Ok, i'll bold the colored names. I will be doing this on all the relevant forums and should have it done tonight sometime. Now to work on populating some of the galleries for those games 🙂

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I usually like your style, Pinback, but:

Ewww!

SSC is one of the most appealing sites anywhere. And most white-on-black sites are ugly.

(Just personal preference, I suppose).

Darkone: I would not mess with the colors at all. Layout is one thing, but the colors are excellent as they are.

IMHO. 🙂

I am hoping to please everyone with the present style (ProSilver SE) which will still be the site default and and a darker style that people could switch to if they wish after registration. I cannot promise anything yet but will try. I am not to graphically inclined but if someone is I can show them a pic of the style I might use and if someone could craft a logo it would be much appreciated 🙂

Right now I have setup a test server on my USB stick and I work on it on my free time at work and at home. I will be trying to do the following (just a heads up):

- Upgrade phpbb3 (forum software) to latest version. I'm three versions behind and there is now over a thousand fixes/enhancements I don't have, not counting security holes plugged.

- Upgrade portal to latest version compatible with phpbb (still waiting on its release its 90%+ done now).

- Work on styles and mod integrations (including download mod).

- Improve security with tougher registration questions, you guys will love this stuff. Basically if your not a scifi fan your in trouble when answering these questions they will be all about the games 🙂

- Consolidate and make a few new areas. I will do this prior to upgrade to make it easier for me. So this will happen over the next month or so. So feedback is appreciated on forum categories and layout.

The main focus is the forum/portal upgrade to fix all the flaws and security issues with the site and people should see a performance increase as well.

Your improvements sound very good Darkone 🙂 The registration quiz should put a stop to the ad bots at any rate. I noticed they pop up from time to time on the Frontier Forum and try to sell you all sorts of junk. I dread the day these things are developed with sophisticated AI routines, then there will be no escape 😮

I also noticed there was some mention about actual content of the site, for example talking about games not within the space Sim genre. I believe the site should stay focused mainly on space themed games, but allow for "fuzzy edges" too as sometimes it's nice to have a little variety. Speaking as a space & flight sim fan, I think these two really go hand in hand, so the inclusion of aircraft related stuff is fine by me, even if it's just a little section out on the "fuzzy edge" of the forum.

I do have the flight sim forum area, near the bottom of the forum page and that was all I planned for that genre of games unless people need more. The content of the site I was thinking about adding or changing is the following:

- Creating a Classic/Vintage area for space games.

- Creating a Space Story/Roleplay area for the creative people.

- Probably going to combine the Community and Indie forums into one area.

Then I need to catch up on my moderating and sift through the posts and move them around to the right areas or delete some not worth keeping. I will probably do all this stuff this weekend. So if people have any more ideas on making the forum area easier to use just let me know 🙂

😎

Cheers on the Colored 'Status' areas below the sections. I may just be behind the times, but its a cool addition that I didn't notice until just now.

Thanks IronHound, any other small tweaks you think need to be done just post them. I am going to be working on the site update and want to try to get in all the stuff before the upgrade or least have a TO DO list to work from. The status piece was recommended by Pinback 🙂

As to a logo how about a collage of ships or scene from the last 30 years,as an example you could have ships from

Space Raiders,Elite,Wing Commander,Free Space,Eve,X3 then some thing from one of the new games being made.

Good to see the retro section up and running. 😀

I don't think the pastel look works too well always prefer the X/eve look as it feels more

space like.

That does sound like a good idea for a logo, I will be putting my paint skills to the test doing that stuff 🙂 But over the next few weeks I will give it a try. Going to be working on sifting through the posts and delete the ones that are not relevent any more. I also want to push all images from the gallery so that will take some time too.

Was thinking the other night that if I combine the indie and community forums I might mess with any links out there that link back to SSC. But I only plan on doing this once, I like the general layout right now and think its pretty solid for now.

