Forge Vault Idea

xptoast · Post by **xptoast** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 12:52 pm

I dont really know how many people here have the ability to buy stuff for xbox live but I have an idea. We should make a website dedicated to forge map ranking and storage. A central location for all maps to be rated and seen. Not just forgehub or w/e but a place to store all maps and have them rated and stored by fileshares. The accounts could be bought and held for these maps. That way all good maps could be located and well documented by those who vote for them and such. Not a clunky and disorganized and unsatisfactory bungie forum thread board. A group of testers or something could test them and let them into the voting pool so as not to have a bunch of crap on the thread frontpage for voting. What do you think? Ideas? I am building a voting website anyhow so when I get the code all done I can post the site. I just need ideas and input.

EDIT 1:

We could just hold a donations button or something. Maybe hold tourneys and the money would go toward storage on file shares? By the way...When you submit a map to the forum threads on Bungie does that put the map somewhere else? I noticed I had maps floating around that I had actually deleted and replaced on my file share. Maybe someone could check that out. It didn't cost too much to hold what is it like 24 spots or something for a year. Thats a long time. I imagine we wouldn't need to many spots. Maybe 2 accounts per type we need saved such as game variant, map variant, and films if we really wanted to.

So...
24 spots per enhanced fileshare+actual account for that fileshare
2 accounts per type
2 types
So...
48 map variants
48 game variants
So...
4 enhanced file shares (750 M$ Points for 12 months($12.50 for 1000pts)) = $37.5
4 actual accounts ($50 per year) = $200
So...
$37.5+200=$237.50 needing raised per year to keep the Forge Vault going.

I can run it but I would need the donations. We would make a special account that goes straight onto a prepay visa card that can have money put on it by means of paypal. Then when the money runs out then forge vault is gone. That means every year we would just have a donation drive or put it in over the year so that at the end it will be updated and done. I can do it for a while but not forever. The website can have a counter and display how much is in the account for all visitors to the site to see. That way it can stay right around the needed costs and no more and no less. That costs way more than I thought but yea. Do you need your account to be gold to have the year long fileshare be open still? I mean all the accounts would be used for is fileshare.

EDIT 2:

This isn't a depository for anyone to drop their map off at. This is for finding great maps and having them held all in a central location. It's about filtering out bad and sad maps from good maps by means of the public and such testing them and refining them. The greatest of all maps will be put into the vault permanently if they are good enough. That would be such as Barts Manor. If I thought it was a good idea to just drop your map off then I wouldn't even make a website or have the idea of the ForgeVault. If people want to drop their map off they can do that at Bungies website already. This is to get great content in a central location and to allow the authors of such great content from being able to remove their account but have their map live on after they are done playing halo or if they just want to use their fileshare for other maps. There is no point in having another forum or page full of maps that are just ask good or bad as they were on Bungies forums. Ever try wading through those forums for a good map?

Mr.Brightside · Post by **Mr.Brightside** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:05 pm

Seems like it would be a sufficient way to have a forge map database.

Tural · Post by **Tural** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:10 pm

If you want to pay several hundred dollars each year for several Xbox Live accounts, go ahead.

-Legendary- · Post by **-Legendary-** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:44 pm

I had the idea awhile back, but you would have to hold them all somewhere.

c4st · Post by **c4st** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:52 pm

Sorta like http://forgedb.com/ ? still haven't finished it yet. could use some help~

haxalot88 · Post by **haxalot88** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:00 pm

You know, you can still download varients even if the account is a silver. As long as the account was a gold mem when he uploaded the maps...
So just make an account everytime you have 6 more forge maps. Name them all something generic. Then in that 1 month of free gold, upload the forge varients, and the post the account name. It's kinda inefficient to have only 6 per account, but it's kinda worth it for it being free...

xptoast · Post by **xptoast** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:53 pm

Not a bad idea about the free golds but I was thinking maybe just get the one month gold then get the full fileshare then let the gold go and still have the maps hosted. Just a maybe though since I would want to keep it updated.

Also...

c4st wrote:Sorta like http://forgedb.com/ ? still haven't finished it yet. could use some help~

Yes like that but way better. I have some ideas. I want to name it ForgeVault. You can help me if you want. I have a few projects I am wanting to roll out soon. What you have is a start but way too simple. I have some plans. Just wanting input on this project. I will post more info on the ideas I have for it soon.

haxalot88 · Post by **haxalot88** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:57 pm

xptoast wrote:Not a bad idea about the free golds but I was thinking maybe just get the one month gold then get the full fileshare then let the gold go and still have the maps hosted. Just a maybe though since I would want to keep it updated.

aka what i just said

c4st · Post by **c4st** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:05 pm

xptoast wrote:Not a bad idea about the free golds but I was thinking maybe just get the one month gold then get the full fileshare then let the gold go and still have the maps hosted. Just a maybe though since I would want to keep it updated.

Also...

c4st wrote:Sorta like http://forgedb.com/ ? still haven't finished it yet. could use some help~
Yes like that but way better. I have some ideas. I want to name it ForgeVault. You can help me if you want. I have a few projects I am wanting to roll out soon. What you have is a start but way too simple. I have some plans. Just wanting input on this project. I will post more info on the ideas I have for it soon.

