Make a E&B Portal

[lpalgarvio[IS]]

Hey

another suggestion:

i think it would be better to have a decent Portal, or front site (built ie, with Drupal), to where the players reach when accessing enb-emulator.com.

• the forum could be located in forum.enb-emulator.com. lots of forum software, including IPB, and also vBulletin, SMF and phpBB, can be linked to Drupal, in both user accounts and logins, through a variety of modules.
• net-7.org could be a redirect to net7.enb-emulator.com, where the account management site would reside, including the other tools. it does not need to integrate tightly with the portal or the forum.
• all the downloads and other info could be presented in the portal, since it would be made with a CMS (Drupal).
• the intergalactic net terminal ingame would link then to enb-emulator.com, allowing navigation to anywhere on the portal/forum/etc.

i'm saying Drupal because i've been developing with and for it for the past 2 years, and it's really a lot better than any other CMS out there.
some sites it powers can been seen here (example, the white house):

• http://drupal.com
• http://drupal.org/cases
• http://groups.drupal.org/node/96954 (drupal_sites.html)

Edited February 5, 2011 by LPCA

[Murdered]

O.o

I dont see what your getting at, all that is done already within the forum.

Links to Database, Downloads, and other relevant info already have links on the front page of the forum.

[lpalgarvio[IS]]

O.o

I dont see what your getting at, all that is done already within the forum.

Links to Database, Downloads, and other relevant info already have links on the front page of the forum.

it's rather unprofessional, with no design, and it really isn't organized and "all there".

take a look into drupal.org site for example: http://drupal.org/

see how clean and organized it is.

all the sub-sites are linked from the main pages. and all logins are exchanged between the sites.

Drupal is capable of multsites with the same install, sharing specific or all database tables.

you can have different layouts or all the same for all subsites. even different drupal versions can be used.

you can do with it a real Portal experience, not like with a forum software, which is best for forums, but not for anything else.

a Forum is a forum, and that's it. it's not meant to hold FAQs, files, links, tutorials, a good visual and so on.

[lpalgarvio[IS]]

setting this up might seem complicated and something that will divert attention from programming the server, but it isn't that much so.

all you need is:

1. one person to prepare the web server (not the game server) for the new site structure and for any possible requirements (PHP 5.2.x for example). he must be able to configure everything properly and know about web servers, php, security, performance (APC, memcached) and so on. while at it, do a security audit, and replace FTP with SSH. this is something i can help, if needed.
2. one person to install, configure and reshape the CMS (Drupal is what i recommend) to fit the needs. that person could be me, in the spring or summer.
3. one person to do the design/layout. obviously the template needs to be styled, else it would suck.
4. one person to organize how the content will be put on it.
5. some volunteers to update or write new content, like tutorials, faqs, "who we are", "what we do", "what is enb", etc.

im pretty sure that to some extent, the team already has #1, #4 and #5, which just leaves #2 and #3

i don't do design, but i know about theming (CSS/HTML).

[Murdered]

I think the new design is well set up, ya they had a bumpy start but I dont think they need to goto major extent to make a web site as long as it works.

[lpalgarvio[IS]]

I think the new design is well set up, ya they had a bumpy start but I dont think they need to goto major extent to make a web site as long as it works.

i haven't been at all an active player, donator or developer even, since ever with the emu.

but i do know at least 6 years have passed since the very first attempts to gather a team for this project (been there, done that).

and in those 6 years, the site hardly changed. it went from only forum, to forum and pseudo-site.

having a well thought up site, assembled as a CMS, is really another world.

it's a collaborative tool, like a Wiki, but better.

players would waste less time searching and developers would waste less time editing files.

organization means a lot. any project with a consistent model and organization, will evolve much faster.

the KISS principle is good, but there's a point where it doesn't help, it just "unhelps".

just a forum is too much KISS. i don't think this idea should just be overlooked and ignored as rubbish...

the problem with many projects like this one is that hardly any of them have a designer and a web master/developer, capable of setting up a CMS properly.

but i am stepping forward as a volunteer. if you want others, i can get you some other volunteers from the portuguese drupal community. they speak english too.

