tsnNext :: The Infrastructure This just in! Special news and announcements from the administrators will be posted here.

[Neo]

Ok, to get started with the creation of the new site, I need to get some information from a couple people...

For those interested in being part of the Game Reviews site-feature - which will be called GRiP: "Game Reviewer's Internet Periodical" - I need you to join the GRiP Usergroup. You can do that by clicking up at the top of this page, on User Groups and entering your name in the group you want to join.

From this group, I need the members to decide on a final draft of the Game Review template. I need to know what information is going to be included about each game in a review. I have to write new post pages that are different than regular post pages for the site, and to do so I need to know what to include. Also, I would like a list of all the different consoles/gaming devices that you can think of - (i.e. Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, Sega, Arcade, PC, etc.) They can be the parent group of the system (like Nintendo covers SNES, GC, GB, etc.).

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For those interested in being part of the WZUP Radio as a DJ, you can do the same as the GRiP people. Join the User Group for WZUP. In order to be a DJ (or eJ as we'll call them) you have to have over 10 hours of music or audio media that you will play, and have a cable/dsl or faster internet connection. You can always join later, but I would like to know who is interested as soon as possible.

From this group, once you have decided to become an eJ, I will need to know what type of music you plan on playing, and if you plan to do any live bits or not. I also would like to come up with a schedule of music that you would play - so I can create something like a tv guide, but for the radio. Perhaps something along the lines of a different genre every 2 hours or something. That way you don't have to be at your computer the whole time. I'll work out the details with those that are interested once we come to that point.

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Also, I will need one more person to join JAD in the Photobook. If you're interested you can join the group, and I will let JAD pick who he would like to help him.

I am creating new code for the photobook, which is going to be one of my most daunting tasks - that and the GRiP pages. And because of the vast expanse of the site, UPS and I will be spread thin over the whole network, so we're asking for another person to help with the photobook, in the event that things pick up there.

My plans for it are to create the code in which you can join the site in one spot and it will make you a member of everything else - the only problem is getting the photos from the old photobook into the new one. That will take a lot of time, if it's even possible to do it. I might have to either archive the old one, and just let people use the new one, or delete the old one, and let people start over with the new one. I'll poll everyone on this when I start developing the photobook.

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So please, share your input.

[Crimson Death]

about the whole parent groups for the game systems. i'm just going to list the current systems for gaming, if you want sections for the old stuff (NES, SNES), that could be included, but it would be weird to review them
Nintendo: GBA, GC, GBDS
Sony: PS2, PSP
Microsoft: only Xbox for now, so you could just label the group Xbox
PC: uh.. PC
Nokia: NGage (unless someone has one of these, we should just ignore it, i think it'll ultimately fail anyway unless there are more improvements)

can't think of anymore

and i'm not sure if we ever really reached a conclusion to what the gaming template should include...

[Neo]

Thanks for those...see, I am going to set up the GRiP Forum like so:

GRiP Forums
- Nintendo
- Sony
- Microsoft
- PC
- Other (Nokia, Arcade, 8-16 Bit)

And when you post a review, I hope to have little check boxes to list each of the consoles that it can be played on, so that it will create a topic for each Parent group, and in the topic title list the systems. For example:

Let's say "Enter The Matrix". I believe this is on PS2, XBox, and PC - for example's sake, we'll say PSone too. When posting your message, you would check Xbox, PSone, PS2, and PC. The review would then appear in the Sony forum as "PSone/PS2: Enter The Matrix" and in the Microsoft forum as "XBox: Enter the Matrix" and in PC as "PC: Enter the Matrix".

Now, because this game is on PC also, a list of minimum specs should be included in the review. But that's how I hope to get the post pages to wrok.

[Crimson Death]

if you have the review posted under all the parent titles, you should note which console the game was originally played on for the review, because games can change a little from console to console (online capability, more difficult control setup, extras, etc.)

[Drunkensailor]

We also have to keep in mind that some games play completely differently on one console than they would another.... for example rollercoaster tycoon on XBOX is (for anybody who played it for pc) obviosly different on XBOX....

also the grafics/sound get vary at least a little from console to console. I think we should treat (unless the differences are only minor, or maybe stated in the review) games as two separate games when you go from console to console. have a link on the top for reviews of it on other consoles. I know the home alone 2 was different on SNES from home alone 2 on nes... most of the time it won't be necissary to write a separate review but sometimes it may...

I like the checkbox idea though, brilliant.

also, I don't think we should exclude any console from the list...just like we woun'd exclude a game from the list if it sucked. If a reviewer has a review to write, then he should be able to write it, no matter if it's a nokia game of an Atari game. And if there is a console we missed, then we should have am overseer to the forum who suggestions should be posted to and he could add the console to the list. Of course theese are only suggestions.

