After the flash client update, will all games have to be transferred to support the flash client or will the current downloadable client still exist?

I don't say this enough, but I love you guys.

The first few website updates(from when I joined in late '05 until 2010) weren't always substantial, but lately you guys have been bringing BYOND's web appeal out of the web1.0 era and everything is pulling together to look so much more modern and appealing.

The extra cost on memberships won't be a problem because you guys deserve each penny. Besides, I'm sure it won't be long before BYOND attracts more mainstream attention and isn't the joke of the programming world.

Cheers, guys. Things are looking great.

At least it cooks in three minutes!

I think you could charge some money for users who want to make BYOND transparent to their player base. Like some sort of hosting service subscription fee. We pay you a monthly fee to let us use your engine to construct a game and register new users in a way that is bypassing the entire BYOND portal. I would be the first to sign up!

FIREking wrote:

I think you could charge some money for users who want to make BYOND transparent to their player base. Like some sort of hosting service subscription fee. We pay you a monthly fee to let us use your engine to construct a game and register new users in a way that is bypassing the entire BYOND portal. I would be the first to sign up!

I disagree. BYOND does not host my games, my hosts host my games. BYOND just provides links to make them more accessible. I agree with the requirement of payment to make the hub, but not an extra charge to expand playerbase - that just seems ridiculous.

EDIT: When I say BYOND just provides links, I don't simply mean that that is all BYOND does for me. The engine, of course, is of great thanks. I'm specifically talking about the finished products the developer makes.

On Jan 27th 2012 at 9:00pm there better be a post about Snow Days by Lummox.

I'm honestly surprised that there isn't more (any!?) vocal opposition to this, I knew this blog post was coming from vague mentions in the wind and even as I read it, almost all of my justifications were based on the fact that I'll be a BYOND member anyway so it's acceptable moving some stuff that was free into paid territory.

In reality though, I think its a good move, I was a bit disappointed with the idea of blogs being removed as blogs (as well as hosting space) was pretty much the only thing guaranteeing my continued payments.

After thinking about it though, I think the blog and guild setup was more of a distraction than a tool. Even the user forum feels hidden away and more of an effort to reach than worth the trouble.

The updating of the forum software is a much needed addition and it will now feel we've entered the 21st century although I'll admit I quite liked the way it is now anyway :p

These are all nice updates, but I think 2012 will be the hit or miss year on where it is going. I hope, I really do that its a hit and will try to do my part as a developer.

Latoma wrote:

Blogs technically going bye bye

Blogs technically going "hey, let's unify the site to make it as organized as possible."

I love it. I love it. I love it.
Bravo.

The only discrepancy, which I think many are thinking about, is the doing away with blogs. Many are concerned about what will happen to their blogs, and how they will still be able to have an equivalent method to express themselves. (Probably.)
It's probably really obvious, and we'll all understand it once the site change happens.

I'm hoping this change comes soon.
Overall, this is really nice. The idea to vote for answers in the developer forums is a great idea. Don't rush the Flash thing. Make sure you do it as well as possible, so it's not very buggy.

The map text thing completely blew me away when I first read that. That's amazing! It adds an entire level of social interaction that will now be built into your engine.

Great job, I can't wait to see it.

P.S. An option to choose "mark all as read" for subscriptions on the "home" page would be nice.

Acebloke wrote:

In reality though, I think its a good move, I was a bit disappointed with the idea of blogs being removed as blogs (as well as hosting space) was pretty much the only thing guaranteeing my continued payments.

Hosting space isn't going away for paying members is it?