:-/ :-/ :-/
In the upper left corner of the home page of our MMF there is some space for important 'news'. Talking among regulars, I started to wonder if we are not to egoistic with adding only news about custom mansions.

My problem is that, as an admin, again and again, I notice that for our new members, it does not seem to be obvious enough about what to do to become a member-who-can-post. That doesn't feel good. And besides that, I think that exactly we, regulars, are the ones who have the experience to find our way through our boards.

So I like to see all your reactions about my idea, of putting instructions to become a 'postman' on the main page.
:-/ :-/ :-/

Sounds like a good idea. Anything to welcome new members and posters, leading to new mansion builders!
[smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Agreed, there should be some easy instructions to allow potential forum members to start posting away as fast and easily as possible.

But there should still be an easy and very obvious link to the Custom Mansions list. My brother once complained that it was quite hard to get hold of (even once you find out about the forum! He had first googled it).

Maybe the general link to the CMs, which was the last line of the previous news-text?

That sentence was: "You'll find all the custom mansions here!"

Although I think it is easy enough to understand how to post after reading announcements ("your first post"...) in the home page, this is a good idea for trying to gather more postmen, then more designers.
In my opinion, the first action when somebody goes on the forum, is to download some Custom Mansions (that's what I did) after playing the included ones. If the goal is to welcome new members, would it be an idea to allow downloading more CM when logged in, after having downloaded a part of them without being logged (don't know if I am comprehensible; hard for me to write in English). But perhaps is this too restrictive...

Moreover, where can I download Castle Basano, Trigger Island and Caves and Castle? :-[

Moreover again, I need a third beta-tester (in addition to AquaMat and Rose, snowed under my mansions or on vacation).
Thank you
S.

To answer your first question, Vern, the big boss of ActionSoft's Midnight Mansion, wants that all custom mansions on the MMF are downloadable for both members and guests.

Castle Basano etc. are mansions created for the expansion pack and thus not available yet. :-[

Okay!
Anyway I think what you suggested is a good idea.

What about possible beta-testers?..

What is involved in being a beta-tester?

Reply #2

Hi Freddy -
I just went back to our home page and tried to imagine what is would be like for a newcomer to the boards. Regarding the custom mansions, how would anyone know what they are, and that they exist? The original mansions are wonderful, but the fact that players can download 90+ mansions for the price is MM is truly remarkable and unparalleled as far as I know. Somehow that should be highlighted at the top of the boards "Play 8 Great Mansions at 3 Difficulty Levels and 90+, that's right 90+, free and downloadable custom mansions!" or something like that. Many of us have played MM since the early days so the whole custom mansion thing seems self-explanatory. I don't think it's so for newcomers. Just my opinion.

Hi Freddy,   [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

Yes, I agree.  Posting for new comers is quite the negative experience.  Even tho following the instructions, checking the calendar to see which Admin is active, still did not get me on the board.....as you well know.....lololololo  (funny now, but not at the time. very frustrating.)

I assumed, that because I bought MM that my email address was automatically in the system and all I had to do was register and away I go.  But that is not the case.

Perhaps, when one buys MM and we are provided a registration code, that you could some how set up a system on the forum for new comers to enter that code.....thereby the system verifies the person and permits to newbie to fill out info and start posting.  ?????  or something like that.

Also, if I want to find info re custom mansion i.e.: a chat about problem solving or clues, I type the name into your little search window (above right) and nothing.
Very frustrating and time consuming searching each and every post to find the mansion dialogue in question.
I'm having that problem right now, er, should I say again.    [smiley=cry.gif]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Currently, I have the feeling that we need a kind of pre-homepage with only the super-priorities:

1° how to become a member with posting rights;

2° info about the existence of custom mansions and where to find them;

3° hot news (e.g. the release of a new version of MM).

While I think further about this idea and its technical consequences, I await once again for your reactions. Thx.

EDIT

And:
4° the abscense/attendance of admins.

Freddy wrote on 21.07.2008 at 23:13:19:

Maybe the general link to the CMs, which was the last line of the previous news-text? That sentence was: "You'll find all the custom mansions here!"

I think that was quite good. It's quite hard to get feedback from non-forumites, because, well, they don't post in the forum.

sherryl199 wrote on 22.07.2008 at 10:15:09:

What is involved in being a beta-tester?

http://www.actionsoft.com/forums/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1191105052

I'm fully with you, Freddy.

I also agree wholeheartedly to what Sherry said (in her post called Reply 2) !

re:  CM....I agree, the whole thing took a long time to figure out.  Again, spending time searching the entire forum to get a handle on what they are and how to play them, WHEN A NEWBIE cannot even get to post.
I had to find the buying page/download new purchase page of MM, and  email Vern (got his name from hours of reading posts) and bother the poor man with questions.

For some reason, some CM's save does not work lately so I just gave up playing them.  I do get to the save point and save the game, all is well if I continue playing, however, if I save and come back later......the save is in my save list, but after clicking on it I get a pop up stating there is no save.......that is why I now stopped playing the CM's   [smiley=embarassed.gif]

Missy, you open the saves from within the game, not in the Finder.

Hi Brell,

What is Finder?

I go to the main menu page, I select "Open Game", a pop up appears "Choose File" and I select the saved game.  Some work, but lately, after downloading the full CM folder, I started to experience this problem.  So I deleted all the downloads.  I started again and now all of them are doing this.  Maybe there's a download glitch.  I will delete and start all over again.

I have to go to the doctor shortly, when I have time, I will make note of the games and let you know.

Thank you soooooo much for your concern.  Your an   [smiley=engel017.gif]

Missy wrote on 22.07.2008 at 12:10:35:

Also, if I want to find info re custom mansion i.e.: a chat about problem solving or clues, I type the name into your little search window (above right) and nothing. Very frustrating and time consuming searching each and every post to find the mansion dialogue

I have also been wondering if there is some way to sort the 13 pages in the Talk forum into individual CMs.  Time after time  I have cruised through all the pages to try to find a hint. A search done on the pages is not helpful.

Jackie

Finder is what you see when you start your Mac.  Don't worry about that, your problem lies elsewhere.

First, all custom mansions MUST be in the Custom Mansion folder within the Midnight Mansion folder.

Second, all saves should be in /Library/Application Support/Midnight Mansion/Saved Games folder within your home folder.  That is where the game puts the saves.

Now, if you remove or replace a custom mansion with a new version or move it outside the Custom Mansion folder, then the save file cannot find the corresponding custom mansion and the game quits.

It seems to me that you have messed up with the Custom Mansion folder within the Midnight Mansion game folder.  You should download the custom mansions again and be sure to put them in the correct folder.  Then play the mansions again and make new saves, overwriting the old ones.

Jackie wrote on 22.07.2008 at 23:54:01:

Missy wrote on 22.07.2008 at 12:10:35: Also, if I want to find info re custom mansion i.e.: a chat about problem solving or clues, I type the name into your little search window (above right) and nothing. Very frustrating and time consuming searching each and every post to find the mansion dialogue I have also been wondering if there is some way to sort the 13 pages in the Talk forum into individual CMs.  Time after time  I have cruised through all the pages to try to find a hint. A search done on the pages is not helpful. Jackie

No, that is not possible.  That is why Freddy and I wanted to have a separate board for each mansion in the beginning:  To make it easier for the users to find what they are looking for.  But the majority of users said this would make the page way too long and with more that 90 CM's it surely does.  To compensate, we did two things:
1. The five newest mansions plus Catacombs have a separate board each.
2. Threads on other custom mansions in the Talk board are identified by an abbreviation, like TPI = The Pirate Invasion.
3. See also Hall of custom mansions where all CM's are listed along with this abbreviation system.

Surcouf wrote on 22.07.2008 at 05:19:58:

Okay! Anyway I think what you suggested is a good idea. What about possible beta-testers?..

If you mean Beta testing castle basano, trigger island ect, then its waaaay to late. That was going on before the contest ended. Now those mansions are done and done and finalized and no more beta-ing is needed. Vern just has to finish putting the rest of the expansion together and the other judges have to make more mansions.

So, until Vern says "Expansion is coming out in two months on the 23rd" for example, then there's going to be no beta-ing between the expansion and forum members. UNLESS- which is probable- Vern will let a few of the senior members of the MM club to beta the finalized version.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Back to subject. I haven't left the MM club because, for a big reason, Freddy gave me a very awesome warm welcome. I submitted my very first mansion, and with that, after Freddy played it (he's been around for ALONG time) he said "Welcome to the Midnight Mansion Custom Mansion club!" and I was like really happy that I was accepted and my work was liked by others. Sorta makes you feel famous for a moment.

