looking to compete. [Archive]

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rbblue8

03-06-2006, 10:47 AM

Hey everyone,

Looking to compete with a site (www.starlance.com) which, just shut down. They shut down b/c they only covered one game, infact a very old game.

How I'm ooking for people who would be interested in giving me a hand in the creation of a new gamming league site based off of that site.

The idea behind this site is to mimic the old star lance (for those of you who were gamers back in the 90's you probably know what I’m talking about). The old star lance was a very big gamming league that covered most if not all games that supported online play (until there administration left.... and the owner decided to knock it down to one game).

It was a point based system that allowed team play, 1v1 play, event play, and guild / clan / group play. If you won you got a +1 added to the score and if you were in the clan / guild / team the overall group got some a % of the win to level up the entire group.

Basically the sole purpous was to be the best, win, and get your team or name to the number one spot.

Yes I know this has been done before, and it's currently being done with probably over 100 other sites out there. However they are lacking some features and personal attention that the old star lance brought to the table such as personal team icons, multi game setup, WORKING challenge system, personal team setup (templated), and the list goes on.

So what I'm looking for is some help with the code. Really wood be nice to make it a community project of gamers / coders and bring back a nice competitive gamming site with current day features.

You can find the layout of the project here (http://www.nightlance.com/pages/information.php)

Your thoughts?
Anyone want to help out?

vaaaska

03-21-2006, 07:53 AM

We get two requests just like this every month around here...

(Edit: in my old age my writing skills are becoming more and more abstracted and/or just plain stupid.)

rbblue8

03-21-2006, 11:09 AM

We get two requests just like this every month around here...

(Edit: in my old age my writing skills are becoming more and more abstracted and/or just plain stupid.)

To put together a gaming league?

Just looking for help with the project.....

vaaaska

03-21-2006, 12:40 PM

So what I'm looking for is some help with the code. Really wood be nice to make it a community project of gamers / coders and bring back a nice competitive gamming site with current day features.

Yes...this...see it all the time in here.

rbblue8

03-21-2006, 01:59 PM

that sucks....

but i have not sean any posts here about a gaming league in the search history.

oh well.. I guess i screwed for help then.

thorpe

03-21-2006, 02:28 PM

oh well.. I guess i screwed for help then.
Just ask for help when you run into problems.

rbblue8

03-21-2006, 04:43 PM

that's not the point.

I'm looking to do my first project. I just so happen to choose this.

With all the features that I would like to put into this script... it would take years to get it all done.

Plus i'm a big fan of open source projects.

bubblenut

03-21-2006, 04:55 PM

I would agree with thrope, get started and ask for help when you need it. I would add that you're also doing the right thing, O/S projects don't get off the ground unless you try to get help. We may be a little jaded here because we get so many requests through (and most other places will probably be the same) but if you ask in enough places, the chances are you'll find other people with the same itch as you.
I'm not a gamer myself and don't even know what half the stuff you mentioned is, have you tried asking on some gaming forums? Although there will be fewer programmers there you may have a better chance of finding people with a passion for gaming and a vested intrerest in your project.

rbblue8

03-21-2006, 05:30 PM

thansk for your input.

I guess i have let this out.. but I have gotten off the ground with the project. It's practly all planed out. Banners have been sent out to the benner exchanges and we all rdy ahve 200 hits since it's launch. I have recently designed a "show support" where users fill our the forum and it keeps track of how many we get. Kind of a way to see how many people really are looking for this project to be completed.

well.. the total is three.

and it's been up a week.

So i know i have the people checking up on the site... i'm just looking to get it done and get going.

vaaaska

03-21-2006, 06:20 PM

If you help me with mine I'll help you with yours.

The logic is pretty simple. Plus, as I've said, we get a couple of these every month.

rbblue8

03-21-2006, 06:26 PM

If you help me with mine I'll help you with yours.

The logic is pretty simple. Plus, as I've said, we get a couple of these every month.

not be to rude or anything.

but i have not found any other scripts on this site that waved there hand at me and said you should join this. So yeah... I would admit.. I have not joined any other project.

is that so bad?

I mean the point of voluntier work is doing something you want to do (fun) unless it's court ordered :)

Jason Batten

03-22-2006, 01:54 AM

It's practly all planed out.If this is your first project and you are looking to project manage... then... well...

