Question regarding Unrealsp.orgs new site

[Nalisavior]

It has now been a few years since Unrealsp.org's website was updated to a new format and still the functionality of most of the pages through the drop down menus have not been implemented/ restored?
Can someone port over the old legacy websites custom map reviews, fan art, item and monster descriptions and unreal universe short stories? Or is that more difficult than I assume? Would be nice to have the website fully functioning again.

I mean no disrespect to the administrators as I am aware they live busy IRL lives, just curious what the hold up is after a few years? Thanks for your replies in advance.

[Nalisavior]

Can anyone respond?

[Diego96]

Legacy website is working fine and I still find it cozy. I don't see much reason for the extra work since there are barely any people updating the site.

However, I wish we had a news page here.

[Lightning Hunter]

Legacy website is working fine and I still find it cozy. I don't see much reason for the extra work since there are barely any people updating the site.

However, I wish we had a news page here.

I kind of wish the legacy web site would make a full-fledged return. I really don't know why it was replaced at all. Maybe if this site were complete I would feel different, but being in this half-finished state with no news page, no map reviews, and no articles is kind of a waste. I thought the old site had everything we needed... I know the legacy site is still there (and I use it on a regular basis), but I think the lack of obvious features on the new site has scared away potential new members.

I guess this site represents the general state of the Unreal community right now: Incomplete and Broken. Just like Firestorm, TCO, etc...

Oh well.

[UBerserker]

The Unreal community is just past the red line.

[watcher_of_the_skies]

What do you mean by sayin' this?

[Sat42]

He means it's on life support!

Well it's a matter of perspective. On the one hand (when compared to the Doom or Quake communities for example), it's clear that our community is very small (although there's more than just UnrealSP: OldUnreal is still going and of course the multiplayer side of things with UT99 is still quite strong - relatively speaking); on the other hand, 2017 saw the release of Project Xenome: Interloper which is widely seen as being one of the best - perhaps even the greatest - Unreal single player campaign ever. Some people are hyperactive and projects like Excessive Unreal 2, G59, RTNP:UE HD, and Lightning Hunter's Cut of Paci's Redeem Your Space are truly massive and show more the enduring appeal of Unreal/UT than anything else, even if the concerned demographic is limited.

It would be good to have some more teens being active here I guess - they usually have more time on their hands but what is there is there for the long haul. Not like we never see new active users, either - and some nice little surprises like Acerak and Ascension. I hope the Unreal 227 RPGdev project will come to completion, too. Among others...

As for The Chosen One and Firestorm - something will come out of them. Maybe not in a completed form (though there's still hope), but something more than just screenshots.

I have not given up the UED Game of Telephone map either, and neither has someone else who is also making a substantial contribution. Just have to accept we do MUCH MORE than mapping in our lives - so it takes its sweet time.

[editor Dave]

I have not given up the UED Game of Telephone map either, and neither has someone else who is also making a substantial contribution. Just have to accept we do MUCH MORE than mapping in our lives - so it takes its sweet time.

Sat42 overload! That's really good news, I really like(d) the idea of collaborative maps. Unforchers II will come eventually, too, as I'm still working on it. Because of threads like these and unfulfilled promises like my old "Shadow's Arrival", I held back creating a topic about it. Though, me and my buddies are at least 6 maps deep!

[UBerserker]

Yes, life support, that's what I meant to say with red line.

People here are still expecting the likes of TCO and Firestorm to be finished but I'm sure both mods' authors don't give a damn about those anymore. They found a job, they are overly busy, and they likely don't think it's worth dealing with a pretty small community. Remember also back in the day, when Residual Decay was announced, how some people said that Red Nemesis would be in a way able to finish it because they were "Red Nemesis"?

I don't give a shit if Firestorm lacks an ending, the rest of the mappack will be good enough to be released as it is, most of the maps have been completed since ages.

[Mister_Prophet]

I lurk more than I post, this is true. And I'm sooo damn busy I haven't contributed articles like I used to. But chalk me up as another one that thinks the Legacy site was fine. I don't remember the reason for why it was updated, only that there were reasons and I was convinced it was a good idea at the time.

I don't really understand how Firestorm hasn't been released considering what I played ten years ago. But people are still making stuff for Unreal, so that's good right? Still getting cool levels and cool campaigns from very talented and dedicated people. I've always thought that this community was at its best when all users at least tried to make something, I mean to this day the Unreal Editor is very very user friendly and usable.

[UBerserker]

I lurk more than I post, this is true. And I'm sooo damn busy I haven't contributed articles like I used to. But chalk me up as another one that thinks the Legacy site was fine. I don't remember the reason for why it was updated, only that there were reasons and I was convinced it was a good idea at the time.

