Heads Up! Roundtable v3.0 is Approaching!

[digitalpress]

Hey folks,
for quite some time you've heard me mention that the forum software is going to get a complete overhaul and now that development is complete and testing is nearly done, we're just a few days away from Roundtable v3.0!

First of all, all user accounts, posts, stats, etc. will be retained. The software is the most current version of phpBB. We're presently on 2.0.3. We're moving to 2.0.13! Many security issues that we've been hit with over the last two months have accelerated this move, hopefully the new software is as secure as they claim it to be.

There are lots of new features I've installed as well.

- You will now have a link at the top of the screen to manage your "watched topics". You can unsubscribe from topics from this list as well.
- You will now be able to search within a topic. Some very long threads are just impossible to find things in - this will really help.
- Announcements (like this one) will appear on the top of the index page, making them pretty hard to miss.
- Forums will have a link in the "Replies" column where you can see a quick summary of who has posted in any particular thread, and how many times.
- You will be able to add your photo to your profile (no more outdated "member pics" link).
- There are some new skins added, particularly useful to those who want to disguise their forum browsing a little better. At least two of the new styles look very work-friendly.

Perhaps the biggest change in the "new world"...
- We're instituting a new rewards system (you get paid in MESETA!), with your meseta total appearing in your posts. You can then in turn use this meseta to buy various abilities and items. Items will be purchased with meseta from a forum "shop" and appear in your personal inventory and in your profile. It's hard to describe but it's very cool and much more fun than the current rank system we've got here.

We're on pace to get this done over the weekend. An announcement will be posted here prior to some downtime where we'll shift all of the data from the old world to the new.

You're gonna like it! Stay tuned.

[Xantan the Foul]

Sounds like some good stuff, can't wait :)

[joshnickerson]

- We're instituting a new rewards system (you get paid in MESETA!), with your meseta total appearing in your posts. You can then in turn use this meseta to buy various abilities and items. Items will be purchased with meseta from a forum "shop" and appear in your personal inventory and in your profile. It's hard to describe but it's very cool and much more fun than the current rank system we've got here.

Hrm, does this mean we'll have to "pay" for stuff like signatures and custom titles?

[digitalpress]

- We're instituting a new rewards system (you get paid in MESETA!), with your meseta total appearing in your posts. You can then in turn use this meseta to buy various abilities and items. Items will be purchased with meseta from a forum "shop" and appear in your personal inventory and in your profile. It's hard to describe but it's very cool and much more fun than the current rank system we've got here.

Hrm, does this mean we'll have to "pay" for stuff like signatures and custom titles?

Yup. It's a one-time charge on avatars, signatures, and custom title, though - once you have it, you can change whenever you want.

And it's not "real" money, of course! It does lend to a very customizeable experience as you'll soon see.

[Gapporin]

- We're instituting a new rewards system (you get paid in MESETA!), with your meseta total appearing in your posts.

Can we buy Cola and Burger with it, too? :D

[Lady Jaye]

Only if it's the Coke can from Super Pac-Man and the Burger from either Burgertime or Pressure Cooker... :P

[Sotenga]

Heh... I nearly shat myself when I read that we have to pay for our avatars, and by pay, I instantly thought "ACTUAL MONEY," so I was about to call FOUL on this otherwise perfect board change. But the meseta system... now THAT is innovative! I haven't visited any other board that rewards your posts (well, not counting the Pac Man that I have below my name), so... I'm overwhelmed! I wholeheartedly approve the idea of Retrogaming Roundtable 3.0, Mr. Santulli. :D

One question, though: Our posts will be carried over, that much I know. Will our posts determine an initial meseta value, or are we all given the same amount at the beginning of the board change?