I've only spent one weekend working on ForgeDB. Haven't had much time to work on it lately. If your planning to do ForgeVault, I hope your experienced with PHP or similar server side language, HTML, CSS, and possibly JavaScript.

xptoast · Post by **xptoast** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:10 pm

Getting there. I am almost done reading and learing php and mysql. This should prove to be a good test. Hey I have a great layout for the site too. What's your experience with html and stuff? We can work together. I dont want to be a turkey but I am pretty good with organization and think I can make a good site but would like to have help. Mind joining forces? I have ability to do this and dont want a rivalry. That wouldnt be any good. Here is a general layout. Mind you this is just a quick sketch up and not the final show.

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/4425 ... ultri0.png

Tural · Post by **Tural** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:18 pm

So.. you didn't know PHP or MySQL, and yet decide to undertake a massive project like a full site with all these features? That's a really, really bad strategy. Also, your layout is.. um.. well.. bad. It's very childish in nature and not at all professional. I think you should work with c4st, not have him work with you. He is clearly knowledgeable about the coding, and his layout is much more organized and neat, which is an absolute must if you plan on making the site as big as you claim you want it.

c4st · Post by **c4st** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:20 pm

Well, ForgeDB.com is all coded by me from scratch. It does sit on top of a framework but other than that it's all me. I don't know if I have time to work on it for the next month or so. So, I may or may not be able to help you. If I find that there is a need for a site such as ForgeDB, I will promptly continue development right away.

xptoast · Post by **xptoast** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:21 pm

///Edited to clear up space since what was here serves no purpose. Continue with normal and on topic comments

Tural · Post by **Tural** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:23 pm

Movie critics don't make movies, buddy. I don't need to make you a layout to tell you yours is bad. How dare you have the audacity to accuse me of having no ability, on top of that, insinuating I require the use of templates. What an ignorant, arrogant statement you've just made.

I wasn't stating the image was bad, I was stating the layout was bad. The nature of the side panel, the navigation bar, the central submissions area, it's all very bloated and unprofessional.

"Got a better layout?"
c4st's, for one...

xptoast · Post by **xptoast** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:48 pm

ForgeVault is for finding great maps and storing them on our own fileshare in a central location. It's not another place to just drop your stuff at. Such as we have at this website. People drop their maps off and then more and more come. Then the place is flooded with good and crappy maps. I want a place where you can go and find super good maps every time without downloading thirty maps before you find a decent one.

EDIT: I have an idea how to still do this but help with your ForgeDB and make it one project. I will post more later.

c4st · Post by **c4st** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:17 pm

xptoast wrote:Misunderstanding I think we have.

ForgeVault is for finding great maps and storing them on our own fileshare in a central location. It's not another place to just drop your stuff at. Such as we have at this website. People drop their maps off and then more and more come. Then the place is flooded with good and crappy maps. I want a place where you can go and find super good maps every time without downloading thirty maps before you find a decent one.

I am sorry I sounded upset with you for your ForgeDB. I wish you good luck with it, but can I ask what is the point of it? Isn't it the same as when you publish the map on Bungies site? It just goes and floods all over till you have a big db of maps that mostly are crap? I mean even most of my maps are crap. I only have like a couple decent ones that maybe would go into the vault. Maybe like a bronze rating, lol, but not a gold such as Bart's Manor and maps of that type.

ForgeDB will have a similar system as reddit.com or digg.com. There is a queue page that allows you to hammer down in separate categories. Maps, screenshots, and gametypes that are popular at the time of viewing will be featured on the front page. The popularity of content is not based on my or any one person's opinion, but the communities opinion. Unlike ForgeHub, I was trying to create a atmosphere with fewer biased promotions. Popularity is based on diversity, trends, unique views, votes, and downloads. All content that we would serve has an association. Maps have many gametypes, gametypes belong to many maps, map have many screenshots, sceenshots belong to map, and similar associations. So when viewing a map you can also easily download all the gametypes that relate, and also view all the screenshots on the server that also relate to the map you're downloading. All this information and associations will be provided to you on one page. The users can discuss on this page in a multi-thread conversation.

xptoast · Post by **xptoast** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:12 am

Well cast I guess there will be two very similar sites then. That is actually some of what I was going to do. That however is just some of what I wanted to do. I visit digg.com very often as I bet you do. Hope your comment system isn't as "broken" as theirs. We could just share the load, have slightly different stuff, but link them so as to make one nice little community. The vault is very great maps and not just map of the day. So we could maybe take the top ranked maps from each of our sites and put them into a testing group for possible submission to the vault. Too bad we cant somehow link the profiles of people together so they don't have to log on two different sites with two different names. Isn't there some sort of common profile database out there already though like that? If not we could forge out a site lol. I didn't want too much map drop offs. We will just see how this all pans out, but lets be friendly and link and be like partner sites.

Edit: plans to work in conjunction with ForgeDB on same site or two sites that work together.

unknownv2 · Post by **unknownv2** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:01 am

It sounds to me like you just don't want to share a site with c4st even though you both have the same ideas with one difference.

Again, though you are going to need a better sketch of the layout because there is no possible way that sketch could lead to a good template. c4st has a simple but great layout, yet you still don't want to join with him

.

Before you even think about the site, you have to come up with a good template because that's what people see the first time they visit a site.

Yes, I have made templates before.

xptoast · Post by **xptoast** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:14 am

Cool. I like your template.

Tural · Post by **Tural** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 11:38 am

xptoast wrote:When people reply and give criticism but don't have any help to the situation they are not making things better but yet hindering the progress of good ideas.

Criticism drives improvement, it's arguably the best help there is. If I just told you it was fantastic, when it really isn't, you wouldn't have any inclination to improve it.