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Author Topic: Toying around with organization  (Read 41646 times)

Putnam

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #15 on: June 13, 2013, 07:27:22 pm »

Actually, does the game not check for files in folders? I'm kind of curious to see what would happen if you put all the raws into their own folders.

scamtank

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #16 on: June 13, 2013, 07:33:15 pm »

No, it does not. I just checked. The "text" folder is an anomaly, those files don't even follow the [OBJECT:xyz] header form.

Besides, I think the problem is rather with how the data itself is arranged. Old disused tags, entire files for single vermin creatures, one huge file for everything prior to a certain point, confusing file names, the whole lot. I was tempted to straighten everything out for myself, but it'd be more of a hassle to integrate other mods if everyone else still adhered to the old standard.
« Last Edit: June 13, 2013, 07:39:15 pm by scamtank »
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Meph

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #17 on: June 14, 2013, 05:42:42 am »

I think rewriting all the raws, just to make them more orderly, is not quite that important. It might be nice for modders, but then again, modders can do it themselves, sort them into a file-system that they personally desire most. I know for example that deon has done this. I dont think it is very important for the unmodded game, since redoing all the raws is only a source of possible bugs, but gives no more accessability or features for the modders.

The child boards I do like. Mod Releases is great, Utilities would be great, Graphic Sets, and of course I will not complain about the MasterworkDF childboard.

I dont want to step on anyones toes, but seeing how putnams/deons child boards all have one post about each mod in them, I could see them merged with Mod Releases. Granted, they are very new and people did not have much chance to post, so I could be wrong about it. If there is a lot of discussion I can understand a seperate board, but if they are just mod-release posts, people looking for general mods in the mod release section would overlook them. Seriously guys, no disrespect meant.

A pinned first thread in each section, similar to Profits current list, would be very helpful as well. Akin to an index for each child board.
« Last Edit: June 14, 2013, 05:54:41 am by Meph »
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Hugo_The_Dwarf

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #18 on: June 14, 2013, 09:21:18 am »

I'd say Deon and Putnam should have their own boards due to the amount of mods they have and manage, I would have requested my own child board, but I only got one major mod, the rest of my minor mods are so minor they aren't even worth mentioning.

Even tho Masterwork is just one mod it's great to have it's own board as I remember alot of people making posts about "How can I do/use/make xxxx in Masterwork" not to mention the two sub mods? or is it just Orc Fortress? Not to mention the amount of discussion and reporting threads you have :P

@Toady
Also another thing I noticed, in the child boards I managed to remove a poll from my thread, which has been a first for years (to me at least) not complaining, just don't know why it wasn't possible until my thread was moved.
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MagmaMcFry

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #19 on: June 14, 2013, 10:42:20 am »

I'd say Deon and Putnam should have their own boards due to the amount of mods they have and manage, I would have requested my own child board, but I only got one major mod, the rest of my minor mods are so minor they aren't even worth mentioning.
I don't see why they need own boards for their mods, because they won't need more than one thread per mod, and those aren't enough to clutter up the "Mod Releases" board.
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Bihlbo

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #20 on: June 14, 2013, 01:40:10 pm »

I don't see why they need own boards for their mods, because they won't need more than one thread per mod, and those aren't enough to clutter up the "Mod Releases" board.
Yeah, each mod released needs only one post. But as Hugo pointed out, other people wanting to discuss a major mod that generates lots of issues are going to need to make posts too. Also, if I were playing DF but only ever using Masterwork (or something), I would find it very handy indeed to have the option to follow a board that never includes posts concerning stock DF. Less clutter for me to have to weed through to get to the stuff that pertains to the game I'm playing.
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scamtank

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #21 on: June 14, 2013, 02:00:53 pm »

Yeah, nothing except Masterwork has produced its own gravity field like this. It's an exception.
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Putnam

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #22 on: June 14, 2013, 03:24:54 pm »

