Feel free to edit and/or delete any premade forums to your liking. Please put your game acronym at the beginning of thread titles. Our current 'new forum post view' is primitive and needs an identifier.
The GMs of this game are using the Joint Post function to track and collaborate on new submissions. Kudos on that guys! Great idea.
Anyway, the nature of a Joint Post is for it to be private until after collaboration is complete, and then at that time it will be published so that the entire site has viewing privileges. For those of you who are at this stage of the game, the only place you can see a Joint Post, is the link 'Joint Post' on the navigation bar on the left, under a block called Recent Joint Posts (also on the left) or on the My Games Page.
Each of those items will notify you if you have new Joint Posts available, just decide which one you like and that feels most intuitive for you, and you shouldn't miss 'em.
Almost all of the blocks are configurable, the My Joint Post block defaults to being 'on' for all users. But if for some reason you don't see it, it might have been turned off, in which case this can be remedied by going to the edit tab in your control panel.
We figured it'd be the best way to utilize the site, collaborate on the submissions together with the author, AND have all the information in one place for ease of publication (or research if necessary.) :)
Thanks for the techy stuff, I didn't even think about that.
I think the biggest down side of our site, is learning the ways available to navigate it. There are several ways to find what you need, but I do understand that for new comers it may be an intimidating journey. So much so, that it might put them off or become frustrating. ...so KL and I are always trying to drop small pointers and 'fyi's to help out where we can.
Being a relative newbie to NextGen (well, I've been lurking a while) it wasn't immediately obvious to me that the JP of my character submission existed. Then again, I did see it so it wasn't hidden that much.
So, our current JP character submissions are hidden from everyone other than myself and the GM(s), yes? Okay, I think I might add my notes to it then, to keep them in one place.
Yes, the JPs are hidden from everyone other than those given permission to view them. There have been glitches with them but they're rare. I think there has only been one glitch and there are number of JPs going on at any one time.
Darren and I created the JPs in order to have an easy place to collaborate rather than emailing back and forth and possibly losing something.
--
Imagination is the seed of intelligence. Nourish it and watch it grow.
GM: Darren Players:
Artexercize
Chud
Heatwave
Imajica
Nimbus
Tribe
As long as something is tagged with the FC Story tag, players will be able to see it in their 'My Games' page. In addition all collaborative game pages marked with the FC Story tag, will have an edit tab that will allow the FC players to add their contributions.
I'll use this thread as a place to include helpful information as things come up. This is information on how to upload an image to your Game's Gallery and then insert it into a forum post, Blog Entry or Game Move. More information of this nature can be found in the FAQ...but it isn't the easiest thing to navigate.
How do I upload a picture to my Games Gallery?
Locate the Create Content link, in the left hand Navigation Column, under My Tools
Click on Image & this will open your image entry screen
Required: Title of your image
Click on the Image Gallery drop down box and select the gallery most suited for your image.
Click on the Story drop down box and select the game that the piece is for.
Unless your image is adult in nature, you do not need to mess with Rating.
Select Browse in the Image Field to Locate the image that you would like to upload.
Body - This is where you add any notes or body cast information that you would like to share about your image.
Click Save
How do I upload a picture into a game move or blog?
Locate and open the blog or game move that you want to insert your image into
Click on where you want the image to be inserted
Click the Mountain Icon or the Image Assist Icon in the text editor - it's located on the second row of buttons, to the right of the Anchor. Try them both until you find which one feels easier for you.
Mountain Icon
Click on the Browse Server button in the first line
If you recently uploaded your image into a game gallery, you should see it on the first screen.
If you would like to search, The Image Assist Upload is a better choice.
Select your image and choose the size you would like to insert (Thumbnail, Preview or Original)
Once you're back to the main screen, select the align box (very bottom), and choose left or right, depending on which way you want the text to wrap around your image
Click the okay button
Once you're back in the game move, click on the image and drag it to size it correctly
Image Assist
This method will automatically take you to the screen of your uploaded Gallery Images (If the picture you want wasn't uploaded by you, you will need to find it in the gallery)
Cycle through them by page or Browse Images by Gallery at the top.
Select the image you want to insert into your game move or blog
Select the size that you want to insert.
Chose alignment for text wrapping
Click Insert
If the image did NOT wrap correctly, which is a common issue, right click on the image and select Image Properties.
Select the align box (very bottom), and choose left or right, depending on which way you want the text to wrap around your image
Click the okay button
Once you're back in the game move, click on the image and drag it to size it correctly
Note on the Differences:
A note on a difference between the two methods of inserting images handle wrapping text. The Image Assist method will *only* move the image to the location you choose, it does not add the necessary HTML code to wrap text, so if you want the text wrapped around the picture you *will* have to right click on it afterward, and select image properties. (select the align box (very bottom), and choose left or right, depending on which way you want the text to wrap around your image)
The Mountain Icon inserts the proper HTML for the text to wrap correctly but is a pain to find the image you want.
Both methods have their advantages and weaknesses so it really is a matter of preference but these are the only major differences I can think of.
1. Be sure to assign your game moves to the Faust Chronicles Campaign book, under book outline. This will allow your players and lurkers a way to cycle through your story. If things get out of order, contact an admin to learn how to add weight to your pieces, or tell them how you want them ordered.
2. Also, choose FC at the top under Story, that is the identifier that will drop it into your player's new games queue. This is also what will allow players to access your game pages. If you need any help, grab an admin or send them a PM.
3. IF at any point you or your players don't see an edit tab in your game related pages, it's likely an error on our end with granting player privileges. Contact an admin and we'll get it fixed for you. (Do recheck for #2 first.)
1. If you have questions about how this place works, please let us know. We're a friendly bunch and are happy to help. You can drop a note in your game forum, in the help desk forum or send a PM to your GM or Admin. I usually suggest the Help Desk forum, because then anyone can hop in and help you and you won't have to wait.
2. We invite you to make this place a comfortable home for you and your characters. If we don't have something that you need, please let us know what that is. Our site is striving to evolve and player suggestions and comments are exactly what we need to make sure that happens.
3. Navigation can be a trick around here. Finding what you want, and avoiding what you don't want. There is no right or wrong way to navigate the site, but here are a few options that might help you find what works best for you. The 'My Games' page, will give you information specific to your games (those that you play in and that you request lurker status), the blocks there are disappearing, so when there is no new content in one of your games, it will appear mostly blank. At the bottom of this page, is a table that will allow easy searches for all of the games.
4. As you create character related content for your games, please remember to select the correct 'Story' tag from the list. Selecting this will ensure that it is dropped into the game queue so that it shows up in the 'My Games' page. The 'Story' tag will be found in blogs, galleries, polls, forums and the game moves.
5. Select an author name. A lot of people use their handle and that's absolutely fine. You can use whatever you want, but please be consistent across all of your games and handles at NextGen RPG. This allows people to search for just your stories and contributions using the drop down boxes at the top of the site. Some people have more than one handle on the site, but we ask them to use the same 'author' name in both handles. The Author field is a required field when creating blog related content. (Example: My handles are Chairman and Mayhem - but I use China for my author name in all handles.)
6. Assign blogs to your game books. This isn't likely to come up immediately, but it will be important that you assign your solo and joint fiction pieces to your game books, to help your GM keep them all in one piece. Directions on how to create content and assign them to your games, can be found here - http://www.nextgenrpg.com/content/how-play#CC_Games.
Comments
Joint Posts
The GMs of this game are using the Joint Post function to track and collaborate on new submissions. Kudos on that guys! Great idea.
Anyway, the nature of a Joint Post is for it to be private until after collaboration is complete, and then at that time it will be published so that the entire site has viewing privileges. For those of you who are at this stage of the game, the only place you can see a Joint Post, is the link 'Joint Post' on the navigation bar on the left, under a block called Recent Joint Posts (also on the left) or on the My Games Page.
Each of those items will notify you if you have new Joint Posts available, just decide which one you like and that feels most intuitive for you, and you shouldn't miss 'em.
Almost all of the blocks are configurable, the My Joint Post block defaults to being 'on' for all users. But if for some reason you don't see it, it might have been turned off, in which case this can be remedied by going to the edit tab in your control panel.
We figured it'd be the best
We figured it'd be the best way to utilize the site, collaborate on the submissions together with the author, AND have all the information in one place for ease of publication (or research if necessary.) :)
Thanks for the techy stuff, I didn't even think about that.
Excellent idea, indeed.
Excellent idea, indeed.
I think the biggest down side of our site, is learning the ways available to navigate it. There are several ways to find what you need, but I do understand that for new comers it may be an intimidating journey. So much so, that it might put them off or become frustrating. ...so KL and I are always trying to drop small pointers and 'fyi's to help out where we can.