I don't really understand how Firestorm hasn't been released considering what I played ten years ago. But people are still making stuff for Unreal, so that's good right? Still getting cool levels and cool campaigns from very talented and dedicated people. I've always thought that this community was at its best when all users at least tried to make something, I mean to this day the Unreal Editor is very very user friendly and usable.

yo with my Red Nemesis talk I was only referring to some users who were seriously expecting the thing to be done in due time, save unexpected issues (which you've technically gone though, .e.g usaar leaving).

Perhaps you may have played the pre-227 Firestorm, from what I got told constantly it was pretty much complete and somehow better than what it is now (subjectivity). The 227 jump then happened and caused all kinds of delays on top of the mappack now not anymore available for UT (economically that's a pretty bad turn of events - I wouldn't even be able get the UT devs to popularize the release, when it gets out, on twitter cause it runs on Unreal1 and on an unofficial patch).

[ividyon]

Hi everyone,

I'll try to provide some explanations and context to the best of my ability. I know that many are disappointed over the site's stale state, and I am ashamed and annoyed by it as well.

As UBerserker said, real life has consumed a number of regulars in the community, including those responsible for high profile content/projects. Sadly, this includes me! Between insomnia, depression and work, I have not been able to find motivation and sufficient free time to make as much progress on USP as I wanted.

For the most part, plans to refurbish the site have been held up by a wish to fuse the "main site" and the forums into one single entity, to make the community and the news a seamless affair, since the main site used to get few visitors. However, those plans had ground to a halt as they turned out to represent a significant technical challenge.

Due to shoddy workflow and development practices in this current state of the website, it has proven unmaintainable to me. The current software is riddled with security issues which forced me to lock down registration to prevent bots from signing up. Here's a look at my inbox with current "new registration" notices. Making *any* changes to the current website is nothing short of a huge pain in the butt, and even something as tiny as upgrading the phpBB version means losing all custom modifications made to the forums; before that can happen, the main site needs to be in place.

As for the main site; in the current iteration, I had coded it from scratch as an add-on to phpBB3, however it has soon become riddled by bugs and could not be accessed anymore. Instead, now a new version is in the works, using the "Drupal" software which I am way more familiar and proficient with, seeing as I work with it daily. This will be built on an actual "content management system", which will allow contributors and staff to *easily* submit reviews, articles etc. with modern-day styling and features like a WYSIWYG editor etc.

Also, the new Drupal-based system will allow me to easily expand the site & keep it updated once it's released. Example features can include file hosting, allowing users to make & maintain their own project overview sites, comments on reviews & articles, etc. etc.! The sky's the limit, basically. And the best part is that I don't have to release the base site with any of these; they can all follow up later, without leading to a disaster like the current site situation.

So, the plans are to create a separate "main site" using Drupal, which has some progress done already, but is being held up by the fact that I'm chronically drained of sleep and prefer to play games & unwind in the free time that I have. The forums will remain a separate entity running on an upgraded version of phpBB3, which will sadly mean losing the custom styling & features and reverting to a more "default" look, which will take the community some getting used to. A more customized, stylized USP look for the forums will follow up after.

Also, while the site may seem inactive and dead, plenty of regulars are actually collected in the Discord server! You can get in touch with me, personally, pretty much any time there, since I'm usually online. I also have a dedicated #devblog channel on the Discord where I like to post progress, screenshots, and answer questions about the new USP iteration. Here's some screenshots! [1] [2]

[Bombadilian]

Nice to know you're still managing to find a little time to dedicate to USP Ivy.
I disagree that the community is on the "red line", even now this game still boasts an unprecedented following and is still played regularly by more people than a near 20 year old game has any right to.

[Sat42]

I have not given up the UED Game of Telephone map either, and neither has someone else who is also making a substantial contribution. Just have to accept we do MUCH MORE than mapping in our lives - so it takes its sweet time.

Sat42 overload! That's really good news, I really like(d) the idea of collaborative maps. Unforchers II will come eventually, too, as I'm still working on it. Because of threads like these and unfulfilled promises like my old "Shadow's Arrival", I held back creating a topic about it. Though, me and my buddies are at least 6 maps deep!

Yo Dave! And great to hear about the progress with the Unforchers II project!

And I am also happy to see a big post from ividyon! Thanks for the explanations

[UBerserker]

I disagree that the community is on the "red line", even now this game still boasts an unprecedented following and is still played regularly by more people than a near 20 year old game has any right to.

Lol not even close, please. Neither UT1 is that big anymore. There are many 20+ years old games that get attention even today by media or events, and Unreal isn't one of them.