*runs as fast away as he can - screaming

Take a tip, lots of them around, but this one is good - Start Small.

Here's another. Plan effectively (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/development-guide-success).

Why plan? Well planning lets you know how the application will work before you have written it. Therefore you aren't sitting infront of the screen with a blank look figuring out what feature to add next *claps & smiles* :D

Not many people like planning, it is kind of painful to get the ball rolling but once you do you'll be sitting there for hours :)

Good luck with your project and try not to jump the gun ;)

khendar

03-22-2006, 03:11 AM

Sounds like an ambitious project. I agree with what the others have said:

Start small and Plan well

Do do it properly you might consider putting together some documetation before you start. Perhaps a System Requirements Specification (SRS) and System Design Specification (SDS). This will allow you to set out all of the functions you would want to include and will put you on the right track on how to proceed. Do some research into the kind of documentation a software development project produces.

Build in phases - Phase one might be the Interface - Phase two might be core functionality. Phase 3 might be advanced functionality. By dividing the project up into phases, with milestones and deadlines (maybe not deadlines - but it helps to have a concrete goal or task to get done before you proceed) it will be more managable and you will be able to track your progress.

Stick with it. Your first major project is always a little daunting. I'm still working on my first major one (A Content Management System) - hopefully going to launch in a couple of months.

If you have any questions - or if you would like any help with design or coding - drop me a PM.

rbblue8

03-22-2006, 11:24 AM

*sigh*.

I give up.

Thanks

Jason Batten

03-22-2006, 01:09 PM

Don't give up!

rbblue8

03-22-2006, 02:16 PM

not giving up on the project.

however just giving up on trying to get some help with the project.

everyone seams hell bent on "we get to many requests" "plan plan plan" "ask when you get stuck"

I guess the point here is being missed.

Yes it's my first project.
Yes I WOULD manage it. however! it's a community project (said above). which means i only have input... not what i say goes.

i supose this is a bad place to solicate for help on projects.

That and everyone seams to want money...

which makes sense if you are a freelancer or do php for a living and do not want to touch it after work. :)

piersk

03-22-2006, 02:30 PM

I think the point that everyone is trying to get across is that we get a lot of requests for project help here. I'm sure that if anyone had the time, then they'd help. However, they don't seem to have time. It's not a criticism on you

rbblue8

03-22-2006, 02:37 PM

rbblue8

03-22-2006, 06:09 PM

khendar

03-22-2006, 07:00 PM

Yes it's my first project.
Yes I WOULD manage it. however! it's a community project (said above). which means i only have input... not what i say goes.

Yeh I get that. However you are proposing this project - and you have all the ideas for it. Therefore you will most likely have to take on a supervisory role in order to be able to plan and organise the project before you go recruiting programmers etc.

I've offered my assistance. I doubt that I'll be able to be an overly active contributer because I have various other projects I am working on. But if you need some advice here and there I may be able to help out.

rbblue8

03-22-2006, 07:07 PM

thanks man :)

but like i said... I have started coding it now by my self. Most of the people are off doing there own thing on the project which is why i have reposted here.

when it comes to the accounts, layout, and game style creation i'd be a little stuck on who to do that.

I can lay it all out for you if you wish... and then maybe others will want to join in on that.

khendar

03-22-2006, 07:35 PM

I'd be happy to tackle the layout if you wish. What sort of design were you thinking ? Do you have some mockups or sketches ?

rbblue8

03-22-2006, 07:54 PM

http://www.nightlance.com

make it work!

lol.

the banner exchange is done via a RAND() mysql string. in that table there are links to several banner exchange hosts. This prevents me from having to put 100,000,000 of picture all over the place.

khendar

03-22-2006, 11:31 PM

Well...I think the layout definitely needs some work.

Tables and frames are very 90's technologies and are generally avoided for the most part these days. Frames make the site very cumbersome, search engine unfriendly, hard to save, print and link to etc. Tables may seem like a good way to lay a site out - but you'll find that the site breaks under certain conditions. I'll rebuild a template in css and see what you think.

rbblue8

03-23-2006, 12:20 PM

Thanks man :)

i guess i should spend most of the day looking over how to code with css.

Jason Batten

03-23-2006, 01:32 PM

What you should do is work out exactly what needs to be done. People might be more interested if they know how to do something or if they see something they want to do.

I don't want to do your project for you and this is how I'm guessing other people see these sorts of posts.