Yeah, I actually kinda did mean that I think a mod releases forum would work well as opposed to my own, but I'm not complaining too much about both existing :P

hermes

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #23 on: June 19, 2013, 09:36:41 am »

These changes are most welcome!  I think there have been anything from a dozen to two dozen threads that have been constantly being bumped to the top for extended periods of time (i.e. years), so I like the new child boards because they clear out the quasi-stickied threads and make way for new and fresh smaller mods.  I agree that utilities should have their own board too.
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I've been working on this type of thing...

narhiril

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #24 on: June 19, 2013, 04:26:08 pm »

I'd say Deon and Putnam should have their own boards due to the amount of mods they have and manage, I would have requested my own child board, but I only got one major mod, the rest of my minor mods are so minor they aren't even worth mentioning.

Even tho Masterwork is just one mod it's great to have it's own board as I remember alot of people making posts about "How can I do/use/make xxxx in Masterwork" not to mention the two sub mods? or is it just Orc Fortress? Not to mention the amount of discussion and reporting threads you have :P

@Toady
Also another thing I noticed, in the child boards I managed to remove a poll from my thread, which has been a first for years (to me at least) not complaining, just don't know why it wasn't possible until my thread was moved.

If I had less class, I'd say that I felt overlooked and under-acknowledged.

...  Eh, who am I kidding, I feel overlooked and under-acknowledged.  Whatever.  I just feel like giving every other major mod its own sub-board isn't exactly winning me any new players, and to be honest, with the kind of time and effort I've poured in, I'm kind of pissed about that.  When new players come in and look for mods, they're going to go right to the sub-boards and never even see mine, even though it's been on the front page since 2011.  I love Dwarf Fortress and love our benevolent overlord, and I'm sorry for "stirring up drama," but on behalf of my several hundred loyal supporters who download every single version I put out and are trying to put together a real succession fort community, I'm not okay with this new system.

Either establish a set of parameters for qualifying for a sub-forum or get rid of them entirely.  Sort them by genre, sort them by by OS, fine, whatever, but all this is right now is favoritism.  And it's been made abundantly clear who is and is not favored.  I know that's probably not intended, but it's definitely how it comes off.
« Last Edit: June 19, 2013, 05:13:36 pm by narhiril »
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Putnam

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #25 on: June 19, 2013, 04:55:56 pm »

This reorganization is still in the experimentation stage. I think it would work best with Masterwork, Mod Releases, Utilities, and Graphics/Tilesets for sub-boards, none for individuals, Masterwork only getting its own because of its very community-driven nature and unusually large userbase.

I don't think you're really stirring up drama so much as bringing up a good point. Deon's mods may be huge, but mine... aren't. I got a good look at my views and replies and immediately realized "well, hell, maybe I shouldn't have my own board". Actually, considering the way that nobody else but Deon has posted in Deon's board, I'd say he probably shouldn't have his own either, but I would rather hear from him on that.

narhiril

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #26 on: June 19, 2013, 05:03:30 pm »

I don't think any of us should have our own boards.  All it does is create an artificial hierarchy in a community that works best without a hierarchy.  It tells new modders "it doesn't matter what I do, I'll never be as good as xxx," or "it doesn't matter how much effort I put in, my mod will never get noticed because everyone skips over that board entirely" and it puts a stranglehold on everything.

If we have to have sub-boards, do it by genre.  Something like...

GFX/Tileset Releases
Total Conversion Releases
Major Mod Releases
Minor Mod Releases
Child Mod Releases (i.e. Masterwork-dependent mods)
Plug-In and 3PS Releases
GFX/Tileset Development
Mod Development
Plug-in and 3PS Development

Thoughts?
« Last Edit: June 19, 2013, 05:24:46 pm by narhiril »
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Hugo_The_Dwarf

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #27 on: June 19, 2013, 05:13:07 pm »

I'd say Deon and Putnam should have their own boards due to the amount of mods they have and manage, I would have requested my own child board, but I only got one major mod, the rest of my minor mods are so minor they aren't even worth mentioning.

