Games forum re-merge

Wolfe Tone

As for megathreads, take a look at the soccer forum lads.

I post in the utd one all the time and it works fine.

Retr0gamer

Spear wrote: »

Probably an example worth expanding upon:

With the release of BC2, the console players kept to their respective platform specific mega threads, and left the Battlefield forum to only the PC players. There were never any anti-console issues/sentiments to lead to this, and they weren't made unwelcome in there (that I saw).

So which do we give precedence to: platform specific or franchise specific forums? CoD seems to get along fine as franchise specific, and is busy as a result.

Edit: also, yay! 4000th post.

With new releases a megathread in the games forum could do especially if it stops multiple threads being created about the game by people that don't know the franchise specific forum exists. After enough time is given the player base actively moves to the community driven franchise forums I find.

Chairman Meow

TouchingVirus wrote: »

It will hurt communities if we do it your way. What'll happen to Arcade & Retro? Where does console modding fit in (along with it's requirements to have particularly vigilant mods)?

As for the cop on comment, it's laughable that somebody with a different opinion than yourself needs to "cop on". The thing that "works" for NeoGAF and the other forums is one of the reasons I'm not a member of them. I don't like participating in multi-topic'd threads. If we were all of a hive mind and the megathread flowed properly then all well and good, megathreads rock. But as I stated most of them don't and end up akin stepping into a room where 100 different conversations are going on and shouting across them all trying to be conversation 101.

And then again we're only talking about video gaming here. The thoughts of sticking 600,000 posts from Poker in with Magic: The Gathering is ridiculous tbh. Why don't we go to the tax office to sort out car insurance.

As i siad, retro and arcade gets a sub forum. General gaming/online gaming/retro gaming. The userbase here isnt big enough that a search wouldnt find what youre looking for. Threads wont magically be disappearing to page 20 just cause of a merge. Theres not that many active posters here tbh. Megathreads do work, they jsut move faster and are a better idea than having a new thread crop up every few weeks. Look at when metro 2033 came out here, i created one good thread, complete with all infor, videos, links to the offical page etc, within a week there were about 2 more threads created saying "has anyone seen metro 2033" and "anyone buying metro 2033". Keep all discussion in an official thread, if you dont see it on page one or 2, search for it, bump it with your question. The end.

TouchingVirus

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Before when it was megathreads there was no problem with this happening. Your question would always get an answer unless it was a stupid question. It's more convenient trawling through one thread than up to 3. It works better in every other forum and it used to work here a lot better than it did when the games boards community was an awful lot more active. I know a lot of regulars left because the conversation in the games forums took a nose dive with the split.

Again nobody is saying that we merge all the sub forums together. A console modding forum is needed and many of the sub forums have big enough communities and series that they need to say. However there's an awful lot of dead forums that need to be culled and these are the ones that need to be culled. What happens if these become popualr enough to warrant their own forum? Well then we can just create another forum if they need it.

Megathreads will only be needed for the games initial release, then after the hype dies down then individual threads suffice.

I'd also like to see platform exclusives discussed on the games forum and not in console specific forums. I think the console specific ones should just be for XBL and PSN and technical questions.

Precisely my thinking on it, we're two sides of the same coin - that's not what i was taking issue with though I was taking issue with the suggestion by thewheel2.0 and Chairman Meow that we do it like other, bigger forums and have 4 or 5 forums only, and even the big active subforums get one megathread and that's it. This will effectively kill off some pretty decent communities.

The current subforum number is too high, but I think following the barely enough model of other forums is also a receipe for disaster. A happy medium is most desireable.

MUSSOLINI wrote: »

As for megathreads, take a look at the soccer forum lads.

I post in the utd one all the time and it works fine.

