User Reviews
Why not have both (reviews link in the walkthrough, and a page that lists the links for all reviews)? That hardly seems like a lot of work or resource usage (physical review is in only one place), and it caters to the frequent need of "what game should I play next?" Without an easily accessible list of reviews, you sort of hit or miss by clicking on a game to discover if it has a review.
Older, but not wiser
-
MSG Commander
- Admin
- Posts: 1523
- Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2015 5:18 am
- 10
Actually I've been thinking about how to do that very thing. It's a bit more complicated, because I'd have to assign the right property to just those pages, then create a page to show only those pages that have User Reviews associated with them. I know it can be done, though, so I'll put it on my list of things to work on.
Also, my end goal is to have a user review section for each game - I just want to move slowly right now while I get it up and running.
Also, my end goal is to have a user review section for each game - I just want to move slowly right now while I get it up and running.
All your base are
-
MSG Commander
- Admin
- Posts: 1523
- Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2015 5:18 am
- 10
-
rimrazan147
- Member
- Posts: 321
- Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 3:15 am
- 9
-
MSG Commander
- Admin
- Posts: 1523
- Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2015 5:18 am
- 10
Hey, that's good. Now, please try to clarify for me what the set-up is. Here is my poor understanding as of now:
Reviews for games listed in the walkthrough list can be posted if they conform to the format you previously outlined. If they do not, the intent is that such reviews will be user posted in a so-called "peanut gallery" when it becomes available. Also, when such gallery is available, MSG-Commander will move any previously submitted (non-conforming) reviews into the gallery and, some day, add a link into the walkthrough page for the game in question.
If I am off-base in any of this description, please correct it, or create a new summary of what we can expect in the future.
Reviews for games listed in the walkthrough list can be posted if they conform to the format you previously outlined. If they do not, the intent is that such reviews will be user posted in a so-called "peanut gallery" when it becomes available. Also, when such gallery is available, MSG-Commander will move any previously submitted (non-conforming) reviews into the gallery and, some day, add a link into the walkthrough page for the game in question.
If I am off-base in any of this description, please correct it, or create a new summary of what we can expect in the future.
Older, but not wiser
-
MSG Commander
- Admin
- Posts: 1523
- Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2015 5:18 am
- 10
[quote=20825]Hey, that’s good. Now, please try to clarify for me what the set-up is. Here is my poor understanding as of now:
Reviews for games listed in the walkthrough list can be posted if they conform to the format you previously outlined.[/quote]
User Reviews are now attached directly to the game's "main page" in the walkthroughs section. (Which section has been renamed 'Games').
Right now, the user review system is limited, in that you can't format your text, and all the paragraphs are squished together, which makes long reviews harder to read.
Also, once you submit a review, you can't change it.
The dev has said he plans to fix all these issues in future updates, but for now it's best (when possible) to keep these reviews short and sweet. My main interest is in the 5-star ratings, as those scores will be a better indicator for people wondering if the game is any good.
[quote=20825]If they do not, the intent is that such reviews will be user posted in a so-called “peanut gallery” when it becomes available.[/quote]
Lengthy reviews would be best suited to the peanut gallery (which is coming in the next week or two).
The "Peanut Gallery" will ultimately also be a place for polls, surveys, announcements of new games, as well as my personal/shared blog for any and all mobile rpg-related contented. ("Shared" with any members who may be interested in contributing. I wish I could share more specifics but I'm not entirely sure how it will all look and I've got a few other things that are higher on my list right now.)
[quote=20825]Also, when such gallery is available, MSG-Commander will move any previously submitted (non-conforming) reviews into the gallery and, some day, add a link into the walkthrough page for the game in question.
[/quote]
Any material posted in the Peanut Gallery will be entirely separate from material posted in the 'Games' section. All reviews that were published in the past under the "Reviews" section (which is now extinct), will appear in the Peanut Gallery. But I will not be linking from walkthrough pages to Peanut Gallery submissions (there's just no easy way to do it.)
I hope this answers most of your questions. Know that I am intent on getting the User Reviews set up for every Kemco game, and cleaning up the current "Walkthroughs" page, and then to bringing forth the Peanut Gallery. So, it's on my horizon, but I can't say anything more than that at the moment.
Reviews for games listed in the walkthrough list can be posted if they conform to the format you previously outlined.[/quote]
User Reviews are now attached directly to the game's "main page" in the walkthroughs section. (Which section has been renamed 'Games').
