User talk:Auldrick/Seed picker

Existence
Is there actually a seed picker, or is it just a list of seeds that you have found? The BlobsPaper.png 03:34, 7 June 2017 (UTC)
 * It's an actual GUI panel, opened by a button next to the Seed text box in the Create New World panel. The images are straight from the game files. I've been trying to think up more to add to the page without having to actually create a world from each seed and exploring it to add descriptions to the table.
 * One thing I've been wondering is whether it's a PE feature or exclusive to Windows 10 Edition. I don't have a smart phone so this question always plagues me when I notice things that have never been documented before. – Auldrick (talk &middot; contribs) 03:44, 7 June 2017 (UTC)
 * It does exist in other versions of Pocket Edition. I would consider moving this page to the main space. However, this is not usually done with user pages (except projects), so other users would need to discuss this. The BlobsPaper.png 23:25, 8 June 2017 (UTC)
 * I always use my user space as a scratch pad to work on new pages until I think they're ready for publication. Then I create the mainspace page, copy the content to it, edit any internal wikilinks as needed, and mark my user page for deletion. I thought everybody created new pages this way. It avoids littering the wiki with ugly stubs and low-quality content under development, such as the broken image links currently on the page we're talking about since I haven't uploaded the new images yet.
 * When I'm ready to publish, I don't move the page because that would preserve the edit history from my development process, which isn't useful to the wiki. (It must be preserved for a page built collaboratively, which is why project pages are moved.) But even if I did move the page, I don't see why discussion would be required. Regardless where the text came from, it's just creating a new mainspace page, which anybody can do without permission or consensus. That's the main philosophy of a wiki, after all. – Auldrick (talk &middot; contribs) 02:07, 9 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Actually, we generally move pages rather than copy and pasting them, even when it started as a user page. The BlobsPaper.png 02:12, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Internet required
Are the seeds stored on the device, or are they downloaded when you open the seed picker? The BlobsPaper.png 00:57, 9 July 2017 (UTC)


 * I can only answer for Win10. The seed data is stored in \Users\ \AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\TempState\minecraftpe\ContentCache\WorldSeeds. (Since it's a UWP app, I imagine there's an equivalent location for each device but the actual folder path will differ.) I studied the folder and although I can't be sure, from the file contents and the pattern of file dates I think this is what happens: The folder has a metadata JSON file that contains dates and download URLs for each seed and thumbnail. Something triggers the game to refresh the metadata file, then go through it to detect any other missing or outdated files. After these are refreshed, the Seed Picker can get its data from the cache.


 * The most recent metadata file is dated June 23, the day 1.1.2 was released, so it's probably triggered when you update the game, but it doesn't happen for every release (nothing was refreshed for 1.1.3). I'd guess there's a "Refresh Seed Picker" flag or a "Latest Seed Metadata" date in each release. The trigger is probably further conditioned on the user opening the Seed Picker; this would help spread out the load on the download server over time, so tens of millions of users don't all hit it within a few hours of the release, after which there are no more hits until the next one. (At least that's what I'd do if I were Microsoft.) So an internet connection isn't required to see the seed library, only to refresh it and at most once per game update. If you frequently play offline and want the latest seeds, simply look at the Seed Picker to trigger a refresh immediately after installing an update. Hope this answers your question. – Auldrick (talk &middot; contribs) 03:10, 9 July 2017 (UTC)