Any opinions on the Classic/Retro area? As game forums age out I will drop them in this area as sub forums. And I will link in the gallery sometime this week.

Darkone, you keep asking for opinions, and I cannot give you any specifics (other than to point out that you already have one of the most attractive and most functional forums I know).

However, I do have a general comment... without a specific solution: I get lost easily at SSC.

I have no problem with the use of Three-Letter Acronyms (TLA's) inside a thread or post, but using then in titles is a good way to obfuscate content. What the heck are MMOGs and 4x Games and all the rest of the jargon here? How would a person even learn these TLA's?

(OK, so I figured out what a 4x game is, but I cannot figure out the logic about why some games are called 4x while others are not... the term does not seem to exactly follow the literal definition).

In other words... the jargon itself is confusing.

So any efforts you invest in making your sections and titles more descriptive (perhaps with Alt/hover text?) would help those of us who don't know what everybody else is talking about half the time.

🙂

PS: I think that your logo or banner should include a Switzerland metaphor, because SSC is open to everyone, like a Junker base or a Freeport. (Or, maybe, an Istanbul metaphor for the pirates in the crowd).

I don't know how you would represent Switzerland graphically. Maybe work in a nice picture of a girl in a dirndl, like the St. Pauli Girl, or something? You could use a popup bubble that says, "SSC is like Switzerland... we welcome everyone!"

Space Sim Central is like Switzerland... we welcome everyone!

[hsimg] [/hsimg]

(or not... 😉 )

I am hoping to address that in acronyms in the next update of the portal. Because phpbb forums doesn't have a acronym system. The portal that i use does have one and I planned on setting it up. Just waiting for the latest version to do my work on since i have issues with the database entries for the portal and bringing them forward into a newer version.

And I want to make sure Bullwinkle your only 'getting lost' when it comes to terminology correct? Or is the site not easy to navigate?

i would like to think SSC is open to anyone that wants to learn about space games. But another side of me kinda likes the exclusiveness to know that most everyone on the forum is a die hard fan like myself. I know I don't advertise the website much because I liked the focused feel and information that is gathered. But i also want to make the community bigger so maybe we can have both ranges of users without effecting focus.

I'm trying to keep the website as simple as I can but also have some features to keep peopl occupied and of course coming back. I know at one point I thought about a news letter but it was way to much effort for me.

While an acronym system could help, I think it is really more about paying attention to what you write at the top. All it takes is spelling things out and a few words about the topic(s) (and/or examples) at the top of the forum listing.

As they taught you in grammar school, spell it out the first time, and put the Three Letter Acronym (TLA) in parentheses. After that, everybody knows what you are talking about.

Right. The site is easy enough to follow... but, other than "Space Sim", I do not know what most of the other jargon means. And I have been following both sci-fi and games for a while, so it is not as though I am a complete newbie. Honestly, I don't have a clue where you even pick up these acronyms. Do they come from magazines? Game-oriented web sites? TV? 😕

Makes sense.

You mentioned a registration quiz, so here is: Quiz Proposal #1 (Easy)

But, wait... does that mean "no Pauli Girl" in your banner? (heavy sigh)

OK, so what about an alien or an android or a mutant or something?

[hsimg] [/hsimg]

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Most of the time I catch these acronyms while on that games forums or the devs will drop it in a post/PM and I just start using it since its much easier than writing it out all the time. But I can make sure i'm not using acronyms in the categories and do my best to not put it in my titles at least.

The acronym feature will underline anything I put in there and when people mouse-over it, they will get some description or link. Granted like you said it can be solved by just putting in the acronym when the post was created. But this will at least help. Because I am at fault here to . Guess I should have paid more attention in grammar class.

Oh come on Bullwinkle this was to easy:

Now back on topic... I have been thinking about a collage of images so maybe you never know. 7 of 9 could make a appearance 😉

Don't be so hard on yourself, D1. Bullwinkle may have a point but you're not doing anything wrong either.

This site IS a niche site, catering only to a very small (but fanatically loyal!) sub-section of the gaming population. Most of us here, as true enthusiasts of the genre, know our topic inside-out so short-hand and jargon is only to be expected; communication between members flows more smoothly and new ideas can be expressed and topics discussed more easily within a mutually understood framework of common references.

On the other hand, as Bullwinkle has pointed out, some of these terms can be a little bit of a barrier to entry for new people. The key, I believe, as with most things, is in striking the right balance.

Don't fear jargon, Bullwinkle. At first a new person may not know what a 4X game is, but given time and an exploration of the site they should very soon come to understand - it's all there. Failing that, ask. There are lots of really friendly people hereabouts who are more than happy to say hello to anyone who wants to learn about their hobby, and to either explain something or point them in the right direction so they can find out for themselves. It's unreasonable to expect someone to visit a place like this and understand everything right away, as it is with any new hobby a person might pick up; there are always going to be things to learn and long-term practitioners will always have developed a way of speaking about their subject matter than might baffle the observer.

This actually applies to some of the 'games' you'll find us talking about here, too. While we do play a lot of arcade-style shooters, some of the hard-core like to really get into the simulation aspect and 'play' things like Orbiter that require some skill and a LOT of learning actual real-life knowledge of things like escape velocities, gravity coefficients and even orbital mechanics. This is not all aliens and laser guns! Among the drooling over ship-types and conversations about enormous fleet battles you will find we veer occasionally into very dry and heavyweight discussions in such fields as cosmology and astrophysics - it's just who were are, and this website is all about celebrating that. The thrill of these pursuits is in the learning just as much as it is in the playing, so from our perspective having a new person scratch their head at a few pieces of jargon and having to work out a few things for themselves is not such a bad thing. 😉

It's not that we won't help, or don't want to help - it's just that our own journeys of discovery have taken us to some amazing places, and we wouldn't want to rob anyone new of that experience if we can possibly help it.

However, maybe there should be a small guide to the Space-Sim genre that new people can be directed to that will help them find their feet. Like the 'Newbies Guide for FFED3D' that's currently being written, but covering the genre as a whole, and perhaps including a few of the more [un]common terms of reference used between seasoned veterans?

Something to think about, anyway.

Aha. So it really is secret code. I thought so! 🙂

And 7 of 9 would be outstanding in your collage!

(BTW to Stardreamer... haha! I sling lingo with the best, but Darkone was asking for opinions. I usually try to toss in a tongue-in-cheek thought while I am at it, just to keep things from becoming too serious. 🙂 )

Well, I thought you wanted people to be able to pass in order to join the site?! 🙂

My goal was that most sci-fi-ers would score well, but many non-geeks would not be able to score a perfect 10 out of 10, as you did, Darkone.

If you want tougher questions, try: Quiz #2 (Advanced)

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I like these types of discussions to get all the feedback and most of the time with the input you can please everyone and make things simpler. I know one of my goals is to try to get people to play and love these great games and also not alienate games themselves. For so long communities were separated by game or flame wars happened between game communities, this is counter productive to the overall community. We are all gamers and have a passion and if new players to these games can see the passion and the wealth of info they will be more apt to get involved and post and have fun.

Stardreamers suggestion we can all work on as a community and it could even be a nice brain dump for people and I will probably even link the post into the welcome message I send to everyone when they sign up to read.

Here is a brief look at the security check during registration. This should stop non space gamers in their tracks because you could guess but it will take you some time 🙂

[hsimg] [/hsimg]

Bots can get by the captcha images with ease. And I'm trying to make all aspects of the site space themed in some way. So thought this would be a nice touch and if the people pay attention at all on what they are reading in the forums questions like these will be easy.