Well, like they'd decline me and ban my account or something, we're all too charitable. It is desperately important to cheer on other people's work, say how awesome and why they like it, and give them that feeling like you've done something awesome.

That sorta cheering on makes you build more, continue, experiment and expand your mind getting inspirations everywhere. Eventually, you could win a place in a MM Level Design Contest. :P

ANYWAYS, do what you want with that top message thing, but don't forget to give all new comers a WARM welcome, and we'll get more members like me. :P

Since I am Freddy ;), I agree! :)

But I realize that, besides welcoming people, directing members to the custom mansions is als important.

I will decide, together with the other admins, about how to reach both targets in the best way.

Hi Brell,
Yes, I did all that before when Vern was kind enough to explain the mechanics of it all.
But, for some reason, LATER, when I downloaded all CM at once, something weird happened and not all games responded to a save retrieval.

Not to worry, give me some time and I will try it all over again.  This time I will keep a diary of the ones that give me trouble.

Missy

Hi Freddy - this is from Sherryl199 and Eyeballking -

My grandson, Grayson, just had the BEST (and, in my totally prejudiced opinion) brilliant!! great idea - he said to create a beginner mansion for interested players called Info Mansion - with signs that tell you about MM, custom mansions, how to play them, and a link to the MM from the opening screen - Grayson says that the INFO mansion should be free before you buy the game so you can know about it and understand if you want to play it or not. Grayson also says that in the starting room of the Info Mansion there should be sign out of money or coins that says,  "Press return to read the signs".  The first sign just be exactly where Jack starts, and it should say how to walk and jump. The rest of the rooms should focus on one thing like what lava is and how it works or how eyeballs jump and can be caught by the spiders, etc. He says to tell the people about the Mansion Level Builder and how the mansions can be built there. Grayson says that is the place to explain about the included mansions, custom mansions and the tutorial mansion. I think this is just a very good idea. Grayson likes to build mansions a lot and would like a chance to build the Info Mansion. He would love ideas from other mansion builders, and he would like you to know that he has some mansion coming soon. All this and he is 9!

Hi Grayson,   [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

I'm a newbie and I think that that is a FABULOUS IDEA!  I sure could have used that kind of Info Mansion about CM's from day one.  

It would definitely wet the appetite of the free player people to buy MM as there is a whole lot more available with MM than with any other games out there.   [smiley=thumbsup.gif]  
[smiley=dankk2.gif]
Missy

That seems like a good idea indeed.

However, we shouldn't give away too much. I'm thinking specifically of eyeballs being eaten by spiders: it looks to me, looking at the Help menu in the game, that this is intended as something the player is meant to discover by himself while playing the game. Or the same for burning Medusa heads with torches, this is hinted but not explicitly stated.

(And I use the "tab" key for the BBB's, but it seems I'm the only one with personalised commands).

Hi ToyBox

I agree.  "Less IS More".  

But, Grayson had a GREAT Idea.  Just give enough to.......

"Seriously Wet the Appetite".  

People love to get "More Bang for the Buck."  yes?  no?  [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif]

The idea of Eyeballking is indeed interesting and to keep in mind. But it is about the 'way' of bringing our message(s) to our customers.

First thing, in my opinion, is the analysis. In what way(s) can we make things better? (But they were already good??! Isn't it? ;))

Now, suppose you are (rather) new. How do you arrive here, at the Midnight Mansion Forums? The most obvious way is, coming from ActionSoft's Midnight Mansion website.

Okay. In the upper left corner of the MMF homepage the Newbie sees: "Welcome guest. Please login or register." Hmmm. :-/ That doesn't feel good. Guests are clearly supposed to be able to read all information and downloading all custom mansions WITHOUT any need to login or register. (A request from Vern.) I don't know if we, admins, are able to change this text. I'll try to check it out.

Why is a MM-player visting MMF?
1° Downloading custom mansions.
2° Reading of and searching in the posts.
3° Asking questions or making posts in general.
4° Uploading mansions.

Only for point 3° it is necessary to login or register. I know from at least one listed custom mansion of which the designer never was registered! So, even for point 4°, you do not need to login or register.

I think that the currently most important mistake is, that after clicking on the 'Forums'-tab at ActionSoft's MM-site, one is immediately directed to the MMF-site. For the sake of all Newbies there should be 'something' in between.

At least I'am thinking of the major fork between:
a) going to the homepage for MM-players who want to read or post;
b) going straight to the custom mansions.

For that 'missing link' I have a few ideas. About a) here could come all the needed information about registering, posting etc. And b) would feel perfect if there should be a complete list of all custom mansions and clicking on e.g. 'A Curious Observatory' should start the downloading of it. Or should we ask Vern for an extra tab that links to the custom mansions? :-/

Brings me finally back to the upper left corner of our MMF homepage. If the page between the 'Forums'-tab and our MMF homepage is complete and clear enough, then we may use this free space to inform all guests (including our members) about the attendence of the administrators.

This may be the right moment to appologize me (us) for forgetting to show that info at the current place. :-[ Going on holidays is almost always shown, but abscence because of busy-busy-busy or illness has too often forgotten. Guilty as charged. ::) ;)

At last, and not least, also a word about Eyeballking's idea. Speaking only for myself, I think we must avoid to bring stuff in it, that is already in the Tutorial. So, no objection at all against the idea, but before an Info-mansion got created, we, members, need to know for sure about what to put in it.

Comments please-please-please!

Missy wrote on 22.07.2008 at 21:58:46:

I go to the main menu page, I select "Open Game", a pop up appears "Choose File" and I select the saved game.  Some work, but lately, after downloading the full CM folder, I started to experience this problem.  ...

If I understand you right, you first downloaded 'some' CMs, played them and created some saved game files. And later you downloaded 'all the CMs at once' ???

Now, as mentioned at that place, this downloadpage is absolutely not up to date. Several mansions got upgraded, expanded etc. That could mean that you suddenly were playing older versions of some mansions, with the serious risk of no more working saved game files.

Hi Freddy,
You guys are the experts. And experts forget what it feels like to be completely limited in computer skills.  (I'm learning thanks to all of you). But, when I try and get my Real Estate buddies to try your games, they get all flustered as I did, how do I get going.

I don't have any ideas as I am still green....My only suggestion is to make the changes in the Action Soft section, as you have mentioned, because that's were we green newbies have to start.

I was so frustrated by not being able to get someone to help me on this forum page, that I went back to the Action Soft page and was relieved to see a help contact link.

That is how I got to communicating with Vern, poor guy, until he referred my back to  the forum, where as I told him I can't post directly until I am approved, and no one is getting back to me. It was a visious circle.....well, you know the story.  

So, yes, it has to start at the Action Soft page and remember to think like a "Green Newbie"   lolololol

Freddy wrote on 24.07.2008 at 23:51:45:

Missy wrote on 22.07.2008 at 21:58:46: I go to the main menu page, I select "Open Game", a pop up appears "Choose File" and I select the saved game.  Some work, but lately, after downloading the full CM folder, I started to experience this problem.  ... If I understand you right, you first downloaded 'some' CMs, played them and created some saved game files. And later you downloaded 'all the CMs at once' ??? Now, as mentioned at that place, this downloadpage is absolutely not up to date. Several mansions got upgraded, expanded etc. That could mean that you suddenly were playing older versions of some mansions, with the serious risk of no more working saved game files.

YES FREDDY, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I DID.  Not to worry, I will, when I have time, start all over again.....and avoid the "all CM mansions download."

But, FYI, the little search window at top right of forum page is not helpful with CM's.

The observatory CM, is a blast.  I wish it had a save point at the top of the roof......lololol

It is out of topic. (Of course.) But 'A Curious Observatory' is a brilliant, but oh so difficult mansion.

E.g. have a look at the neat work in all rooms. The disign is really superb. And (only) once one is experienced, one will notice the very clever puzzling effects. But ... very hard. I know.