Even tho Masterwork is just one mod it's great to have it's own board as I remember alot of people making posts about "How can I do/use/make xxxx in Masterwork" not to mention the two sub mods? or is it just Orc Fortress? Not to mention the amount of discussion and reporting threads you have :P

@Toady
Also another thing I noticed, in the child boards I managed to remove a poll from my thread, which has been a first for years (to me at least) not complaining, just don't know why it wasn't possible until my thread was moved.

If I had less class, I'd say that I felt overlooked and under-acknowledged.

...  Eh, who am I kidding, I feel overlooked and under-acknowledged.  Whatever.  I just feel like giving every other major mod its own sub-board isn't exactly winning me any new players, and to be honest, with the kind of time and effort I've poured in, I'm kind of pissed about that.  When new players come in and look for mods, they're going to go right to the sub-boards and never even see mine, even though it's been on the front page since 2011.  I'm sorry for "stirring up drama," but on behalf of my several hundred loyal supporters who download every single version I put out and are trying to put together a real succession fort community, I'm not okay with this new system.

Either establish a set of parameters for qualifying for a sub-forum or get rid of them entirely.  Sort them by genre, sort them by by OS, fine, whatever, but all this is right now is favoritism.  And it's been made abundantly clear who is and is not favored.

I'd say that your concern is a valid one and not stirring up "drama" As I've put a lot of time into Regeneration as you have with LFR (altho you have far more put into then my Mod ever will) but I'm not one to say "That's unfair" even if it is, and I feel it is. As Masterwork seems to have the majority of the player base, but what can I do if someone else has a better mod/product then me? Nothing really lol, but all in all this is all new and Toady will take all suggestions into consideration.

PS sorry if I've accidentally offended anyone, seeing as narhiril quoted me directly made me feel ashamed for my comment.

I don't think any of us should have our own boards.  All it does is create an artificial hierarchy in a community that works best without a hierarchy.  It tells new modders "it doesn't matter what I do, I'll never be as good as xxx," or "it doesn't matter how much effort I put in, my mod will never get noticed because everyone skips over that board entirely" and it puts a stranglehold on everything.

If we have to have sub-boards, do it by genre.  Something like...

Total Conversion Releases
Major Mod Releases
Minor Mod Releases
Child Mod Releases (i.e. Masterwork-dependent mods)
Plug-In and 3PS Releases
Mod Development
Plug-in and 3PS Development

Thoughts?

Actually that makes quite a bit of sense considering how DFFD is laid out.
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narhiril

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #28 on: June 19, 2013, 05:16:46 pm »

My point wasn't to attack anyone -  least of all you, Hugo.  My point was simply that arbitrarily drawing a line between who deserves a sub-forum and who doesn't is inevitably going to create a rift, and I'd be making the same point even if you and I were included in the sub-forum group.  I'm simply trying to say that we're drawing a line that would be better off not drawn at all.
« Last Edit: June 19, 2013, 05:19:37 pm by narhiril »
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Toxicshadow

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Re: Toying around with organization
« Reply #29 on: June 19, 2013, 05:22:18 pm »

My point wasn't to attack anyone -  least of all you, Hugo.  My point was simply that arbitrarily drawing a line between who deserves a sub-forum and who doesn't is going to create a rift, and I'd be making the same point even if you and I were included in the sub-forum group.  I'm simply trying to say that we're drawing a line that would be better off not drawn at all.
You have a point. I do feel that MW would need some kind of separation between mods like your own and itself, not because it has more players, but because there are so many treads for it. It's like trying to contain an ant colony in a ziplock bag, while still trying to display the contents of the bag. There's just so much of it (minor threads, 'cause all the newbs to modding go right to the, "biggest and most popular," mod), that it drowns everything else out.

However, I do agree with both your point, and your idea of organization, as well as a Graphics & Tilesets board.

Edit: Actually, I think the MW players need to learn to ask questions in the thread for the mod. It could just go in the 'Major Mods' section, with the other mods.
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