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Need some help with new Wild Tangent website


Spock

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Wildtangent will be closing their forums on January 14, 2014. I have been in discussions with them about transferring their forum content to my own host so we don't lose anything.

I have set up a new host with the domain wildtangentfansite.com but really need help with graphics, content management, wiki information, etc. I really want to make a new site that all the Fate gamers will want to call their own but right now it looks really UGLY! I thought I could use the "drag-n-drop" website builder they offer but it's really useless. What I ended up doing was copying select portions of my old website over and modifying them for the new site.

Any help and/or constructive criticisms would be greatly appreciated.

Spock

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Sounds like a fun new project for you Spock. Not sure how much time I'd be able to offer with all that's going on here but if you post a specific job here at DarkMatters then I may be able to jump in once in a while. Don't worry about looks! That can be built up over time. :)

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Wildtangent will be closing their forums on January 14, 2014. I have been in discussions with them about transferring their forum content to my own host so we don't lose anything.

 

I have set up a new host with the domain wildtangentfansite.com but really need help with graphics, content management, wiki information, etc. I really want to make a new site that all the Fate gamers will want to call their own but right now it looks really UGLY! I thought I could use the "drag-n-drop" website builder they offer but it's really useless. What I ended up doing was copying select portions of my old website over and modifying them for the new site.

 

Any help and/or constructive criticisms would be greatly appreciated.

 

Spock

 

 

Hey Spock!

I remember Fate, is that the part of the site you want to keep going? Is it just a forum you're trying to build, or a Wiki as well>? I'd think that the Fate community would be way of seeing interest in this game, would they be able to offer resources or even hosting to help out?

 

:)

 

gogo

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I'm hoping to create not just a website but a forum capable of transferring the content from the existing WT forum. I also want to set up a Wiki.

Right now I desperately need a Logo that doesn't look too out of place.

 

The Wildtangent Fan Site looks really ugly right now because I just copied some of my original website files and modified them for the new site. I've installed MediaWiki but am not sure if that's the best one or not as I've never attempted to work with a Wiki. The ones available through the host are MediaWiki v1.21.1, Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware v9.4, WikkaWiki v1.3.4, DokuWiki v2013-03-06, and PmWiki v2.2.56.

 

I've started a Poll on the forum to see if the interest is high enough to warrant me spending the amount required for an IP.Board forum. Then the current forum content would transfer with no problem. The trouble is, it's going to cost welll over $200 for only 6 months! So far there isn't enough interest. :(

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That's a tough one Spock. It'll be difficult to build on such an old game. Maybe you could generate static html pages of everything you want to preserve and then upload. Kinda like wolfeslair is I guess. Then see if you can build up interest. Also look at possibly converting the ipb database to work with a cheaper forum software. A free one if possible at that. IPB is great software but it won't be a one time purchase. Maybe not a great choice for a game with a weak base.

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... not a great choice for a game with a weak base.

That's what I was thinking. I've already sent a message to the Staff member I've been working with asking if it could be converted to a different software. I already use, and am familiar with, phpBB software.

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I'd also, as mentioned by Schot, look towards working with the fan base. If you're ready to just want to put up a knowledge base because all you dream about is Fate, then you have that wild passion on your side to help fuel you. If you can get other interested fans to help you out, your job is lessened.

 

IPB is, we think, best forum software in world (Maybe Xenforo is coming along to topple it ? :devil:) but, it's more expensive than Windows^^ For a single way to express a single game, it's costly. There are a lot of other options out there that could protect your game for free, I like Schot's idea of using a flat dbase like Wolfe's Laire, and you could also use free forum software, all kinds out there.

 

:)

 

gogo

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I'm exploring other options for the forum software. I'm partial to phpBB since I've used it for years but the end result must be able to transfer the content from the WT forums to mine.

 

I have also just installed MediaWiki and find I'm totally lost! Is there anyone here who would be willing to login there and help me get things started? I want to set up places for game reviews and Mod authors descriptions of their Mods.

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For the database I think I've read in the past that people have converted an IPB database to phpBB. That would certainly be ideal for you since you know phpBB. As for Mediawiki it's own site is by far the best resource an admin can dream of. It's very well maintained and exceptionally thorough. If you got questions then by all means post them in our Tech Talk section and I'll see what me brain can come up with. :)

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Thanks. Right now I'm concentrating on getting content transferred. I found out that the only way we will be able to save off the thousands of topics is to use cut and paste! :(

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Hi Spock

I was reading all your posts on the Wild Games forum site

Who is getting the IPB license that all your data is currently on? If they are saying they are going to shut down, what does this mean?

