~New poll~ [FP social space/ Hang-out Sub-Forum?] Input thread

[Agro]

The thing is that there are loads of people who do use the search function and then it comes up with nothing and then they give up out of sheer frustration.

What i propose we start doing is writing detailed responses and archiving them, adding tags so that that information is easier to find. As for getting rid of the EA topic, maybe it was a bit drastic to suggest getting rid of it altogether, seeing as sometimes there are really simple things. I suppose we need to start separating questions into how-tos vs. troubleshooting. The EA thread is obviously a troubleshooting thread and a good tutorial already exists for it so that's simple enough... Perhaps we need to start writing more tutorials and making accompanying troubleshooting threads.

[ghast]

what about a Nightmare topic?

or a general graphics topic?

something similar with the EA thread

[Matt Snow]

I don't really know about a Nightmare Topic... Thing is, you might change something in Nightmare that doesn't show an error until much later, or maybe if you're new and don't know much about hacking, you won't really be able to associate "I did this/something in Nightmare and that caused this to fail but I can't figure out why". I don't think Nightmare errors, since most of them occur when you don't really know much about hacking, are easy to recognize.

Eventing on the other hand is actually doable in a catch all topic way, at least IMO, since the problems are normally a form of "Why doesn't this event work?". At least from what I've seen and asked myself. There are certain bugs, like the FEditor + Events bug that happens very often with new hackers, since almost nobody publicly talks about it anywhere, that aren't exclusively from eventing, but since most of them are only noticeable when you start using events it's easier to associate them like that instead of making a new topic for each one.

Graphics might merit it's own thread, but it might be hard to understand for new people at first since you can change graphics with Nightmare, FEditor, GBAGE, FE recolor, APE advanced, tons of stuff. It sounds like a good idea, but idk how some things would be classified. For example would inserting a new animation (and having problems with it of cousre) be a graphics problem or a FEditor problem?

Overall I think that keeping the Eventing Errors/Question thread is a good idea, but that catch all topics for other problems aren't really necessary. The problem with hacking errors is that most people either know enough to find a way around them/solve them themselves (or are friends with someone who does), or they don't much about hacking so they (incorrectly) think that their problem is new. Now I don't know how we could go about correcting that attitude, I don't think the "Use the search bar" is a good option, I can't find threads I KNOW exist using the search bar.

Maybe a "Frequent Hacking Problems" thread would be useful? It probably wouldn't stop some of the people who just show up at the forums and post an error, but a few who are actually serious about hacking would probably check it out before posting their random question.

[ghast]

So a graphics topic might be good to add?

Edited July 3, 2015 by GhastStation

[Primefusion]

Graphics is a pretty big umbrella term. I feel like such a topic would be too general.
A FEditor topic might work, though.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Is there any chance that it would be useful to have something like this pinned somewhere?

[ghast]

oooooh

that may be a good thing

[ghast]

Alright, so Arch and I are gonna work on making a

"So you want to make a ROM hack?" type thread.

and I'm also going to make a Feditor Adv help topic. If it ends up being useless/ not very helpful, I can always just unpin it anyways.

Any objections!?

[Czar_Yoshi]

Sounds like a great team. I'm interested to see what you guys come up with.

[Tangerine]

I started working on a more specific tagging system to make searching in the FP section better a while ago, but I got sick + currently have a rib injury, so that's moving slowly lol. Ghast and I will be tagging threads once we have it worked out, but I'm confident it'll end up being very accurate once it's sorted, and easy to use, too. Just a heads up, in case you see threads getting edited.

ghast edit-

its mostly for Questions and Resources. So if question askers and resource makers are curious as to why their OP says "edited by ghast/tang"

its just because we're putting tags in!

Edited July 12, 2015 by Ghatsu!

[ghast]

there's 6 pinned threads in resources.

I plan on either moving or removing Arch's "Advice for ROMhackers" because he and I are working on a new, similar thread.

The UT is pinned, but its also linked in Prime's updated resource topic. To save on pinned threads, should we unpin it? There's a fuckton of more updated and easier tutorials to go by now anyway.

Probably not going to touch the FEXP threads because people still use those I guess.

----

Still debating on whether to make a Feditor Topic, because now Tang and I are working on a tag system. Might be best just to leave it be.

also got a request to pin the new randomizer, if anything, that would be pinned in resources. But I'll wait for lushen's orders.

[ghast]

i was speaking with Tang about this a looonnggg time ago. Basically, since we're pretty much our own community within Serenes, should we have a section dedicated as a hangout/social space? I know there is FFtF, but that's a no rules zone... this one would be focused on hack discussion (or any discussion I suppose) that doesn't quite fit in as a project, concept or question directly relating to a hack problem.

Stuff like the Monthly Hacker's Digest/birthday thread/ Hacker's Hangout and general hack/FE discussion that doesn't really fit in FP main/ concepts would be there.

What do you guys think, would you use it? Should we have it? Etc etc?

[Czar_Yoshi]

It sounds useful. I often see topics here talking about hacks in the same way people talk about the official games in their subforums, and that would be a great place for those.

[Willie]

It sounds useful. I often see topics here talking about hacks in the same way people talk about the official games in their subforums, and that would be a great place for those.

I second this.

It'd be cool to talk about hacks and ask questions that aren't related to the hacking, but the hack. (Like: Who can I recruit in chapter 2?)

I'd probably use it and read a lot of the posts.

[ghast]

i see i see. I'll put up another poll asking about opinions.

But it would be really nice from some other frequenters to give some feedback. Speak up guys. but maybe that's a sign that this is a bad idea

[ghast]

idk what a good question to ask is so if that question doesn't fit your perspective then feel free to post here. :|

[Czar_Yoshi]

Maybe have an "it doesn't seem necessary, but I'd use it anyway" option?

[luyairis]

Slightly unrelated but...what about turning the chat into an IRC network? It's easy to get a channel on Freenode or Rizon, etc. Plus the IPC is.....yeah

[ErrantDShepherd]

I had to read through the thread/post a few times to really get what you were proposing. (Might be me just too sleep deprived atm tbh)

Casual conversations/Hacker Hangouts does seem like an interesting idea. I do feel like offering more opportunities for people to just talk to people, and do community stuff without it needing to be some grandiose purposed thing, basically casual fangames chat forums , is something that would be helpful. (That uh... Is what you were proposing, right?) :)

(I don't mind the IPC chat, personally I would like to see some more chats for the Creative and Fangames sections specifically, to allow for quick conversation without needing to do Skype all the time...)

[ghast]

in my experience people in this community just go back to skype. But that's because there was never a pinned IRC chat geared towards hacking around here. So idk, it would be pinned, people may used it.

I don't have a lot to go on with 5 total votes, though.