[garblesoup]

i haven't been at all an active player, donator or developer even, since ever with the emu.

but i do know at least 6 years have passed since the very first attempts to gather a team for this project (been there, done that).

and in those 6 years, the site hardly changed. it went from only forum, to forum and pseudo-site.

Err, the entire forum crashed and burned and was rebuilt from scratch . . . and you say it's hardly changed?

[C Del[IS]]

I agree that our setup right now is fairly unorganized, and we do have a problem getting people to where they need to go and getting information out efficiently, but our problem is mostly that we lack the sheer man-power to fix it. Our web developer has done a good job with the Net-7 portal as far as functionality is concerned, but we don't really have anyone around who does web graphics, so we haven't gotten around to making it look all fancy. Eventually (I hope to get as much of this as possible done this summer when I'm on break from school) I would like to see all the functionality of the Net-7 portal transferred to an EnB emulator portal, which ultimately could be integrated with the forums, so we can use the Net-7 Portal more generally.

[Slayerman]

Let's just use drupal? And recode all the game integration we already have...

Granted the design and look of the portal isn't the best, but it works, I'm working on more features to make it easier to add stuff....

Drupal and other already 'written' CMS's are ok, but we needed something specific and integrated with the game...

I work hard on the portal to make it what it is... I'm not just going to use some premade CMS just coz it's easier...

We do now use a database for portal, game and to some extent forum... However, to link it all to one single db at this time wouldn't any better... People already have multiple game accounts... These are already linked to forum accounts...

I feel quite offended by this thread... I took over this, I'm not a graphic designer... I worked on web code, and it's all 100% my code (except the jQuery library. No good with JavaScript) and I'm far from a professional web coder, im self taught im my free time ...

I'm proud of the work I have done and what I have achieved, if the team see fit to bin off all my hard work and use some pre-built CMS i would be leavin the team...

[C Del[IS]]

Let's just use drupal? And recode all the game integration we already have...

Granted the design and look of the portal isn't the best, but it works, I'm working on more features to make it easier to add stuff....

Drupal and other already 'written' CMS's are ok, but we needed something specific and integrated with the game...

I work hard on the portal to make it what it is... I'm not just going to use some premade CMS just coz it's easier...

We do now use a database for portal, game and to some extent forum... However, to link it all to one single db at this time wouldn't any better... People already have multiple game accounts... These are already linked to forum accounts...

I feel quite offended by this thread... I took over this, I'm not a graphic designer... I worked on web code, and it's all 100% my code (except the jQuery library. No good with JavaScript) and I'm far from a professional web coder, im self taught im my free time ...

I'm proud of the work I have done and what I have achieved, if the team see fit to bin off all my hard work and use some pre-built CMS i would be leavin the team...

Indeed. To switch to a pre-made CMS at this point would be silly. It would, in fact, make it significantly more difficult to theme the website and re-program the game database integration we already have.

You do a great job, and I wouldn't even think of suggesting your code be replaced. All I'm for is a re-skin and more integration, which I think is the ultimate logical end of the evolution of the portal so far.

I hope you didn't take my earlier post to be any criticism of your work, I was just suggesting a little aesthetic reformatting.

[tredway]

Funny LPCA for someone so profound at how to "FIX" this site and forums you said in game you couldn't even locate the #1 topic of Installation Instructions for the game which is the #1 easiest to find. Suggestions and help are always appreciated, but tone and negative criticism is highly frowned upon especially since the people who put forth all the effort here are on their own free will and time.

Yes things can always be better, but it takes effort, time and hard work to achieve that. What you ask is completely drop everything that has already been built upon that quite frankly so many others seem to navigate quite well.

