Features for the website.
polycounter lvl 19
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE VOTING.
Hey everyone.
I thought I'd kick off a new poll about features you'd love to see for Polycount. I don't mean things like 'bigger font sizes' or 'I hate these colours' but rather, broader strokes of feature sets.
Check off all that apply to what you'd like to see here at Polycount. All I ask is that you please, please, please think about the feature before check it off. Even if it sounds cool, think about other sites that offer it and whether you'd use that feature here or if 'the other guys' is enough for you.
A note, about some options:
"Listings by Company" and "Listings by Freelance" is a general idea I have that could be applied to any area of the site, new or existing. (E.g. View portfolios by company or free lance artists. View job postings by Company or Freelance, etc.) This is specifically to find out if professionals WANT to be viewed by where they work or remain individual, separate from their studio.
"Embed 3D file + textures in to threads". This feature would NOT go public to you unless we could 100% secure the files so NO ONE could find a way to download them for themselves. We won't launch this otherwise.
"News". This is live right now - but do you want it or like it? Would the front page be better suited for a live update of Portfolio/Galleries that you could then list via "Most Views", "Recently Updated", "Newest Artists", etc. TONS of communities offer this already, so think about this before you check it off.
Hey everyone.
I thought I'd kick off a new poll about features you'd love to see for Polycount. I don't mean things like 'bigger font sizes' or 'I hate these colours' but rather, broader strokes of feature sets.
Check off all that apply to what you'd like to see here at Polycount. All I ask is that you please, please, please think about the feature before check it off. Even if it sounds cool, think about other sites that offer it and whether you'd use that feature here or if 'the other guys' is enough for you.
A note, about some options:
"Listings by Company" and "Listings by Freelance" is a general idea I have that could be applied to any area of the site, new or existing. (E.g. View portfolios by company or free lance artists. View job postings by Company or Freelance, etc.) This is specifically to find out if professionals WANT to be viewed by where they work or remain individual, separate from their studio.
"Embed 3D file + textures in to threads". This feature would NOT go public to you unless we could 100% secure the files so NO ONE could find a way to download them for themselves. We won't launch this otherwise.
"News". This is live right now - but do you want it or like it? Would the front page be better suited for a live update of Portfolio/Galleries that you could then list via "Most Views", "Recently Updated", "Newest Artists", etc. TONS of communities offer this already, so think about this before you check it off.
Replies
Our next major update to the site won't have any direct impact on you guys - as it'll be 'systems' where companies can submit job postings and/or banner ads for rotation.
This way, we can pay to do the fun ideas I'm asking about here.
Oh ya - Anyone familiar with or know someone familiar with coding for vBulletin? :P
I really love how you guys have done the "friday polycount wrapups" showcasing the cool shit that goes on during the week. If anything, id prefer to see more of this. While they don't all require stories & writing, would be cool to showcase the super badass stuff on the front page similar to cgtalk and zbrush communities. It adds a level of prestige for both new, and old artists to aspire for, which as been somewhat lacking since the dawn of normal mapped game assets.
Also, as a student, I think displaying company information and maybe resumes for the professionals on polycount would be a nice feature. I know I'm always really interested in seeing who works where and does what, especially if I have a specific question about the industry, then I could find the most suitable person to ask.
So more like 'Check out X's work from this week, its DOPE! [images]'
Like that?
I much prefer talking about why its being showcased.
I hope Polycount won't transform into CGSocioety or gameartisans. Both communities are good, but there are too many features for me. Keep things simple and take care of underground feel of Polycount.
I'd also like to see anything that would promote 3D artists connecting as a community, since meet ups and clubs seem to be popular, it might be cool to have a map of studios but allow it to be over-layed with good schools, clubs, and polycount members.
Sort of like saying, this "class" of model has this poly range, this sort of materials, and you should load it into UDK in this map with this lighting; whereas that class has that other poly range, that sort of textures, and you should load it into Unity with that map and that other kind of lighting. Different classes are equated to different generations of games and get basic maps and lighting standards in Unity and UDK.
Polycount started with a focus on plug-in player models for Q2, but there's no single game that's the community focus any more. Providing community-supported equivalents to "that one game that everyone makes models for" might help (especially new) people focus and discuss a little more specifically.
There was also this old idea from a couple of years ago about a better/different way to automatically put the progress of your work into a thread and offer a better way to discuss it.
COOL!
Dammit, now I feel horrible for forgetting who I was working with.
I do. Feeds are good thing
I'd like a bigger version of what CGhub does with it's "whats popular now" thumb spam. No text, just a giant wall of awesome stuff to click!
Yeah, that's a good point. It was more about the communities involvement than it was his artwork - or at least thats what I wanted it to be about.