If you explain more clearly what it is that you are after then you'll be bound to get a better response and if you don't know what it is that you need people to do, then find out.

Once again, good luck.

rbblue8

03-23-2006, 01:59 PM

your probly right.

sorry i did not do this before.
http://nightlance.com/pages/information.php <----link

khendar

03-23-2006, 09:08 PM

I've sent you a template - Basically a css-ised version of your current site. It has a few issues - I'm at work so dont really have the time to play with it.

http://photobucket.com/albums/y82/khendar/th_nl_css_template.jpg (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/khendar/nl_css_template.jpg)

I have a few recommendations for an alternative layout:

3 column layout with header and footer
Internal links on the left (main pages - games pages etc)
External links on the right (affilliates - sponsors etc)
Left and right panels are at least 120px wide
Right panel contains top stats - rankings etc
Left panel contains user controls - links to admin section (if user is admin) - personal pages etc.

If you like I can do another template based on these changes.

Jason Batten

03-24-2006, 12:47 AM

How many people do you have to moderate the website? Obviously some trusted people need to be chosen.

As with khendar's recommendations, I'd put the logins on the right and the stats on the left. Definitely go with a design where you can add - remove and change round blocks.

khendar

03-24-2006, 12:57 AM

Rodney H.

03-24-2006, 10:20 AM

Nice, Khendar! Good update to the design... Well done.

rbblue8

03-27-2006, 09:04 AM

I was thinking something along these lines.

http://photobucket.com/albums/y82/khendar/th_ns_css_template_reloaded.jpg (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/khendar/ns_css_template_reloaded.jpg)

A bit cleaner - more modern.

dude,

Love the design!

as far as people moding the site.. since we are not up and running yet... we have no one in mind. As this point, the people who are designing it... if they want to help run it, then they most defently have the position...

sorry i did not get to this sooner.. but i guess phpbuilder forget to send me and email once some one replys to this message.

We are about to start coding the project.
We are hashing out the final "whos doing what" at the moment and hopfully i will be handing out ftp accounts later this week.

There are still a few things that we could use some help with (mainly the auto game ladder creation script). So if you guys still would like to help out.. let me know!

Thanks agagin guys thanks for all the help thus far!

ps... khendar sent me the code for the what he made so far... and yeah. I know nothing about how to make web pages.

khendar

03-27-2006, 07:14 PM

Are you familiar with the use of Smarty ? Its a templating engine to handle code/presentation separation. I could convert the design to a Smarty template if you think it might be useful. (I believe there are the occasional remnants of a Smartt implementation in that template.

http://smarty.php.net/

If not I can just modularise the code so its clear where various pieces must go.

chrislive

03-27-2006, 08:21 PM

If you are keen then I think what these guys are saying is go for it but this isnt the forum for recruiting. You should take a look around sourceforge or something similar which are more about the Projects and building teams of devs. Good Luck!!

khendar

03-27-2006, 08:32 PM

Errmm....why not ? I see nothing in the FAQ which prohibits building a development team. Closest thing is this:

Q. Can I ask for / offer a job?
A. PHPBuilder.com rules forbid it

But I'm pretty sure he's not offering any money for it.

chrislive

03-27-2006, 08:37 PM

rbblue8

03-28-2006, 10:57 AM

he can do what he wants i guess but most people have said in this post that they get a lot of these types of posts and many wont help out. Not having a go at him just giving him some advise that he may get a better response from somewhere that is specifically for this kind of thing.

*adds another notch to the "lets hate the project" post* :)

I have looked into smarty. Problem is.... my host does not support it. And since we are starting off small.. I'm not going to go rent an entire server from them for som $80 m/. To get smarty to work... you MUST have the smarty plugins in the php home directory.. not the web directory. I do not have access to the php home directory (which sucks) other wise I would live it. IT would make the game ladder creation part of the project a lot quicker!

khendar

03-28-2006, 09:26 PM

rbblue8

03-28-2006, 09:43 PM

Smarty can be run from any folder in your web root folder, you just modify the include call to point to the right place.

I'll leave it for now. Any suggestions for the template ? Changes/Additions etc?

well we can defently look into it. I know hardly nothing about smarty.

I read this here (http://smarty.php.net/quick_start.php)
and it said you gotta put the smarty libs in the php lib directory.

if you know a way around this.. let me know!

you have my email addy.