@Slayer - I like the integration of things and in no way is this a knock at your work/code, only thing I wish I could scale the net-7.org better to fit my resolution but I understand the drawbacks involved with that and code etc. Hey Im of the mind... its better than nothing school of thought lol And I damn sure couldn't do any of this stuff so I appreciate it! Keep at it bud, and hey if ya ever need a hand that I might be able to lend dont hesitate to call upon me!

[Kenu [CDEV]]

net-7.org is really functionally nice, which is what we desperately needed. I do agree it could use a face lift. Right now the forums are really the main site that people go to, but in the future it should be the portal.

It was definitely more important to get the functionality in because it's a very useful site, but if we want new players to be greeted by our portal we will have to make it more graphically pleasing, maybe with a nice big net-7 logo and a short explanation of the project. I'm sure that will get addressed in time but so far it's coming along great.

and by the way, thanks for the enb live resources/database LPCA. They were helpful in a lot of content development.

[lpalgarvio[IS]]

i probably didn't explained my self very well.

my point was having the best CMS around (Drupal) making up the site, and linked to the forum (IPB).

the net-7.org site would still exist, just in a different location, and it would still be linked to IPB.

i also never suggested a __single database__.

a module that facilitates connecting IPB to Drupal:

http://drupal.org/project/ipbridge

so you would still use net-7 to edit your accounts, see the galaxy map, etc.

there would not be much of code rewriting.

the only things net-7 would not need to do, is content - FAQs, news, links, files, etc.

that wouldn't require recoding Drupal or net-7... just disable the code.

it's not actually replacing net-7 if you get my drift.

i didn't meant to offend anyone and i actually didn't called net-7.org a bad site or bad code.

i only said there's room for improvement and lots could be done with the help of a CMS.

and Slayerman, i also am self-taught. i never went to a university, though i probably did learn a lot that people wont learn there. i wasn't even aware if you are/went/or never went to university and i still aren't aware and it doesn't really matters to me.

regarding Drupal:

- it isn't okay or simple premade CMS. and its not actually easier, its just different (collaborative work and code).

- it is the __best__ CMS, to a point that it is actually a CMF, because its a highly configurable framework.

- it uses extensively jQuery, javascript, AJAX, XML-RPC and other web 2 technologies.

i'm pretty sure you guys don't know drupal or you wouldn't say something like that.

thanks for reminding me of my contributions. occasionally i find more stuff here and there lost in my network. not sure if it was uploaded yet, but i i'll ask a dev some other time when i organize everything.

but i have to say i'm seeing too much aggressiveness by some people, for no reason. i'll just give this example:

regarding Installation Instructions, i did found them and was able to install okay, without actually consulting them, but i had a problem which isn't in the instructions or in the FAQ - my settings get saved when i change them, but the shortcuts per character do not get saved, and every time i exit the game, i need to repatch it.

someone seemed to imply to me, ingame, that i was an imbecil by suggesting a "format c:" and that UAC needs to be turned off in any modern windows installation (or other noobish comments that really don't matter anymore).

i think i know enough of security to known what to do in a computer and how to run a game properly, without it complaining about permissions, be it windows or linux.

anyways, peace out, my suggestion and my collaboration is still on the table if ever you guys see it fit.

Edited February 7, 2011 by LPCA

[Kenu [CDEV]]

someone seemed to imply to me, ingame, that i was an imbecil by suggesting a "format c:" and that UAC needs to be turned off in any modern windows installation (or other noobish comments that really don't matter anymore).

I'm sure you've heard this before, but tone and emotion do not transfer well through text. Hopefully it was a misunderstanding and they didn't mean to make that implication.

Treating anyone like an imbecile is not welcome here.

[karu [WDL]]

so you would still use net-7 to edit your accounts, see the galaxy map, etc.

there would not be much of code rewriting.

the only things net-7 would not need to do, is content - FAQs, news, links, files, etc.

that wouldn't require recoding Drupal or net-7... just disable the code.

it's not actually replacing net-7 if you get my drift.

What areas in portal would Drupal be responsible for ?