Right now, the user review system is limited, in that you can't format your text, and all the paragraphs are squished together, which makes long reviews harder to read.
Also, once you submit a review, you can't change it.
The dev has said he plans to fix all these issues in future updates, but for now it's best (when possible) to keep these reviews short and sweet. My main interest is in the 5-star ratings, as those scores will be a better indicator for people wondering if the game is any good.
[quote=20825]If they do not, the intent is that such reviews will be user posted in a so-called “peanut gallery” when it becomes available.[/quote]
Lengthy reviews would be best suited to the peanut gallery (which is coming in the next week or two).
The "Peanut Gallery" will ultimately also be a place for polls, surveys, announcements of new games, as well as my personal/shared blog for any and all mobile rpg-related contented. ("Shared" with any members who may be interested in contributing. I wish I could share more specifics but I'm not entirely sure how it will all look and I've got a few other things that are higher on my list right now.)
[quote=20825]Also, when such gallery is available, MSG-Commander will move any previously submitted (non-conforming) reviews into the gallery and, some day, add a link into the walkthrough page for the game in question.
[/quote]
Any material posted in the Peanut Gallery will be entirely separate from material posted in the 'Games' section. All reviews that were published in the past under the "Reviews" section (which is now extinct), will appear in the Peanut Gallery. But I will not be linking from walkthrough pages to Peanut Gallery submissions (there's just no easy way to do it.)
I hope this answers most of your questions. Know that I am intent on getting the User Reviews set up for every Kemco game, and cleaning up the current "Walkthroughs" page, and then to bringing forth the Peanut Gallery. So, it's on my horizon, but I can't say anything more than that at the moment.
All your base are
-
MSG Commander
- Admin
- Posts: 1523
- Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2015 5:18 am
- 10
The developer who wrote the user reviews plugin just released a major update that now makes it possible to leave l-e-n-g-t-h-y reviews and maintain the correct formattting! Woohoo!
(Of course, you can also leave short reviews like me, if you prefer... but for those who've got a lot to say, now you can say it all in the user reviews)
I haven't thoroughly tested it yet so I'm hoping that everything works "out of the box," so to speak; if anybody leaves a review and has any trouble, please let me know.
(Of course, you can also leave short reviews like me, if you prefer... but for those who've got a lot to say, now you can say it all in the user reviews)
I haven't thoroughly tested it yet so I'm hoping that everything works "out of the box," so to speak; if anybody leaves a review and has any trouble, please let me know.
All your base are
...What do you mean by
[quote]
I will not be linking from walkthrough pages to Peanut Gallery submissions (there’s just no easy way to do it.)
[/quote]
I mean, how is that not easy?
The Peanut page for, say, Alphadia 2, is currently: /game-posts/alphadia-2/
The Game page for the same game is currently: /alphadia-2/
Did you noted the striking resemblance? Assuming this page naming is consistent, technically, linking it is so hard as obtaining the page ID - which I may be wrong but even if there's no PHP variable storing it, I believe Javascript can obtain it easily.
Of course, linking a blog page for each game may not be exactly what you want, but my objective with this post is merely to say that it is easier than it first looks. Cons: Maintenance (for example, there's no "peanut" for Asdivine Hearts 2)
[quote]
I will not be linking from walkthrough pages to Peanut Gallery submissions (there’s just no easy way to do it.)
[/quote]
I mean, how is that not easy?
The Peanut page for, say, Alphadia 2, is currently: /game-posts/alphadia-2/
The Game page for the same game is currently: /alphadia-2/
Did you noted the striking resemblance? Assuming this page naming is consistent, technically, linking it is so hard as obtaining the page ID - which I may be wrong but even if there's no PHP variable storing it, I believe Javascript can obtain it easily.
Of course, linking a blog page for each game may not be exactly what you want, but my objective with this post is merely to say that it is easier than it first looks. Cons: Maintenance (for example, there's no "peanut" for Asdivine Hearts 2)
Jesusalva / Jesusaves (Buy me a coffee!) / (Sponsor the website!)
Make your time.
Make your time.
-
MSG Commander
- Admin
- Posts: 1523
- Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2015 5:18 am
- 10
TL;DR This post has nothing to do with games and everything to do with web design.
