but its a start: only game with existing ProLeague teams are counted. We will make some changes in future seasons.

See the ProLeague Qualification list

2004-04-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

We're back!

An unexpected, nasty problem has been annihilated! Sorry about the inconvenience!

2004-04-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

10 more minutes and the service will return

2004-04-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

SmallBall is temporally down!

We need to fix something we should be back up in about 20 mins. I will update you with any changes. Thanks for patience!

2004-03-26T08:51:00.000-08:00

Service is back

The SmallBall Baseball service is back online!

2004-03-26T08:39:00.000-08:00

Baseball server down

Baseball should be back shortly! If its going to take more than another 30 mins. I will post here again. Sorry for the inconvenience.

2004-03-22T08:59:00.000-08:00

New ProLeague Qualification rules

...are not fully tested so we will have to wait until next season. :(
It is NEVER EVER as simple as you think!!!

Have a good Season everyone! Good luck!

2004-03-17T10:07:00.000-08:00

Good bye spawners!

Its time. We are going to make a change to the ProLeague qualification rules. Here is how it will work:

To get into the ProLeague teams must be on the qualification list. This list is the top 100 teams sorted by Win/Loss %. The games that will count are ONLY games with teams already in the ProLeagues.

Its worth a try. Stay tuned for more details. We will try to implement this change by next season.

2004-03-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

Quick Game Button

Removed from the main menu, the Quick Game button can now be found in the exhibition and public game windows. This feature will instantly find and play an opponent with a similar *star rating* as your team. You will notice that the button is right next to the Search button. Tomorrow it will be moved down and to the left of the window to get it out of the way of normal play. This feature was intended for the new owner who just wants to see his guys play for the first time... Quickly.

Note the skill like: feature in the game windows will be updated shortly.

Next up for newbies? Team creation wizard!

Stay tuned!

2004-03-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Baseball Season 85 & Football Season 46

New feature: Play Game button. This will initiated an instant game with a well matched opponent - A random team with the same star rating as your team.

2004-03-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

Original SmallBall Sports forums restored!

They should be back later today.

In the near future we will get NEW and IMPROVED forums. We will post more details about that soon.

2004-03-02T20:20:00.000-08:00

Back up!

All should be working normally. Some minor problems which have now been repaired. Sorry for the inconvenience!

2004-03-02T17:29:00.000-08:00

SmallBall Login server out cold!

One of our servers appears to be down. I'll be back with an udate soon. Shouldn't take too long.

2004-02-29T19:37:00.000-08:00

The New SmallBall Forums are coming!

Update: The new forums will take a few more days to set up. We are also waiting and hoping to be able to restore the old forums.

Here is a direct quote from our forum administrator:

ETA: Within days ... But remember good things come to those that wait

:)

2004-02-25T15:51:00.000-08:00

SmallBall Forums

It will be a few days before the NEW and improved forums are online.

I'll keep you posted!

2004-02-24T22:18:00.000-08:00

If you still can't get into the SmallBall forums:

click here!

This link is a direct address to the new forum server.

2004-02-24T15:28:00.000-08:00

Temporary Forums: Can't get in?

If you still can't get to the temporary SmallBall forums, its because it takes time for the domain name, "smallball.org" to propagate through the DNS servers*. Try again a little later and it will work. By tomorrow everyone should be able to get to the forums.

Please use the Temporary Forums until the NEW Official SmallBall forums are prepared.

*DNS
(Domain Name Server) – Used to map names to IP addresses and vice versa. Domain Name Servers maintain central lists of domain name/IP addresses and map the domain names in your Internet requests to other servers on the Internet until the specified web site is found.

2004-02-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

Shred of hope from the Forum Adminstrator

And I quote:

"Word is that they [our forum ISP] have 90%+ of the backups.

We do not have access to them yet, but I expect to by the weekend. (if the 10% missing is not us that is)

If I do get them I will set up the archive forums so you can log in to get all the messages.

That said, please let this be a lesson to everyone to transfer important data like tickets, etc to your e-mail or a notepad from now on."

2004-02-24T10:27:00.000-08:00

Temporary Forums!

Please use the Temporary Forums until the NEW Official SmallBall forums are prepared. Here is a message regarding the SmallBall forums from the forum administrator:

-----------------------------------------
Well as you can see we are back... but as you can aldo see, we are on a new forum with no messages or users..more on that later. As most know by now, it was not our fault as a hard drive went belly up in the server.

There may or may not be a backup available and if there is, we do not know when so this post is meant to explain what will be happening in the meanwhile.

