The answer to almost every site related question lately has been that the site is moving from Flash to HTML5 soon and that all issues and problems reported and discussed should be solved when this happens.
So I got a bit curious, and browsed the forums for this topic. I found out that moving to HTML5 has been RP’s plan since 2012, and was supposed to happen in early 2013.
Here’s a post from 2012 mentioning just that:
And here’s another from April 2013:
The same story continues over the past 6 years with the exact same talks about HTML5. Here’s one more example from July 2016 promising that 2017 will be the year when all will finally happen:
We are in the second half of 2018 now and we are still getting the same response over and over again.
Like many others, I’m very excited about the change and can’t wait for it to happen, but after reading all this, I can’t help but wonder, are we gonna wait another 6 years? I understand there will always be delays for such big projects, and deadlines can rarely be met. But 6 years ago, the first deadline was expected to be February 2013 with a delay margin. This margin turned out to be 5 years and a half so far, and still in the process.
Does anybody know how much longer we’re going to wait? Can we get a proper estimate? It’s honestly the most exciting news for this website, but also probably the longest one to get achieved.
That question has been asked several times over the years and the answer has always been soon…ish maybe…ish. Adobe are pulling support from flash in 2020 so its gotta be before then. The clock is ticking down
Forgive the annoying response, but we’re not quite ready to give an ETA yet! Trust me when I say that I will be very, very excited when I can come over here and give you the projected release date news.
I can say that we have it in our sights. We just hired some new faces on our tech team (which should be on our About Us page soon!) and we’re making a major push right now. We’re dedicated to getting this done and allowing you to play on mobile ASAP.
To everyone else - we know that this site wants to (needs to) switch over the HTML5. We know that it is a major project and that it is taking quite a long time. Many of us would like to be able to play on our mobile devices and all of us are looking forward to a better overall user experience. So, I’m going to be somewhat impolite and state what I think is obvious - it is a matter of available resources. Nothing else would make any sense: the desire is there and the technology is there so what else could it be?
To that end - we all enjoy a site free from advertisement and other annoying ways many companies generate revenues. Now I have no idea how much capital is required to move this thing along but I think many of us can help. There are people who buy chips regularly. There are some who don’t need the chips but give a little $ to the site from time to time as a way of showing appreciation and support. Some buy chips for friends and some (I guess) use the tip jar. If everyone who wants this to get done, or who just appreciates the site in general, would make a purchase for themselves or for a friend, maybe we could generate the resources the site needs to move forwards faster?
I had an internal debate over whether I would say anything about this or not. In the end I thought it worthwhile. I have no direct financial interests in this site and I have not spoken to anyone in management about this before posting here. I have already purchased some chips for friends so I’m not asking anyone to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. It may be corny to say but I think we can make a difference if we put something tangible into it.
Call me old fashioned or whatever, I have nothing against HTML as such, but I’ve yet to see a HTML table that I like, they all seem to be trying to do too much, if that makes sense. I’d love to see a screen shot of what the new table may eventually look like.
I’m very happy with the existing tables but yes, the ability to play on mobiles etc is definitely needed.
1Warlock’s idea of helping Replay out has merit, I’ll think about it.
Thanks @flashlight - just think of what any one of us pays in rake for just 1 session of 1/2 live or the fee for any 1 tournament we play in. Heck, what about just going to see 1 movie or ballgame? I think its fair to say that many of us get more entertainment here every month/year than any 1 of those other things. A few bucks to help them move along can’t be a bad thing and if enough of us do it, we should hopefully reap the results.
I also agree that the visuals of the tables are clean and pleasant. I would hope that general look carries over to the new format.
As an aside, I really didn’t know what HTML5 was until @fizzymint explained it to me. While I doubt I’ll ever play on my mobile device, I understand how important this move is for the site. I imagine the player pool will go up dramatically once the switchover has been made and that helps out everyone here. Imagine having MTT’s with 200+ players instead of 50 or of having SnG’s fill up in a minute rather than a half-hour! This site is so close to breaking out in a big way that its exciting to watch. The possibilities of what they will be able to do once this project is behind them should excite everyone here.
Anyone wishing to play Replay Poker on their Tablet or smart phone can do so using the Puffin Web Browser which has a builtin game pad, but please note that the Puffin Browser will not be available for IOS from the 1st July 2020.
If you have an iPhone or iPad I found an alternative for Puffin. In the app store I found Photon Flash Player for iPhone (rating 3.4) and Photon Flash Player and Anonymous Browser (rating 2.7). I paid for the Photon Flash Player for iPhone and downloaded it to my iPad.
I was able to log into Replay and play a game. It took a little bit of experimentation to see how things work but once I was familiar with it it seemed ok, my only complaint is the screen could be a little bigger. Note, I only played a few hands, not an entire tournament.
