(https://sc4devotion.com/forums/img/sc4d-grand-reopening-banner.jpg)
First of all, welcome back to SimCity 4 Devotion! As the new webmaster, I would like to thank all of you in the SC4 community for your patience and support, while both myself and my staff colleagues worked through some difficult matters behind the scenes, and worked to find a way to continue this site, which we all held dear for almost 13 years now.
I'd like to personally thank my SC4D Staff colleagues, in alphabetical order--
Andreas,
art128,
callagrafx,
CasperVg,
dedgren,
Girafe,
noahclem,
threestooges,
vester, and
vortext--for helping shape the way forward for the site.
WHAT'S NEW ABOUT THE NEW SC4D?
- Staff Assignments: Since the Global Moderator position had gradually been given many facets of Administrator-level access over time, in addition to being an integral part of many key site decisions, the existing active staff in that position have all been promoted, creating a single level of senior staff.
- Site Design, Features, and Generalities: As you may notice, the site looks quite a bit different. Given the changes in how the site operates, and the fact that the last design update was 8 years ago, it felt like it was time for something a bit different on the visual end. The slogan is an attempt to bring across the site's core value of being a "for creators, by creators" site that focuses on pushing SC4 forward, but where one has fun while doing so.
- A Note About the Site Header Image: You'll also notice that there is an SC4 image in the header graphic--something which carried over from the previous design. That image is, of course, from Three Rivers Region, one of SC4D's biggest draws (and, in fact, the very thing that got me to register here back in January 2007). David (dedgren) has arguably done more for SC4D than anyone over the site's existence, and his thoughts about the site during our emergency staff discussions are a large part of why SC4D is still here today. He was set to return to Administrator duties here, in addition to bringing some exciting plans with 3RR to fruition, following his coast-to-coast bike journey across the US. Sadly, he has been hospitalized since the end of July, after suffering severe spinal injuries from a fall midway through his ride, and is likely to remain there for some time. It seemed only fitting that a 3RR image be in the header, and one will remain there until he's well enough to tell us otherwise.
- New hosting: We have a deal in place for a VPS package with DreamHost through July 2022, for a fraction of what we were paying our previous host at the end. The "new" SC4D is here for the long haul.
- The Wiki: The SC4 Encyclopaedia, otherwise known as the SC4D Wiki, has been online since 2008, but has been on a restricted, locked-down mode of operations for the past decade, due to some unfortunate events during its tumultuous start. That is no longer the case, and registration is once again open. Unfortunately, due to some issues pertaining to the software and databases, we had to re-start the Wiki fresh from a new database, and manually import content from the old Wiki, and none of the previous user accounts are in the new database. Most everything else should be there, though many images are not referenced correctly at the moment--those will be gradually brought back on line.
- The LEX: Plans for "Project ZIP"--to replace many of the LEX's .exe installers with .zip files, thereby improving the efficiency of the LEX's Dependency Tracker features--are still on. Many thanks to Tyberius06 for all of his assistance in that endeavor, and more information about this project will be forthcoming.
- Other Matters: The "new" SC4D is still a bit of a work in progress. Many previous forum mods did have to be uninstalled (at least temporarily) in order to get the site to play nicely with the new server. Some of them no longer make sense to use, or are ancient and have questionable compatibility with newer versions of SMF, but others will be phased back in as we assess the situation going forward. Please let us know of any issues you may encounter with the new site, or anything you'd like to see added or re-added, and we'll take a look at it.
Additionally, the copy of the LEX database is from July 30th. Any LEX accounts registered after that date no longer exist, and those members will need to re-register. Download history and comments from the last days of the old server are also not here. I have manually re-uploaded the one file that was added after that date, and attributed it to the author.
- A Special Shoutout to my counterparts at Simtropolis, especially Cyclone Boom and CorinaMarie, for their support during this whole process, providing space for me get the word out about the site's myriad status changes during the past few months.
- (And yes, now that SC4D is mostly settled in here, this does mean that I will be able to return to NAM development.)
It's great to have SC4D back, and we hope you once again enjoy the site.
Alex (Tarkus)
SC4D Webmaster
&apls &apls Very happy you are back!!! &apls &apls
Congrats on the relaunch. It is comforting to know this site continues to exist. Thanks for all the hard work.
@David: I can't imagine what you have gone through – I hope you get well soon.
Thanks to everyone who have gotten the site back to fully functioning working order..
and to David, a speedy recovery and my prayers..
Its great for sc4d to be back .. however that is horrible news about David. Hope he gets well soon !
