Null Parameter
10-20-2008, 10:44 PM
XForgery October Update (1 of ?)
It's been a long month without any updates, but now we are bringing some big ones to you. There's a very wide variety, from the old, to the new, and to the improved.
Site Overview (Slowly, but surely)
Our stream of members has both increased and decreased at the same time. For those unaware of the happenings (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/blog.php?b=19), somebody found a weak link in the vBulletin software, and naturally exploited that across numerous sites to register all kinds of Spam Bots. Luckily, when we got hit, we only got members registering, and none of them actually posted any awesome porn links. I've taken care of all of them I can identify, and have upgraded the registration validation to prevent this from happening again.
As far as real members go, we've been lacking in the department of newbies. So, I encourage you to jump in and get your friends to join. Especially with the dawning of Far Cry 2 (and other games), our prospects are growing greater by the day. So, tell everyone you meet about Forgery, and help our community grow.
To those of you who have joined in the past weeks, welcome. We are glad you made it here, and we hope you enjoy yourselves to the fullest.
August Challenge (Brought back from the dead)
We all know how old this one is, just by the title. The Review Team has finally pumped out the results for this challenge. And don't worry, the next one will go way more smoothly.
I've also noted my favorite of the maps from each winner, be sure to check those, or all of them, out.
Without further ado, your August Forgery Challenge Winners:
Overall Score: PsychoBucket (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/member.php?u=42)
With an overwhelming jump on the competition, by submitting a total of 7 maps, PsychoBucket took away the Overall Score position.
Here are his maps submitted for the challenge:
Intersection (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=465) Null's Choice
WAM (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=463)
Air Warzone (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=437)
Slip N Slide (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=435)
Bucket Zone (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=439)
Mario Bros 2D (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=470)
Barrage (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=464)
Judges Ruling: Denominator (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/member.php?u=25)
Denominator definitely didn't submit the most maps for the challenge. In fact, he almost wasn't able to enter because he forgot to post some of his maps to the website. But, his maps tend to bring a very fun atmosphere to the game and we wanted to reward that fact.
Here are his maps submitted for the challenge:
Meat Bricks (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=716)
Beyond Contestation (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=717)
Dark Tidings (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=619)
Fishlowl (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=267) Null's Choice
Site Updates (From smallest to largest, and no, you can't skip to the end)
Where to start...........
There are a lot of cool things being added to the site, some you will notice just by browsing and using the site normally, others you will need a helping hand. So, in the order I so choose, here are the updates............
Quick Reply - PM (<3 Ganye)
I got some (rather lame) complaints about not wanting to use PMs, because you had to click an extra button to Reply. Personally, Boo Hoo, but I made sure that it was no longer an excuse. Now, when you read a PM, there will be a Quick Reply box underneath that will allow you to do anything that a normal Reply would. Problem Solved.
Here's a nice image of it at work:
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Null_Parameter/October%20Update/quickpm.jpg
Custom Game Styles (We are epic. Trufax.)
If you go to the Far Cry 2 Homepage (http://www.xforgery.com/farcry2_index.php), you may notice a little bit of a difference. Ganye and I have been working on this for a little while now, and we really hope you like it. This is all part of our diversification into other games, which will also hopefully allow us to attract more people.
Halo 3 and any other future games will be receiving their own remakes in the near future, give it time, you'll see them pop up, hopefully sooner rather then later.
At this time, the Styles are only set to appear on the homepage and are not coded to support the other pages. But, if we get enough positive feedback on one of the styles, maybe you'll see an incarnation into a full out style for your general use.
If you have any ideas for improvements, or additions to the skin, feel free to contact Ganye (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/member.php?u=15)or I.
Map Thumbnails (Preview what is to come)
The one new feature that we've brought to the site which shows the most promise is the new Map Thumbnails. What are map thumbnails, you might ask? Well, a map thumbnail is an image specified by the creator of a map to be displayed in the map listing, which allows people browsing the maps, to get a quick idea of what is in store on the other side of that map link.
Now, how do these map thumbnails get set by the creator? There are two ways, actually.
1) Now, when you submit a new map, there is a space for the thumbnail URL to be specified.
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Null_Parameter/October%20Update/thumbnail_example2.jpg
2) If you have already submitted a map without a thumbnail, you will find that in most cases, we have already specified one for you. But, if we haven't, or if you just want to pick a different image, you can go into the edit menu, by hitting the Edit button, and then Go Advanced. Here you can change the thumbnail (and the name of your map, for those who weren't aware).
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Null_Parameter/October%20Update/thumbnail_example1.jpg
We're done with how to set the thumbnails, let's take a peek at where Map Thumbnails are visible:
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Null_Parameter/October%20Update/thumbnails_view_forum.jpg
Map Forums
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Null_Parameter/October%20Update/thumbnails_view_search.jpg
Map Search Results
Like I said earlier though, these thumbnails are a very promising feature, because they open up other possibilities like these.......
Homepage New Maps (Fight the boring!)
On the Halo 3 Homepage we used to have a list of the newest maps that had been submitted to Forgery. No More will this be boring! With the combination of the thumbnails and the tag system, we can give users a better feel for what they will be getting when they click on that link. Now, available in that listing is:
Map Name
Creator
Canvas
Map Size
Supported Gametypes
Here is an image of what it in action:
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Null_Parameter/October%20Update/homepage_newmaps.jpg
As you probably noticed, there's a nice Gametypes label, but no gametypes actually listed. Due to the fact that if a map supported all gametypes, the list would be way too long and take up way too much screen space, the list has been compacted. If you hover your mouse over the Gametypes label, the list of gametypes will be displayed, as you can also see in the screenshot.