I feel like I'm playing Phantasy Star all over again... *giggle* :)

[Crush Crawfish]

Awesome!!!! That prize shop idea sounds so great!!! You guys never cease to amaze me with all the improvements you make. Though personally I think the new currency should be zenny, but whatever! LOL

[Jorpho]

Are the frames on the main page going to be dumped too? :D

[Super Mario Fan]

Sounds fun. I can't wait! :-P

[tholly]

One question, though: Our posts will be carried over, that much I know. Will our posts determine an initial meseta value, or are we all given the same amount at the beginning of the board change?

i was wondering the same thing


but, these changes sound pretty awesome and i cant wait to see the changes when the are fully implemented

[AFGiant]

Sounds sweet. I visit a couple of other boards that let you 'buy' things with numbers of posts, credits, 'karma', tokens, etc. that you get various ways. Its a good concept, especially since I'll actually use them here at DP LOL

[kainemaxwell]

I love the fact that you went old-school on the DP currency. Game on!

[Sanriostar]

This makes me worried about even MORE excessive +1'ing on the board.. :eek 2:

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Don't be worried. There is method, and there is madness, and this time, both are on our side.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. We giveth, and we can taketh away, and stuffeth like thatteth. ;)

[VACRMH]

Don't be worried. There is method, and there is madness, and this time, both are on our side.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. We giveth, and we can taketh away, and stuffeth like thatteth. ;)

Then i'm all for it!

Nei needs a new pair of steel bars ;)

[atomicthumbs]

It's pretty good timing for me. I'm going to be on vacation (with no internet access) from Friday until next weekend, so this will be a cool thing to look through when I get back. Except that by that time, everyone else will know what the hell is going on, and I'll just look like some noob. :P

[digitalpress]

One question, though: Our posts will be carried over, that much I know. Will our posts determine an initial meseta value, or are we all given the same amount at the beginning of the board change?

Everyone starts from scratch, but the basic stuff like avatar and signature use will be very easy to acquire early on.

The "value of the meseta" is what I'm tweaking right now. It's tricky stuff!

[digitalpress]

Are the frames on the main page going to be dumped too? :D

That's a site project separate from the Roundtable upgrade but the answer is yes.

[GrandAmChandler]

Oh man this is gonna be fun! Earning Mesetta huh? A Kind of Game within a gaming messaging board.

BRILLIANT!

[buttasuperb]

This makes me worried about even MORE excessive +1'ing on the board.. :eek 2:

Yea I'm worried about that too. As is Kaine23.

[Cmosfm]

I can't wait, everything sounds extremely exciting, and this "Menesta" thing sounds very nice. I think everyone has their ducks in a row with the +1ing though, because you have to be REWARDED Menesta...and +1ing doesn't get rewards. At least that's the way I view it.

Anyways, can't wait, all sounds very nice.

[digitalpress]

I can't wait, everything sounds extremely exciting, and this "Menesta" thing sounds very nice. I think everyone has their ducks in a row with the +1ing though, because you have to be REWARDED Menesta...and +1ing doesn't get rewards. At least that's the way I view it.

Anyways, can't wait, all sounds very nice.

It's MESETA, Jack! Don't tell me you've never played a Phantasy Star game before!

Don't worry too much about the +1'ing. There are lots of governors in the system, including caps by post and by day. Also, posting replies is generally small potatoes, as is replying to your own thread. The REAL meseta is in the daily lottery. Oh, didn't I mention the lottery? :)

[Cmosfm]

I can't wait, everything sounds extremely exciting, and this "Menesta" thing sounds very nice. I think everyone has their ducks in a row with the +1ing though, because you have to be REWARDED Menesta...and +1ing doesn't get rewards. At least that's the way I view it.

Anyways, can't wait, all sounds very nice.

It's MESETA, Jack! Don't tell me you've never played a Phantasy Star game before!

Don't worry too much about the +1'ing. There are lots of governors in the system, including caps by post and by day. Also, posting replies is generally small potatoes, as is replying to your own thread. The REAL meseta is in the daily lottery. Oh, didn't I mention the lottery? :)

Honestly, no, I have never ever played a Phantasy Star game. Only one I do own is the 2nd one, I plan to finally give it a shot when I get ahold of the SMS version. That means, when I find it cheap somewhere, that is. ;)

Lottery eh? man, this is sounding more and more intriguing every day!

[PentiumMMX]

Does that mean I have to get rid of my Mayl Avatar?