[lpalgarvio[IS]]

What areas in portal would Drupal be responsible for ?

i would say, given my expertise in Drupal, anything that does not need custom code related directly to the game or tools (net-7 account management, character planner, maps, etc) or the forum.

so that means basically content, news, faqs etc and anything else you can think of that does not exist as custom code, but exists as a module already in Drupal.

some useful things that could be done:

• a bug tracker/ticket system - http://drupal.org/project/project and http://drupal.org/project/project_issue OR http://drupal.org/project/storm
• collaborative portal for developers, a distro called Open Attrium made with Drupal - http://openatrium.com/
• a calendar - http://drupal.org/project/calendar
• image galleries made with several modules like CCK, Views, Views Slideshow, Colorbox, etc - these for example can be tied per forum/portal account or be general galleries owned by admins
• a decent profile, with more info, pictures, dashboard, and other stuff - Panels, Advanced Profile Kit, Total Control Admin Dashboard
• it can even do a simple forum (module forum) or a more sophisticated forum (advanced forum), though not as complex as SMF or vBulletin. phpBB and IPB i think are rather simple and the forum modules should probably do something very similar.

if people send me a list of things that could be useful or are needed, i can compile a module list and say whats possible and whats not.

Edited February 8, 2011 by LPCA

[karu [WDL]]

i would say, given my expertise in Drupal, anything that does not need custom code related directly to the game or tools (net-7 account management, character planner, maps, etc) or the forum.

Why you want to keep old net-7 as it is (redirect to new domain) ? it would be ugly. even uglier than current setup.

so that means basically content, news, faqs etc and anything else you can think of that does not exist as custom code, but exists as a module already in Drupal.

news/fags better served as forum stickies maybe. it's trivial for script to fetch content from there.

as for you (wish)list, only remotely useful would be gallery. devs already have mantis and probably hidden forum where all the action happens.

if people send me a list of things that could be useful or are needed, i can compile a module list and say whats possible and whats not.

In this post and earlier posts, you say that 'anything goes as long as it does not need custom code'. Is Drupal really that hard to extend ?

;-)

If anyone is gonna switch portal framework, then first thing they need to do, is to fit their old code to new framework. In drupal, that would be module(s). It's pretty easy in any of them, just meet minimum requirements and rest can be as sphagetti as you like.

If it would be done as you suggest (move net-7 to new domain, use link in drupal for redirect), it would not be new portal, it would be yet another one and you would end up with 3 landing pages (drupal, net-7, forum's). I thought that changing portal would make it easier to use, not harder.

[lpalgarvio[IS]]

Why you want to keep old net-7 as it is (redirect to new domain) ? it would be ugly. even uglier than current setup.

well the layout can always be adapted or it can be loaded as aframe inside drupal, etc.

theres always ways to fix that. its a matter of trying out and selecting the best method.

news/fags better served as forum stickies maybe. it's trivial for script to fetch content from there.

as for you (wish)list, only remotely useful would be gallery. devs already have mantis and probably hidden forum where all the action happens.

one of the added possibilities tought, is that you dont need to edit/upload xml or html files, nor you need to know html.

you just need to edit or create new pages from whitin drupal interface, like you do in this forum or a wiki, except it works more like Writer or Word (WYSIWYG editor).

it accepts HTML too.

i think more on my (wish)list as examples of what can be achived rather than a wishlist... haven't really thought much on what i wished to see.

it's probably best if people provide ideas and a list is compiled with what is needed - then i can see what's possible and what's not.

In this post and earlier posts, you say that 'anything goes as long as it does not need custom code'. Is Drupal really that hard to extend ?

;-)

If anyone is gonna switch portal framework, then first thing they need to do, is to fit their old code to new framework. In drupal, that would be module(s). It's pretty easy in any of them, just meet minimum requirements and rest can be as sphagetti as you like.

