Forum Software is some sort of abstract hellscape.

"So... *ahem* does anyone have an opinion on this forum software? Preferably one that wouldn't involve breaking any vulgar content guidelines if expressed. "

Under those guidelines..... no!

The forums are definitely impressive, and no doubt it's taken a lot of hard effort make it. Kudos to the webmaster for making them.

That said, there are still a few irksome kinks that could be improved upon. I'm sure everyone would be happier for it.

A search feature would really ease the load on the good ol' forums in my opinion.

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Yeah, the forum software sucks, but bear in mind, this is fanboy central, so don't expect many people to agree with that.

Yeah a search function like that. So far it never worked for me.

Aaaand make that "watch" button actually do something. I always get a timeout when pressing it.
Aaaaand the button "my topics" would be nice if it shows threads with my posts inside as well...

I believe many of the "technical" problems is due to the unexpected popularity of the game. They simply never expected this many people to be here using it, so the hardware isn't up-to-specs. Yes, there are some odd quirks, but I *think* they all work under normal conditions. The other things well... it's just different from a normal forum, then again, they are anything but a 'normal' company (I mean that in a good way). So I guess the uniqueness carried over to the forums, and... erm (insert complete and total BS, I have no idea what I'm saying. I just wanted to fullfil trancejeremy's expectation for this to be a fanboy central. I'm not even sure what the hell that is suppost to be.)

It doesn't suck. However, it's functionality is solidly mediocre. It tends to have partial compatibility with Firefox, though I've heard a thing or two that point the issue in another direction. It works, though I do get frustrated quite often. Search and login don't work quite the way they should with firefox, though a few indirect methods can circumvent the troubles sometimes.

I would love alternate, simpler, skins that provide certain information.
1). Last poster's username on a thread.
2). My last posts counts each entry, such as this, instead of each topic.
3). Not all of us like white text on black. I'll admit this is done fairly well, but still.

Editing a post is rather troublesome. I'd like to see made easier and more reliable.

I've got a couple ideal examples for functional forums in mind, not all of which are exactly kosher. I'll contemplate whether to share and which, with care.

Anyways, its not an abstract hellscape. At times it does feel like a work of Salvador Dali, or Escher's House of Stairs
Link

I have never been able to 'watch' a post as it always times out, and so I can't ever find a thread that I have responded in. Although I can use the 'my posts' feature to find threads that I have started. The edit function doesn't seem to work and the general layout and the ability to customise its appearance is a little lacking, I find the white texy a little difficult on my eyes.

Good job the game is superb

I think it just got much worse. It's started crashing with the following error:

Server Error in '/' Application.
General network error. Check your network documentation.
Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.

Exception Details: System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: General network error. Check your network documentation.

Source Error:

An unhandled exception was generated during the execution of the current web request. Information regarding the origin and location of the exception can be identified using the exception stack trace below.

Stack Trace:

[SqlException: General network error. Check your network documentation.]
System.Data.SqlClient.ConnectionPool.GetConnection(Boolean& isInTransaction) +484
System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnectionPoolManager.GetPooledConnection(SqlConnectionString options, Boolean& isInTransaction) +372
System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.Open() +384
SDNetLib.DAL.OpenConnection(String ConnectionString, SqlConnection& ConnectionObject) +45
SDNetLib.DAL.OpenCommand(String SQL, SqlCommand& CommandObject, String ConnectionString, SqlConnection& ConnectionObject) +30
SDNetLib.DAL.ExecuteQuery(String SQL, ArrayList _param, String DataTableName, String ConnectString, SqlConnection& ConnectionObject) +68
SDSArticles.Articles.ArticleFactory.GetPublicNewestForumPostsList(AccountType AccountTypeID, Int32 Count) +283
GlobalForums.Jobs.dg_UpdateRecentPostsXML(Object state) +60
GlobalForums.Jobs.Callback_StartJobs(Object state) +42


Version Information: Microsoft .NET Framework Version:1.1.4322.2032; ASP.NET Version:1.1.4322.2032

It's now happened a couple times in a minute.

Well at lest you guys can post. I can never log on. I've tried support and all I get is your account is active. I love the game and want to participate in the discussions but I have to create a new account every time I want to post something. I now have 4 accounts. Maybe I'm missing something simple. It’s funny because the form I filled out asked fro my nickname, which is “Kid”, and I keep showing up as SirKid, which comes from part of my e-mail address. So I'm confused. When I try logging on I use my nickname and password, I use my SirKid and password, I use my e-mail address and password but none of them work. So I create a new account and when it sends me the verification e-mail with a link I use the link to get to the forums. Maybe I can just keep that e-mail and always log on to the forum using it.