[fergojisan]

All this sounds great, I can't wait to see the full setup. I'll miss my Hector Heathcote avatar for awhile though. :( I suppose I will earn enough mesetas at some point. I like rupees though, myself. :P The lottery sounds interesting too.... I'm probably going to be spending a lot more time here. LOL

:rocker:

[digitalpress]

Does that mean I have to get rid of my Mayl Avatar?

You don't have to get rid of it. Just that it won't appear next to your name until you've got enough meseta to unlock it.

[Sotenga]

One question, though: Our posts will be carried over, that much I know. Will our posts determine an initial meseta value, or are we all given the same amount at the beginning of the board change?

Everyone starts from scratch, but the basic stuff like avatar and signature use will be very easy to acquire early on.

The "value of the meseta" is what I'm tweaking right now. It's tricky stuff!

Aw, nertz! So I have to kill a few Sworms and Scorpions before I get my avatar back? Ah well, no big. Thanks for making the basics easily accesible. :)

But I wonder what the real expensive stuff would be like... oh, the possibilities. I'd like me a bigass sword, or possibly a ten-gallon hat... maybe chaps like Steve Fox from Tekken 5... *chuckle*

[SkiDragon]

To be honest, the idea of "buying" stuff is pretty dumb. The message board is supposed to be ABOUT games, not a game in itself. The new features besides that sound ok though. Just reconsider the whole "meseta" thing, or set most of the "values" to zero, in other words make them immediately available, preferably autmatically transfered from the current board.

If you do end up implementing the idea, perhaps you should choose a "currency" that is more applicable to gaming as a whole, especially classic gaming. "Points" or "tokens" are perhaps too obvious, but "meseta" is from a game myself and many others have never played (although I own a few). Right now I like the fruit counter thing. Pacman is practically synonymous with video game. If you could think of something kind of like that based around an old arcade game or something, that would be better.

[-hellvin-]

sounds good, looking foward to it

[Kamino]

- We're instituting a new rewards system (you get paid in MESETA!), with your meseta total appearing in your posts. You can then in turn use this meseta to buy various abilities and items. Items will be purchased with meseta from a forum "shop" and appear in your personal inventory and in your profile. It's hard to describe but it's very cool and much more fun than the current rank system we've got here.

Hrm, does this mean we'll have to "pay" for stuff like signatures and custom titles?

Yup. It's a one-time charge on avatars, signatures, and custom title, though - once you have it, you can change whenever you want.

And it's not "real" money, of course! It does lend to a very customizeable experience as you'll soon see.
One question for you, joe:
Over the time i've been here, i've noticed a select few DP'ers have custom
rank-icon-thingamajiggers. (examples are Sothy's corn dog, raedon's feathers and chunky's corn.) Is this by any chance a planned "meseta" option? :-P

[Sothy]

Ahh sweet corndog we shall not be parted long hopefully.


I hope we can adopt animals and fight people with them like neopets..... wait.

[Push Upstairs]

To be honest, the idea of "buying" stuff is pretty dumb. The message board is supposed to be ABOUT games, not a game in itself. The new features besides that sound ok though. Just reconsider the whole "meseta" thing, or set most of the "values" to zero, in other words make them immediately available, preferably autmatically transfered from the current board.

To a certain extent i agree with this. I dunno how i feel about having to buy avatars and sigs and whatnot.


I really feel that this "purchase" system only sounds good when it comes to buying overly unique items. Having to post and "buy" something like an avatar seems kinda silly, especially considering that its has nothing to do with how much any of us post and that its something thats already available for...well, free.

Perhaps avvies are free as are basic sigs...if you want to have a sig that containes a picture then that should be an option you could purchase later on.

[Kamino]

To be honest, the idea of "buying" stuff is pretty dumb. The message board is supposed to be ABOUT games, not a game in itself. The new features besides that sound ok though. Just reconsider the whole "meseta" thing, or set most of the "values" to zero, in other words make them immediately available, preferably autmatically transfered from the current board.

To a certain extent i agree with this. I dunno how i feel about having to buy avatars and sigs and whatnot.


I really feel that this "purchase" system only sounds good when it comes to buying overly unique items. Having to post and "buy" something like an avatar seems kinda silly, especially considering that its has nothing to do with how much any of us post and that its something thats already available for...well, free.

Perhaps avvies are free as are basic sigs...if you want to have a sig that containes a picture then that should be an option you could purchase later on.
ah, you grump, have some fun! ;)
But seriously, my theory on it, is joe makes the rules around this place, and it doesnt seem like that much of a big deal....my take on it, at least, is that we're supposed to have FUN with it...like a game....I don't percieve it's going to be suicidally difficult. I'll have some fun with it.......

[WiseSalesman]

Ugh. I hate the meseta system. I hope it somehow works better here than on the other forums on which I've seen it.

[DigitalSpace]

First off, I want to say thanks to everybody involved for all the hard work you're doing with this overhaul. I'm looking forward to this, and most of what I'm reading here sounds like it's going to be cool. However...

I liked this meseta idea until I read that we were going to lose our avatars and sigs until we unlocked enough of this meseta stuff. That's as lame as your average video game tutorial.

I liked Push Upstairs' idea of starting with a basic sig. Like say, text limited to a certain amount of characters and then you could unlock a bigger limit of characters and then you could put a photo in your sig. I'd like to add to it - we'd all have to start out with a basic avatar size (like say, 101 x 101 pixels) until we unlock enough meseta to get a bigger size, and so forth.

I'm aware there's some cool stuff we can unlock that we don't know about - like I said, I like this idea in general. But even if it's not too hard to unlock an avatar and sig, I don't like the idea of having to go without those for a while.

[WiseSalesman]

Also not really a fan of losing post count & rank. I realize that they're not all that important, but, even if I don't participate so often here anymore, those are some of the things that identify me as a forum vet, you know? Are we at least still going to have the "Member since:" value visible? If that's the case, then post count and rank don't matter quite as much.

[Mayhem]

All the data will be ported over, so you won't lose post count, rank or any other details such as that.

At the moment during testing, things like avatars, sigs and titles are priced quite low (you could buy them after making 2-3 posts max) so it shouldn't be a problem. Unless Joe decides to raise the price LOL

Trust me, there will be other "nice" stuff to acquire along the way...

[digitalpress]

One question for you, joe:
Over the time i've been here, i've noticed a select few DP'ers have custom
rank-icon-thingamajiggers. (examples are Sothy's corn dog, raedon's feathers and chunky's corn.) Is this by any chance a planned "meseta" option? :-P

Good question.

Those are custom ranks and they tie in with the custom rank system. The new forums are doing away with the custom rank IMAGES because you'll now have a graphic "item" display under your name. With the avatar, items, and custom rank images, the column on the left was not only cluttered but longer than I'd like. I may bring the custom rank images back at some point in the future, we'll see.

You will still have the ability to give yourself a custom rank title as well as the new shop-purchased title.

You'll like it, I promise.

[digitalpress]

Ugh. I hate the meseta system. I hope it somehow works better here than on the other forums on which I've seen it.

People who don't like the system do not have to participate in it. This won't decrease your enjoyment of the forums by being there, it will increase it if you like it and use it.

Indeed.

[Vroomfunkel]

*swallows slowly as he tries to take in all implications*

A little unsure, but sounds interesting at least. Just a little bit worried about losing my fruit ... I like my fruit. I just got a banana!

I'm not a massive post-er so my count goes up reasonably slowly - but that does make me immensely proud whenever I advance a rank, in a strange sort of way. I treasure that new fruit!

Ah sod it, I'll get out more.

Just one thing though .. if the idea of the meseta was to earn extras and privileges, doesn't the lottery thing kind of undermine that to a certain extent?

Vroomfunkel

[Lady Jaye]

If you do end up implementing the idea, perhaps you should choose a "currency" that is more applicable to gaming as a whole, especially classic gaming. "Points" or "tokens" are perhaps too obvious, but "meseta" is from a game myself and many others have never played (although I own a few).

Meseta is the currency used in Phantasy Star. IMO, that's certainly a good choice of currency name, on the same foothold as, say, rupees.