I'm a united fan and a member of the Soccer forum, I don't think you'll find too many posts, if any, by me in that thread That said, the megathreads work pretty well in the Soccer forum because supporters are generally of that hive mind I was talking about

Chairman Meow wrote: »

As i siad, retro and arcade gets a sub forum. General gaming/online gaming/retro gaming. The userbase here isnt big enough that a search wouldnt find what youre looking for. Threads wont magically be disappearing to page 20 just cause of a merge. Theres not that many active posters here tbh. Megathreads do work, they jsut move faster and are a better idea than having a new thread crop up every few weeks. Look at when metro 2033 came out here, i created one good thread, complete with all infor, videos, links to the offical page etc, within a week there were about 2 more threads created saying "has anyone seen metro 2033" and "anyone buying metro 2033". Keep all discussion in an official thread, if you dont see it on page one or 2, search for it, bump it with your question. The end.

My post that you quoted wasn't directed at you, but at thewheel2.0. I agree that 3 threads when there was a megathread with information is crap. As would be one thread in gaming and another in Nintendo.

johnny_ultimate

It's definitely worth looking at each forum individually - ask the mods and users of each and see what they think. The fighting game subforum is pretty much more popular than this forum - really no need to even consider changing that forum from the current state. World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Battlefield and a few more also seem busy enough and topical enough (with each franchise still busy and ongoing) to keep afloat. Suggesting merging them will just cause problems. If in the future a new game becomes extremely popular and demands a new forum, well then look at that possibility too. Say Medal of Honour reboot becomes a huge success, with multiple individual threads on the game: then perhaps it is time to give that community their own hub. If, however, it soon becomes quiet, well perhaps keep an active eye on it.

I don't think there could be an instant fix. However, an initial big tidy and then frequent checks to ensure everything is running smoothly. Personally, I'd be behind keep format specific forums for format specific topics: therefore, it'll be obvious where to go for those topics, and help keep the 'Games' forum free for general games discussion.

Dr Bob

TouchingVirus wrote: »

It will hurt communities if we do it your way. What'll happen to Arcade & Retro? Where does console modding fit in (along with it's requirements to have particularly vigilant mods)?

.

A&R is something that definitely needs to remain separate , as someone mentioned earlier it's almost a different community from the rest of 'games' (I'm not saying there's no crossover , but it tends to have its regulars.

At the same time, a lot of specific forums do have very active 'subcommunities', if we can call it that. Call of Duty and Arcade & Retro are two that constantly seem busy, with some posters I rarely if ever see outside that domain"

I don't think it'd thrive if it was drowned in Xbox and PS3 threads.
(plus the potential for "lolwut wahts a Atari lulz?" troll posts would skyrocket;)

quarryman

thewheel2.0 wrote: »

The perfect list IMHO is:

Games: For discussion.
Console Problems: For Tech issues, no need for 3 forums it can fit in one.
Online Matchmaking: For everything online from FPS to MMOs. People can meet here to play with each other.
Quake: For obvious reasons or it could be a sub forum

This is actually closest to my preference also but judging by other comments I don't thinks its a runner.

Some half-way point is probably ideal.

Can someone make a proposed culled list and then a consensus can be taken from the users. ie, basically what should have been done in the first place.

Once its decided on, an admin/mod can re-organize them.

Also, a point should be made to get majority agreement. There will always be mods/fanboys that feel <insert obscure forum here> should be kept when, really, there's no need for it.

job done.

Hercule

I am not in favor of a major merge we do need to kill a lot of the dead subforums though- I recommend (as I have in the past) keeping PC gamers segregated from console gamers and keeping consoles segregated amongst themselves in subforums - we cant cohabit as each side is different and has different requirements from the forum - and before anyone rings in with the token response THIS IS NOT ELITISM

A thread a year ago advocating something opposite
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055818033[/url

Penn

How about:

Games: For discussion of games.
- Subforums - Fighting Games / FPS Games / Japanese RPG

Consoles: For technical questions about getting online etc

Online: for matchmaking, particularly in games without a subforums

Console Modding: This may require more modding than others, so having dedicated mods may require this to have it's own forum. Could possibly be a subforum of Consoles

Quake: I personally don't see why it should stay, but others do

EDIT: actually, good point made above about PC gamers. Perhaps instead of consoles, have a technical forum with Console and PC subforums

cherryghost

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

Quake: I personally don't see why it should stay, but others do

It's the foundation forum of what boards.ie is today.

Penn

cherryghost wrote: »

It's the foundation forum of what boards.ie is today.

I get that, but is it worth keeping around just for nostalgia? If the forum isn't being used, get rid of it. Surely that's the whole point of this

Retr0gamer

Hercule wrote: »

I recommend (as I have in the past) keeping PC gamers segregated from console gamers and keeping consoles segregated amongst themselves in subforums - we cant cohabit as each side is different and has different requirements from the forum - and before anyone rings in with the token response THIS IS NOT ELITISM

Why keep them segregated? They can co-exist easily and have done. Keeping everyone separate just dilutes the discussion and sure they existed fine together before the split. Everyone is discussing the same gam, it's just on a different platform, why would a PC gamer hava different opinion to a 360 or PS3 gamer when it's the exact same game? It's silly to say they can't co-exist when they have done in the past on this forum and exist together on other forums.

As for Quake, it has to stay since boards.ie started as a Quake forum.

Retr0gamer

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

I get that, but is it worth keeping around just for nostalgia? If the forum isn't being used, get rid of it. Surely that's the whole point of this

It's always good to remember your roots. It's of the highest historical importance. Leave it be.

Burning Eclipse

I don't particularly mind the current set-up, but as has been pointed out, some are ghost forums.

I will say this: The Fighting Game forum is one of the most active forums in this category, and the community there is next to none on boards (imo). Getting rid of that forum will only do harm, and I'd wager, result in a new forum elsewhere meaning reduced traffic.

cherryghost

Burning Eclipse wrote: »

I don't particularly mind the current set-up, but as has been pointed out, some are ghost forums.

I will say this: The Fighting Game forum is one of the most active forums in this category, and the community there is next to none on boards (imo). Getting rid of that forum will only do harm, and I'd wager, result in a new forum elsewhere meaning reduced traffic.

I don't think removing the Fighting Games forum was ever on the list in the first place.

Penn

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It's always good to remember your roots. It's of the highest historical importance. Leave it be.

That's why I kept it in my suggestions. I've only really been on the site for 2 years, so it means little to me. But if it means that much to people, fair enough. I don't run boards




......yet......

norrie rugger

gizmo wrote: »

I agree with part of your post anyway, there is quite often one thread in each platform forum for the same game. This can lead to fractured discussion and people missing some info if they only peruse a particular forum.

Imo, if a game is multi-platform then there should be one main thread in the Games section for it, if it is an exclusive title then it can stay in platform forum. The exception to this could be specific platform related threads for these games such as the BC2 clan thread.

Which can lead to the usual PS3 version is better than Xbox version (or other was around). PS3 discussion of one game could be different to the Xbox discussion. Why force the two together

Not so sure of specific games getting a a forum but types of games why not?

Burning Eclipse

cherryghost wrote: »

I don't think removing the Fighting Games forum was ever on the list in the first place.

What list?

the wheel proposed this for example:
Games: For discussion.
Console Problems: For Tech issues, no need for 3 forums it can fit in one.
Online Matchmaking: For everything online from FPS to MMOs. People can meet here to play with each other.
Quake: For obvious reasons or it could be a sub forum
Other: Card games (Poker or Magic TG), D&D and so on

Is this thread about a complete recategorize or just merging 'consoles' and 'games'? What is included in the cull?

Jazzy

leave the forum the way it is pls

quarryman

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Why keep them segregated? They can co-exist easily and have done. Keeping everyone separate just dilutes the discussion and sure they existed fine together before the split. Everyone is discussing the same gam, it's just on a different platform, why would a PC gamer hava different opinion to a 360 or PS3 gamer when it's the exact same game? It's silly to say they can't co-exist when they have done in the past on this forum and exist together on other forums.

As for Quake, it has to stay since boards.ie started as a Quake forum.

Exactly. The whole point of this is to reduce the amount of segregation. Putting PC games on its own separated from Consoles is going to result in the same crap: 1 game, multiple threads.