I was a little confused at first about the boards, with minor things like "included" mansion vs "downloaded" mansion (since I had "downloaded" the whole game.) Maybe something like "official" vs "user-created" would be clearer. And this may be somewhere on the board already, but perhaps a sticky listing the common abbreviations so newbies will know which mansion is being discussed. Also, maybe one that says something like "Stuck? Here is how to ask for game hints" (I remember not knowing about command+D   :P  )

sherryl199 wrote on 24.07.2008 at 10:45:44:

Hi Freddy - this is from Sherryl199 and Eyeballking - My grandson, Grayson, just had the BEST (and, in my totally prejudiced opinion) brilliant!! great idea - he said to create a beginner mansion for interested players called Info Mansion - with signs that tell you about MM, custom mansions, how to play them, and a link to the MM from the opening screen - Grayson says that the INFO mansion should be free before you buy the game so you can know about it and understand if you want to play it or not. Grayson also says that in the starting room of the Info Mansion there should be sign out of money or coins that says,  "Press return to read the signs"...

Hate to burst your bubble but...

All the information about that is included in the Read me and FAQ and text included with the game. That includes how to work the editor, open custom mansions (Opening custom mansions is pretty darn obvious -.-) and much more.

And some of the simple things like "Press return to read the sign..." is all included in Tutorial mansion. And to decide if you want to buy the game or not, it's called a Demo which is built-into the game.

But having the info not in the text but in a custom mansion, then that would be a neat idea. But- how will they open the mansion, if newbies don't know how? :-?

Anyways, do what you want, have fun.

Hi Wingy,

Yes, your right.  But the text is so long and looks complicated, so most of us newbies anxiously jump to the tutorial or the actual game and then back to the tutorial....which appeals to us a lot more than reading all the foreboding text that will just go over our heads anyway as we have no idea what they're taking about until we get into the tutorial or game.  

As Josephine Wanderer said.....Read her post, it does get confusing.
Having said that, if newbies are allowed to immediately post questions on the forum, a lot of these issues would resolve themselves.  yes? no?  
[smiley=bath.gif]

I believe you are right, that players FIRST want to try playing a game. And only AFTER they seem to like the game and have some experience, they try to find out what is in the instructions, tutorial, ...

That brings the question back of what an Info-mansion should contain. I can't recall, but I don't think that the Tutorial-mansion is in the demo pack. Or am I wrong? :-/ And then the matter of control+D, an issue that is so important for good 'talking' on the boards. But meanwhile Vern, creator of this game is convinced that using control+D to see how many secrets you have so far, is a matter of cheating. So maybe, besides command+ D, there should be something like command+R that only gives the roomnumbers? :-/

About the other issue. Based on a long experience I am afraid it is IMPOSSIBLE to allow Newbies to make posts at once. In history some idiots were posting P&PP: porn and pharma publicity. ::) And of course we want MMF to stay family friendly forums.

Freddy wrote on 25.07.2008 at 15:25:07:

I can't recall, but I don't think that the Tutorial-mansion is in the demo pack. Or am I wrong? :-/

Yes, those are the only one you can play before you've got your code. Or has it changed? ;)

Freddy Wrote:  About the other issue. Based on a long experience I am afraid it is IMPOSSIBLE to allow Newbies to make posts at once. In history some idiots were posting P&PP: porn and pharma publicity. ::) And of course we want MMF to stay family friendly forums.[/quote]

Yes Freddy, sadly, idiots always spoil it for the sincere....Posting should only be permitted by those who actually buy the game.  Personal info is collected at that time.  A special forum code # could be issued to qualify the person at time of forum sign in.  If that poster should end up being and idiot, well, a strict penalty (rule stated in the purchase agreement ) should apply.  ie:  banned from any and all posting privileges and/or forfeit all playing privileges.

OR, since most all Admins are not avail on calendar, maybe a separate hidden from public view, newbie posters section could be set up and only members of a higher status would have access to that section to help with monitoring and answers, until the newbie gains posting privileges ????   Just a suggestion.

Missy wrote on 22.07.2008 at 20:49:25:

For some reason, some CM's save does not work lately so I just gave up playing them.  I do get to the save point and save the game, all is well if I continue playing, however, if I save and come back later......the save is in my save list, but after clicking on it I get a pop up stating there is no save.......that is why I now stopped playing the CM's   [smiley=embarassed.gif]

Whaaat ?

I never heard about this problem ?  Are you sure you have the "Saved Games" in the correct folder ?
Or maybe you changed a certain mansion's name AFTER having saved a game (save pedestal). This would explain why the computer can't  connect the "Saved Game" to the mansion in question.

Does it happen with ALL custom mansions ?

aquaMat wrote on 25.07.2008 at 19:32:42:

Whaaat ? I never heard about this problem ?  ...

Euh ... The cause has been detected yet. And mentioned somewhere above. You surely find those posts.

Missy wrote on 25.07.2008 at 17:51:35:

OR, since most all Admins are not avail on calendar

What do you mean?  The absence schedule only shows when we are absent, not when we are present.  So when the absence schedule is empty it means that we are around.

rose wrote on 25.07.2008 at 16:20:42:

Freddy wrote on 25.07.2008 at 15:25:07:  I can't recall, but I don't think that the Tutorial-mansion is in the demo pack. Or am I wrong? :-/ Yes, those are the only one you can play before you've got your code. Or has it changed? ;)

Actually the Tutorial mansion is playable in the demo pack.

Aha! Thx for reporting.

aquaMat wrote on 25.07.2008 at 19:32:42:

Missy wrote on 22.07.2008 at 20:49:25: For some reason, some CM's save does not work lately so I just gave up playing them.  I do get to the save point and save the game, all is well if I continue playing, however, if I save and come back later......the save is in my save list, but after clicking on it I get a pop up stating there is no save.......that is why I now stopped playing the CM's   [smiley=embarassed.gif] Whaaat ? I never heard about this problem ?  Are you sure you have the "Saved Games" in the correct folder ? Or maybe you changed a certain mansion's name AFTER having saved a game (save pedestal). This would explain why the computer can't  connect the "Saved Game" to the mansion in question. Does it happen with ALL custom mansions ?

Thank you for your concern AquaMat.
Freddy explained to me that the special "Download all M's at once" was outdated, most of the M's in that folder were still a work in progress.  
If I download the CM's individually, everything is OK.   [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

brell wrote on 25.07.2008 at 20:40:03:

Missy wrote on 25.07.2008 at 17:51:35: OR, since most all Admins are not avail on calendar What do you mean?  The absence schedule only shows when we are absent, not when we are present.  So when the absence schedule is empty it means that we are around.

Yes Brell, but remember, when WE newbies go to that calendar.......here is a cut & paste of that calendar......

Absence schedule
Feb 15th, 2007, 3:47am   brell

Brell
Freddy
Suztours

When NEWBIES, are trying to post & we cannot do that unless we go thru Admin's first.
Now look at the above calendar.  REMEMBER TO THINK LIKE A NEWBIE.
Under the verbage "Absence Schedule"  is a date and time, Feb 07.....After we do not get a response, we go back to that page & study it and panic that all these people have been absent since 2007.  

I hope that this clears up why there is a confusion.

It would be great if along side of the name of the person they would state a time frame of absent.  ie: gone from June 20th to Aug 15th 2008.

Also, it would be great for the newbie, who does not know how to navigate on a forum, if there would also be an additional link provided with:  "use this link only if all admin's are on vacation"  so that they can actually get a reply.


     

 

Hi Freddy,
I finally had some time to delete all the CM's and I downloaded the "Underground Fortress" not from the "download all CM's at once" section.
The Curious Observatory is great and saves properly. It has a castle icon beside its name, however, the Underground Fortress does not save at all.  Pls. read my step by step below.

Ok, here is a perfect example of the CM not saving game.

I downloaded Underground Fortress (UF)
I saved it in Finder, MM’s Custom Mansion Folder (like the other CM downloads)
The UF does not have a castle Icon like the other CM downloads. It only shows a folder beside its name.
I click on the folder pic for UF and another window opens, containing 2 UF files. One has the castle Icon named UF and the other line has a pic of a page named UF Notes.
I close Finder.
I click on Jack icon in Dashboard.
I click "start game".
I click "Open Mansion".
A new pop up appears:  “Choose file” listing all the downloaded CM’s.
The UF is the only CM in the short list showing a folder icon beside its name.
 I click on the UF folder and a new window appears beside it with the same 2 lines for UF as previously in the Finder window.  The castle icon on one line with the UF name in full and on another line a pic of a page named UF Notes.
I click on the castle icon and play the game.
I save game at save point. (Just like I do with Curious Observatory).
 I exit.
 I come back to main MM menu page and click on “Open Game”
 A new pop up appears stating “Make sure this item is in the custom file folder. (This does not appear when I click the saved CO game, I actually play the saved game.)