I think the design should be simple... no annoying animations and no background midi files. those only frustrate dial up users

also if one reviewer dissagrees with another he should be able to write a"counter review" or whatever to call it and show multiple side of the argument...
IE

PC > Planescape: Torment > Drunkensailor/Crimson Death

and maybe sort them into genres as well...but that would probably be too much extra stuff for somebody to click on, and again frustrate dial up users...

I would like to add that if you take the forum colors as is, and changed the background color to black (and a few minor touch ups of course) it would look pretty cool for a games forum

also you can hide the amount of times a reviewer edit's his/her post

[Neo]

Great ideas, DS...you also need to join the the User Group for the GRiP.

I have been thinking about this feature more and I'll explain what my new intentions are, so you can see if they match up with what you're saying somewhat...

Ok, for the checkboxes - instead of making several different posts (one for each console that is available for that game) there will just be one post. The links that are for the forums (such as Xbox, PSOne, PS2, NES, GC, etc...) will merely be links that LOOK like forums, but actually just search the reviews for ones that are made for XBox, or PSOne, or PS2, etc... That way there aren't hundreds of posts created every week, needlessly.

Also, when writing the review (this is something that I just thought of because of what you mentioned) I can add a box for "Console Variances" for things that differ from console to console. If a person hasn't played them in all available consoles, then s/he can say that in their review. Other people can post their reviews as a reply to add to the thread if they are about the same game.

As far as disagreements go, I will see about creating a button (much like the "Quote" button) that will paste the original review in the disagreer's post and then they can talk about what they disagree with, and instead of it adding the post to that game's review thread, I am going to have it go to a forum called "Gamer Debates"

As far as design, I try to keep the entire site on the same basic design and color scheme. I know that it's supposed to be "cool" or whatever for gamers...but I think that you'll find this design to be pretty cool itself.

For those that haven't seen the logo for it (because it was posted in the last Night Show) it's at http://www.the-spot.net/images/Grip.jpg .

But for now, there is still a lot of designing taking place on this part of the site, and getting things in order for the moderators and such. Right now, Bad Mojo will be the moderator for the GRiP, and if my code works, I will be able to have more - but probably only one more for starters. We'll see how things go.

[Drunkensailor]

yes my membership is currently pending...

and I want to say the "query" links are a great idea. it would also make it easier to add genres to it, if you wanted to, without stretching out the process of finding a specific game.

[XxShidobuxX]

hmm im also thinking about joining up since i do game alot on my pc and currently involved building a gaming pc i could do alot of pc reviews since im allways buying a new pc game every paycheck lol dunno we will see.

[Incognito]

i joined...i buy a new game each paycheck...or rent it ya know...but with this crap job i never have time, adn so till school starts, i wont have much time...(ill get lots less hours...)

[XxShidobuxX]

HA! thats why im haulin in 70 hours on this next paycheck baby talkin bout the uber 300 dollars mhahaha ^.^ -disco dance baby-

[Drunkensailor]

you only get 300 dollars on 70 hours? I am glad I don't have your job!

[Incognito]

you only get 300 dollars on 70 hours? I am glad I don't have your job!

yeah, holy crap, i get 300 a paycheck...man, but for 70 hours? i hope you made a type man, cause thatd be some kinda crap

[Crimson Death]

yeah, i get 300+ for just over 40 hours

i like the gamer's debate idea, gonna have plenty of things to talk about

[O]

Hey all i joined up in GRiP. I do ALOT of gaming and have posted a review or two in the Game Review section. I can help provide for the Xbox, PS2, and PC naturally. Plus i try not to have biased views just cuz i dont like a small detail or am obsessed with the genre or series eventhough the game may not be the best.

[Bad-Mojo]

This is good, unbiased reviews are what we need, but if there are going to be counter reviews, then unbiased is going to get thrown right out the window.

I like the feature for adding in the different variances a game may have depending on which console you play it on Neo, but there are quite a few games that are released months apart on different consoles... an example would be the Splinter Cell games for XBox/PS2 or GTA for the same systems... a seperate review could be beneficial in that sense, but it comes down to everyone's seperate opinions in the end.

PC isn't considered a console so everygame played on PC is going to be very different depending on the system the person is using... that being said, PC gaming is drastically different from console gaming, so I dunno about including them together cause that would confuse people. Especially if you want it professionally done... this is why there are PC gaming magazines and then Console gaming magazines. You won't often see a successful gaming mag that has PC and Console games.... it's a rare thing in the media.

I think the "Gamer Debates" idea came up between Neo and I one night when he was first telling me about it.... I think I said something about there might be trouble from the Xbox fanboys....

Overall I think this is an awesome idea and something I've wanted to be a part of for a really long time now.... I just haven't actually actively tried... such as I need to put some reviews together for the thread we have approriated for that now... hehe... we'll actually have our own "review crew!"