Announcing hub channel changes in BYOND Discussion

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ID:137411
 
Nov 25 2001, 8:09 pm

Beginning tomorrow, we will be reorganizing a number of things in the hub game listings.

Under the new system, games do not generally get published on the "front page" of the hub. The author has to select a publication channel and then the channel admins have a chance to review the item and possibly work with the author to develop a finished product that is consistent with the requirements for the channel in question.

For a short time, we will be creating and overseeing a set of "official" publication channels, but we would like to see alternate channels spring up soon after that so that fan groups and what-not can administer their own channels.

I am just announcing this now, because I don't want anyone to get overly concerned when suddenly their game doesn't appear where they were expecting it to be. The new publication standards will be a little stricter, but, on the other hand, there will be more specific outlets for authors to use (like, say, a channel for spoofs of other games) so we will no longer be stuck with trying to fit everyone into one nitch.

It will also be possible for people to create "clubs" with a channel membership fee, so you can broadcast live games within the channel for the eyes of other members only.

Anyway, give us a few days to sort things out and then we'll put this all online.

--Dan
#1 Nov 26 2001, 2:41 pm
Sounds like a good idea to me. I was wondering why dwo had channels below the people logged in. Do you mean that the games that are categorized into these new channels are going to be reviewed for quality as well as deciding whether or not they fit the channel? Will any games at all be published on the front page of the hub? Anyway, great idea.
#2 Nov 26 2001, 3:02 pm
In response to SilkWizard (#1)
SilkWizard wrote:
Sounds like a good idea to me. I was wondering why dwo had channels below the people logged in. Do you mean that the games that are categorized into these new channels are going to be reviewed for quality as well as deciding whether or not they fit the channel? Will any games at all be published on the front page of the hub? Anyway, great idea.

Such a great idea it may save BYOND, thereby saving civilization.

(Or future games inspired by Civilization...)
#3 Nov 26 2001, 3:54 pm
What a great addition!

I look forward to seeing this! Just wondering, how much would the club member fee be?
#4 Nov 26 2001, 5:06 pm
In response to Sariat (#3)
I look forward to seeing this! Just wondering, how much would the club member fee be?

I think that would be determined by the owner of the channel.

<small>I hope so, anyway, because I'm going to set up a channel called "Guy's Oprah's Book Club". It will be like Oprah's Book Club, except we'll alternate between touchy-feely Lifetime Channel stuff and hard-boiled detective novels from the 1950's.</small>
#5 Nov 26 2001, 5:12 pm
In response to Gughunter (#4)
Gotta break the monotony sometime, eh? ;)
#6 Nov 26 2001, 5:29 pm
In response to Sariat (#3)
Sariat wrote:
What a great addition!

I look forward to seeing this! Just wondering, how much would the club member fee be?

i personally think the byond hub is going down the comode. A fee for a channel? what the hell is that all about?

If you know me, im all about free free free everything. I hate fees.

But i havent seen it yet, so i cant complain until i see what exactley this is.

If its not much, i will have a FIREking channel perhaps(depends on what its like), for all my games.

FIREking
#7 Nov 26 2001, 5:33 pm
In response to FIREking (#6)
FIREking wrote:
If its not much, i will have a FIREking channel perhaps(depends on what its like), for all my games.

Not to worry. I don't know the details, but I believe what is meant is this: people will be able to create their own channels and charge fees (or not) for them. It's just like having a subscription for a game - a channel may be a group of related games, all packaged as one.

Unless I'm grossly mistaken, it won't cost you any money to create a channel, and most channels will likely be free to join.
#8 Nov 26 2001, 5:33 pm
In response to FIREking (#6)
You would......
#9 Nov 26 2001, 5:39 pm
In response to Air Mapster (#7)
ahhhhh
*sigh of relief*

thanks!

FIREking
#10 Nov 26 2001, 5:40 pm
In response to Sariat (#8)
what specific sentence were you talking about?

if its about the byond hub going down the comode, thats just because there are like 12 DBZ games that are hosted 24/7 that i have to dig through to find the cool games.
#11 Nov 26 2001, 5:47 pm
In response to FIREking (#10)
The one where you said that you would name your channel FIREking or something like that.

-Sariat
#12 Nov 26 2001, 5:52 pm
In response to Sariat (#11)
Sariat wrote:
The one where you said that you would name your channel FIREking or something like that.

