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Forum Admin
Host
Sergeant
596 Posts
    
 | | 07/24/2006 12:40 AM |
| Heya folks,
I'm starting this thread to provide regular updates to the maxminis upgrade as we near completion.
*Wuzzard has been working hard to preserve and move all of the original maxminis content. His work is astounding, as he has managed to preserve even the formatting of peoples signatures in a completely new forum system.
*Lab Monkey is backing up disputed trades info and preparing an updated trading FAQ.
*I've been working on adding new features to the site, in addition to the ones we're bringing along, and many of these features appear to be functioning as planned.
*Merric is working on a new organization for the forums, a tough job considering the strong opinions involved.
Before we switch over, we'll give a preview of the new site so everyone can take a look and we can work out any major problems that crop up (missing smiling faces is not considered a major problem :)
I'll give you another update Monday or Tuesday. | |
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Knight of Wuzz
Wuzzard
-827 Posts
| | 07/24/2006 4:19 AM |
| I've been doing dry-runs of importing maxminis data into the new forums software. Most things are going smoothly. All user accounts come over, so your passwords, post counts and personal info is preserved. The forums are also transfering well, so all your old posts will be there, even your trade threads. We've been having some trouble with avatar formatting, but were working it out.
The site 'apps' like H/W List, minis stats & galleries, even Eternal Campaign are moved over to the new system. They will appear in the menu and operate just as before.
After the change comes, maxminis will look a little different than it does now; it is after all different software, though we are doing what we can to maintain as much 'look and feel' of the current system.
The new software supports hosting community articles and blogs, so the more prolific amoung us can have a place to put out their thoughts and ideas without relying on forums and 'sticky' posts. The software manages chat directly, so no more of the dreaded mini-chat, though IRC of course will always be an option. Some of the other site 'volunteers' have ideas for integrating chat into some new maxminis features, but I'm sworn to secrecy on that one. 
One good thing that has happened already, no more 'login' requests as you go between apps. The new system's login technology is solid. (or so I thought)
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Forum Admin
Host
Sergeant
596 Posts
| | 07/26/2006 12:54 AM |
| Heya guys,
Heres an update on the latest happenings.
*drove to san francisco late this afternoon and installed 4 sticks of memory in the new server, after detecting some sluggishness and noticing the memory was pegged at 97% used!
*had some great success last night testing a new feature... thanks to the maxminis users who helped out!
*Wuzzard made further refinements to how the forum topics are imported.
*the new service provider installed new switching over the past weekend which seems to have improved networking speed.
Merric and I worked out a compromise to the general/no general debate. The plan is to keep a General General, but rename it Gaming News General Discussion. The idea is to allow folks to talk about the latest news from each game, throw in some tidbits (like about events, maxminis pets, etc) BUT any threads about the details of a specific game would be moved to the general discussion for that game. For example, breaking news like the new name of a set or the stats for a newly discovered piece would be on-topic, but talking about the alignments in DDM (for example) would be off-topic and moved to the general discussion for DDM.
* We'll be adding a General Gaming category for discussion about any other game, video game, board game, etc...
*completely rewrote the minis database that some of you might remember from a while ago. I think this was removed sometime in early 2005, shortly after I had rewritten the havewant list, but its back and better than ever in the new system. Currently its not populated with much, however, so we'll be working to restore the data.
*We'll also be looking at data interchangability with other sites and how that could be implemented.
*We'll be looking for volunteers to fill roles in the new site. The following is a list off the top of my head:
*a few trusty individuals will have the ability to create minis, promos, and edit each item of the mini data.
*we're looking for users to populate and maintain the collections of links, documents, and articles.
*we'll be looking for bloggers.
*we'll be looking for mods for the various forums.
*we'll be adding animated Pokemon ads underneath each user's avatar. JUST KIDDING :)
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Forum Admin
Host
Sergeant
596 Posts
| | 08/09/2006 12:26 AM |
| Well, its been upwards of 2 weeks since the last update, so here we go!
*The new server is up and ready for you all to try! Take a look at http://64.151.65.228 An interesting "issue" with the new server popped up when me and a tester were playing Dreamblade on it. IE kindly informed me that the maximum number of connections for the server had been reached when I tried to join a game!! Doing a little research, I found out that Service Pack 2 limits the web server's connections to 10 if you are not running Windows Server! So after a full reinstall and much fuss, the server can handle more than 10 connections. Wuzzard and I were thinking about switching maxminis over to it a couple weekends ago-- boy I can imagine the fun we'd have if we suddenly discovered after converting that maxminis had a 10 person limit :)
*Added online play capability for Dreamblade. The next game for support will be D&D Minis. I'll probably take a lot of flack for not supporting D&D Minis first, but frankly there's a lot more stuff to deal with in D&D Minis. The online play system has taken months of development and it just seemed to make sense, with Dreamblade's release on the horizon and small piece count to limit complexity, to start with it first, then move on to more complicated games like D&D Minis. BTW, Dreamblade is an awesome game that I suggest you try!
*Merric is experimenting with the forum structure. We're trying to make maxminis a place that's friendly to other games besides just D&D minis. Now, some of you may feel that this detracts from the site, but consider what makes cons so cool. You don't go to Gen Con and see just D&D minis. You see lots of games, and lots of people playing them. You interact with them. You try their games and they try yours. You gain players; they gain players. Its a win-win. That's what we're trying to accomplish here.
*Wuzzard is out of town right now. Since he was in charge of the code to convert the forums over, that'll probably have to wait a few days. That means you guys can hop on the new server and try it out, giving us any feedback of problems you encounter.
*Blogs, Articles, Downloads, FAQ, and Events are up and editable by any registered user on the new site. Have fun playing with them- give them a try.
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Knight of Wuzz
Wuzzard
-827 Posts
| | 08/10/2006 1:03 AM |
| | If you visit the new site, please don't post in the forums. It's currently a copy of the maxminis forums from a few weeks ago. Anything you add in the new sites forums will be lost when the switch over happens. | | | |
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PatEllis15
Commander
4462 Posts
| | 08/15/2006 10:29 AM |
| "If you visit the new site, please don't post in the forums. It's currently a copy of the maxminis forums from a few weeks ago. Anything you add in the new sites forums will be lost when the switch over happens." Is this still the case? | |
"Games evolve. Otherwise we'd still be pushing rocks around the dirt. What do you think the cavemen said when some dude showed up with sticks?" - Chairman7w | |
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Highlander
Skirmisher
33 Posts
| | 08/15/2006 11:15 AM |
| | No the switch happened already | |
There can be only one. | |
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