1) This board is a temporary message board..on a brand new server. (2.4G 800mhz HT, 1GB RAM, new DirectAdmin Control Panel) it is a vanilla board with no add-ons (goodies). This board will be in effect for one week ONLY (at max). I am hoping to have the new forum ready at the old address by this weekend. Therefore All messages on this temp forum will be deleted once the real one is ready. Although the crash is tragic, we hope in the long run this move will make the forums super quick.

2) You can register for this board if you wish or post as aguest... however you WILL have to register again once the final version of the new board is ready. Sorry about this, but it is easier for me this way (to not transfer messages, account info, etc)

3) Signatures and avatars are disabled on this board... no need to get fancy here.. this will again only be here for a week.

4) Old message board - I will work to put them up IF we get a backup from our ISP.. this will allow people to log in to their PMs, etc.. I offer no promises here.. it is in the ISPs hands... Should I be successful the board will be read only.. no posting will be possible,,,, it will be for archive purposes only.

5) Please be patient with us here.. this was a blow to everyone involved and it will take alot of work to restore the boards to what you expect. Please do not keep asking on progress, etc.. not to be mean, but I work at nights and have put aside all week to fix this...we will do the best we can as quick as we can.

2004-02-23T21:54:00.000-08:00

Remember the REAL boards?

Advanced owner's board
SmallBall Beginners Forum
Smallball Trading Post
SmallBall Challenger Forum

NEW BOARDS:
SmallBall Baseball
SmallBall Football

Strange but good!

2004-02-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

The Official SmallBall Chat Room!
While the forums are down this would be a good time to sign up to the official SmallBall chat room. Sign up and stay connected with the SmallBall community.

2004-02-23T08:27:00.000-08:00

Season Change over

Welcome to the new season! Unlike the forums, baseball and football are working fine. If you have problems please email dtguy@andnow.net.

Please check out the Training Report in football. Look for the option, Close with Report You will notice two goalie skills, please ignore that - it will be corrected. Please save your comments until the board is back up.

Good luck everyone!

2004-02-23T08:01:00.000-08:00

Forums Hard Crash
Well it's the worse case scenario: The forum's Hard Drive took a nose dive. Now we have to move all of our data to another server and update the DNS. This means we will probably be without our forums (and the HOF) for another day! Talk about withdrawal!

Consider joining Small-Sports forum to stay connected!

2004-02-22T18:22:00.000-08:00

SmallBall Forum Update
Our ISP has answered my inquiry:

We're working on the issue, and we'll update the forums as we have more information. There is no current ETA, but 12-24 hours would be a reasonable guess (on the outside).

FYI

Too bad this has to happen on the last night of the season! :(

Come over to the Official SmallBall Chatroom to commiserate!

2004-02-22T18:01:00.000-08:00

No update from the ISP
The forums are still down. Its been 4 hours the last communication from the ISP. I asked for an eta again so if I learn something more I will post about here. Hopefully the SmallBall Forums will be back soon.

2004-02-22T14:03:00.000-08:00

From our forum ISP

the server has a hardware issue that our techs are working on, we hope to have the server back online soon, however there is no ETA at the moment while our techs work on it.

So we just wait until they fix it.

2004-02-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

Forum is down again!
Don't know why. Easy come, easy go. I am sure it will be back soon.

2004-02-22T12:58:00.000-08:00

Forums are back up!
Easy go, easy come.

2004-02-22T12:47:00.000-08:00

Forums server seems to be down!
Now it appears the server that hosts our forums is down. I opened a "service ticket" with the ISP. Unless its something really bad, the forums should be back soon. I will keep you posted here.

BTW, the Football Training Report will be beta tested next season. Also the reaction zone will train 2x faster than before.

2004-02-22T12:16:00.000-08:00

Web pages back!
The web server has been restarted - all should work normally now.

2004-02-22T12:05:00.000-08:00

Team Page server down
Checking into the problem now. She be back shortly. Stay tuned.

2004-02-18T01:02:00.000-08:00

Using E-checks with PayPal!
If you use an e-check with paypal your tickets will not be sent until it clears unfortunately it doesn't seem that paypal makes this clear. FYI

2004-02-16T00:41:00.000-08:00

Scouting Report Tickets available
The Scouting Report tickets are now available. Finally.

2004-02-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

Server Maintenance
The server needed to be offline for 40 mins this morning. It happened approximately 6:00am this morning. I was sawing wood. The reason for the quickie maintenance was to complete some coding and settings that were started during the last season change but were not completed. While I must keep the details in confidence, this work was necessary to keep SmallBall running smooth. Our doors should remain open for the rest of the season.

2004-02-14T12:51:00.000-08:00

Scouting Report update
We are going to be offering the scouting report tickets within 24 hours. We will offer two flavors: single ticket, 3 uses, one team. SR pack that contains 20 individual tickets (single use), these will be sold at a volume discount intended for League owners to use as prizes or owners with many teams.