[digitalpress]

*swallows slowly as he tries to take in all implications*

A little unsure, but sounds interesting at least. Just a little bit worried about losing my fruit ... I like my fruit. I just got a banana!

I'm not a massive post-er so my count goes up reasonably slowly - but that does make me immensely proud whenever I advance a rank, in a strange sort of way. I treasure that new fruit!

Ah sod it, I'll get out more.

Heh... you won't actually lose your rank, you just won't see the rank image. I'm going to be trying it out in various ways over the course of next week, we'll see which way works best. The limited testing we've done shows that things just LOOK better without that additional image.


Just one thing though .. if the idea of the meseta was to earn extras and privileges, doesn't the lottery thing kind of undermine that to a certain extent?

Actually the idea of the meseta is to add a little depth and fun to your visits here. As I mentioned in a previous post, it won't detract from your experience if you're not interestedin participating, but if you're into it, I think it will be a lot of fun.

[Quintracker]

I can't wait to see the implications of this as it applies to +1 posters. I can only hope there will be some kind of penalty involved to keep them at a minimum.

[PentiumMMX]

Not to insult anyone, But this sounds like Cartoon Network's "Cartoon Orbit" meets "GameFAQs"! x_x

[digitalpress]

Not to insult anyone, But this sounds like Cartoon Network's "Cartoon Orbit" meets "GameFAQs"! x_x

I wish I knew what you were talking about so I could properly address the comment.

[Push Upstairs]

At the moment during testing, things like avatars, sigs and titles are priced quite low (you could buy them after making 2-3 posts max) so it shouldn't be a problem.

The only thing that was bugging me was the idea of having aquire enough "virtual bucks" to get back something i didnt want taken away & something i had previously been given for free.

But if the price is that low then i don't really have a problem. I do look forward to seeing the other extra special things that can be purchased.



Unless Joe decides to raise the price LOL

Let's hope not :)

[Stark]

Is this going to be as drastic as the change from the old boards to this current board was or not so much? I never did retain my post count from the old boards when we came to this board format so I just hope all the kinks are worked out. Sounds interesting.

I'm not worried about gaining Mensa points but Sothy poor fellow is SOL. LOL

[Lady Jaye]

Meseta, not Mensa... (although I'm sure some people could benefit from gaining some Mensa points...) LOL

And as it was explained before; the postcount will be retained.

[Sothy]

I want NAMBLA points

[PentiumMMX]

Not to insult anyone, But this sounds like Cartoon Network's "Cartoon Orbit" meets "GameFAQs"! x_x

I wish I knew what you were talking about so I could properly address the comment.

Allow me to explan:

"Cartoon Orbit" is a crappy thing at Cartoon Network's website. All you do is buy and trade Cards. I heard about it from some of my friends.

Everyone knows what "GameFAQs" is, So I don't have to say anything,

Basicly take the buying stuff from "Cartoon Orbit", The fourms of "GameFAQs" (Minus the Fanboys and idiots), and DP members, and you have "DP Roundtable Ver. 3.0"

...It also sounds like "Phantasy Star Online", which is what you're aiming at, right?

[Kamino]

Criminy.
Ok Kids.
WE HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN THIS FORUM'S MESETA YET.
Other forums? I Don't care if you've seen other forum's Meseta. Quite frankly, Most forums bore me to death. I probably have about 10 forum registrations on other forums I can't even remember how to find.
It would seem REASONABLE to me, to give the system a CHANCE before griping about it. It's nothing drastic. Yes, I rather like my current custom rank, avatar, and sig. Will not having it prevent me from contributing to the roundtable? No, and if it does, you're here for the wrong reason.

[DigitalSpace]

if the price is that low then i don't really have a problem.

That sums up my thoughts now. I'm completely won over now and looking forward to v3.0!

[Sanriostar]

I want NAMBLA points

To the tune of Ramblin' Man....
(music)
"Lord, I was booorn a NAMBLA Man..."
(/music)

[Bluteg]

I think this is great. The mods do a good job of weeding out the junk topics so I doubt this will turn into a +1 mess. I've seen other forums implement this and it lead to nothing but trouble, but I have faith in the DP community.