RolandIRL

norrie rugger wrote: »

Not so sure of specific games getting a a forum but types of games why not?

i wouldn't be a fan of types of games getting their own forum. it would divert a lot of traffic away from the main games forum, or someone who only checks the Games forum would be missing out on said discussion. discussion of the main game should be in the Games forum, and then once hype dies down, maybe the discussion could be moved to its genre forum.
there is types of games that would need their own forum (eg RPGs) because in a megathread, it's harder to get a proper intricate answer to eg some quest in Oblivion/Fallout (a how-to guide) but specific games don't need their own forum imo. once the general hype dies down, the forums are left dead until the next installment.
no reflection on the Unreal mods, but i asked about mods for UT in December and i'm still waiting on an answer :P but it's a forum that hasn't got a lot of traffic in a long time. plenty of other forums like that in Games tab.

Retr0gamer

Oblivion/Fallout don't need their own forum. Both have intricate wikis and faqs on game faqs and once the hype dies down on a release the forumis going to die until the next installment. The only games that warrant their own forums are ones with multiplayer communities that need a place for that community to grow. Single players games or ones with no multiplayer community don't need a seperate forum. If you asked your obscure fallout/elder scrolls question in a united games forum you wouldn't be waiting long for an answer.

Hercule

gamers on different platforms have different needs - there is almost never no one size fits all generic game that is so identical on each platform that the discussion can be unified (mass effect 2 is the only exception to this I can think of)

The "it worked fine in the past" does not really wash as this is a current gen discussion - only within the last 3 years have we started to see real multiformat games which are more and more homogenised - it certainly did not happen often in the xbox/ps2/gamecube era. I personally almost always ignore/disregard the blockbuster megathreads as half of the posts will be something along the lines of "add me on PSN/xbl XxXSniperShotXxX for a game today at 6pm", "i hate noobs" or "campers are ghey" - it just isnt worth reading.

Hercule

quarryman wrote: »

Exactly. The whole point of this is to reduce the amount of segregation. Putting PC games on its own separated from Consoles is going to result in the same crap: 1 game, multiple threads.

Segregation is necessary

Joe bloggs is an owner of a console and a console copy of GTA4 - what interest does he have in the optimisation of graphics for nvidia users on PC?

John Doe owns a PC and a PC copy of Alien vs Predator - what interest does john have in the PS3 users multiplayer lobby issues

A few months ago a lot of people were calling for the segregation of platforms (with good reason too) - I don't believe individual games need their own sub-forums (not even quake).

if we merged everything I can just imagine the "cod4 blackops superthread" that would be made which would be so full of absolute drivel that is virtually unreadable.

Its the equivalent of putting racquet sports and table tennis on the same forum as they are all virtually the same game give or take a few differences - people who like one MUST be interested in the other right?

quarryman

Retr0gamer wrote: »

If you asked your obscure fallout/elder scrolls question in a united games forum you wouldn't be waiting long for an answer.

The only way to create a Reflect Damage + Shield
+ Restore Fatigue potion is using the following ingredients:

Beef + Flour + Green Stain Cup Cap + Tomato

Penn

Hercule wrote: »

if we merged everything I can just imagine the "cod4 blackops superthread" that would be made which would be so full of absolute drivel that is virtually unreadable.

That's where subforums for console technical queries, PC technical queries and matchmaking online would come in. Makes the thread in Games actually become about the game itself, and separate threads on the other forums to reduce stuff like "Can my graphics card handle this" or "Add me for a game"

Wolfe Tone

How about like in the fifa forum you could tag threads for Ps3 PC etc?

TouchingVirus

Hercule wrote: »

Joe bloggs is an owner of a console and a console copy of GTA4 - what interest does he have in the optimisation of graphics for nvidia users on PC?

Technical Subcategory -> PC

John Doe owns a PC and a PC copy of Alien vs Predator - what interest does john have in the PS3 users multiplayer lobby issues

Technical Subcategory -> Playstation


They are platform specific questions, and should be addressed in their platform's forum. Discussion about how awesome AvP or GTA4 are, commenting on missions, completion times, trophies etc should be done in the Games forum as it's about the game.

Silverfish

Just one point:

The Quake forum will not be removed.

All other points being read and noted.

Spear

So people understand why the Quake forum is regarded as sacrosanct:

http://wiki.boards.ie/wiki/Pre-History