2004-02-12T01:17:00.000-08:00

Scouting Report Report
Small problem with the report output. release delayed 1-2 days.

*! **! *****

2004-02-10T18:07:00.000-08:00

All tickets sent!
email smallball @ andnow net if you are still waiting for you tickets!

2004-02-10T13:08:00.000-08:00

The ticket System is now fixed!
It was a mistake and has now been corrected. Tickets are now being delivered instantly again. Over the next two hours orders that have not been delivered will be. Papal has a feature where it keeps trying to initiate the order but it happens every two hours of so. We will keep a close eye it to be sure all orders are delivered.

2004-02-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

Looks like something is wrong with the Ticket system!!
Well, it seems our "FIX" to the thankyou page might have broken the ticket system! It might be the case that some tickets were not sent out this morning. We are on it now, it will be fixed and the tickets will be resent! If you are waiting for tickets please email SmallBall@andnow.net and if you provide the "Transaction ID" we can turn them around faster. I will post when this is fixed!

TTL

2004-02-10T09:08:00.000-08:00

Minor problems with Scouting Report
There will be a short delay getting the Scouting Reports into the SmallBall Mall it may take another 24 hours before they become available.

2004-02-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

Here is a scouting report of my team as of this moment

New York 9 (NY9)
Scouting Report as of 2/9/2004

Team id# 1
Current Team Star Rating: *********
Time from last training: 17:02.35
Star Rating from last training: *********

---- Overall Player Star Ratings ----
Pos Stars Name
2B ********* 1 Winslow
LF **** **** 2 Davis
CF ********* 3 Cartwright
C **** **** 4 Lalor
3B **** **** 5 Johnson
SS **** **** 6 Super Rookie
P *** *** 7 Adams p
RF **** **** 8 Case
1B **** **** 9 SmallBall
- - - - BENCH - - - -
P ******* Ransom p
2B ********* Murphy
CF ********* Trenchard

---- Offensive Star Ratings ----
Pos Stars Name
2B **** **** 1 Winslow
LF **** **** 2 Davis
CF ********* 3 Cartwright
C ********* 4 Lalor
3B **** **** 5 Johnson
SS ********* 6 Super Rookie
P *** *** 7 Adams p
RF ********* 8 Case
1B **** **** 9 SmallBall
- - - - BENCH - - - -
P **** **** Ransom p
2B ********* Murphy
CF ********* Trenchard

---- Defensive Star Ratings ----
Pos Stars Name
2B **** **** 1 Winslow
LF **** **** 2 Davis
CF **** **** 3 Cartwright
C ******* 4 Lalor
3B **** **** 5 Johnson
SS **** **** 6 Super Rookie
P ***** 7 Adams p
RF **** **** 8 Case
1B **** **** 9 SmallBall
- - - - BENCH - - - -
P ******* Ransom p
2B ********* Murphy
CF ********* Trenchard

---- Pitching Star Rating by lineup ----
Pos Stars Name
P ***** ***** Ransom p
P ***** ***** Adams p

* Sorted by Batting Order
* Offensive Star Rating = Average of contact, power and swing skill.
* Defensive Star Rating = Average of throwing, catching, and running.
* Pitching = Average of pitching and throwing.

Used 2 times and 1 remains.

2004-02-09T08:26:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Season 83
Good luck everyone!

2004-02-09T08:17:00.000-08:00

New Season!
The service should be back in just 15 mins.

2004-02-08T15:37:00.000-08:00

The Scouting Report report
The scouting report is ready. Scouting report tickets will enable you to request a comprehensive evaluation of your team at the moment of the request. Look on the SmallBall forums for more information and ways to try it out. Scouting reports will be for sale in the SmallBall Mall as well as given as prizes and random acts of kindness. Note: The tickets will not be available in the SmallBall Mall for a few more days!

SmallBall Mall
SmallBall Forums

2004-02-08T15:23:00.000-08:00

Season Change for February 9th, 2004

We have a few bugs that have been fixed and tested. During the season change the servers are taken down which makes it a good time to deploy updated code. As a result of fixes that need to be integrated the season change over will be longer than usual. It is pointless to estimate how long it will take because the estimate will be 100% inaccurate, but it should only take a few additional hours.

Fixed Bugs:

Zz problem
Some ZZs remained on the ProLeague lists.

Plagued by frogs
Apparently there are still ways some devious owners can play multi games at the same time. This deviant activity is affectionately called frogging.

Other problems
To minor or uninteresting (or embarrassing) to mention!

2004-02-08T15:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the SmallBall info web log

Check here for up to the minute information about SmallBall. Sometimes, though rarely, our forums or service can be interrupted by various floptions and perplexities. In the spirit of real time information to our team owners we bring you this web log. Enjoy!

www.SmallBall.com