Please review above and let me know why this game and others that show a file folder beside their name in the main CM download section, do not save.
Does it have something to do with the folder.....as the other CM's show a castle icon beside their name and they save and play properly.  [smiley=undecided.gif]

Hi!
You don't need the folder and the Notes. Just move the file with the castle icon to the folder Custom mansions. The application have no use for the folder or Notes and the game file has to be on the "right level".

I hope this will help,
Rose

Hi Rose,

Gob Bless you for taking the time to help.   [smiley=engel017.gif]
I just did as you suggested, it replaced all 3 UF's with the castle icon in the 1st pg of the CM's.
I will try the game later to see if it will save.  I will let you know later.

Missy wrote on 25.07.2008 at 10:33:02:

...most of us newbies anxiously jump to the actual game... which appeals to us a lot more than reading all the foreboding text that will just go over our heads anyway...

I confess, I didn't read the instructions and it took me about three mansions to realize there was text on those signs! Eventually with the help of everyone here I figured out all the stuff I was missing. But maybe giving newbies a few basic pointers, and making it  obvious , would keep them from getting stuck right away. The more fun the game, the more players we have, the more designers we get, the more fun we have    [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif]

Hi Josephine   [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

Aaaaaabsooooooolutly!!!   [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

:o But guys, there are help instructions and tutorial mansions!!! They should give you all necessary information.
After that there is a learning period. Start with the easy original mansions and the more skilled you get you try harder ones. In the custom mansions there might be tricks that aren't in the original mansions but if the player don't find them out by them self they can ask in the forum! :)

Hi Rose,

Newbies cannot ask in the forum, if all Admins are on holidays and no one is available to allow them to post.

How many people do you know read the instructions on anything they buy and have to assemble?  The same goes for games.  People just want to jump in and play. yes? no?
[smiley=engel017.gif]

That is right Missy and everyone wants the information in a different way, but still there is information on how to play.

Hi All,

Lots of great discussion on the "News Corner" topic, and some good ideas.

I have been off the boards for a bit now, pretty busy lately at the Horse Rescue, and with training my two dogs for the Therapy work they do in the local hospital.

I can't believe it has only been a year since I joined the forum, with all the great people and conversations, it feels like I have been part of the MM Family for much longer!

I do remember a bit about being a "Newbie".  I was warmly welcomed on the boards very quickly by the admins, especially Freddy and Brell, and as I started out with about a million questions, I was pleasantly surprised to have my posts answered very nicely and in a timely fashion. ::)

I also remember at first having a bit of a learning curve for both the game itself, and then the use of the forum (but it was my Very First), and needing to do some detective work to find the CM's.  This did not deter me in the least, as I love solving problems, and did eventually figure most of it out (and I had lots of help from members!).

I personally like the idea of a simple " Info  Mansion", it would be fun to learn, explore, and discover all at once, and I too, did not originally read the instructions, I played a few mansions, and kept going back to the written instructions as needed.   :D    It would need input and mutual agreement as to what hints/instructions to release, and what to hold back for adventuring sake.

It might be better if there was a separate tab for 'new registration' for an easy instruction page, and links to follow, and a bit of an explanation on rules of posting, and how to find CM's, etc.

I do like the idea of the news corner being used to announce new CM's, and maybe this would be a place to put Newbie Instructions; like  "New to the Forum? Click Here".

I also agree the Admins Absence is a little confusing, considering the date of the post, and may need a bit of updating to be clearer.  For me it was no problem, as Freddy responded immediately  ;) and helped me get my bearings.

All in all, I think it is a wonderful forum, and as with anything that involves intelligent, caring people, it is always expanding, improving and is a 'work in progress'.

Take care, and I hope everyone is having a great summer !  8-)

SandyBean [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif]

Whilst we are talking about organising things, what do we think about tidying up the message board a bit?

I often think that the message board looks quite big and confusing. Many message boards have a main page, and then some sub pages. What do the admins think about changing the board so we have the following main pages?

- Announcements
- Midnight Mansion Game
- Expansion Pack
- Custom Mansions Area
- Free Chat

Also, if we want to promote the totally awesome custom mansions, maybe we could move the Custom Mansions up the page?

What about this order?

- Midnight Mansion Game
- Custom Mansions Area
- Announcements
- Expansion Pack
- Free Chat


Just some ideas...  :)

YES, Laura, that is a GREAT IDEA.  

And in each category, maybe each mansion can have it's own Topic header so that one does not have to surf all over the forum for hints.  

Great idea.   [smiley=tekst-toppie.gif]

rose wrote on 28.07.2008 at 15:36:53:

... there are help instructions and tutorial mansions!!!

Of course there are. But are we going to get nitpicky about The One True Proper Way to start playing MM? Or do we want newbies to dive in and get hooked on the game before they run into problems? MM is loads of fun, but some people get frustrated when they're stuck and may just give up if they can't easily find the answer (this isn't a test, it's a game.) Why penalize those people (ie: paying customers) with more difficulty when we want them to enjoy it?  :)

Missy- great idea about each mansion having it's own separate header. Players could find answers more easily and it would prevent the same questions from being asked multiple times.

Lara- tidying up the forums would simplify things too. That whole "admin absence" really had me confused when I joined! I thought maybe they weren't involved in the game anymore because the dates were a year old. I love the idea of a "Newbies- Get Unstuck Here!" header, with a list of basic help tips like "command D to find the room number" or "there is a map included for each mansion" (I didn't know this  :P  )


Hey SandyBean- not to hijack the thread, I have a question about your horse rescue. Check out the speaker's corner area.

Hello,

Pls. note the page numbers at the bottom or the top of the page.  In other Topics they are even smaller.

Well, it's hard to see which page number is selected.  Also, it would be nice if their was a "next page" option.

Thank you

I agree. I remember first logging on to the new board and having to e-mail Freddy about what to do. We want to encourage the new guys and the way it is it's confusing.

Like everybody has seen ;), brell is absent for the time being. And I am not going to change anything before we had contact.

But ... improving changes are to come. Definitely.

I like to thank everybody for their contributions. :)

Missy wrote on 28.07.2008 at 16:06:42:

Hi Rose, Newbies cannot ask in the forum, if all Admins are on holidays and no one is available to allow them to post.

As far as I know it has not happened yet since this forum was opened that all admins are absent at the same time.  If it should happen then the newbie just has to wait.  I will not open this forum so that anyone can register and start to post right away.  I do not have the time to delete a few dozens of porn ads every day (and ban those mebers that post such ads and onther stuff we don't want here).


Missy wrote on 28.07.2008 at 16:06:42:

How many people do you know read the instructions on anything they buy and have to assemble?  The same goes for games.  People just want to jump in and play. yes? no? [smiley=engel017.gif]

I always read the instructions/manuals first.  Save me a lot of time, trouble and frustration.

Lara wrote on 30.07.2008 at 04:01:05:

Whilst we are talking about organising things, what do we think about tidying up the message board a bit? I often think that the message board looks quite big and confusing. Many message boards have a main page, and then some sub pages. What do the admins think about changing the board so we have the following main pages? - Announcements - Midnight Mansion Game - Expansion Pack - Custom Mansions Area - Free Chat

But these already are our main pages !?  We call them categories.  Inside the categories there are the boards.  What you are asking is that we hide the boards within the categories.  I don't think that is possible and I am sure that it would take more time for people to search the boards if we did that.


Lara wrote on 30.07.2008 at 04:01:05:

Also, if we want to promote the totally awesome custom mansions, maybe we could move the Custom Mansions up the page? What about this order? - Midnight Mansion Game - Custom Mansions Area - Announcements - Expansion Pack - Free Chat Just some ideas...  :)

It is easy to change the order of categories and/or the boards within but IMO the announcements category should be at the top.

Missy wrote on 30.07.2008 at 04:15:44:

YES, And in each category, maybe each mansion can have it's own Topic header so that one does not have to surf all over the forum for hints.

When we started this forum Freddy and I wanted to do exactly what you are asking:  One board for each mansion.  Nobody liked that idea.  If we did that today we would have over 100 (!) more boards than we have today.