 

that they are going to dump the data and keep the board license for another game?

If so, you can just take over the hosting?

 

:)

 

gogo

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How's this going Spock, will you be able to acquire the ipb license currently in use for cheap?

It's going slowly. I'm not sure I would have done it at all if they had told me up front the only way we could access their content was via copy and paste!

 

The only reason I was going to go the IP.Board route was so I wouldn't have to worry about database incompatibility. Since I don't have to worry about that regardless of what I use, I have installed a free forum software I'm familiar with, phpBB.

 

Evidently, they aren't going to have any forum. I suppose I could ask about taking over the license. Renewal fees would be a lot cheaper than a new package. :Just_Cuz_21:

 

Now if I could just remember my forum login for their support website ...

 

Of course learning how to use the MediaWiki has taken a back seat to transferring important posts. :(

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I suppose I could ask about taking over the license. Renewal fees would be a lot cheaper than a new package. :Just_Cuz_21:

This is your best option

Definitely pursue this, as you will not have to copy paste in that case. Simply take over the renewal of the IPB board, use your own hosting. No need to copy anything over to anywhere.

Simply move the IPB forum over to hosting on your site

Problem solved, no crazy copy/pasting

 

:)

 

gogo

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Spock. If you can get that ip.board license then by all means do. You are in no way obliged to continually renew the license. You can go for years without renewing. Renewing just gives you access to support and incremental version updates which is not a necessity. Also. You can cancel the addon stuff like ip.content from the core license so that when you do renew it won't cost so much. IP.Board and the like is tricky business when you're new to it so ask questions if you got them. If you just need to maintain those topics using the easiest method possible then get the IP.Board license and dump all the other associated stuff. You could get away with only paying $25 a year. Possibly less even if you play it right.

 

P.s.

Moved this topic to the Tech Talk forum

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Also, Spock, what does that mean when they say they are "shutting down"

This could mean a number of different things, all of which can be responded to in good ways

Do they mean by shutting down they want to erase all the data?

or by shutting down they just dont want to pay to host the data?

or by shutting down they just dont wan to pay for renewal of the ipb forum software?

 

:)

 

gogo

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They are getting rid of the forum and will not be creating a new one. The reason they gave us so much warning is because they want to make sure all the information on the website is updated to match the more current data in the forum.

 

Even if I took over the licensing, I couldn't just "move everything over". They were very clear, there was no way they would allow us to have any user information, so a database backup and restore would be out of the question. :(

 

If I did take over the license, I would have to start a new forum and build it up the same way I'm doing with the one I've already started, I would just have to pay for it.

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Ahh, I see, they're not really making their data available then...just the content of the posts.

 

Is that license in fact availble then, or will they stick another one of their games onit?

It's the best forum sofrtware in the world (we use it :superman:)

It's expensive, but if you think they're soft for you to be able to give it to you for a low low price, it's a very good consideration

 

:)

 

gogo

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I agree. It's a good oportunity if it's near free. IP.Board's rich editor allows you to copy/paste content with styling intact which could be handy in your case. Also. If you feel you're running out of time you could always refer to the wayback machine to salvage content.

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20130805135014/http://forum.wildgames.com/

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  • 2 years later...

I will be closing the Wildtangent Fansite (WFS) down on October 25, 2016. Prior to that, I will be transferring any useful assets over to my old teaching website PCTalk. I will attempt to change the old website so it can hopefully become a hub for general computer and game discussion.

 

If anyone in here has any interest in the old Fate Series of games you might want to copy everything you can before the WFS site goes down ... just in case.

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I will be closing the Wildtangent Fansite (WFS) down on October 25, 2016. Prior to that, I will be transferring any useful assets over to my old teaching website PCTalk. I will attempt to change the old website so it can hopefully become a hub for general computer and game discussion.

 

If anyone in here has any interest in the old Fate Series of games you might want to copy everything you can before the WFS site goes down ... just in case.

good luck with your move, Spock. I understand your nostalgia... I sometimes wonder when a day will come when DarkMatters and the Wiki will have to find another home too

:blink:

 

gogo

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I have decided to transfer as much as I can to my old teaching website. I will "re-purpose" it to be more for general gaming/computer discussion and will transfer the new forums as well. That will allow me to keep the content we worked so hard to transfer from the Wildtangent forum.

Just wish I could find some way to send out an email to all current account holders letting them know the new location. I will probably search on the phpbb website to see if any such Mods exist already.

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