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The Long Awaited Update
Yes the rumors are true, I am still alive and well. And more importantly, so is the site (believe it not). People have been asking for an update for quite some time but to be honest I didn't have anything new or encouraging to post so there was nothing to update. But these last few days have been a flurry of activity and I finally have an update on the future of the site -- and it's good news.
So what the heck has been going on? Well let's go back around a year when I first put the call out for new contributors to the site, and oh so many of you responded. The plan was to update the site software with something robust enough to handle multiple authors as well as many other custom features I had planned. Once this new system was in place I would be able to manage the site while having multiple authors contribute on a regular basis. Things were going well, I contracted and paid for a company to implement an industrial strength blogging software package custom designed specifically for this site and things were moving along. That was, until it wasn't and things just started to slowly fall apart. Very long story short is that the software package was never delivered and I wasn't able to find a software package which would perform the work I needed.
However that all changed a few days ago when Movable Type 4.01 (the software I use for this site) was released and it was the answer to my prayers and so much more. Everything I have ever wanted for this site to do I can finally do and as of today the site is now running on this platform. And the administration tools are a dream, all the original content was imported into the site seamlessly and it appears that I can finally run this as I have always wanted.
So the plan for the next few days is as follows: First I'm in testing the site and making sure all of the code has transfered correctly. Already I have found a few bugs which needed to be quashed, but the site seems to be running better than ever. Next I have a new design all ready to go which will bring the site up to the "Web 2.0" standard. This design will take a few days to implement, but the design is pretty much complete so hopefully that will go smoothly. There are also plans to tie the extremely active forums directly into the front-end of the site (which will require some custom programming) but this has been well thought out and should be pretty straightforward to implement. And then ... well, the site will finally be ready for the big new reveal!
As for my ability to continue to contribute and do a podcast I plan do just that. How often I will be able to do this I still to be determined as I am as busy as ever. Which brings me back to where I started this post ... the plan to have other people contribute to the site as well. This way the site can continue to thrive and I can contribute as time allows as it would be terrible to let the site simply fade away.
So once again I put out the call, if you are interested in contributing to the site contact me and we'll take it from there. But watch this space soon for some exciting new changes, they'll be coming faster than you think!
I'm glad to hear that everything's going well. I thought the only problem was that you were busy, I was getting worried that someone was sick or something.
Posted by 762 at September 27, 2007 10:05 PMDandy.
Sounds good to me.
Cool 2 site updates pretty much a just over a week apart great news and the information os great can't wait. If you need an australian point of view I'll put my hand up.
Posted by Cobra at September 27, 2007 10:32 PMCool beans!
Posted by PatMan33 at September 27, 2007 10:55 PMAwesome.
Can't wait to see the new layout
Awesome! Cant't wait to see it.
Posted by Eligecos at September 28, 2007 12:16 AMYes, yes, yes! I'm excited to see the site continue. What about podcasts? And, what the heck have you been doing the last 6 months, Steve?
While I'm all for the changes, I feel like we've been here before... I remember a time when you promised more regular podcasts—right before they disappeared, if I remember correctly.
That said, I'm a big fan. I think your podcasts were the best around. If I can contribute on the site, let me know.
Posted by Brad at September 28, 2007 12:18 AMgood to see things are going you way steve. hopefully this will work out well for all concered
Posted by shadowlord18 at September 28, 2007 12:22 AMi'll happily help with recordings for podcasts. not everyone has as great a voice as i do. hah hah.
good to have you back, steve. keep the updates coming, i await your new design. here's hoping you at least stick with this orange color scheme, few sites can rock it orange.
Posted by nicesocks at September 28, 2007 1:59 AMhalleluja! i cant wait!
Posted by xenomorph at September 28, 2007 5:30 AMYaaay!!! :D I wonder how the forums will be more linked to the mainpage? New design sounds cool! Aswell as other contributors :P
Posted by H.U.C (Huckbuck) at September 28, 2007 9:05 AM:D Steve not dead!
Posted by PikMini at September 28, 2007 9:31 AMWell, I guess that we must be starting to send in some questions for the next Podcast.
Posted by DoggySpew at September 28, 2007 1:15 PMYay! Steve is back! Podcast podcast!
Posted by Ryan at September 28, 2007 2:43 PMWe love you, Steve.