We'll get SSC to that point of bliss sooner or later. Hey it's only been about a 1.5yrs now SSC has been around so there is time for improvement. 🙂

Bullwinkle, You might have gotten me on 3 of them I would have to do some research on. Maybe you should post these in the general area and let people have some fun with them or in the poll/survey forum depending on what you post. I know myself when I do finish all the site work and can have fun again I wanted to start a 'name that tune' game where I pull music tracks from games and you have to name them 🙂

OK, sounds good. If you have an easy way to move or copy the quizzes then please feel free (and edit appropriately)... I would have to re-write the messages, including the links, since they are mostly non-text.

I intended the quizzes as a joke, but the second "Advanced" quiz does have a few obscure pics. I am sure that you know all but one of the characters although you may not recognize the pictures.

One character truly is a rarity, but she is my all-time-favorite sci-fi character ever, so I had to put her in the mix.

Which ones did you have trouble with?

As for your quiz, I am afraid that I would fail miserably. I have never heard of half of those games. And, also, ...

... what does "MMO" stand for? 🙂

(My guess is "Massively Multiplayer Or something". However, if that were correct, then what would be the difference between that category and the "Single or Multi Player" category? 😕

Good idea about having a FAQ,but it needs to be some where people can find it,maybe some where

on the potal.

No idea about the first 3 on bullwinkle quize,D I think is from Star Trek,the original series.

Really? If you scroll down the list of forums on the forum page you would have had to see some of those titles 🙂 Here is a general overview of my thinking behind it. And as always very open to suggestions and opinions. I do want to make the quiz a little challenging to prevent spammers and rude users. As long as you are in touch with the space gaming scene or scifi you should be able to answer these questions.

In the forums you have these categories:

- Welcome to SpaceSimCentral.com

- Space Sim Gaming

- Standalone Space Sims

- MMO Space Sim Games

- Flight Simulators Chat

- Modding and Coding

- Space DOORS/MUD Games

Under those categories are individual forums. Now for this example of the security question I have taken some older games that any fan of the genre should know Freelancer, Elite, Wing Commander III and Independence War 2 which are all single player (SP) games. And then I list more recent games Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) games like Black Prophecy, Jumpgate Evolution, Infinity and EVE Online.

Every single one of these games has a forum area in the forums (except Elite) under either (standalone space sims) or (MMO space sim games). I thought it was a little too easy actually. Because you have the games listed right in front of you.

Now I can add more questions/answers entries to the registration piece so there is a variety and not just this one question. I just haven't thought up any more yet. But do feel free to donate a question with at least 5-6 answers in it. But they do need to be space/scifi related in nature.

Yeah thought about that a little last night and I wanted to try a little something and design a professional page around it kind of like the FAQ for the forum (faq.php). I will make a post to take in FAQ questions and answers and I will start building the page. I will make it so pics and videos will be placed into it. Once I get some FAQ Questions and answers I will start making the form. I wanted to make it a forum so we can add to it but also not have it a thread so it gets off topic.

Advertising its existence is easy. I think you will like how it is done and I can also add it to the portal main page as well.

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Oh Bullwinkle I will move that post for you and make it its own thread, i'll see if I can keep you as the topic starter on it.

Games Quiz

Well, ok, not really. It was a small exaggeration to avoid having to explain that, while I have heard of the names of all of those games, the only place I have seen them is on SSC. Therefore, a quiz asking me to categorize stuff that I will only learn about after I pass the quiz... it kinda makes my head hurt. But the short version is that I would never have been able to pass that quiz without having already seen SSC.

MP vs MMO

Thank you for clarifying Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games, but my question stands: How do you differentiate between MMO and any other Multiplayer (MP) game? I mean, all MP games are "online", and most support very large numbers of players.

Moving my quizzes

Thanks, but I just figured out how to do it myself using the Edit button! I will do it, then clean up my messages with proper links.

Now, if only you had a feature so that I could obscure hints and solutions...

One more comment

I see that you have updated the list of forums since the last time I looked. Nice update! I love what you have done there, and I think that I would be far less confused about the site layout if I had seen those explanations the first time that I visited SSC.