Good to know
The idea for actually showing 3d models & textures would be groundbreaking if done well. I had put some thought into doing something similar in the past (kinda like youtube for 3d models). Securing files and what-not would be very important though. You should talk to commanderkeen...he's a Unity badass.
I really like the how you feature threads in the news, and I like the banner feature. Seems like these could go hand-in-hand. Every time you 'feature' a thread for whatever reason, it get's a banner. It'd be cool as well if there was a page where I could see all the threads that have been featured (ie; see all the banners) like on zbrushcentral
I dont think there needs to be much verbiage with it at all really, none more than: "Tons of great stuff going on this week in the forums! Check out the great stuff, and be sure to give some feedback!" or "A group of people have been doing XXXYYY in this SDK thread! Get in there and have a go!" <artwork>
Better yet, if something is badass, ask the artist to talk about the process more indepth, and or give some stories/insight into the creation of the piece. Its writing that almost writes it self.
also - the recap images should say who's the artist with a mouseover or so
about the news section - i personally find it very confusing to read and i dont even bother. i only relate to the images. only today i realized the chronological order the tables r lined up with, and for someone who doesnt browse the news page every day they r all new -- and totally unorganized. text is passe' man, get with the trend
User listing by companies sounds good.
-Featuring artists and threads realy is great, adding a small description as to why is even better, but this shouldn't be too much. Also, it seems like it's mostly only you doing this? i'd be interested to see other staff members pick stuff too, they might pick different things.
-It could be a good idea to improve the readability of the news by using a thumbnail for each item. It's a bit more work for you (though should be easy when linking awesome art), and it can be annoying (like finding an image when mentioning something such as this poll), but you could just use a few generic ones. Maybe icons or something? That could be something: Polycount newspost-type icons> Dunno, that just popped up in my head.
-I like the 3D viewer Idea, but will be hard to pull off. What about material setups? How would users create/upload something? Create/setup offline, do it all online, etc?
I also vote to keep the news. It's always full of cool stuff.
maybe a 5 star system?
Just an Idea.
To second Xoliul's opinion on seeing other staff's picks. Maybe break it up into 3 parts in the same news section:
waywo Highlights: A few of the staff (3-5) pick a fav piece from the thread and pimp it.
Thread Highlights: Yourself and 2 or 4 other staff members that have time that week chunk in a fav thread of the week and like a 2-3 sentence write up on it what makes it so badass to them.
Contest Highlights: (Like you have going now) A few snapshots/honorable mentions of the current hot pieces showing up in whatever contest pc's got going.
I mean that is more or less what you did on the last one, but maybe a bit more structured organization like you have with your environment breakdown would be nice
It'd probably be more important if other staff members started chiming in which is why its mentioned.
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Thread previews with the thumbnail dropdowns would be great at work, to make sure you aren't going to open up the next penis tank with easily offended people around.
But at home I'd rather just turn it off like the feature you were suggesting adding for people like oX, and apparently myself.
keep up the good work e'body :thumbup:
The listings for both companies and freelance artists...perhaps I don't fully understand your vision Adam but if you have a great idea and you think it'll benefit Polycount as a community then do it. However, flip side is that I think just the basic forum posting that an artist who is searching for work or a company looking to hire does is just fine.
I don't think portfolio's and resumes and the like are necessary. That's what portfolio sites are for right? Plus it would just add clutter and another layer to what I feel is a streamlined experience.
3D viewing would be awesome!! But yes, only if they could be 100% untouchable.
Polycount is lucky to have an admin who cares and is as active has you are. Keep it up!
Keep folios and anything that is gonna push storage and bandwidth stuff further out of here IMO. First, I don't even wanna know who's gonna shell out the cash for that. Even upon enforced restrictions on uploads, you already have the attachment feature in here for threads, and even with ad sponsorship, content management would be a full time gig for short periods of time. I may be off the mark here since I'm five billion lightyears in front of the scenes, but just initial gut reaction. I think CGS/talk limits to something like 4 images in a free account. If you want more, you gotta shell out cash, and personally, I don't want to draw in a crowd like that of CGS that is so bloated you no longer know anyone. Forums can end up being money pits, and anything that is gonna keep you guys out of one is all the better imo. Also, I don't think many people will really use them to whatever full potential you make them to be. Look at GA for instance. There's a lot of great artists on there, but if you already have your own webpage folio, who wants to manage multiple folio sites? You could look at some good art in some folios over at GA, but most of their better stuff will be found on their own site.
The mouseover would be cool simply because it is tough to keep up with PnP unless you're on here all the time. This would really make it easier to dive into something you might like.
