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Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!

Started by Tarkus, August 16, 2019, 05:01:39 AM

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Tarkus


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

911Diva


memo

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.

b22rian

Thanks to everyone who have gotten the site back to fully functioning working order..

and to David, a speedy recovery and my prayers..

Kitsune

Its great for sc4d to be back .. however that is horrible news about David. Hope he gets well soon !
~ NAM Team Member

2b2gbi

Thank you for all your hard work to keep this site running.  &apls

Hope David gets well soon.
You can call me Jon. :)

Check out my MD: Bienville, Missouri

AsimPika3172

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...
I loves Sim City forever!

deanva


CaptCity

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.

Jasoncw

I'm happy for this new phase of SC4D. :)

eggman121

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)

bladeberkman

 :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

Nanami

Thats a wonderful news, thanks everyone to bring this community back :thumbsup:

scoty

happy to see this site again operational ! Big and beautiful job here ! &apls
... that's my pixel, click away!

twalsh102

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.

belfastsocrates

#15
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.
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"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination" - Oscar Wilde

metarvo

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.
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Want more? Try here.  For even more electrical goodies, look here.
Here are some rural power lines.

Simmer2

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
________________________________________________________________________________

Indiana Joe

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

PaPa-J

 &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.
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smile more, laugh more,
and don't get so worked up
about things.