If it would be done as you suggest (move net-7 to new domain, use link in drupal for redirect), it would not be new portal, it would be yet another one and you would end up with 3 landing pages (drupal, net-7, forum's). I thought that changing portal would make it easier to use, not harder.

no, it's actually pretty easy to extend. and you can re-use code from other modules, and work as a dependency tree, instead of re-inventing the wheel everytime.

i just thought it's probably not needed to port the code as a drupal module (of internal use at enb site), because it's not really meant to be used on other sites and probably no one would have patience to change that code.

but sure, its doable. you could even make a generic map module for other usages, be it games, conferences or whatever.

even if the custom code is not ported as a drupal module, it can still be loaded inside drupal, as PHP code or as a frame.

about the modules dependency like tree, ill give an example.

to build a slideshow of content (text or images, other things are possible), with the latest tech from drupal, you need these modules:

• CCK
  • FileField
    • ImageField

  [*]ImageCache[*]Views

  • Views Slideshow
• Colorbox or Lightbox2
• extras: WYSYWIG, Insert

CCK or Content Construction Kit (now included with Drupal 7 core) allows creating custom fields

ImageField (also in D7) allows working with images inside those fields. requires FileField (also in D7), which requires CCK.

ImageCache (also in D7) allows making various image sizes for each image, automaticaly, when uploading the images. these can be used by Views, Panels and other modules.

Views Slideshow allows creating a slideshow of content. requires Views, which creates the lists of content (given arguments, fields, sort criteria, etc)

Colorbox / Lightbox makes an overlay/popup when you click on an image. a nice addition to a gallery or any site with big images.

WYSIWYG is an editor API which supports ckeditor, tinymce, the older fckeditor and others

Insert allows inserting the images inside the body text of any content, easly

they re-use as much code as possible.

the module library is over 7600 modules at this point. there's also more than 900 themes on Drupal site.

they work with CVS & GIT as primary code repositories. see the issue queues here - http://drupal.org/project/issues

the portal could be made with Drupal 7, the latest version. the most important modules have been ported and there's each day less and less modules that haven't been ported from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7, even though D7 was released just a month ago. the community is extremely active and open, unlike Joomla.

Edited February 8, 2011 by LPCA

[Kyp [LDEV]]

If you saw the admin backend of IPB you wouldn't think of it as a "simple forum" lol. That's all I really have to add to this for now though.

[lpalgarvio[IS]]

i would say, given my expertise in Drupal, anything that does not need custom code related directly to the game or tools (net-7 account management, character planner, maps, etc) or the forum.

so that means basically content, news, faqs etc and anything else you can think of that does not exist as custom code, but exists as a module already in Drupal.

some useful things that could be done:

• a bug tracker/ticket system - http://drupal.org/project/project and http://drupal.org/pr...t/project_issue OR http://drupal.org/project/storm
• collaborative portal for developers, a distro called Open Attrium made with Drupal - http://openatrium.com/
• a calendar - http://drupal.org/project/calendar
• image galleries made with several modules like CCK, Views, Views Slideshow, Colorbox, etc - these for example can be tied per forum/portal account or be general galleries owned by admins
• a decent profile, with more info, pictures, dashboard, and other stuff - Panels, Advanced Profile Kit, Total Control Admin Dashboard
• it can even do a simple forum (module forum) or a more sophisticated forum (advanced forum), though not as complex as SMF or vBulletin. phpBB and IPB i think are rather simple and the forum modules should probably do something very similar.

if people send me a list of things that could be useful or are needed, i can compile a module list and say whats possible and whats not.

a TODO list for devs, based on the issue tracker, would be nice too

i have to remind, Open Atrium rules for inhouse Project and Team development and collaboration.

even the White House is using it now :=) (White House is using Drupal for the public site too)

news about white house + drupal

http://www.whitehous...pen-source-code

http://drupal.org/wh...gages-community

news about white house + open atrium

http://www.whitehous...pen-source-code

http://developmentse...ing-open-atrium

http://drupalsn.com/...ing-open-atrium

Edited February 23, 2011 by LPCA