Well, I guess I should have said "I don't know of an easy way to do it" or something like that.
At the time the idea just seemed too overwhelming. Even now, I know it "can" be done - but I still don't know exactly "how" to write the code for it. And I only understood about half of what you wrote lol... but, let me try to break this down... maybe with a bit more effort I can find a workable solution...
(Everyone else can skip this, as it's about to become technical web stuff that has nothing to do with gaming...)
The way the site is setup, it's split into 3 major sections: Games, Forums, and Peanut Gallery. Games is primarily for walkthrough pages, skill/monster lists, etc., but is also set up for user reviews of each game. The Forums are obviously for more open and direct discussion of the games. And the Peanut Gallery, at the moment, is being used for in-depth reviews of games (mostly submitted by 1oldtymer - whose reviews I find thoroughly entertaining, and well thought out). But at it's heart, the Peanut Gallery is really meant to be a blog; I just haven't got around to posting on it (mostly because I still don't really know what to blog about?)
Anyway... we have 3 sections. The forums are separated into one forum for each game. "Games" is also sorted so that each individual game is its own subdirectory, and the Peanut Gallery is organized by category, as well as by game.
Now, "Games" and Peanut Gallery both allow the use of taxonomies. (Meaning I can assign any page in these sections to a unique category.) I have not found a way to assign individual forums to categories; it may not be possible (but it also may not be necessary). Currently, I have two separate taxonomies - both with the working name of "Game"; one for the Games section, and one for the Peanut Gallery. Both "Game" taxonomies have listings for every game on the site (so there's an "Alphadia" taxonomy in "Games" for "Games" pages, and another "Alphadia" taxonomy in the Peanut Gallery for Peanut Gallery pages. They have the same NAME, but they are two separate taxonomies with separate and unique IDs.
So, "Games" pages for Alphadia, can all be assigned to the "Alphadia" category in "Games" (ID = 325), and Peanut Gallery pages for Alphadia, can all be assigned to the "Alphadia" category in the Peanut Gallery (ID = 391). (Now, for reference, the Alphadia forum has ID = 1375.)
(Currently, if I assign ALL "Games" and Peanut Gallery "Alphadia" pages to the SAME "Alphadia" taxonomy, then when you click on "Alphadia" in the Peanut Gallery, it pulls up a list of all "Games" pages and all Peanut Gallery pages, which is not what I want and is the reason I've had to create two separate taxonomies.
If there's a way in WordPress to assign BOTH pages and posts to the same taxonomy, and yet program the "blog" side - in this case, the Peanut Gallery - to ONLY show links to posts, and not pages - then that would make the rest of this easier, but still more than I currently know how to achieve. Anyway, continuing on...)
So what I need to do, is to create a script for the whole site, that somehow "maps" ALL related taxonomies. (Meaning I probably need to create a list manually that says "ID 325, 391, and 1375, are all related" and so on for every single game on the site?) Next, create another script, that will find the ID for the taxonomy for the current page, and then find the "related" taxonomies for that page - and then, spit out some dialogue, i.e. "Check the (name of game) Forum for additional informaiton," "See what others are saying about this game in the Peanut Gallery," etc... and within those dialogues, I need to have links to the correct Forum or the correct section in the Peanut Gallery.
(Also, I need all this to be automatic; otherwise I'd literally have to create 50+ widgets (one for each game) and write the dialogue and the links by hand, and then go in and manually place each widget to only appear on the pages corresponding to it's game - and that is not worth the time it would take.)
So, that's what I think needs to be done - although I'm not even 100% sure that's the right approach. And even if it is, I still don't know how to do all that. (Now, mind you, if I just dig in and do what it takes to teach myself how to do all that, there's probably some pretty valuable skills involved, that I could one day translate into $$$ as a freelance web designer, which is the career I want to get into... so in the long run it's probably worth it.)
So, anyway, that was what I "meant" to say, when I said there's no easy way to do it. So I guess "easy" is a matter of perspective... for me, even contemplating what I've just written out seems pretty complex, but maybe if I just do it, I'll find it wasn't so hard after all - or maybe my head will actually explode (although if that actually could happen then I think it would have already lol).
And, FWIW, there is a taxonomy in the Peanut Gallery for AH2; it's just nobody's written anything for the game so the "empty" taxonomy doesn't show up in the list.