Thank you for all your hard work to keep this site running. &apls
Hope David gets well soon.
Thanks for new looking forum! Next job is... Add LIKE button or just REACTION buttons (similar to Simtropolis) which combination of Like, Sad, Thanks, Laugh etc...
Glad you are back.
Things are looking good. Congratulations on the "Grand Re-Opening" and thanks for all the efforts in getting it all done.
And best wishes for David's recovery.
I'm happy for this new phase of SC4D. :)
Thank you so much for the effort put into the continuation of this site from all who is involved &apls
A special mention to Alex for the work done in and his new role of Webmaster of this site :thumbsup:
I could not think of a better person to take leadership of the task. You have been a great mentor Alex and hope we can get some more magic out in terms of finalizing NAM 37 :)
"Memo" :o
So glad to see you again! How are you going my friend?
I also hope for David's Recovery in the near future. I hear has been an instrumental part of this site and I hope he can join us when he is well again.
-eggman121 (Stephen)
:bnn: :bnn: :bnn:
This made my day! Thanks for navigating the site/SC4 community through this difficult time and thanks for finding us a new home. Good to see all of these familiar avatars once again. :)
-Blade
Thats a wonderful news, thanks everyone to bring this community back :thumbsup:
happy to see this site again operational ! Big and beautiful job here ! &apls
I think everyone would agree that the SC4 community owes you and your staff a huge debt of gratitude, not only for jumping into the breach and taking ownership when needed, but also for the tremendous amount of work required to get the website transferred to both a new hosting service and a new server, as well as doing a site refresh on top of everything else. You certainly saved us from a disaster that would have rivaled, if not exceeded, the one when the Pegasus website blew up.
If you were working for some corporation, you'd probably be getting a nice raise, a fat bonus, and a paid vacation to Tahiti. Unfortunately, all we can do is give you and your staff our deepest thanks. &apls
Please pass on to David and his family our hopes for his continuing recovery.
Phenomenal amount of work to bring SC4D back. A massive thanks to all the staff for their efforts!
Great to be back!
I echo a previous contributor, would be nice to have the 'like' function restored, if possible.
First off, this is terrible news about David. I will certainly keep him and his family in my thoughts; best wishes for a smooth recovery. He gave us several innovations in this game that we use to this day... even FAR IIRC.
Thanks for keeping this wonderful site going Alex. I know this has been a tough, trying time, but of course you have shown true devotion (it is what we're about, after all :) ) in both working to keep SC4D alive and also in accepting the position of webmaster. I'm enjoying the site's fresh, new look!
&apls
I'm still hoping I get more chances to be active; no matter what other interests I get, I'll always remember SC4.
Glad to see SC4D up and running again.
Thank you Alex and everyone else involved in keeping this great site going. &apls
David I hope it all goes well!
Cheers
Nick
It's back baby! :bnn: &apls
Alex and the staff, thank you for your dedication and selfless devotion that you pour into this place. It's awesome for everyone to still be able to enjoy the years of cool content.
And wishes for a speedy recovery to the legendary D. Edgren!
Matt
&apls &apls Hooray! Really glad the site is up and running! Thanks to you and the staff for all your hard work in getting this migrated over and up and running.
Really sad news about David, I truly hope he gets well soon. Prayers to him and his family.
welcome back and thank you so much for getting us back up and running! it's great to see the place with it's new fresh look too :D
Thanks Alex and everyone for the hard work to keep the site running :)
Heather and Susan, David's wife and sister, are running a GoFundMe page where you can support his treatment and recovery financially. You can find it here (https://www.gofundme.com/f/catastrophic-injuries?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet).
Quote from: CasperVg on August 17, 2019, 11:18:25 AM
Thanks Alex and everyone for the hard work to keep the site running :)
Many thanks to you as well, Casper, for your assistance with getting the LEX back up and running. :thumbsup:
And thank you to all of you for your support--it's great to see so many familiar faces back here (I think everyone's probably especially happy to see you here,
memo--myself very much included), and I hope that the "new" SC4D provides an even better experience for you all.
I did have to uninstall pretty much every mod the forums had been using before, in large part because there were a lot of outdated/ancient things behind the scenes on the "old" SC4D--which still had PHP and SMF components from 8 to 10 years ago (!) under the hood.
The "Like Posts" mod was one of the first things I reinstalled, and it's been here since we've been open again, but for whatever reason, the actual button itself had not been showing up, and multiple attempts at uninstalling and reinstalling the mod were not successful in addressing that. For whatever reason, the mod wasn't installing its hooks into the theme we're using, but I was able to locate what I needed to add, and do things manually, so it should be working once again.