The resum
Better search function, like I think Vig pointed out in some thread or other? It's my main gripe with the functionality of PC
We also need a lot more header images, but I might be straying off topic...
If I could ask for one feature it would be a mobile friendly layout option or subdomain forums. Most of my online communication goes through the phone these days.
We generally don't plan posts days in advance unless its a big feature (like vahls art) so asking an artist to write about their stuff can propose problems in scheduling. I'll definitely think about this for next time. Cool idea! If anything, I don't want to pull too many choice quotes from their thread either, because then there's no reason to read the news in the first place.
About being wordy/ass-kissish: I can see where thats coming from, no doubt. On my end, I'm trying to just NOT post artwork but also try and get thoughts / opinions on the page so that a discussion can happen. Far too many websites post art but never really challenge how you think about art... but thats something we do on a daily basis in our job, so why not do it here?
So what I'll try to achieve next time is less PRAISE and a more provocative approach to the posts (which is what I wanted with Phillips post. "Geez he's right, I should write more about my artwork and try and get the community involved in what I am doing. Look how good Phillips work is turning out...").
Anyway.. onwards!
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72811&highlight=unity
http://hq3d.org/mon_web_unity.html
But, I really dig the news section so far, don't get rid of it!
I'd like to see a best of E3 review/news thing
Just a bit of a ranty remark from me, but i don't think CGsociety's plugs are the best example. They always choose the same subject types there, there is never anything I consider fresh or raw in between those picks. Always the same overpolished, seen-this-before type of images (not to say they aren't well done).
I don't wanna see PC go stale, as it definitely is not now.
I'd also advise against putting up galleries. Having to use threads to show off your art encourages discussion in a much better way than a static gallery ever could - at least in my opinion.
Actually, it's not been that bad lately, but the first few posts regularly contained more typos than concent
But seriously, you're doing a great job with it, and I really enjoy the news posts. I also like the ability of the news to link to cool stuff that's happening in other communities, as few people can keep up with more than one (and even then...)
A suggestion for the news: once the new design goes live, highlight the amazing work that Eric Chadwick and friends have been doing on the really quite informative Wiki!
I tried to get involved myself, but everytime I tried to save my edit it would go wrong, so I'll have to see if it's a problem on my end (suspect so)
edit: oh, r_fleth_r's idea is amazing! I don't know how feasible it is, but a grease pencil would be a terrific tool.
Aside from that, I'd rather not see any of the other ideas. Certainly not the galleries, given that there are so many of those at other communities already.
If you look at other forums with some kind of a gallery.. Most art doesn't receive CC or Comments and doesn't that defeat the purpose of even posting in the first place..?
And the good art is ONLY praised and glorified.
Internal Polycount portfolios are excessive because of the reasons already mentioned and I tend to agree with them.
Polycount should, in my opinion, mainly but not exclusively serve as a learning environment for amateurs and professionals alike.. A place for artist to share techniques and resources. Because that's something all artists have in common, the unceasing desire to improve. :poly121:
I dig the news page aswell, it's a new daily stop for me
I would also love to see you featuring Artists on the news page. Would love to read about their workflow and their techniques, would be a great means of learning and sharing knowledge. An extension of that would be if you let artists write lessons and tutorials and have them featured on the front-page. I would love to have weekly Polycount video-lessons and tutorials! :poly142: Artists could also share tips and tricks that they've picked up, in the same fashion.
Polycount podcast..!:poly122:
edit: notman's portfolio idea is a pretty good one though.. but still don't think internal portfolios are needed.
I agree that some kind of top row of thumbs for new cool stuff should be the next big feature. The banner up top sort of plays this role, but it's tough to get one of those, and it's seldom updated. The Friday roundups also play this role, but they're not part of the site header and probably require more work on the part of the admins to maintain in the long run.
Another feature I like for discussion threads is the "thanks/groans" system. It gets abused in art threads (people just thank cool art - not all that useful in the long run because cool art speaks for itself), but it's very useful in scanning discussion threads because if you pass a post that has a lot of thanks, you know it's worth reading. In a site like Polycount where there is a huge amount of buried solid gold knowledge, this would be a great feature, but only if it could be kept out of P&P.
Only instead of text, there'd be an image. See how non-obnoxious that was, of that box to pop up like that? Yeah I think thats better than clusterfuck thumbnails beside every thread title.
MightyPea - I know! Uuuugh they sucked. Also, Eric's an editor now so I'll let him handle what you've suggested
They are either too tiny to tell whats going on, or its an ambiguous part of a image. And what if then don't have any fancy renders yet, all you get is a crappy thumbnail of wireframes or a boring high poly render.