Missy wrote on 31.07.2008 at 18:26:44:

Hello, Pls. note the page numbers at the bottom or the top of the page.  In other Topics they are even smaller. Well, it's hard to see which page number is selected.  Also, it would be nice if their was a "next page" option. Thank you

This is something that is restricted by the forum software and there is nothing we can do about it.

brell wrote on 05.08.2008 at 22:54:05:

... When we started this forum Freddy and I wanted to do exactly what you are asking:  One board for each mansion.  Nobody liked that idea.  If we did that today we would have over 100 (!) more boards than we have today.

Indeed. But now we are many months and ... MANSIONS later, I think it is a good time to ask this important question again.

The current option is: only 5 boards for the most recent custom mansions (+ Catacombs) and all the others (80+ !!!) are in 'Talk'. An abbreviations-system should :-/ help to find the requested info. That needs a lot of manual work for us, admins, but I am not sure if it is all so obvious (for Newbies).

The alternative is an 'encyclopedia' with 1 board per custom mansion.

So my question is: "Is there something wrong with a good 'dictionary'?" One only needs to know the alphabet. Comparing with finding the wanted information about a custom mansion in a pretty quick and very LOGICAL way, strolling may be a rather small discomfort. :-/

Once again: yell ! ;)

It is good if you know the alphabet but many mansions starts with "The"!!!!

You have a good point! And all the others start with "A"!

Let me think about it.

Freddy wrote on 06.08.2008 at 19:41:10:

You have a good point! And all the others start with "A"!

ALL the others ???
;D

End of my thoughts. :) ;)

In a Belgian telephone book you will see (in alphabetical order):

- Vanden Zorghe Pieter
- Van de Velde Jan
- Van Overschelde Karel

But in a Dutch telephone book you will see (in alphabetical order):
- Overschelde Karel, Van
- Velde Jan, Van de
- Zorghe Pieter, Vanden

Now, for the same reasons (to organize our boards), can we say:

- Lost Jungle, The
- Tale of One City, A
etc.    ?

Please, talk.

@ brell: Sorry, forgot the ;)

I agree with the Dutch system (Lost Jungle, the, etc).

What about having a "conversation" on top of all others containing the alphabetical list of mansions, and the names are clickable with a link to the relevant Topic? (Is this possible at all?) Or to include a link to the relevant Topic in the Downloads list (like:
CRANES by Surcouf
First release on 05.08.08
Forum Topic at ......)

We need to ckeck what we can do. But yes, we are in urge for 'good' links.

On a "First Impression" topic, if a potential player goes to MMF, the dates of all the categories under Announcements (other than Vern's update) give the impression that this is not an active Message Board. Some may scroll down to see the rest of the site, but some may just click off and go elsewhere. Perhaps the Announcement area could just have "New!" (or something like that) when there is something new and delete those old dates in the other categories? It's just something that always bothers me - perhaps no one else!!

Hmmm. Thx for reporting.

Hi All,

Wouldn't it be a lot easier just to fix the little search window at the top so that it does find all the dialogue about the CM or MM in question or any other topic.

That way, we don't have to search and search and search all the topics for info.

ie:  on my IBS forum, all I have to do is type in a word or two and the search produces ALL posts containing that word.  My search is then cut down to those dialogues.  Much quicker and more efficient.  

Unfortunately here, we use short forms a lot  ie:  MM, CM, etc.  but at least, if the search window was more efficient,  it would  group all posts and dialogues containing the text typed into it, even if short forms are typed in.  yes? no?

BTW, I got permission to post MM on the IBS board.  Raving how it kept my sanity during my bouts with insomnia and my mind off of being sick. Which it really did.

I hope it boosts up traffic and sales.  Keep in mind, not everyone owns a iMac......so I also raved about iMac ownership versus PC.......hee,heee,heee.......so far they haven't deleted it and the views are climbing.

Can you give an example of the search window not working?

Anyway, the search feature is a part of the forum software and we cannot change that.

Hi Brell,

Yes, if I type in a CM's name I do not get all the post for that name.   I just did it for "The Wall"  4 posts came up, highlighting "the" mainly......"wall" appeared actually in my post mentioning it.

But, all the posts pertaining tp the CM "The Wall"  did not show up.

Hope this helps.  

You are right, the search window is not very good.  But as I said there is nothing we, the admins, can do about it.

How about trying the Search BUTTON second to the right of the Home button?  ;)
Only gives 15 results max, though.

A good search-system in any software should be obvious. ::)

But since many many many posts do NOT contain e.g. the name of the mansion that they are about, one will still be missing most posts. :-[

Hi Brell

Still not good......the word "The" in "The Wall" is the primary focus of the search.  hummmm.  For such a sophisticated, tekkie system......the search is real poor.

The IBS forum search is great. check them out:  http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/

Perhaps Action Soft is not aware of this problem?  You know, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  Time to notify them.  yes? no?

[smiley=bath.gif]

Missy wrote on 12.08.2008 at 03:00:44:

... Perhaps Action Soft is not aware of this problem?  ...  Time to notify them. ...

I will contact Vern of ActionSoft. Not specifically about this issue (alone). But, as far as I know, our software is still YaBB 2.2 and there have been THREE updates yet. It feels obvious to ask him to install version 2.2.3 for our MMF.

Let us hope that several things will become (even) better. [smiley=thumbup.gif]

Hi Freddy,

Great idea, but maybe Vern is not aware of the Search Window problem.....maybe after you point it out to him he will keep it in mind for the 4th update?  

Also, check out the posts in Game Improvements, topic: Saving Last Play Thru Door, some or many of us would love to have a private list record of out score after we go thru the door......as future reference so that we can see at a glance which MM's & CM's we still have to search for unfound secrets and monies etc.

And if you could throw in a Condo in Hawaii.....that too would be appreciated!   [smiley=grin.gif] [smiley=grin.gif] [smiley=grin.gif]

Missy wrote on 12.08.2008 at 03:28:48:

Hi Freddy, Great idea, but maybe Vern is not aware of the Search Window problem.....maybe after you point it out to him he will keep it in mind for the 4th update?

Vern has nothing to do with the programming of the forum software.

Hi Brell,

Does that mean no Condo in Hawii?.......lololol

Using the Search feature that Brell mentioned to get 15 messages pertaining to your topic, I got a page full by just typing in "Wall."  A slightly different page of 15 showed up by typing in "TW."  'Course, most of them were written by you.   ;D

Jackie

Hi Jackie,

Thank you for caring.....yes, that's what I got too.....mine.....lolololololol   [smiley=grin.gif]  and I don't want mine, as I am still green and learning.

I guess the search is word sensitive.  

I tried Apple Care again today, this time I got a the real tekkie dep't., and we still can't figure out how to put a pic in the post.  FYI, the Apple staff never heard of MM.....but now they have.  lolololololol   [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif]

I am learning so much.......Thank You to ALL of you for helping.

Freddy wrote on 12.08.2008 at 03:13:00:

... I will contact Vern of ActionSoft. ... It feels obvious to ask him to install version 2.2.3 for our MMF. ...

I had contact yet with Vern and he is going to update the software as soon as he finds some time.
:)

brell wrote on 05.08.2008 at 22:50:45:

Lara wrote on 30.07.2008 at 04:01:05: Many message boards have a main page, and then some sub pages. What do the admins think about changing the board so we have the following main pages? - Announcements - Midnight Mansion Game - Expansion Pack - Custom Mansions Area - Free Chat But these already are our main pages !?  We call them categories.  Inside the categories there are the boards.  What you are asking is that we hide the boards within the categories.  I don't think that is possible and I am sure that it would take more time for people to search the boards if we did that.

Maybe it is a case of the board taking up too much space? So when a user views the page it looks visually overwhelming. What about making the font sizes smaller for the 'explanation' bit? That way each forum won't take up so much space in the web browser.

See bbs.jimmyeatworld.com for an example of a message board that has a lot of forums but seems fairly clear and easily navigable.

Also, do we really need the 'CM Sub-forum' visible to everyone if we can't access it?

In addition, I would vote yay for just having one 'Talk' forum with a single thread inside for each custom mansion. People don't really need more than one thread per mansion. It would just take a little moderation to remind people to not create a number of threads for one mansion. I think that would improve the tidyness of the board a great deal.