[Cryomancer]

/me begins work on action replay for DP forums

OK not really, but my main experience with meseta is PSO, so you know what comes with that, heh.

I'm all for this, I agree that other boards try similar stuff with lame results, but I am every confidence in DP making this either pretty nifty, or at least non-intrusive. Bring on the update!

[I Am Humanoid]

It would seem REASONABLE to me, to give the system a CHANCE before griping about it. It's nothing drastic. Yes, I rather like my current custom rank, avatar, and sig. Will not having it prevent me from contributing to the roundtable? No, and if it does, you're here for the wrong reason.

...and don't let the door hit your fat ass on the way out! :fist:

[Kejoriv]

I think this system sounds great. It will make the forum that much better

[Sotenga]

IT HAS BEGUN!!! My head is currently in the process of a sploding while attempting to figure out all the changes. For example, the Chronicles skin has more of a medieval feel to it. I feel like I'm right back in the Immortal. Give up, wizard! :evil:

Wow... wow... where to begin... too bad I'll be going to bed soon. :P

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Yay! It has been new-ifyed.

[SkiDragon]

Ah... I just switched the board "theme" into "Chronicles" and now I can no longer access my profile to change it.
It tells me:

"Template->make_filename(): Error - template file not found: profile_photo_box.tpl"

Any idea why?

[drewbrim]

Everything sounds good, but what's a +1 post? I've seen that term mentioned several times in this thread.

[Sotenga]

Everything sounds good, but what's a +1 post? I've seen that term mentioned several times in this thread.

It's basically a post made for the sake of raising the post count, otherwise bearing no value or contribution to the thread at hand. Example: Topic - "I like cheese."

Post: "YOUR MOM HAHAHAHAHA :fist: "

Moral of the story: +1 is bad, mmmkay?

[AtariBuff]

I also get the error message SkiDragon mentioned when accessing my profile in the "chronicles" theme.

[hydr0x]

so, i see, some people have their fruits and some don't, is this something we can buy back? isn't the shop still disabled? i really don't want to loose them forever, as long as we can get them back (to the state we had before) by buying i'm fine with that....

[hydr0x]

so, i see, some people have their fruits and some don't, is this something we can buy back? isn't the shop still disabled? i really don't want to loose them forever, as long as we can get them back (to the state we had before) by buying i'm fine with that....

[Mayhem]

Fruits are likely to go... to be replaced by something a bit more customisable. Perhaps. I don't think anyone has seen it all of what Joe has lined up ;)

[hydr0x]

Fruits are likely to go... to be replaced by something a bit more customisable. Perhaps. I don't think anyone has seen it all of what Joe has lined up ;)

my beloved fruits :/

[Marc4242]

No more pressure for being in the "fruitless" crowd. Thank the maker!

[Marc4242]

It said I had an error, so I hit the button again! Uh-Oh.

[slip81]

Fruits are likely to go... to be replaced by something a bit more customisable. Perhaps. I don't think anyone has seen it all of what Joe has lined up ;)

I hope I can get different kinds of cake :)

[slip81]

Bah! It send I had an error when I hit send. I can see the double post count going up for a while.

Also what happened to my avatar? I loaded on in my profile page, but its not showing O_O

[Sotenga]

Well, the last post I made gave me that "You have exceeded the post count" or something message again. On a percentage ratio, how close is this thing to being done? I'm wagering 70% at this stage.

[Arcturius]

Also what happened to my avatar? I loaded on in my profile page, but its not showing O_O

It's been mentioned elsewhere that you have to buy the right to having it from one of the shops it's not very much - in facy you should already have enougth to get it back already.

[slip81]

Also what happened to my avatar? I loaded on in my profile page, but its not showing O_O

It's been mentioned elsewhere that you have to buy the right to having it from one of the shops it's not very much - in facy you should already have enougth to get it back already.

thanks man. I got mixed up, I thought the meseta would just automatically deduct when you added an avatar.

What the deal with the donate button and how do you get them?