The other reputation system we were using, the karma points, is presently a bit barebones at the moment as well, as there's been some issues with the Karma Description mod that had been previously in use. I will continue looking into it, however.
Being that I have full access over the back end of the site now--and the process of getting this place back up and running forced me to learn a lot of new technical things--the turnaround on forum features and issues should be a lot quicker than it was over the past several years.
Also, regarding David, his family is also posting updates on his condition
here (https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davidedgren).
-Alex
Huge debt of gratitude indeed for Alex and those directly or indirectly involved in the rescue and new management of our beloved site . It would have been such a disaster ...
I've just a little question ; who is from now managing the site financing , in other terms ; do have subscribers something to change to their Paypal subscriptions ?
Thanks.
My deepest whishes for David's recovery at the best possible , and currently foreseable consequences aren't obvious .What we can see and read at caringbridge.org is heartbreaking . That kind of stroke of bad luck that happens to the best people you know , or simply heard of , sounds particularly terrible and unjust . But even in the worst situation , David commands the admiration and the inspiration he has always commanded.
Regards, Cédric.
Great to see SC4D's new incarnation up and running! Thanks so much to everyone who's pitched in to make this happen, especially Alex and Casper &apls
Thank you, Cédric and Noah, for the kind words. :thumbsup:
Quote from: Badsim on August 18, 2019, 04:54:05 AM
I've just a little question ; who is from now managing the site financing , in other terms ; do have subscribers something to change to their Paypal subscriptions ?
The previous webmaster was the only one with access to the PayPal account. He apparently closed it before the domain was transferred, and there is presently no donation account for the "new SC4D" (nor plans to start one at this juncture). As of right now, any subscription/renewal/donation attempts would likely bounce back with an error. If you have a recurring charge/auto-renewal set up, I would advise canceling it.
Right now, I'd prefer to see members who are looking to donate to the "new SC4D" instead help with David and his family with their expenses, in the wake of his accident.
-Alex
Quote from: Tarkus on August 21, 2019, 06:20:11 AM
Thank you, Cédric and Noah, for the kind words. :thumbsup:
Quote from: Badsim on August 18, 2019, 04:54:05 AM
I've just a little question ; who is from now managing the site financing , in other terms ; do have subscribers something to change to their Paypal subscriptions ?
The previous webmaster was the only one with access to the PayPal account. He apparently closed it before the domain was transferred, and there is presently no donation account for the "new SC4D" (nor plans to start one at this juncture). As of right now, any subscription/renewal/donation attempts would likely bounce back with an error. If you have a recurring charge/auto-renewal set up, I would advise canceling it.
Right now, I'd prefer to see members who are looking to donate to the "new SC4D" instead help with David and his family with their expenses, in the wake of his accident.
-Alex
And how do you go about canceling the recurring charge? Do we do that on this site or on paypal?
If I'm being honest I don't care for cosmetics much but as the site's function appears to be unchanged, I don't really care that much about how it looks. I'm more glad that the transition is complete and SC4D is back up for business!
Great work, Alex!
Quote from: APSMS on August 22, 2019, 03:48:01 AM
If I'm being honest I don't care for cosmetics much but as the site's function appears to be unchanged, I don't really care that much about how it looks. I'm more glad that the transition is complete and SC4D is back up for business!
Great work, Alex!
Thanks, Absalom! :thumbsup:
Quote from: PaPa-J on August 21, 2019, 10:23:23 AM
And how do you go about canceling the recurring charge? Do we do that on this site or on paypal?
As far as I know, the actual trigger is forum-side, and links into PayPal as a payment gateway. There was a setting "Allow user to auto-renew this subscription" on the Admin side for each subscription type, and I have unchecked that box on each of them, which should automatically prevent auto-renewal from happening. I'd double check your PayPal account to be safe, however.
There are some more things that will need to be worked out with the phasing out of the subscription system in time (and in consultation with everyone who is currently shown as having a subscription), but this at least removes a rather imminent issue.
-Alex
I'm so happy to see that the site and forums are back and well :thumbsup: Big thanks for those who worked hard to make this happen &apls &apls &apls
Dr. Tarkus, you know, people like me would be homeless without SC4Devotion.
I'll thank you all, who were involved in moving the whole refugee's house for SC4 addict to a save place.
If you don't mind – I'll take my old room again. Ii seems you didn't change the sheets, so there's still some of Fantozzi's smell in it. Not even that went missing. Great job. :thumbsup:
Also I had no idea about dedgren's accident. I was reading through the family's journal logs on CaringBridge; I am very sad to see that news, but I'm glad he's stable and progressing. I would be very sad if we were never able to see another one of dedgren's creations. I'll have to make an account to make sure to leave him and his family a nice message.
It's great to see the site back up and functional (minus the inverted punctuation marks ;)).
A huge, huge, huge well done to all involved. :thumbsup:
Fingers crossed for David. It was pretty touch-and-go for a while, but I truly hope he has turned a corner and continues to improve. My best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.
Thank you so much for the site re-location, it's perfect &apls &apls I really was afraid that it would be the end of it at some point ::)
Quote from: Tarkus on August 22, 2019, 03:52:11 AM
Quote from: PaPa-J on August 21, 2019, 10:23:23 AM
And how do you go about canceling the recurring charge? Do we do that on this site or on paypal?
As far as I know, the actual trigger is forum-side, and links into PayPal as a payment gateway. There was a setting "Allow user to auto-renew this subscription" on the Admin side for each subscription type, and I have unchecked that box on each of them, which should automatically prevent auto-renewal from happening. I'd double check your PayPal account to be safe, however.
There are some more things that will need to be worked out with the phasing out of the subscription system in time (and in consultation with everyone who is currently shown as having a subscription), but this at least removes a rather imminent issue.
-Alex
I got a notice yesterday from PayPal saying you canceled the recurring payment. Thanks!
Quote from: PaPa-J on August 26, 2019, 08:51:02 AM
I got a notice yesterday from PayPal saying you canceled the recurring payment. Thanks!
That would have actually been the previous webmaster's doing. He's gone in and canceled any auto-renewals on the PayPal end, as well as refunding anyone whose donation attempted an auto-renewal of late.
-Alex
It's up and running again! &hlp
Thank you so much for your time and great effort to relocate the site! In the beginning I was afraid that SC4 comes to an end, too...
Oh, wow! Belatedly, but: this is awesome! I'm so happy that this lovely community has a home again. Thanks to everyone involved for keeping SC4D alive!! &apls :bnn: :laugh: &apls
Welcome back, SC4D ;D
And get well soon, David :)
Been a while since I last visited and well...things look different. Then I notice that things actually are different. ;D
Congrats to Tarkus and all the staff members on the new management. The site is in good hands.
I never thought the site would get reworked. Good Job to the new staff.
David. God is with you. I hope you recover.
Quote from: eggman121 on August 16, 2019, 07:42:11 PM
So glad to see you again! How are you going my friend?
Hi Stephen, it is good to see you all are still around as well. I'm doing well, a bit busy with RL – sorry about the slow response. It is great to see exciting new developments like the works on the savegame formats. I feel like this opens the door to a whole new aspect of SC4 modding and I am a bit tempted to dive right into it to see what else could be done.
Quote from: memo on September 11, 2019, 02:12:29 PM
Hi Stephen, it is good to see you all are still around as well. I'm doing well, a bit busy with RL – sorry about the slow response. It is great to see exciting new developments like the works on the savegame formats. I feel like this opens the door to a whole new aspect of SC4 modding and I am a bit tempted to dive right into it to see what else could be done.
Yeah, Alot has gone on in the hiatus time you have had. The new NAM edition that is brewing at the moment is a testament to the fantastic tools and advice you have given in the past. I hope you can when you are ready try some of the new content. We really owe you alot for the legacy of the input you have given to the SC4 community.
Thanks :)
-Stephen (eggman121)
You might have thought I had disappeared. Which is not the case, at least not to my family, friends, neighbours and colleagues. They see me very day.
But you have missed me for quite some time. And I have missed the home improvement of this site. But now I am here. It looks good! Congratulations for it. I am happy the community survived without me. Which makes me realise I am not so important after all.
I will disappear again soon, I think, because my interest in playing games on computers seems to disappear. Even SC4, which has been my favourite game since I bought it in 2004 or so.
But I will still be a visitor now and then.
I'd like to add my voice to others here and thank Alex, and those involved in the relaunch and new management of SC4D. &apls &apls
With a thought for a David's fast recovery. :thumbsup:
Congratulations Tarkus.
I am always amazed by how this game keeps alive. Not that it's old and refuses to die. It's juts ever young. &apls
Thank you all so much for SC4D still beeing alive. The content thats hosted here really makes this game last trough the years. Its amazing that a game made in 2003 still can compete with any similiar game today in 2020.