Thanks for your time Brell. :)

Lara wrote on 15.08.2008 at 03:52:08:

Maybe it is a case of the board taking up too much space? So when a user views the page it looks visually overwhelming.

As a newbie I felt that way too. Some mansions have their own header while others are somewhere in the talk forums, so one doesn't know where to look.

(Hey Lara, "Hear You Me" is one of my all-time favorite songs  :)  )

Lara wrote on 15.08.2008 at 03:52:08:

brell wrote on 05.08.2008 at 22:50:45: Lara wrote on 30.07.2008 at 04:01:05: Many message boards have a main page, and then some sub pages. What do the admins think about changing the board so we have the following main pages? - Announcements - Midnight Mansion Game - Expansion Pack - Custom Mansions Area - Free Chat But these already are our main pages !?  We call them categories.  Inside the categories there are the boards.  What you are asking is that we hide the boards within the categories.  I don't think that is possible and I am sure that it would take more time for people to search the boards if we did that. Maybe it is a case of the board taking up too much space? So when a user views the page it looks visually overwhelming. What about making the font sizes smaller for the 'explanation' bit? That way each forum won't take up so much space in the web browser.

That might be an idea - but not for those with bad vision.


Lara wrote on 15.08.2008 at 03:52:08:

Also, do we really need the 'CM Sub-forum' visible to everyone if we can't access it?

As far as Freddy and I can see it must be visible.  Otherwise you wouldn't be able to download the mansions.  But we will check once again.


Lara wrote on 15.08.2008 at 03:52:08:

In addition, I would vote yay for just having one 'Talk' forum with a single thread inside for each custom mansion. People don't really need more than one thread per mansion. It would just take a little moderation to remind people to not create a number of threads for one mansion. I think that would improve the tidyness of the board a great deal.

There is no way to move posts from one thread to other within a board.  This is the third MM forum and in no case people have limited their CM talk to one thread per mansion.  I am not going to delete posts just because they are not in the correct thread.

We have separate boards for the 5 newest mansions now and one for Catacombs.  When a new mansion is released a new board is added for that mansion and the oldest of the 5 is deleted and the threads in that board are moved to Talk.  This is done:
1. Because people were complaining about having difficulties finding the threads about the mansions
2. So people can more easily find that there are new mansions around
3. Because most CM talk is about new mansions and we want people to find the threads easily.

In my and Freddy's opinion it is much easier for people to find what they are looking for with more boards than less.  Actually I know that Freddy would like to have a separate board for each original and each custom mansion!  There must be some compromise between those who want more and those who want less.

Anyway, we will check whether we can shrink the fonts without "shrinking" the readability for those who are less sighted (including me) and whether we can cut off the boards within the announcements category.

One more thing.  It has been good to have the opinions of many of the forum members about the layout and looks of our forum, although some misunderstanding has occurred, whichFreddy and I have hopefully been able to correct.  But please bear in mind that the admins are the captains - they have the final word in this matter.

josephine wrote on 15.08.2008 at 11:33:50:

Lara wrote on 15.08.2008 at 03:52:08: Maybe it is a case of the board taking up too much space? So when a user views the page it looks visually overwhelming. As a newbie I felt that way too. Some mansions have their own header while others are somewhere in the talk forums, so one doesn't know where to look.

I hope my post above has explained this.  All custom mansions are in the Talk board except:

1. Catacombs
2. The 5 newest CM's.

Missy wrote on 15.08.2008 at 21:46:18:

Hi Brell, Awwwwww, don't shrink the text.  As it is, I have to wear my glasses to see it.  If you shrink it, I will have to invent a huge magnifine glass to fit over the computer.....hee,hee, hee.   Seriously, it would be such a pain to change all the settings to make the text lager, just for this one forum.

Thanks for the support  8-)
Text will not be shrinked  ;D


Missy wrote on 15.08.2008 at 21:46:18:

But, I agree, about making the search a lot easier. What about starting, in Talk, a new Topic for each and every CM.  this way, any NEW DISCUSSION about a particular CM can be posted in that new Topic.  It would be so much easier than starting new Topics asking for help. which are posted all over the Talk Topic.  Forget about the old posts.  We can start it from now on.   Rather than criticizing the idea.  Lets just try it.  ie:  Palace of Gore, The Wall, Bedlam etc.  By placing the name in the Topic area, and a brief explanation at the top of the Talk area, ie:  Please post all your questions & remarks in the appropriate CM Topic rather than starting a new Topic. This for sure would cut down on searching and tooo many scattered topic posts re:  CM's. missy

Missy, if only everyone would do just that:  Using an existing thread instead of starting new one.  It is not necessary to start new threads for this purpose, only that everyone stick to existing threads instead of making new ones.  But I strongly doubt that this will ever happen.

:-/ Hmmmm. In a matter of fact I was going to start changing our boards today because I had a day off here in Belgium. But ... with the new interesting posts AND Vern soon making an update of the forum software, I really want to wait.

Please let me first discover what extra's version 2.2.3 give to us. Thx.

Missy wrote on 15.08.2008 at 23:30:05:

Re: CM's......Well, how about an email blast to all members to notify them of the new strategy and at the top of the Talk forum page, HIGHLIGHT the new strategy with instructions for newbies and slowly but surely, I think that all will work out well. The instructions could read, something like......ie:  DO NOT START A NEW TOPIC FOR CM.  Look up the CM you are interested in the Topic section (posted in capitols).  Click on the CM your interested in and post your question and answer there in the already existing CM Topic.  Someone will definitely get back to you.

Surprise surprise, I second this. :).

And I'm now viewing the board as below, and I am much happier.  ::)

---

Lara wrote on 15.08.2008 at 03:52:08:

Also, do we really need the 'CM Sub-forum' visible to everyone if we can't access it?

Quote:

As far as Freddy and I can see it must be visible.  Otherwise you wouldn't be able to download the mansions.  But we will check once again.

It is quite possible that I am ignorant regarding this, I can understand if this forum has to remain because of technical/coding issues. But thanks for looking into it, I'm just trying to figure out the point of the forum being visible to everyone when we can't use it or access it.

Many thanks. :)

Well, I am very sure that, with the current software-version, it is impossible to hide a board while given access to that forum for everybody. :'(

But we'll see what changes version 2.2.3 will offer.

Lara wrote on 16.08.2008 at 19:43:34:

Lara wrote on 15.08.2008 at 03:52:08: Also, do we really need the 'CM Sub-forum' visible to everyone if we can't access it? Quote: As far as Freddy and I can see it must be visible.  Otherwise you wouldn't be able to download the mansions.  But we will check once again. It is quite possible that I am ignorant regarding this, I can understand if this forum has to remain because of technical/coding issues. But thanks for looking into it, I'm just trying to figure out the point of the forum being visible to everyone when we can't use it or access it. Many thanks. :)

There still seems to be a misunderstanding here.  You DO have an access to the CM subforum - via the CM board itself.  When you download a CM you go to the CM board and choose whether you want to locate the mansion by author, mansion name or release time.  When you click on the mansion name you are taken to the CM subforum where the actual download takes place.  If we would make the CM subforum invisible you wouldn't be able to download any CM.

Then someone propably wants to ask why we have organised the downloads like this.  There are two reasons:
1. To control that the CM's are truly ready for download, i.e. playable, tested, etc.
2. To provide the download checksum:  If a downloaded mansion does not yield the same checksum as given in the download window, then the download has propably failed, which could lead to a "glitch" in the gameplay.  This can be checked in a Terminal window by the command

openssl sha

with a space after sha.  Then you drag the zipped mansion in the Terminal window and press return.

Missy wrote on 16.08.2008 at 22:00:17:

Hi Lara, Now you have me confused.....lololol.....the pic you took of the "New Board Look", where is it?  I just clicked into the "Home Tab" and the look is still the same old one. missy

Seen the small minuses in the upper left corner of each category?  Try to click with the mouse on a " - " and see what happens.  

Lara wrote on 16.08.2008 at 19:38:50:

Missy wrote on 15.08.2008 at 23:30:05: Re: CM's......Well, how about an email blast to all members to notify them of the new strategy and at the top of the Talk forum page, HIGHLIGHT the new strategy with instructions for newbies and slowly but surely, I think that all will work out well. The instructions could read, something like......ie:  DO NOT START A NEW TOPIC FOR CM.  Look up the CM you are interested in the Topic section (posted in capitols).  Click on the CM your interested in and post your question and answer there in the already existing CM Topic.  Someone will definitely get back to you. Surprise surprise, I second this. :).

