SC4 Devotion Forum Archives

SC4Evermore Welcome Portal => SC4Evermore Site Goings-on => Topic started by: Tarkus on August 16, 2019, 05:01:39 AM

Title: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Tarkus on August 16, 2019, 05:01:39 AM
(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?


It's great to have SC4D back, and we hope you once again enjoy the site.

Alex (Tarkus)
SC4D Webmaster
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: 911Diva on August 16, 2019, 10:53:38 AM
 &apls &apls Very happy you are back!!! &apls &apls
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: memo on August 16, 2019, 01:09:19 PM
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.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: b22rian on August 16, 2019, 03:07:09 PM
Thanks to everyone who have gotten the site back to fully functioning working order..

and to David, a speedy recovery and my prayers..
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Kitsune on August 16, 2019, 03:23:55 PM
Its great for sc4d to be back .. however that is horrible news about David. Hope he gets well soon !
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: 2b2gbi on August 16, 2019, 03:36:10 PM
Thank you for all your hard work to keep this site running.  &apls

Hope David gets well soon.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: AsimPika3172 on August 16, 2019, 04:25:39 PM
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...
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: deanva on August 16, 2019, 04:58:50 PM
Glad you are back.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: CaptCity on August 16, 2019, 05:57:56 PM
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.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Jasoncw on August 16, 2019, 07:33:23 PM
I'm happy for this new phase of SC4D. :)
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: eggman121 on August 16, 2019, 07:42:11 PM
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)
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: bladeberkman on August 16, 2019, 08:06:53 PM
 :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
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Nanami on August 16, 2019, 09:42:08 PM
Thats a wonderful news, thanks everyone to bring this community back :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: scoty on August 17, 2019, 12:56:07 AM
happy to see this site again operational ! Big and beautiful job here ! &apls
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: twalsh102 on August 17, 2019, 01:52:24 AM
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.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: belfastsocrates on August 17, 2019, 06:18:01 AM
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.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: metarvo on August 17, 2019, 06:27:10 AM
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.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Simmer2 on August 17, 2019, 08:40:33 AM
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
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Indiana Joe on August 17, 2019, 09:17:19 AM
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
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: PaPa-J on August 17, 2019, 09:19:05 AM
 &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.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: JoeST on August 17, 2019, 09:33:46 AM
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
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: CasperVg on August 17, 2019, 11:18:25 AM
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).
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Tarkus on August 17, 2019, 10:59:29 PM
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
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Badsim on August 18, 2019, 04:54:05 AM
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.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: noahclem on August 19, 2019, 08:16:48 AM
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
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: 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
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: PaPa-J on August 21, 2019, 10:23:23 AM
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?
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: 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!
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Tarkus on August 22, 2019, 03:52:11 AM
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
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: seraf on August 22, 2019, 08:47:46 AM
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
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: fantozzi on August 22, 2019, 10:41:57 AM
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:

Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: APSMS on August 22, 2019, 01:52:35 PM
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.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: mattb325 on August 25, 2019, 02:53:58 PM
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.

Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Krasner on August 25, 2019, 04:34:07 PM
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  ::)
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: PaPa-J on August 26, 2019, 08:51:02 AM
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!
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Tarkus on August 26, 2019, 03:50:49 PM
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
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Ralfger on August 27, 2019, 02:12:23 AM
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...
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: tomvsotis on August 30, 2019, 02:50:12 AM
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
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Terring7 on August 31, 2019, 05:39:32 AM
Welcome back, SC4D ;D
And get well soon, David :)
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Shark7 on September 02, 2019, 09:23:45 AM
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.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: hasbit3 on September 06, 2019, 01:54:46 PM
I never thought the site would get reworked. Good Job to the new staff.

David. God is with you. I hope you recover.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: memo on September 11, 2019, 02:12:29 PM
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.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: eggman121 on September 12, 2019, 03:01:49 AM
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)
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: FrankU on October 09, 2019, 12:24:17 PM
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.
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Une_ame on October 10, 2019, 01:22:50 PM
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:

Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Anthracite on January 30, 2020, 08:10:57 PM
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
Title: Re: Welcome to the "New" SimCity 4 Devotion!
Post by: Sven Larsson on March 26, 2020, 07:48:22 AM
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.