Smidge204 Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 It's "Done" - I forced it out a bit premature but it's out. Much cleanup to ensue. Progress update on the main site. The new site uses AJAX for the bulk data display. This decreases the total data that must be handled by the server and improves responsiveness a great deal. It is not fancy but it is pretty slick and very solid from a technical standpoint. Filtering is done by server on SQL query, initiated by the static HTML/Javascript. The result is sent as XML data which is cached by the client. Sorting and pagination are done by the browser via Javascript so no new data is sent between client and server, except for loading uncached thumbnail images. News entries are stored in XML files with the n (currently set to 10) most recent posts cached separately to avoid processing overhead. In some special cases (view.php), to avoid multiple exchanges, a PHP file will serve up an HTML file directly, inserting the relevant data as Javascript variables which are then rendered by the browser. (This way all the processing is done by a .js file that can be cached by the client - less transfer and less server processing) Individual pages: "News" (main) page: Front end scripting is complete. News back end nonexistent but low priority since it's easy enough to update the XML files by hand. "Games" page: Front and back end scripting complete. (I should probably make "Sonic fan games" the default...) "Sprites" page: Front and back end scripting complete. "Backgrounds" page: Front and back end scripting complete. "Sounds" page: Front and back end scripting complete. (There are currently no filters applicable to the sounds, since this section is quite small.) "Tutorials" page: Done. Needs to be done still. Should be fairly straightforward. "Tools" page: Needs to be done still. Will rename to "Templates" and focus on that. Should be fairly straightforward. This section will effectively combine the "Engines & Templates" and "Software" sections, as well as including support files (MINIMAL - I do not want SFGHQ to become a warehouse for Clickteam extensions!) and other misc. "Community" page: Mostly done. Combines "Contribute", "Author Index" and Forum links along with brief histories on SFGHQ/SAGE, legal disclaimer, affiliates list, staff list, and site statistics. "Contribute" page: Complete. Static text on this page condenses the current contribution requirements and redirects visitors to the forum's submission zones. "Recent Additions" box to the right on each page: Done. Needs to be done. Will likely use an XML system similar to the news to cache updates. Maintenance pages: The maintainer scripts will be rewritten and put on the main site, allowing new material to be uploaded directly. This will include PHP based file uploads and a tie-in to the news back end for making semi-automatic news posts. Somewhat low priority compared to the bulk of the site. Ancillary pages: "view.php" - Done except voting part. Needs severe modification/rewrite. This script is responsible for displaying information about a particular file in a consistent manner, as well as providing the vote/rate function to the visitor. "vote.php" - Needs severe modification/rewrite. I'd like to move from a 1-10 rating to a 0-5 "star" system with half-stars. This is functionally identical to the 1-10 system but just looks better IMHO. Old system is completely incompatible with the new site. "review.php" - Removed completely. Needs severe modification/rewrite. Reviews have been disabled for two years at this point, and honestly I'm thinking it's not worth it judging by the "quality" of submissions we got when it was working. Will likely remove completely. "view_auth.php" - Done, along with author index. Needs severe modification/rewrite. This script is the same as "view.php" except for contributors, and includes a list of submitted material under that name. Overall progress: About 95%. (Should be done in time for Christmas.) Fun facts: Total image data for new site (excludes thumbnails for content): 37kb Total static HTML data: 42kb (estimate 60-70kb when complete) Total Javascript data: 40KB (About 900 lines) SFGHQ will easily fit onto a 5 1/2" floppy disk! =Smidge= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayling Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 You are awesome. I love you in the straightest way possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 Nice to hear there's some really significant progress on it. The concept images and implementations were looking awesome with the original buzz and I can't wait to see the website in action. It sounds like you're making it extremely efficient. I like the idea of the filters giving an xml file which is processed by the browser to explore the entries. Especially considering my ISP can be really slow to start loading new stuff. Sounds like some great work and ideas so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Napalm Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 Lol I was wondering why the site hadn't been updated, I really need to come here more often Sounds pretty sweet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slingerland Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 This news is totally badass. <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asuma Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 I have no idea what that means, but I suppose it's good news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rael0505 Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 sfghq is the only thing on my wishlist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epon Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 Web 2.0 is soooo 2007.... ;P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckboy Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 there's no such thing as a sonic fan games hq, just a sonic fan games hq forum 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayling Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 Wait, there's a site that goes with this forum? New members, ha ha. I knew there was a site... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asuma Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 Or did you?=P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayling Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 Of course I did. As RedTH I tried to steal crap fom it. =P Anyway, I'm interested to see this. Too bad I can't download.. ;_; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckythemutant Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 I have no idea what that means, but I suppose it's good news. ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rael0505 Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 Azu saying that is no surprise, but dammit ducky. I expected better from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckboy Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 i expected better from yo momma in bed last night DAAAAAMN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckythemutant Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 o snapz, teh ducks are on yo back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Posted December 16, 2007 Report Share Posted December 16, 2007 Throw a little cosmetic work at it, license it, and then sell it. Make yourself a little extra money. People love CMS's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smidge204 Posted December 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2007 See first post for more updates. I've decided to nix the "Software" section, since it sucks. I'm going to change "Tools" to "Templates" and be done with it. Really the only things that need to be fixed at this point are the statistics page and the author's pages/listing. Everything else isn't important enough to keep the new site from going live. Here's a sneak preview: =Smidge= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayling Posted December 22, 2007 Report Share Posted December 22, 2007 I <3 you Smidge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asuma Posted December 22, 2007 Report Share Posted December 22, 2007 That's kicking rad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRD Posted December 23, 2007 Report Share Posted December 23, 2007 Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamerdude Posted December 23, 2007 Report Share Posted December 23, 2007 I was actually going to contact you a little while ago to see how things were going, but finals kept me occupied...I'm glad to see that things are going pretty smoothly. I'm very impressed with how you have everything so stream-lined...it's pretty incredible. Great work Smidge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rael0505 Posted December 23, 2007 Report Share Posted December 23, 2007 Looking great, Smidge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeL Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 i looooooove AJAX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amesuki Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 Me likey! Good work there ^^ -Amesuki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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