Forum group for contributors

[Zukero]

Hello fellow forum members,

We at the development team were thinking about creating forum groups for the different types of contributors.
You might be aware of the existance of the "developers" group. You may even be a part of it.
However, it is'nt really specific, and we think about creating the following groups:
- Map makers
- Content makers
- Translators
- Coders

We believe it would help us communicate with each group and drive the game forward in a more coordinated manner. That's our opinion, but YOU, the community, are the first impacted by such a change, so before doing this, we would like to know your opinion.

Answer the poll and voice your remarks below!

The Andor's Trail development team.

[Mourngrim]

You'll know better than me... Is there enough traffic/number of posts to require separate forums?

There is already the Ideas one and the developers one. Here's my hypothetical problem, I'm writing a quest that includes a new map, but I want some help from a coder, and of course it will need translating when it is finished. Which forum do I post in, or do I have to post in them all? You also run the risk of dividing the readers, so they only look in one or two forums, and miss something in another.

Why not just add subject tags like [MAP] etc for subject lines that are specific?

[Tomas 3]

I can make quests or give ideas for make monsters armor ring etc.. for help make the game

[Melarec]

Mourngrim identifies a very good point. In my opinion, what it's worth, I think there should be a "Content Contributors" group and then use subject tags to mark what kind of content they are showcasing. It would feel much more organized that way.

Also, a neat feature would be taking teh exported code from the content editor and converting it into a view that would be similar to ingame. Maybe that exists as of now.. But I haven't found it so..

Also I have a similar thread in Ideas and Future Development where I keep my work. Since the content editor doesn't store your progress, I thought it would be doubly productive putting it on the forums; I get to save my work and others get to critique it. But a forum dedicated to contributors would be nice.

(I have a feeling in the back of my head that I somewhere missed the point, Zukero..)
(Maybe I'm just nuts. )

[Zukero]

I think I might have been misunderstood. The point is not to create group-specific forum sections, but rather to "tag" forum members, so we can see on their profile page what kind of contributions they make.
The actual effect for such users on actual forum usage would be not much more than a colored name and world fame

[Melarec]

Aha. Told you I missed the point..

But what if someone makes content and maps? or maps and code? or content, maps, and code? Or any other number of combinations.. Will users get multiple tags? And one that says Ultimate Contributor if you do everything?

Hmm..

[noamik]

Obviously I missed the point before voting as well, which is why I voted no ... can we change votes somehow?

[ace]

there are already different sactions so if you want to make another just make it broad which involves coders,questwriters,mapmakers,contentmakers and those who gives useful ideas put all these in CONTRIBUTERS.

[Mourngrim]

Sorry, it looks like I led people in the wrong direction.

I think ace has a good point. It depends how many people will be multiple group.
Let me look at it from a different angle. Who wants to use the group, and what for? Can people be in multiple groups? Will putting someone in one group exclude them from content/messages. At what point does someone gain access to the group?

I myself hope to write quests and add maps for them, making me a two grouper, however I haven't written anything yet, so am I a no grouper?

M

[Zukero]

1# - You can change your vote. Simply select another option and click on "Submit vote".

2# - You can be part of several groups, obviously. For example, I am currently a member of 3 groups: "Registered users", "Global Moderators" and "Developers". You can check this info for any member by visiting their profile page (click on the user name where it is clickable, or use the "profile" button below any of his posts).

3# - We already have a broad group with "easy" access: "Developers". It only requires you to ask for it, and send a PM to sdevaney explaining your motives.

4# - The point is to be able to send "Group PMs", that is, if I want to notify translators that new content can be translated, I can send a PM to the "Translators" group, and it automatically arrives in all the translators' inbox. Moreover, it can help keep track of who did what, help newcomers identify contributors, and also, it offers some kind of public recognition of the work done.

5# - Group access procedure is not yet defined, but I would say that once you offered content that was accepted for inclusion in the game by the team, you can become part of the related group. Note that this is only a personal opinion so far, and may not reflect the upcoming team's decision.