I am not keen on this "one mansion - one thread" strategy.  In the "Talk" board there is a thread with 146(!) posts.  And there are a few threads on the mansions that combined would give even more!

Now, the forum member, who has the patience to read carefully through such long threads to find a possible answer to his question instead of starting a new thread, may exist.  But I doubt it.

And another thing:  What are we going to do if someone starts a new thread instead of adding to an existing one?  Are we goig to delete his question?  Remember that we cannot move his post to another thread.  As an admin, I will NOT participate in such a censorship.

brell wrote on 16.08.2008 at 22:11:12:

Lara wrote on 16.08.2008 at 19:43:34: Lara wrote on 15.08.2008 at 03:52:08: Also, do we really need the 'CM Sub-forum' visible to everyone if we can't access it? Quote: As far as Freddy and I can see it must be visible.  Otherwise you wouldn't be able to download the mansions.  But we will check once again. It is quite possible that I am ignorant regarding this, I can understand if this forum has to remain because of technical/coding issues. But thanks for looking into it, I'm just trying to figure out the point of the forum being visible to everyone when we can't use it or access it. There still seems to be a misunderstanding here.  You DO have an access to the CM subforum - via the CM board itself.  When you download a CM you go to the CM board and choose whether you want to locate the mansion by author, mansion name or release time.  When you click on the mansion name you are taken to the CM subforum where the actual download takes place.  If we would make the CM subforum invisible you wouldn't be able to download any CM.

Ah-ha! I understand now! Thanks! :)  ;D

Missy wrote on 16.08.2008 at 22:59:44:

Re: your last post....leave the existing posts.  The CM topics are all scattered every where. By starting a New System, newbies will post there.

No, they won't.  I've been an admin of this forum in more than one and a half year and I was a forum member of the old MM forums.  If a newbie cannot find his answer in a hurry he will post his question in a new thread.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  He has every right to start a new topic.


Missy wrote on 16.08.2008 at 22:59:44:

The old posts are already finished plays and the newbies, like I was & still am, are going to have such a hard time finding their answers that they are just going to start posting the same old questions in a new topic because they couldn't find the answer to their question anyways. It just perpetuates the same viscous annoying circle of trying to find the answer.

Missy, you are NOT a newbie any more.  In your system the newbies will still have a hard time finding their answers because the threads will be sooooo long with hundreds of posts each thread.  No one will have the patience to look for an answer to his question in these long threads.  Again I am speaking out of experience.


Missy wrote on 16.08.2008 at 22:59:44:

I guarantee you that the New System would definitely stop all this confusion.

You cannot guarantee that.  I know that people will still start new threads if they cannot find their answers in a hurry.  They will NOT find their answers in a hurry in threads that contain hundreds of posts.


Missy wrote on 16.08.2008 at 22:59:44:

Brell, you have to remember to think like a newbie.  Confused and in a HURRY to finish the game and move onto the next one.  No one wants to spend hours looking and reading.......THEY WANT TO PLAY!    [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif] missy

I do NOT have to think like a newbie.  The newbies have to learn to navigate our forum.  Of course everyone wants to play and everyone wants quick answers to their questions.  But sometimes patience is a virtue.  And furthermore, most gameplaying related questions are in the excellent manuals that come with the game.  People's life would so much easier if they started by reading the manuals.

Once more I will try to make my point:

1. The "one mansion - one thread" strategy will NOT prevent people from starting new threads.

2. Every forum member has the right to start new threads.  While the posts are not offending in any way I will NOT participate in any kind of censorship.

3. The admins are captains of the forum - they have the final word in any decision of forum changes.  Vern has put me and Freddy in charge of the forum.  

4. Freddy started this thread to get some ideas for the news corner at the top of the forum page.  Some of the ideas are good and worth trying while others are not as good and sometimes based on misunderstanding.

5. We, the admins, will update the news corner after Vern has activated the newest version of the forum software.  That way we can see whether the update contains changes that will make our forum easier to use.

Hi Missy.

Actually you don't "grab" vitamin D, your skin converts cholesterol into calciferol (D) when it absorbs uv light.  8-)

Thank you for your understanding.  Don't hesitate to post your ideas on making a better forum.  Your points about the admin absence schedule have made it clear that we have to change that.

Thx brell. With all your admin-experience, of course you are right.

Let us all keep in mind that we were talking about the news corner. So, please relax and keep in mind that it is all about the forums of only ... a game!

We, admins, are giving the best of us in our spare time. When I said somewhere else that I 'saw' 4.400 emails yet, besides all private mesages and posts, that was not to brag or ask for pittyness. Just to tell that we, admins, are doing unknown things behind the curtains to help any body as good as poosible.

Now, several years of experience on all THREE forums-websites that Midnight Mansion had yet, learned me that we had an immense increase of custom mansions. When I did start with MM, there was only one real (but bad) CM. Now we are close to 100.

So about the CMs I have one amazingly important question to everybody in the world: guests, newbies etc. Shouldn't it be better that we have a good ENCYCLOPEDIA for our custom mansions (and btw also for our included mansions), than a shortlist of the most recent five????

I am well aware of pro and contra. Really. But I wonder if Newbies do not deserve the advantage?!?! Especially the not-experienced MMF-members will have difficulties about finding answers or ... the lack of any answer. I can imagine that when a MM-player (MMF-member) is looking for an answer about e.g. Nightmare Mansion Hard, that he/she hopes to be able to search in a logical way.

Please reply about this important issue. And keep in mind that previous questions about this issues ended in the hope that the number of boards stayed limited.

I await your replies about the encyclopedia-issue and then, I think, we need to close down this topic for us, admins, to act. And then improve our boards in combination with version 2.2.3 of YaBB.

Hi Freddy,

Could you explain the encyclopaedia idea a bit more? And shall we have  a new thread?

:)

Lara wrote on 17.08.2008 at 08:07:06:

... Could you explain the encyclopaedia idea a bit more? ...

What I mean is that there could be one board for each custom mansion. And btw, also one board for each included mansion. Since, like brell pointed out, one topic for a mansion doesn't work.

:) About reading instructions. :)

In the manual of my microwave is written, that one may not dry the cat in the microwave, after it was out in the rain ... :-? ::) :-? ::) >:( >:(

When someone buys a new car, who reads the instructionbook first? :o

What I want to say is in a matter of fact rather simple. From a lot of new owned technical things, one may expect that it is possible to start those things without reading the 300 included pages with instructions. BUT it is obvious as well that if one encounters any hurdle, one has to dive in the manual to find out how to jump over it.

;D I have something with jumpings these days. ;D I think aquaMat is to blame. ;)

Well. Talking about Midnight Mansion. The tutorial game explains a lot of things. And the documentation- and FAQ-files almost all the other features. So our MMF is for esoteric stuff only. 8-) ;D

Word up Freddy...

One Forum Per Mansion idea:


Top Level:        Midnight Mansion Games

Sub Level 1:     Included Mansions

Sub Level 2:     Knight Mansion
                      Nightmare Mansion
                      Falcon Manor
                      House of Baron Garneau
                      Castle Doom
                      Cathedral Towers
                      Chateau de Medusa
                      Spider Palace

Then within each mansion forum there will be any thread that a person creates.

Freddy, is this basically your idea?

This would then be duplicated for the CM:

Top Level:        Custom Mansion Area

Sub Level 1:     Custom Mansions

Sub Level 2:     A Curious Observatory
                      Catacombs
                      Creepy Cottage
                      etc...

Or is this far too much work?

:)

@ Missy, Lara, ... :
Our MMF-website has 'categories' like Free Chat.
A 'category' has 'boards' or 'forums' like Forums Issues.
And a 'board' or 'forum' contains the 'topics'.

The idea of Lara is not new, but we are short of one (sub-)level between a board and the topics. And that is a pity. :( :'(

But, since it possible to shrink a category to 2 lines, why would it be a problem that a category contains 100 boards. And we can also make 'a few' categories for all our custom mansions:
CMs A-D
CMs E-K
etc.

Please go on with brainstorming. Thx.

An idea is to split the current Custom Mansions Area in several categories. Maybe something like:

1. Building and uploading a new mansion yourself
2. Downloading of approved custom mansions
3. Talk about approved custom mansions A-...
etc.
7. Not-approved mansions.