Spoiler BBcode... I can make that happen. I just have to locate the code somewhere on the net and I will get a button added to the posting window. Or at the least will be in the site upgrade (finished product).

Ah but the try definition of MMO is a persistent online experience that continues on and things could happen to your world or your guild or you while you are not online. In MP games this isn't so unless the owner of the server does it manually. Once you leave a MP game no ill effects can happen to you.

Excellent. With that then I could post solutions without spoiling the fun for everyone.

Here is one spoiler snippet that I found (untested, and I am sure that you have your own sources): http://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=579376&start=180&st=0&sk=t&sd=a#p3244656

Wait... so you have to play the game 24x7 or risk "consequences"?

Brrrr.... just the idea of that sends chills down my spine. How evil!

Well, in any case, I would obviously flunk your registration quiz. That may be intentional but, just in case it is not, you might want to consider a different kind of quiz ;).

EDIT: OK, now I feel kind of stupid, because it just occurred to me that anyone can read SSC... the registration is only for required for posting. So, yeah, your quiz should be just fine!!!

PS: I moved the Quiz Proposals

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Not hard at all. I wanted to base the quizzes off of basic space gaming knowledge or something easy to find out by either looking here or some where else. The question should have at least 5 answers. One or more being correct and of course some wrong choices. I was going to work on some more this week sometime, wanted to have about 3-4 different quiz options for the registration page. But they need to be either space game based or scifi based questions.

Spammers and other sorts of people really ruin good communities and can take away from the fun of the site. I know some people may not get the question right the first time and I will put a disclaimer down at the bottom that if they cannot register because they can't answer anything then they can email me specifically and I will take care of it.

Because I run into the problem where I can start to ban IP addresses but the spammers seem to get different ones every time and if I block a range of IP's I could be blocking a legit person from ever registering. So these little quizzes I think will help a lot in that department. And I hope I don't offend anyone but I look at SSC as more of an adult/older gamer site so I also don't want 10yr olds posting crazy messages either. So I try to have questions that include games before their time.

My reasons may be flawed but I have seen good sites crippled to spam and rude players and I work to hard on SSC to have this happen. I have zero tolerance for spammers and I don't even warn them they get instantly banned. It's a shame I have to be a hard ass on people, but if people don't respect others I get them 😈

I have been working on the SSC site update in my spare time and I have already let people see some of it in the new links page. Besides all the code/mod updates i was planning to add the following:

- New space gaming FAQ page.

- Add a spoiler BBCode to the posting window.

- Possibly add social bookmarking links to posts so people can easily spread the word about good info.

- New security measures.

- Removal of the arcade mod. Don't see a lot of people use it and it takes up space in the DB.

- Removal of the store page or at the least a redesign of it. I'm not really in this for the money but if this type of stuff can make running the site less cost on me thats a good thing 😉

- Find a good way to provide a backup scenario for the website. Right now I backup the DB usually every week and a whole site backup maybe happens once a month. I have to think of a better disaster recovery plan.

- Work of website SEO to get better placement in the search engines and possibly rename forum categories and pages to reflect on what people would search on.

- Wanted to work on a submit form for the link area. But that will take some time since I have to code the whole page myself.

- Add a page for advertising on SSC (request)

I want to get all this done before I go on vacation in July, so I have some time but not really 🙂 Since there will need to be lots of testing on all the changes. I hope to go live the last week of June to let the site be up for a week before I go.

Any other thoughts on fixes and updates are appreciated and will do my best to get them in there.

How about a cafepress site where you sell t-shirts, coffee mugs, mouse pads, etc. with the Space Sim Central logo on them. If you mark things up a bit you could make a little extra ching to help keep the lights on.

A way to generate recurring forum traffic would be to buy some bargain bin games and then have a contest or a raffle for them. I just picked up Starlancer for $3.99, for instance. Once a month send out an email with a link "post in this thread to enter to win a copy of XXXXX game" to all forum members to try and regenerate interest for members who have wandered off over time.