Posted by Paroxysm at September 28, 2007 8:41 PMDarned straight!
Maybe I'll get a little more regular on the forums again; maybe we'll get some fresh folks...
Posted by Hizzah at September 28, 2007 9:11 PMHey, you're back! Looking forward to hearing your voice again :-)
Posted by otaku62 at September 29, 2007 12:27 PMSooooo, anything on Spore? ;)
Posted by RG at September 29, 2007 5:32 PMShow me the money!!!!
Posted by HiroProtagonist at September 30, 2007 7:02 PMYay! Steve is back! Now get us more Spore info :P
Also what kinds of contributions do you want?
Hydro ~
Posted by Hydromancerx at September 30, 2007 10:44 PMSteve: you are too much of a perfectionist. I don't want a highly elaborate podcasts with BORING interviews from Microsoft PR drones. I just want to hear you chew the fat about the latest games you are playing, your take on the various consoles and new games, or whatever subject you care to talk about. If you sat down once a week, and with a very sketchy outline, just talked for an hour or so, I would be more than happy. No matter how busy you are, surely you could afford an hour a week?
Again, I don't want a fancy website. I just want to know you are somewhat interested in the community you established here.
Don't be such a perfectionist. Either let the site fade away, or become more relaxed.
Posted by Laurence at October 1, 2007 11:04 PMWhy would you want to make a generic news site about gaming? I came here for "Gaming Steve", not "Gaming Steves".
Don't take this as a complaint though, I'm not a internet-zealot threatening to "never listen to you again", but if your site is updated with random gaming news by random people, I think I will just remove it from my feed and just listen to the podcast. I already have 1UP and Hotspot for my general gaming news, so I don't need another.
I wish you good luck and I hope it all works out for the better, who knows, maybe you can replace one of the other sites one day (though, the name of the site is still a bit strange for general gaming news!)
Posted by sundby at October 2, 2007 5:53 AMgive us some Diablo 3 info steve :D
Posted by teo at October 4, 2007 8:23 AMYou suck steve! X(
You left us!
Shunnnnnnn!
Just kidding welcome back.
Hope to see a new podcast soon, hopefully we won't have to wait months......
Posted by Phanny at October 4, 2007 12:13 PMGood to hear the site is going to gain health again Steve. I look forward to the new design.
Posted by Dr Dozzy at October 5, 2007 8:58 AMHey there Steve glad to know everything is good!
I sure enjoy this site and I enjoy your podcast as you talk about the video game world on a whole.
I would be more than happy to contibute what I can and help out any way I can.
Godspeed and can't wait to see the new layout!
Posted by Bdavid at October 5, 2007 4:03 PMYour fans never stopped hoping for another one of your great Podcasts Steve! I'm glad and I'm sure evryone else is to see you back and ready to deliver intelligent gaming discussion.
Posted by Clayton at October 6, 2007 8:38 PMGreat to see you're still willing to pick the podcast up.
I'm just wondering why you couldn't post a message earlier, saying that you wouldn't be online for a while. In the end, it doesn't make a difference and you don't owe us anything, but it would've been nice.
Posted by Terr at October 7, 2007 5:35 PMQuality over quantity. There's a ton of sites out there thus no shortage of the latter.
For example of the Quantity: Microsoft's on10.net "cool" video news on everything from gadgets to games and so on.
IMHO: A good episode when you got something to say about interesting stuff and better than average looking products... And leave the crappy stuff out, someone else will take a loot at that.
Unless you're planning to support yourself with solely with advertising there's no need to do any regular news. The RSS feeds allow me to tune in if you only do one episode a year!
Posted by ac at October 7, 2007 8:57 PMomg steve!
Posted by bob at October 12, 2007 11:21 AMPlease Steve come back... I loved your podcasts and really missed your views on gaming, would like to know what you think about bungies split from Mirco$oft...
Posted by Jessay at October 12, 2007 12:02 PMNot dead yet, but still in a serious coma. Ah, what's the use anymore? So many things have happened since the last podcast - not to mention Halo 3. Steve, obviously a Microsoft shareholder, misses an opportunity to promote Halo 3 - this means only one thing...
Steve isn't coming back.
Might as well delete the bookmark and save myself the torture.
Posted by Laurence at October 26, 2007 11:06 PMPlease keep your comments relevant to this entry: inappropriate or purely promotional comments may be removed. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.