Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 30

Thread: Amended Forums!

  1. #1
    Webmaster Don Gentu's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    England
    Posts
    164

    Lightbulb Amended Forums!

    Hi, everyone!

    We have been discussing some ideas on how to get the forums more active, and we wanted to open up with you guys about these ideas for input and suggestions. Do keep in mind that the forums are very low priority among game projects, so anything decided on may not be completed in the near future.

    Forum Events
    This one is actually really easy and might be able to start really soon. We can host several different events on the forums, like raffles, competitions, and Staff Q&A’s pretty easily. Raffles would be hosted through a raffle thread, where you can post, and we use something along the lines of a random number generator to determine who wins. We could limit entry to these raffles based on post count and activity so that people come to the forums and must contribute to receive prizes. Prizes could range anywhere from gralats, event coins, or even exclusive items that we could have made.

    Updated Era-Go Building and Advertisement
    Right now, the Era-Go building is bare, and it’s shared with the Newspaper Team and Upload House. We could update it with little show off items that players can get based on their post count or days active on the forums, or small achievements such as consecutive days logged in. This combined with other advertising in game through billboards, announcements about the events, etc., will also push for more players to join the forums as well as show the incentives they could be rewarded with after being an active member.

    In Game Forums
    This would mostly be for advertisement purposes. Something being read only maybe, and only showing sticky threads or the top five trending or recently posted on threads. Something just to show the player base what we have to offer and what we’re all about.

    More Player Feedback Threads
    We have noticed that a lot of threads by staff members asking for player feedback (such as the Plasma Corp thread) have been the most discussed threads, so we can work on being more open about some upcoming projects, with more sneak peeks and things of that nature. Of course, this can’t go overboard, or it’ll lead to things like the whole Countryside debacle.

    Small Update Log
    A lot of smaller updates, such as holiday shops, events closing, and gun balances don’t get posted in the news. We could make a closed thread that only staff members can respond to so we can keep players up to date.

    A New Forum Layout
    Right now, the forums are cluttered with subforums and sections, and it’s a mess to get to where you need to go. We could combine different subforums and cut down on sections and things like that. What would you like to see regarding this? There are bound to be a load of different opinions on the perfect forum layout, so we would be open to suggestions. Redesigning the forums to make it easier to navigate will be beneficial for new members. However, the changes will be limited to what vBulletin4.2.5 allows us to do.

    More Staff Activity and More Open Discussion
    Let’s face it - right now, not many staff members use the forums. The forums should be a way for staff members and the player base to easily connect and communicate. We can do our best to try and convince staff members to join and frequently visit the forums to promote more connection between staff and players. We can also try and promote more open discussion. We know that in the past, ideas got shut down quickly, threads locked, etc., and it’s led to some people leaving the forums. We don’t want this to happen, so we’ve tried to let everyone say what they have to say. We want to allow you to have more discussion about some side topics in threads, as long as it’s still related to the main topic of a thread.

    Amending the Forum Rules
    Following the change in moderation, it might be a good idea to revise the forum rules. Providing feedback for us to look over and take into consideration when we make these rules would be needed. Please let us know what kind of rules you would like to have and we can discuss it amongst staff members to decide whether or not to actually change the rules.

    In-Game Verified Icons
    What if we add a little in-game incentive for people to use the forums? Say staff members or moderators notice someone helping a lot of people on the forums and being an upstanding member of the community. We could grant them a little icon for their in-game profile, showing that even though they aren’t a staff member, they still do their best to help people with problems in-game. If, however, they start acting up and abusing it, they could lose their icon. I know it’s just a little useless icon that caters to the people trying to get hired (like the people saying, “PM me for help!” all around start), but it does give a little more incentive for people to join the forums and showcase their maturity and communication skills (important for PR work, hint hint).

    Other Things, Like Cops vs. Gangsters
    What other things do you think could help reinvigorate the forums? Would something like the whole cops vs. gangsters thing help at all? Any suggestions on improvement? Let us know!

    We’re also thinking of making the forum-exclusive items cop vs. gangster themed. We could revitalize the forum factions by making players choose which side they’re on and only allowing them to get items for the side that they choose. Let us know what you think!

    Again - keep in mind that the forums are low priority when it comes to staff projects, so once we decide on what to do, it could take quite a while to get implemented, especially with the things that involve the forums and in-game things (excluding prizes for raffles and competitions, they can be added to player accounts fairly easily).
    Last edited by Gentu; 10-09-2018 at 07:36 PM.
    iEra Communications Admin
    Ol'West Developer
    Era-Go Webmaster

  2. #2
    Imma so put era go forums in my status.

    Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

  3. #3
    Testbed Level Designer Madio's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2018
    Location
    Area 51
    Posts
    98
    That’s the start!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Accomplishments isn't measured my material reward, but the pride in the effort one puts forth.

  4. #4
    Street Boss Casey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    657
    im so glad that the staff team is starting to put the effort into the forums that it deserves.
    Player Relations 2016 - 2017
    Senior Player Relations 2017 - 2018
    Player Relations again lol 2018 - 2018
    Player Relations again lol 2020





  5. #5
    Oooo I got an idea, we can advertise the forums on a billboard near start, everyone wants a voice in what happens in the game, maybe not everyone but a lot of people.

    Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

  6. #6
    Leveler
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    US
    Posts
    1,309
    Lovin it! Maybe make it anytime you walk around era you can say /erago and the main page of the forums opens in chrome or whatever you use. Or in the phone on the left of the screen you could put a button for Era-Go that'd bring you to that page. Also I do think Era Go needs its own building due to the 3 things being in one place, could have a diff building and inside have a npc you can grab to go to the forums, the stuff that you get from the forums. Also maybe like free ec for a certain amount of signer up people online (ik some would get off but some would start digging with the time they have then they'd keep going). Could also do brodcast messages in game for important threads like this and have it go out every 1-3 hours. Also could definitely bring back the chatter monkey or whatever thing and have billboards around era that tell you about era go, and others that show the perks of being on era go, etc.
    Feel free to ask any question!

    iZone Levels Admin

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by kaz210 View Post
    Lovin it! Maybe make it anytime you walk around era you can say /erago and the main page of the forums opens in chrome or whatever you use. Or in the phone on the left of the screen you could put a button for Era-Go that'd bring you to that page. Also I do think Era Go needs its own building due to the 3 things being in one place, could have a diff building and inside have a npc you can grab to go to the forums, the stuff that you get from the forums. Also maybe like free ec for a certain amount of signer up people online (ik some would get off but some would start digging with the time they have then they'd keep going). Could also do brodcast messages in game for important threads like this and have it go out every 1-3 hours. Also could definitely bring back the chatter monkey or whatever thing and have billboards around era that tell you about era go, and others that show the perks of being on era go, etc.
    Or maybe a command that shows your forum statistics like how long you been in the forums.

    Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

  8. #8
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Idiotism
    Posts
    1,565
    Yeah, sorry it’s taken so long, but we have been discussing this. We’re still looking for yalls help with ideas and stuff, too.

    What kind of forum layout would you guys like to see? Any subforums you think should be merged together or changed?

    What kind of forum events do y’all want, besides what was stated in the original post?

    Do you think we should change the rules? If so, how?

    Any ideas on how to implement the verified icons? What do you think would motivate players into trying to get them?

    Another idea that was tossed around while we were discussing this was having the forum exclusive things being made by the players in another competition. Is this something y’all would like?

  9. #9
    Veteran Killjoy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Lebanon
    Posts
    207
    Quote Originally Posted by failure View Post
    Yeah, sorry it’s taken so long, but we have been discussing this. We’re still looking for yalls help with ideas and stuff, too.

    What kind of forum layout would you guys like to see? Any subforums you think should be merged together or changed?

    What kind of forum events do y’all want, besides what was stated in the original post?

    Do you think we should change the rules? If so, how?

    Any ideas on how to implement the verified icons? What do you think would motivate players into trying to get them?

    Another idea that was tossed around while we were discussing this was having the forum exclusive things being made by the players in another competition. Is this something y’all would like?
    i got an idea, give a certified icon for people that is on foruims for a certain time, for eg 5 years. also try to do giveaways by telling players to join forums for a limited time.
    You can contact me via discord: killjoy#3040

  10. #10
    Leveler
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    US
    Posts
    1,309
    Quote Originally Posted by failure View Post
    Yeah, sorry it’s taken so long, but we have been discussing this. We’re still looking for yalls help with ideas and stuff, too.

    What kind of forum layout would you guys like to see? Any subforums you think should be merged together or changed?

    What kind of forum events do y’all want, besides what was stated in the original post?

    Do you think we should change the rules? If so, how?

    Any ideas on how to implement the verified icons? What do you think would motivate players into trying to get them?

    Another idea that was tossed around while we were discussing this was having the forum exclusive things being made by the players in another competition. Is this something y’all would like?
    Gonna update this post a few times so bare with me

    I think one layout option should be just seeing the map things like the headers that are red across the home page, and then you select it so whats underneath, also a setup to only see certain headers/forums/subforums and another one that only shows post in forums you havent checked like if this thread got a new reply itd show up on your screen then you look at it (each of these layout options could be undone) this is to remove clutter when people wish to find something.

    A nice forum event would be getting like everyone signed up and on the forums and maybe they go in the unscramble thread what it relates to then then you have unscramble it and first to post the right answer wins an ec or smth and they dont say like close or anything its just wrong or right and maybe it has to relate to something already going on or something they say, could do a few of these at a time. (Or rather giving ec give like a forum coin make a forum shoppp duhh) (nah but thatd be nice but otd definitely take some work to do that (maybe for all the events make a Forum Event section) (and after each round of the game the post in the section are deleted and the orignal post is edited for the new round. Other events for forums could be making emotes again maybe and maybe a trivia over the forums to see whos been paying attention and would follow the same basis of a question in the thread thats then edited after and old post are deleted but it'd be like "In the recent forums "kaz210" said AliGamer is ________" and first to answer is right and gets a point and it could be anything over the forums like about peoples profiles, about peoples replies, about threads themselves etc this would see whos paying attention or whos fastest to look tbh lol but if no one gets it after a bit they could give a link the the thread or profile or whereever it is in the profile.

    I think its mostly okay rn with the rules I just think mods should be really uptight like they have been (not recently rn the mod team is seeming to do a lot better then nefore I do believe)

    The icons could just be like a circle with the letter H in it that could be white and it'd stand for Helper and if the player is afk for more then 5 mins the back of it will be yellow, if they are active it'll be green, if they choose to show offline or are offline it'll appear gray (basically would replace the current circle but would have the H in it btw they should replace the circle with the verified mark in profiles with admins and work with the same backgrounds of the verified marks basis.

    And yeah I think it'd be cool to implement maybe a forum shop and forum coins maybe just by signing up to the forums you get a hat, ec, and like 5 forum coins for items and some would be locked based on post or thread started on forums, some would be how long you've on the forums, some stuff would be based off forum coins you get. (Like after being signed up for 3 years you get a hat, a melee, 10 forum coins, and an ec)

    - - - Updated - - -

    Guess I didn't have to update my post but when I meant red sections I mean like where it says Era, Community, and keep going down.
    Feel free to ask any question!

    iZone Levels Admin

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •