Silgrad Tower from the Ashes

I've been thinking a bit on how we can organize a claims system for Silgrad Tower: Oblivion.

Personally I think it would be a good idea to split our landmass according to region (with the towns included in the respective region). We'd then appoint X number of "Region Stewards" who would function as independent main file admins for a period of time. The way I pictured it would be a way to make our Oblivion mod grow from perhaps ten spots at once and then coming together at the seams, instead of growing from just one place. Our non-steward modders could then hop from region to region as they chose, doing an Imperial house in Steadhelm one week and a Redoran hut in Reich Parkeep the next. Once we've come far enough, everything gets merged and the seams straightened out, and then we'd all work normally again. Any thoughts on that matter?

On a more detailed level, regarding specific claims, I don't think the way it's done right now - by maintaining a single web page - will work for the massive amounts of claims that'll take place. For one, it creates a bottleneck in myself as I'd have to edit that webpage constantly, so apart from slowing things down it'd take time away from me that I'd much rather spend modding. So, a self-regulating system would probably be best both for me and for all our current and future modders; being able to affect changes in claims quickly and when you want is sure to be a tangible benefit for all modders, I hope.

We could concievably use the Content Manager but for those who are unfamiliar with it, getting a grip on how it works is very hard and time-consuming. Not because it's advanced, but because it's shoddy and counter-intuitive... but we have it installed, guides are written and it works amicably for what it's intended, so I'm content with it. It's just that it isn't suited for mass use.

A new software package might hold the answer, but I'd need tips from others on what particular software they think would work for the claims system. If it works without a database that would be a bonus, but it's by no means a requirement. If it depends on databases then it would be a real plus if it's able to use a member table from another database, i.e. this forum. That's because it would instantly set up our current forum members as well as anyone else who registers with access to it from the get-go. Again, it's not a requirement; if one is serious enough to mod for Silgrad Tower I'd imagine they would want to take a minute to register in a new member database of that software.

At the basic level I would imagine we need a system that can hold three categories of "threads":
1) open claims
2) claims being worked on
3) finished and submitted claims, archived for posterity's sake

We'd also need the ability to set up certain users with moderator rights, so they can update and move threads as our project develops.

Barring a software of that nature I imagine the second-best alternative is to set up three boards on the forum, two for claims and one in the archive to hold the finished claims. While that would be an easy solution and would work decently, I can't help but be attracted by the prospects of powerful organization of claims without having to clutter up the forum.

Any thoughts and opinions are highly welcome!

I certainly agree with Razorwing on the self-regulating part. As usual, my offer to write one in PHP for you still stands...

As for reusing the member accounts from the forum, it should be no problem at all in any solution. However some modifications might be needed... We could also integrate the forum into the claim system, creating a new forum for each claim or such. Of course, the difficulty of such a task is dependent on which solution you choose...

And yes, a database would almost certainly be a requirement

Quote:Originally posted by Elathia
I certainly agree with Razorwing on the self-regulating part. As usual, my offer to write one in PHP for you still stands...

As for reusing the member accounts from the forum, it should be no problem at all in any solution. However some modifications might be needed... We could also integrate the forum into the claim system, creating a new forum for each claim or such. Of course, the difficulty of such a task is dependent on which solution you choose...

And yes, a database would almost certainly be a requirement

I should have thought of that

Alright, I'll take you up on that offer! I've created a website account for you; the details are in the standardized PM that should have arrived in your inbox. Maybe it can be of some use if you want to test things out live. I named it gustav.silgrad.com since the user elathia was already taken (your forwarding email adress), and I didn't know which you wanted to keep. Let me know if the subdomain name is more important and I'll switch it around. As you can tell by the PM I reserve the right to have a bit of fun when setting passwords, hehe. :]

I'm guessing you mean board instead of forum, but still :pop: there'd be around 500 claims at a minimum, so a separate board for every claim sounds like overkill? But perhaps I misunderstand you.

Perhaps if a user replies to an open claim, the claim gets automatically moved to the "taken claims" category? That would cut out the need for moderators to move it manually. If there's a failsafe so a user can only claim one thing per day or so, that would be good I think; otherwise some nitwit will sooner or later mess it up ("these 75 claims should keep me busy for the next year or so, thanks"). But I'm sure you're bursting with your own ideas and I'll trust your judgement over my random opinions =)

Looking forward to it! :banana:

I thought I'd mention that Elathia has been working on a claims system for Silgrad Tower: Oblivion for some time now, following the discussions in this thread. And it's shaping up to be really great! When it's in place, I'm confident it will make the claiming process much easier and more organized for all of us.

A big part of the concept is still the "Region Stewards", which is a working title for the group of main file admins who spearheads the development of Silgrad Tower: Oblivion. Working independently of each other, the stewards will set up their region including exteriors and be responsible for handing out claims.

Finding a steward for every region right from the start isn't a goal in itself, in my humble opinion. If we can't even find a willing region steward for a region, that's an indication to me we're too thinly staffed to focus on that region in either case. I'm sure a region steward finishing up most of the work on his region would consider expanding to a new one.

Depending on how you count, there are about 10 regions:
- Jarnhald Mountains
- Reich Hills/Forest
- Ashunor Valley/Lake (basically the center of our world)
- Silgrad Region
- Deepen Meadows
- Deepen Moor
- Forgotten Forest
- Bitter Coast, mainland side (together... ->
- Bitter Coast, Latrys Island side (... these two take up about 1/3 of our world)
- Velothi Mountains
- ...plus more depending on whether Rodan wants to steward the development of Blacklight and the surrounding lands for Oblivion, and/or Ben Vagara wants to expand the Velothi Mountains southward counting from the limits of our current landmass

Judging by the scale in our current plugin, the easiest of the ten is without a doubt Deepen Meadows. Whether it could be expanded, or sorted under Ashunor Valley, I don't know. Geographically it should belong to Silgrad Region, but I'm hesitant to that idea as Silgrad Region will instead be the most intensive one to steward.

Deepen Moor and the Forgotten Forest are the other two regions that wouldn't require that much stewarding, and so if Deepen Meadows is kept separate that would leave three regions which might be suitable projects for stewards with less free time for modding than others. In either case, there's no rush.

[title]Game Plan for Silgrad Tower: Oblivion[/title]

There are many unanswered questions surrounding Oblivion, but we can start from the things we do know. Two of those facts are, there'll be Imperial and cave tile sets. Ergo, we can base plans on that knowledge, and know for certain that we can mod Imperial places and caves from the get-go. Thankfully, those kinds of interiors are highly useable, and therefore I would suggest that our very first modding projects are of either kind.

Houses could be home to the first 'settlers' in Steadhelm and half of Reich Parkeep - tying them to the exterior world would come some time later, of course, since we'll start with nothing. And caves are always needed, the more the better, as they're natural formations and so we could fill the whole bloody coast with them if we felt like it :] Caves also happens to be the kind of interior tile sets that are pointless to put effort into importing from the community. A cave is a cave, on Tamriel as on Earth, and you couldn't tell an American cave apart from an Ukrainian one so the Oblivion ones will work perfectly.

We should then prioritize drawing up a rough layout of where on the map grid our mod will take place, so region stewards knows roughly the boundaries of their region. We should also communicate our coordinates to other modders, on ESF and other places, so we can avoid as many conflicts between mods as possible this time around.

And after that, the region stewards come into play and start placing exterior houses and handing out claims.

Would anyone like to declare their interest in stewarding a region already now? Personally I'd like either Reich Parkeep or the Bitter Coast, either one works for me so if someone likes one of them I'd be just as happy to take the other.

Post your ideas, people =)