:-/

[smiley=bath.gif] At the new boards of the 2 newest custom mansions, as an experiment, you may see an other advantage of one board for each mansion. On top of all topics you will find a sticky that gives you a shortcut to the downloadpage.

I truely believe that this is an improvement. And that is more or less what we need right now. More and better links, so the disadvantage of many boards in a category doesn't feel that bad.

Freddy wrote on 17.08.2008 at 20:34:19:

An idea is to split the current Custom Mansions Area in several categories. :-/

Excellent plan! I vote yes! :)

Lara wrote on 17.08.2008 at 19:42:09:

Category:                      Custom Mansion Area Board/Forum Level 1:     Custom Mansions Board/Forum Level 2:     A Curious Observatory                                     Catacombs                                     Creepy Cottage                                     etc... Topic:                           'A Curious Observatory totally rocks!'

In case I wasn't clear with my terminology I have amended the above. :)

Lara wrote on 17.08.2008 at 21:45:30:

Lara wrote on 17.08.2008 at 19:42:09: Category:                      Custom Mansion Area Board/Forum Level 1:     Custom Mansions Board/Forum Level 2:     A Curious Observatory                                     Catacombs                                     Creepy Cottage                                     etc... Topic:                           'A Curious Observatory totally rocks!' In case I wasn't clear with my terminology I have amended the above. :)

:-[ Euh ... it is still not clear enough ... for me.
I suppose you do NOT mean that a forum level 2 is a sub-level of level 1. Since that is impossible. So your levels 1 and 2 are two boards which exist side by side in the category 'Custom Mansions Area'. Then, please give me an example of a topic for your forum level 1. Thx.

And what I did suggest was making more categories. Thus, what is now in the ONE category called 'Custom Mansions Area' could in future be in 5 to 10 categories.

Oh ... and something else. Although it will be rather difficult to do it in a neat way, it would feel fine if we shouldn't divide the CMs like A-E, F-K etc., but depending from size and difficultydegree. I can imagine that for a player it would be helpfull if he/she could chose a custom mansion that is according to the playing experience and skills.

Freddy wrote on 17.08.2008 at 21:19:29:

[smiley=bath.gif] At the new boards of the 2 newest custom mansions, as an experiment, you may see an other advantage of one board for each mansion. On top of all topics you will find a sticky that gives you a shortcut to the downloadpage. I truely believe that this is an improvement. And that is more or less what we need right now. More and better links, so the disadvantage of many boards in a category doesn't feel that bad.

This is definitely an improvement, Freddy !!   Very good !

As for the other approach suggested above, I remember that I once suggested a similar thing....way back when we first had this discussion.

As a newbie here, just upgraded to a Lost One, I thought I'd share my opinions and experiences.

I first saw the Forums when I downloaded MM. Then was reminded of it again after I won my first game because I left the checkbox selected to uploaded my score. So when I got to that webpage, once again I saw the link to the Forum. That's when I first started spending time looking around and reading here. Actually, I just went back to the scores page, and it does not have a tab for Forums -- you have to click on one of the other tabs, and then you see the Forums tab.

Maybe a FAQ or "Getting Around" for the MMF website: how to become a member, where to find information, any other questions that may get asked repeatedly

FWIW, I found the Custom Mansions area very quickly.

A suggestion for the area that tells people how to get posting priveledges: add to the text that it may take a few days to get a response. Some people may mistakeningly think it will be only an hour or so. Let them know what timeframe to expect.

"So about the CMs I have one amazingly important question to everybody in the world: guests, newbies etc. Shouldn't it be better that we have a good ENCYCLOPEDIA for our custom mansions (and btw also for our included mansions), than a shortlist of the most recent five????"

YES! YES! YES! I love the idea.

When I first came to the WWF, I found an answer on how to get passed a room in one of the original games that had me stumped. There was a thread for that mansion.

"Oh ... and something else. Although it will be rather difficult to do it in a neat way, it would feel fine if we shouldn't divide the CMs like A-E, F-K etc., but depending from size and difficultydegree. I can imagine that for a player it would be helpfull if he/she could chose a custom mansion that is according to the playing experience and skills."

Again, yes, yes, yes! I love this idea.

Just another FYI, I didn't click on the Expansion Pack area for the longest time because I didn't know what that was.

Catwoman wrote on 17.08.2008 at 23:54:06:

... Maybe a FAQ or "Getting Around" for the MMF website: how to become a member, where to find information, any other questions that may get asked repeatedly. ... A suggestion for the area that tells people how to get posting priveledges: add to the text that it may take a few days to get a response. Some people may mistakeningly think it will be only an hour or so. Let them know what timeframe to expect. ...

Thx for your contribution, Catwoman. Well, right now, that is what brell and I are doing. Making a selection of the issues to anticipate on FAQs. Something like: when you want to know what the difference is between an included mansion and a custom mansion, click HERE. And then you got linked to a post that explains 'everything'.

Catwoman wrote on 17.08.2008 at 23:54:06:

... Oh ... and something else. Although it will be rather difficult to do it in a neat way, it would feel fine if we shouldn't divide the CMs like A-E, F-K etc., but depending from size and difficultydegree. I can imagine that for a player it would be helpfull if he/she could chose a custom mansion that is according to the playing experience and skills. ...

If we should have an encyclopedia, at last, we admins, wouldn't have all that manual work with the very artificial abbreviations-system any more. Deserves a lot of time and energy! Believe me. ::)

On the other hand, I think that the admins may decide about the size (easy) and the difficulty (hard ;)) of the CMs. It is not that no one may say anything about it (the designers e.g.), but we can't keep on quarreling about each mansion and ... moving boards from one category to an other and back.

Freddy wrote on 17.08.2008 at 22:17:09:

:-[ Euh ... it is still not clear enough ... for me. I suppose you do NOT mean that a forum level 2 is a sub-level of level 1. Since that is impossible.

That is what I meant, but I didn't understand that that was impossible. I do now. :).

So I agree that splitting the CMs into alphabetical sections would be a good alternative.

Regarding splitting the CMs into difficulty sections - I don't think this will help newbies find CM topics easily. The point is to simplify how people find CMs, therefore an alphabetical system would be the simplest way (in my opinion obviously).

An example:

Category:            Custom Mansion Area

Board/Forum:       Custom Mansions A-D
                         Custom Mansions E-H
                         etc...

In addition:

1. At the top of the board/forum page we could have a disclaimer briefly explaining the system. This could also remind people to only post questions relating to a CM in the relevant alphabetical section.

2. We could also institute a thread title naming convention where any thread created has to begin with the full title of the CM in question. E.g. In 'Custom Mansions A-D' there could be a thread entitled 'A Curious Observatory - I'm stuck at save point five'

:)

Lara wrote on 18.08.2008 at 02:11:25:

... In 'Custom Mansions A-D' there could be a thread entitled 'A Curious Observatory - I'm stuck at save point five'. ...

How could you be stuck at save point five, since there are only 4 saving points! ;D ;D ;D. Oops! :-[ Maybe that is a hint? :-/

Hi Freddy,

I know I said I give up re:  CM revisions, but I just don't understand why something so easy is creating such a controversy.

ie:  TFT - The Four Tubes has now been bumped to the Talk area....yes?  ok...that is exactly what I mean...now, anyone wanting to post questions and replies, will have to go to Talk, then TFT, click and post.  
So why not just post all the CM names and instructions to only post in there and not to start new posts, when it comes to CM's.......isn't that the easiest to do?

I deleted all my other posts on this since they were of no use, and to make room.

Missy wrote on 18.08.2008 at 02:42:54:

... I deleted all my other posts on this since they were of no use, and to make room.

Hi Missy. You really do not need to delete your posts to make some space. Since that is not our problem. It is just a matter of better organizing the posts on our boards. Independent from the number of posts.

We will find a way! [smiley=thumbup.gif] [smiley=bath.gif] [smiley=thumbup.gif]

Freddy wrote on 18.08.2008 at 02:32:05:

Lara wrote on 18.08.2008 at 02:11:25: ... In 'Custom Mansions A-D' there could be a thread entitled 'A Curious Observatory - I'm stuck at save point five'. ... How could you be stuck at save point five, since there are only 4 saving points! ;D ;D ;D. Oops! :-[ Maybe that is a hint? :-/

Hahahahahahahaaa :D.