Well, I guess I should have said "I don't know of an easy way to do it" or something like that.
At the time the idea just seemed too overwhelming. Even now, I know it "can" be done - but I still don't know exactly "how" to write the code for it. And I only understood about half of what you wrote lol... but, let me try to break this down... maybe with a bit more effort I can find a workable solution...
(Everyone else can skip this, as it's about to become technical web stuff that has nothing to do with gaming...)
The way the site is setup, it's split into 3 major sections: Games, Forums, and Peanut Gallery. Games is primarily for walkthrough pages, skill/monster lists, etc., but is also set up for user reviews of each game. The Forums are obviously for more open and direct discussion of the games. And the Peanut Gallery, at the moment, is being used for in-depth reviews of games (mostly submitted by 1oldtymer - whose reviews I find thoroughly entertaining, and well thought out). But at it's heart, the Peanut Gallery is really meant to be a blog; I just haven't got around to posting on it (mostly because I still don't really know what to blog about?)
Anyway... we have 3 sections. The forums are separated into one forum for each game. "Games" is also sorted so that each individual game is its own subdirectory, and the Peanut Gallery is organized by category, as well as by game.
Now, "Games" and Peanut Gallery both allow the use of taxonomies. (Meaning I can assign any page in these sections to a unique category.) I have not found a way to assign individual forums to categories; it may not be possible (but it also may not be necessary). Currently, I have two separate taxonomies - both with the working name of "Game"; one for the Games section, and one for the Peanut Gallery. Both "Game" taxonomies have listings for every game on the site (so there's an "Alphadia" taxonomy in "Games" for "Games" pages, and another "Alphadia" taxonomy in the Peanut Gallery for Peanut Gallery pages. They have the same NAME, but they are two separate taxonomies with separate and unique IDs.
So, "Games" pages for Alphadia, can all be assigned to the "Alphadia" category in "Games" (ID = 325), and Peanut Gallery pages for Alphadia, can all be assigned to the "Alphadia" category in the Peanut Gallery (ID = 391). (Now, for reference, the Alphadia forum has ID = 1375.)
(Currently, if I assign ALL "Games" and Peanut Gallery "Alphadia" pages to the SAME "Alphadia" taxonomy, then when you click on "Alphadia" in the Peanut Gallery, it pulls up a list of all "Games" pages and all Peanut Gallery pages, which is not what I want and is the reason I've had to create two separate taxonomies.
If there's a way in WordPress to assign BOTH pages and posts to the same taxonomy, and yet program the "blog" side - in this case, the Peanut Gallery - to ONLY show links to posts, and not pages - then that would make the rest of this easier, but still more than I currently know how to achieve. Anyway, continuing on...)
So what I need to do, is to create a script for the whole site, that somehow "maps" ALL related taxonomies. (Meaning I probably need to create a list manually that says "ID 325, 391, and 1375, are all related" and so on for every single game on the site?) Next, create another script, that will find the ID for the taxonomy for the current page, and then find the "related" taxonomies for that page - and then, spit out some dialogue, i.e. "Check the (name of game) Forum for additional informaiton," "See what others are saying about this game in the Peanut Gallery," etc... and within those dialogues, I need to have links to the correct Forum or the correct section in the Peanut Gallery.
(Also, I need all this to be automatic; otherwise I'd literally have to create 50+ widgets (one for each game) and write the dialogue and the links by hand, and then go in and manually place each widget to only appear on the pages corresponding to it's game - and that is not worth the time it would take.)
So, that's what I think needs to be done - although I'm not even 100% sure that's the right approach. And even if it is, I still don't know how to do all that. (Now, mind you, if I just dig in and do what it takes to teach myself how to do all that, there's probably some pretty valuable skills involved, that I could one day translate into $$$ as a freelance web designer, which is the career I want to get into... so in the long run it's probably worth it.)
So, anyway, that was what I "meant" to say, when I said there's no easy way to do it. So I guess "easy" is a matter of perspective... for me, even contemplating what I've just written out seems pretty complex, but maybe if I just do it, I'll find it wasn't so hard after all - or maybe my head will actually explode (although if that actually could happen then I think it would have already lol).
And, FWIW, there is a taxonomy in the Peanut Gallery for AH2; it's just nobody's written anything for the game so the "empty" taxonomy doesn't show up in the list.
All your base are