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Warrior Gryphon
site owner
Original Poster
#1 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 4:00 PM Last edited by Delphy : 23rd Dec 2006 at 11:19 PM.
Default MTS2 Christmas changes for everyone!
Hello, and a Merry Christmas to all!

Over time, MTS2 has expanded from a small site with a couple of forums to the huge multi-server multi-hundreds of thousands of members site that it is today, and it's run entirely on your donations. (Don't forget to donate!) That hasn't stopped us from changing and evolving with the community though, and today I bring you a whole heap of changes to the site.

The short list:
  • Journal creation is now hard restricted to only creators that have 10 or more uploads
  • The downloads page now has the filters in the left sidebar
  • The downloads page now has an additional filter to sort by Last Post
  • The downloads page, when browsing a particular creators items, now has thier information in the left sidebar, and thier custom banner at the top
  • The download search now no longer breaks when searching for items with apostrophes in (like 20's)
  • The "My Downloads" feature is back, with added goodness
  • Fixed bug with "1970s" PMs showing up in the Sent Items box
  • Added a "Paysite Mesh" checkbox to the Edit Post, for creators to indicate whether they have recoloured pay items, with a notice on the download pages to indicate as such
  • The Meshes section of Edit Post no longer breaks on mesh links that have apostrophes in them
  • The member profile pages - both creator and normal people - have been revamped for easier viewing
  • Creators can now specify thier own colour schemes and style presets for thier profile
  • Creators with less than 10 downloads now have thier total download files count updated
  • Implemented caching to the site so that it should no longer hang for long periods of time when replying to threads while the site is very busy

The long description:

Downloads page:

To increase usage of the downloads page, I have moved the filters box to the left sidebar and removed the "Attention Creators" box as that was more suitable for the Create section.

I have added a new filter for sorting the results by Last Post, and when viewing a particular creators downloads, thier information now shows up on the left sidebar and at the top for thier banner.

By showing creator information directly on the download page when viewing thier items, it increases usability when linked with the new profile pages. I also fixed a small bug when drilling down to forums with multiple duplicate categories.

Finally, the downloads page now displays items from creators that are linked to the profile - for example, Numenor's profile is linked to "Numenor & Marylou" since they share items.

My Downloads

Some of you who have been here a long time may remember this feature from last year (2005). It is, essentially, a way of tracking what you have downloaded from MTS2 over time. I turned on tracking of this data as a stealth change at the beginning of December, and now present it to the public.

You may access the My Downloads screen at: http://www.modthesims2.com/mydownloads.php

You might enjoy the pretty graph too

Creators - Edit Post for your uploads:

I have added a new option within editpost, located just underneath the Meshes section. If your download requires a mesh that is located in a pay area of another site, or requires a mesh that can only be gotten from a donation only site, or is basically not available for everybody to download, then you must check the "Paysite Mesh" box. MTS2 encourages free content for the game, and all creators should check whether they are recolouring pay content.

Journals:

I have restricted journal creation to only those people who have 10 uploads or more. Previously this was done through the Journal Moderation - even with huge text on the journal creation page people with zero uploads still tried creating journals.

Profile Pages for Members:

We have revamped the look and feel of the profile screen for normal members - it's now easier to use with all the links you need in one box, and generally easier on the eye. You can put some "About Me" text in too if you like.

Profile Pages for Creators:

The revamp for members also applies to Creators, except you'll notice that the downloads section is more of a thumbnail gallery view. Normal Creators show 8 downloads on this screen; Featured Creators show 16.

Creators have the ability to make thier Journals more visible on this page. By going into thier profile and checking the box to display the Journal in the middle, it will display part of the journal entry text above the rest of the information, with a link to get more - but only if the journal entry isn't private.

We have also made some other changes:
- We have renamed "Favourites" to "Personal Picks" to better reflect that these are items that the Creator thinks are thier personal best
- If you have "Personal Pick" items, then your Top Downloaded and Personal Picks display on the top of the Downloads list.
- If you have no Personal Picks then the Top Downloaded displays on the left sidebar
- Modding Groups the creators belong to now display on the left, but profiles that are Modding Groups display as before
- The downloads now have additional buttons: "Show All Downloads", "Show All by Latest Post" (only while you are viewing your own) and "Show All by Last Updated".

Finally, Profile Pages can be customised even further, in the following ways:

- You can choose one of the existing MTS2 colour schemes as the style for your Profile Page. For example, Lethe_s' profile looks best in Hello Kitty, so she can specify that every time people view her page (assuming they don't have the No Profile Override on - see later), that they view it in the Hello Kitty colours.

- If you want even more flexibility, you can also specify your own Profile colours - see my Profile (http://www.modthesims2.com/member/delphy) for an example. This allows you to change parts of the pages to suit your own colour scheme or preferred look without impacting the rest of the site. If you need help on this, just ask.

All members profile override:

All members can override the creators colours so that they display in the normal colour scheme, without any special colour options the creator has selected, so you can continue to enjoy MTS2 the way you have been without seeing any garish colours

Thread Reply Caching:

You might have noticed that, when the site is very busy, that when you click to Reply to a thread, it sometimes takes a really long time to update and take you back. This is due in part to the way the site is designed, and in part to the modifications that I have done to it over time.

Tonight I have implemented a caching feature which effectively offloads the updating of the thread information such as lastposter, last post time and reply count to a seperate database table. This table is then merged into the main one every 15 minutes.

What does this mean for you? Well, simply this: a Threads "Last" information (Last post, Last Poster, Replycount) does not update instantly now, but every 15 mins. You can still view the thread and see any replies but the counters wont update on forum displays etc until the next scheduled 15 min interval comes round. It does not affect the "New Posts" screen, so you can still use that to track changes to threads.

Hopefully this change should result in much quicker responsiveness to the site under high load scenarios as we have seen lately.

Finally:

We hope you enjoy all these changes. As always, comments and feedback is appreciated, and have a good holiday season!

Regards
Delphy

Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies.
2 users say thanks for this. (Who?)
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Alchemist
#2 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 4:18 PM
Thank you Delphy, I love all these changes and-or new items, most of all "my downloads". Well done. It's a kind Xmas gift for us. Kiss and ciao and merry merry Xmas.
Scholar
#3 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 4:18 PM
Delphy! I love what you've done with the new profiles Thankyou and Merry Christmas
Test Subject
#4 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 4:18 PM
Oo wow, thanks I'm off to go and see what all these things are like for myself.
Thanks for the updates I been waiting for the website to come back lol, now I see the updates = awesome.

<3 Nicola, xx
..."Its not hard to dream, you'll always be my konstantine"
Instructor
#5 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 4:21 PM
Wow so many great changes! Thanks Delphy, I know what you mean by coming from a small site. I was browsing the site news archives yesterday and I saw one of the first. It said that you were excited about your 500th member. Pretty amazing since now you have over a half million! Thanks for all the changes that make the site easier to use, we all really appreciate it!

Please do not upload any of my lots to the exchange, or any other site.
If you would like to see more of my lots click here.
Test Subject
#6 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 4:28 PM
Thank you for everything you do for all of us, Delphy! Merry Christmas to you & MTS2.
Field Researcher
#7 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 4:32 PM
wow these are great thanks a lot Delphy :D

Want free quality downloads? then visit my site!!
www.toxiccharm.net
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#8 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 4:33 PM
Hey! I like this. I just looked at myself in my profile and it made me feel all special with my new minty background and all :D

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Lab Assistant
#9 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 4:35 PM
Thank you, Delphy, and merry Christmas to you and the whole community. It's been a delightful surprise for me because I entered to edit my profile before reading this sticky, so I can tell you first hand I love these changes!

Dont' forget to press the Thanks button. Thanks!

Sims2Good Cloudy seaside mood

Don't include my content (in lots, sims...) but to MTS2, including a link to my thread.
Mad Poster
#10 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 4:40 PM
Thanks delphy and merry christmas to you and your family

You know a site allowing re-upload of free build/buy stuff in lots ? Help us to update the list !

* Plus j'échoue plus je m'approche de la réussite
* The more I fail the more I approach the success

(Lao patul MMVI AD)
Lab Assistant
#11 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 5:02 PM
Thanks for all the hard work (as usual). As a message to you, all of the other tireless moderators, fantastically gifted creators, and faithful community members - have a safe and happy holiday stretch. Keep rockin' and simmin'.

"The opposite of war is not peace. It's creation."

Now making sportswear for the Sims 3 Universe

Mad Poster
#12 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 5:16 PM
Thank you Delphy. New changes are great, just tried the new profiles colours option and the downloading bar thing. Just realised I download too much. Merry Christmas to you and all the simmers on MTS!
One horse disagreer of the Apocalypse
#13 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 5:21 PM
How do I edit my personal picks?

"You can do refraction by raymarching through the depth buffer" (c. Reddeyfish 2017)
Alchemist
#14 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 5:22 PM
Thank you very much for new changes in our profiles. It is a very nice Christmas present from the mod the sims 2. Merry Christmas, Delphy!

Update: July 2009-I am back now to make invisible and tranparent recolors again in sims 2. You can pm me if you want your objects to be invisible and transparent from now.
The Quiet One
retired moderator
#15 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 5:46 PM
thanks for all the nifty changes, Delphy! this is quite a nice Christmas present for all. we appreciate all the hard work you put into making MTS2 the best place to be.

DDO
Scholar
#16 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 5:47 PM
Thanks for the changes, they are great.
#17 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 6:04 PM
Am,azing Delphy, MTS2 is definatly my home and i love this place, thanks for the info and updates, you RAWK!

AbstractSIMmer187 Has Retired From Sims 2 Creating
All Of My Creations Are Found Here
Scholar
#18 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 6:28 PM
Thank you Delphy for all the mass of work to do this fabulous MTS2 ! Bravo ! And Merry Christmas to you and to MTS2 !
Retired Moderator
retired moderator
#19 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 6:28 PM Last edited by V1ND1CARE : 23rd Dec 2006 at 7:02 PM.
These are wonderful additions to an already marvelous site and I, as so many others on here, appreciate every bit of the hard work and ingenuity that you continually dole out. It’s one of the many reasons that this site remains the best.

Now, if I could only stop playing with all of the new options…
Corrosively Delightful
retired moderator
#20 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 6:48 PM
mmm added goodness. Thank you so much for all you do for us and the community!

If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right.
SO much to do and so many other things to distract me.
Lab Assistant
#21 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 7:05 PM
I was shocked when I looked at my profile this morning because the new changes looked wonderful. These changes are more than great. Thanks, Delphy.

Merry Christmas
Lab Assistant
#22 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 7:14 PM
How wonderful! These changes just keep getting better and better Thankyou, and Merry Christmas!
Field Researcher
#23 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 7:21 PM
this looks great! thank you all for taking such good care of us! i like it here and merry christmas to you as well!
Lab Assistant
#24 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 7:39 PM
Delphy - I'm sorry for insisting but I'm afraid of I still have some troubles getting my profile page ! if you click on my pseudo in a message that I posted, it directs you to this page which is the profile of another member.

if I click on my pseudo on the top right corner of any page (you see, "Welcome, Ben♣".) the links is this . in fact the only link that works fine is the one I'm currently seeing in the "reply to thread" page : link

thanks for the new changes anyway !

and a Merry Christmas to everyone !

- Speech is silver but silence is gold -
Test Subject
#25 Old 23rd Dec 2006 at 7:55 PM
Thank you, especially for the "Paysite Mesh" checkbox! It's annoying when I see a recolour for a nice mesh and find out it's from a paysite
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