It's been a long month without any updates, but now we are bringing some big ones to you. There's a very wide variety, from the old, to the new, and to the improved.
Site Overview (Slowly, but surely)
Our stream of members has both increased and decreased at the same time. For those unaware of the happenings (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/blog.php?b=19), somebody found a weak link in the vBulletin software, and naturally exploited that across numerous sites to register all kinds of Spam Bots. Luckily, when we got hit, we only got members registering, and none of them actually posted any awesome porn links. I've taken care of all of them I can identify, and have upgraded the registration validation to prevent this from happening again.
As far as real members go, we've been lacking in the department of newbies. So, I encourage you to jump in and get your friends to join. Especially with the dawning of Far Cry 2 (and other games), our prospects are growing greater by the day. So, tell everyone you meet about Forgery, and help our community grow.
To those of you who have joined in the past weeks, welcome. We are glad you made it here, and we hope you enjoy yourselves to the fullest.
August Challenge (Brought back from the dead)
We all know how old this one is, just by the title. The Review Team has finally pumped out the results for this challenge. And don't worry, the next one will go way more smoothly.
I've also noted my favorite of the maps from each winner, be sure to check those, or all of them, out.
Without further ado, your August Forgery Challenge Winners:
Overall Score: PsychoBucket (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/member.php?u=42)
With an overwhelming jump on the competition, by submitting a total of 7 maps, PsychoBucket took away the Overall Score position.
Here are his maps submitted for the challenge:
Intersection (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=465) Null's Choice
WAM (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=463)
Air Warzone (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=437)
Slip N Slide (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=435)
Bucket Zone (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=439)
Mario Bros 2D (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=470)
Barrage (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=464)
Judges Ruling: Denominator (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/member.php?u=25)
Denominator definitely didn't submit the most maps for the challenge. In fact, he almost wasn't able to enter because he forgot to post some of his maps to the website. But, his maps tend to bring a very fun atmosphere to the game and we wanted to reward that fact.
Here are his maps submitted for the challenge:
Meat Bricks (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=716)
Beyond Contestation (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=717)
Dark Tidings (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=619)
Fishlowl (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/showthread.php?t=267) Null's Choice
Site Updates (From smallest to largest, and no, you can't skip to the end)
Where to start...........
There are a lot of cool things being added to the site, some you will notice just by browsing and using the site normally, others you will need a helping hand. So, in the order I so choose, here are the updates............
Quick Reply - PM (<3 Ganye)
I got some (rather lame) complaints about not wanting to use PMs, because you had to click an extra button to Reply. Personally, Boo Hoo, but I made sure that it was no longer an excuse. Now, when you read a PM, there will be a Quick Reply box underneath that will allow you to do anything that a normal Reply would. Problem Solved.
Here's a nice image of it at work:
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Null_Parameter/October%20Update/quickpm.jpg
Custom Game Styles (We are epic. Trufax.)
If you go to the Far Cry 2 Homepage (http://www.xforgery.com/farcry2_index.php), you may notice a little bit of a difference. Ganye and I have been working on this for a little while now, and we really hope you like it. This is all part of our diversification into other games, which will also hopefully allow us to attract more people.
Halo 3 and any other future games will be receiving their own remakes in the near future, give it time, you'll see them pop up, hopefully sooner rather then later.
At this time, the Styles are only set to appear on the homepage and are not coded to support the other pages. But, if we get enough positive feedback on one of the styles, maybe you'll see an incarnation into a full out style for your general use.
If you have any ideas for improvements, or additions to the skin, feel free to contact Ganye (http://www.xforgery.com/forum/member.php?u=15)or I.
Map Thumbnails (Preview what is to come)
The one new feature that we've brought to the site which shows the most promise is the new Map Thumbnails. What are map thumbnails, you might ask? Well, a map thumbnail is an image specified by the creator of a map to be displayed in the map listing, which allows people browsing the maps, to get a quick idea of what is in store on the other side of that map link.
Now, how do these map thumbnails get set by the creator? There are two ways, actually.
1) Now, when you submit a new map, there is a space for the thumbnail URL to be specified.
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Null_Parameter/October%20Update/thumbnail_example2.jpg
2) If you have already submitted a map without a thumbnail, you will find that in most cases, we have already specified one for you. But, if we haven't, or if you just want to pick a different image, you can go into the edit menu, by hitting the Edit button, and then Go Advanced. Here you can change the thumbnail (and the name of your map, for those who weren't aware).
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Null_Parameter/October%20Update/thumbnail_example1.jpg
We're done with how to set the thumbnails, let's take a peek at where Map Thumbnails are visible:
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Null_Parameter/October%20Update/thumbnails_view_forum.jpg
Map Forums
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Null_Parameter/October%20Update/thumbnails_view_search.jpg
Map Search Results
Like I said earlier though, these thumbnails are a very promising feature, because they open up other possibilities like these.......
Homepage New Maps (Fight the boring!)
On the Halo 3 Homepage we used to have a list of the newest maps that had been submitted to Forgery. No More will this be boring! With the combination of the thumbnails and the tag system, we can give users a better feel for what they will be getting when they click on that link. Now, available in that listing is:
Map Name
Creator
Canvas
Map Size
Supported Gametypes
Here is an image of what it in action:
http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Null_Parameter/October%20Update/homepage_newmaps.jpg
As you probably noticed, there's a nice Gametypes label, but no gametypes actually listed. Due to the fact that if a map supported all gametypes, the list would be way too long and take up way too much screen space, the list has been compacted. If you hover your mouse over the Gametypes label, the list of gametypes will be displayed, as you can also see in the screenshot.