Being a relative newbie to
Being a relative newbie to NextGen (well, I've been lurking a while) it wasn't immediately obvious to me that the JP of my character submission existed. Then again, I did see it so it wasn't hidden that much.
So, our current JP character submissions are hidden from everyone other than myself and the GM(s), yes? Okay, I think I might add my notes to it then, to keep them in one place.
Yes, the JPs are hidden from
Yes, the JPs are hidden from everyone other than those given permission to view them. There have been glitches with them but they're rare. I think there has only been one glitch and there are number of JPs going on at any one time.
Darren and I created the JPs in order to have an easy place to collaborate rather than emailing back and forth and possibly losing something.
--
Imagination is the seed of intelligence. Nourish it and watch it grow.
Player Permissions
KL has added player privileges for this game.
GM: Darren
Players:
Artexercize
Chud
Heatwave
Imajica
Nimbus
Tribe
As long as something is tagged with the FC Story tag, players will be able to see it in their 'My Games' page. In addition all collaborative game pages marked with the FC Story tag, will have an edit tab that will allow the FC players to add their contributions.
Image Helper
I'll use this thread as a place to include helpful information as things come up. This is information on how to upload an image to your Game's Gallery and then insert it into a forum post, Blog Entry or Game Move. More information of this nature can be found in the FAQ...but it isn't the easiest thing to navigate.
How do I upload a picture to my Games Gallery?
How do I upload a picture into a game move or blog?
Note on the Differences:
A note on a difference between the two methods of inserting images handle wrapping text. The Image Assist method will *only* move the image to the location you choose, it does not add the necessary HTML code to wrap text, so if you want the text wrapped around the picture you *will* have to right click on it afterward, and select image properties. (select the align box (very bottom), and choose left or right, depending on which way you want the text to wrap around your image)
The Mountain Icon inserts the proper HTML for the text to wrap correctly but is a pain to find the image you want.
Both methods have their advantages and weaknesses so it really is a matter of preference but these are the only major differences I can think of.
GM Info
1. Be sure to assign your game moves to the Faust Chronicles Campaign book, under book outline. This will allow your players and lurkers a way to cycle through your story. If things get out of order, contact an admin to learn how to add weight to your pieces, or tell them how you want them ordered.
2. Also, choose FC at the top under Story, that is the identifier that will drop it into your player's new games queue. This is also what will allow players to access your game pages. If you need any help, grab an admin or send them a PM.
3. IF at any point you or your players don't see an edit tab in your game related pages, it's likely an error on our end with granting player privileges. Contact an admin and we'll get it fixed for you. (Do recheck for #2 first.)
Player Info
1. If you have questions about how this place works, please let us know. We're a friendly bunch and are happy to help. You can drop a note in your game forum, in the help desk forum or send a PM to your GM or Admin. I usually suggest the Help Desk forum, because then anyone can hop in and help you and you won't have to wait.
2. We invite you to make this place a comfortable home for you and your characters. If we don't have something that you need, please let us know what that is. Our site is striving to evolve and player suggestions and comments are exactly what we need to make sure that happens.
3. Navigation can be a trick around here. Finding what you want, and avoiding what you don't want. There is no right or wrong way to navigate the site, but here are a few options that might help you find what works best for you. The 'My Games' page, will give you information specific to your games (those that you play in and that you request lurker status), the blocks there are disappearing, so when there is no new content in one of your games, it will appear mostly blank. At the bottom of this page, is a table that will allow easy searches for all of the games.
Additional methods can be found at this link, http://www.nextgenrpg.com/content/my-tools-0#Navigation.
4. As you create character related content for your games, please remember to select the correct 'Story' tag from the list. Selecting this will ensure that it is dropped into the game queue so that it shows up in the 'My Games' page. The 'Story' tag will be found in blogs, galleries, polls, forums and the game moves.
5. Select an author name. A lot of people use their handle and that's absolutely fine. You can use whatever you want, but please be consistent across all of your games and handles at NextGen RPG. This allows people to search for just your stories and contributions using the drop down boxes at the top of the site. Some people have more than one handle on the site, but we ask them to use the same 'author' name in both handles. The Author field is a required field when creating blog related content. (Example: My handles are Chairman and Mayhem - but I use China for my author name in all handles.)
6. Assign blogs to your game books. This isn't likely to come up immediately, but it will be important that you assign your solo and joint fiction pieces to your game books, to help your GM keep them all in one piece. Directions on how to create content and assign them to your games, can be found here - http://www.nextgenrpg.com/content/how-play#CC_Games.