-Sariat

what else would i name it?

the Super Dragon Ball GT Version 1.3 with Super Sayian JT and Ruyo Dragon Plus out new Host Server v4.5 with Linux Box + Cable Connection at 800 MB per second This is Fast you gotta Play this cuz its really cool and it beats all the other dbz games, included dbz elite and all of those games like that Channel?

or something stupid like

RPG VIKINGS CHANNEL THE BEST RPG GAMES IN THE WHOLE WORLD?

There really isnt a cool name i could name it, without being lame. Plus, sounds sensible to name it FIREking, sense it will only have my games.

FIREking
#13 Nov 26 2001, 5:56 pm
In response to Air Mapster (#7)
Unless I'm grossly mistaken, it won't cost you any money to create a channel, and most channels will likely be free to join.

Yeah, this is my understanding too. Dantom is very committed to the idea of allowing game designers to decide just how free, or costly, their work should be.

In my own case, I expect to have a mixture of both. All of the ones I have now are free (though SpaceTug solicits donations occasionally, and the new version will too, not that many people donate, though I'm grateful to those who have); but in the future, there will be some that I'll want to charge for, and some I'll want to give away just for fun. Anyway, I'm not trying to toot my own horn here so much as to illustrate the idea that game designers will have a variety of plans for their work, and Dantom wants to give them a variety of ways to implement those plans.
#14 Nov 26 2001, 6:40 pm

Ok, you can get a peek at what's in the works by going to http://www.byond.com/hub/BYOND/Live.

I have just seeded in a few games so as to give an approximate idea of where this is heading. If the authors of those games think they belong elsewhere, simply go to "distribution" in your hub entry and submit to a different channel. It is even possible (though not highly recommended at this point) to publish an item in multiple channels, since the channels are more about audience than about categorization.

Everybody else whose game I did not seed into the hub, please think about where your game might fit in and whether you honestly believe it is ready for full publicity. We (and anybody else for that matter) can create new channels as needed, in order to cater to new audiences.

Oh, I should also mention the DM hub: http://www.byond.com/hub/DM/Guild. Same idea as BYOND.Live, but it is intended for developers.

We'll probably turn off the old hub listing in a day or two and officially switch over to the new publication channels.

Since I don't have time to try out the plethora of "fan games" right now, I would also appreciate some honest opinions on which ones are actual games. Some of the ones I have tried out did not strike me as legitimate games, because it appeared that there was no actual challenge, beyond mindless repetitive actions to gain stats.

I'm not saying that to be harsh on anyone. I just want to draw a distinction between a game in its very early stages where game balance/plot has not been built up much and a mature game that does have some semblance of challenge to interest players.

If your response to this question is likely to offend other people or start a big flame war, then please just email me at dantom@dantom.com.

Thanks!

--Dan
#15 Nov 26 2001, 6:48 pm
In response to SilkWizard (#1)
SilkWizard wrote:
Will any games at all be published on the front page of the hub?

We may specially promote a few games from time to time on the front page (ie the main BYOND.Live contents page), but I do not want that list to get too long. People can search for games from there and still find anything that is published at a lower level, so people who are looking for something specific that doesn't seem related to any of the sub-channels, can still find it without navigating around too much.

We will also be doing more with the banners on a channel-specific basis, so it is more appropriate to the audience.

#16 Nov 27 2001, 3:44 am
It looks great, Dan.

Is there a plan for somewhere to put things like BYONDPoll? It's not a tutorial or a demo, and it's not a game, and it's not unfinished.

Z
#17 Nov 27 2001, 5:39 am (Edited on Nov 27 2001, 5:44 am)
So then what about the DM.Guild page, is it going to be the same review proccess or what? Cause I can't find mine(u_control) under the libraries

thanx,
unimatrix (concerned)

[edit]
suggestion:
you could have a certain channel for clubs so that the front page looks nicer.
[/edit]
#18 Nov 27 2001, 6:00 am
In response to unimatrix (#17)
Your library is right under my Leveling system near the top of the page.
#19 Nov 27 2001, 8:57 am (Edited on Nov 27 2001, 9:06 am)
Whoops, My school's pc is very slow, i didnt think it would process it. but it did 3 times. Sorry Again
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