Well, speaking as a fanboy who thinks Galciv 2 is a fantastic game well worth anyones money, and who has nothing but good things to say about stardock as a company in general...I'd be hard pressed to disagree with the Original Poster.


There are good things about it, and bad things about it and the way the forums are organized in general, but there are enough bad things of significance to put it solidly into the "sucks" category.


Its important though, to be able to seperate what is an issue with the the forum software itself, simply the way the boards are laid out, and what is actually just a result of the high volume of traffic this site been doing since the release of GC2 which they were not designed to take.


The good news is though, the devs are aware that it "sucks" (or in devspeak, "has some issues"), so Im sure its on the rather long list of things SD wants to address.

What things don't you like about it? Since it was written internally, I can pass on your suggestions to others.

Hey frogboy:

a) visual structure of the forum (right now the forum seems to have subforums but nobody knows if it is so or not)
- there is a reason why phpBB, burning board etc all have the same basic visual structure for a bbs

b) search function that works

c) watch function that works

d) less graphic (make it php based

What things don't you like about it? Since it was written internally, I can pass on your suggestions to others.

Well, like I said, I think Gc2 and Stardock are great...but you asked. Ill just note here that some of these things could be a browser issue, I suppose. But i dont like having to worry about that

What I dont like:

1) Forums slow and sluggish.


This may very well be just an issue with the amount of traffic you guys have gotten since retail release that youre not set up to handle, and it has gotten better in the last few weeks. But generally speaking, it still feels like pulling teeth to get where I want to go, or submit or edit a post.


2) "Topic Stew" .


*All the topics get dumped together onto the front page, regardless of what section you tried to place them in. I say "try" because Ive not yet managed to get a topic to show up in the section I thought I had placed it in. It just goes right into the "stew".

*This becomes especially distressing with the fact that all technical related issues from new users get dumped into the "stew" along with everything else, and highlighted of to the left in the "recent posts" marquis box. We all know any new game is going to have its share of technical issues to be worked out, and we know those people are going to be vocal (the hundreds of peoplethat are issue-free for every one with a problem are contentedly playing the game away). The lack of a dedicated technical forum (and I mean one that works as a dedicated technical forum...none of the sub topics really function as an effective "seperate" forum) results in all the tech issues flooding the front page.

This both discourages players from posting edifying game topic chatter (as they know it will just be quickly buried under a tide of posts from people with tech issues---most of which can be easily solved with a small dose of tech-education) ...and it gives a pretty poor first impression of the forums and game in general. Someone visting the site is just smacked in the face with all these technical complaints (not realizing most are easily solved issues involving out of date drivers, or out of date game versions)



3) Website Stew



I realize cross-polinating forum posts from all the various message boards SD maintains on different sites lets SD monitor their entire forum system on all those sites with a very small number of people.

I dont like it though. You asked what i didnt like. What are you gonna do? I think message boards should be a focused affair to grow a dedicated community.


4) No preview function



5) Poor Edit functionality.



As near as I can tell, you are able to edit a post until someone posts one after yours in the thread, then you get one of a couple different error screens that Ive seen. This could give you an hour or a second to edit your post...some consistency in that area would be nice.

When you do edit a post, the formatting is a little "busy". Everything gets smooged together with syntax designating line breaks and stuff. Im spoiled for the cleaner looking vB and phb software I suppose.




Those are just a few off the top of my head. The metaverse section had a whole bunch of issues too, but I gave up on that a while back, so i cant give any up to date feedback on that.


I will tell you that I DO like having the reply box to a post being right there at the bottom of the thread for quick reply. I think generally I would just prefer a much more deliberate, considered, and segregated topic structure system, and for the boards to simply perform better from a speed standpoint all around.


Thanks for listening, and thanks for the great game!

What things don't you like about it? Since it was written internally, I can pass on your suggestions to others.

Other than the often sloooooow response times which you're probably aware of, I second the comments about the visual structure. Additionally, the watch list (although it works for me) should be more precise about when the last posting was made (it only shows the day) and preferably who posted last as well (same for the forum topics in general).
The vBulletin software used by a couple of forums (e.g. by Paradox Interactive) is a good example for a visually pleasing and comfortable forum - although only a part of the functions are really needed.

I'd like to highly suggest reviewing its Mozilla Firefox support, Frogboy.
I don't even see the reply box anymore in Firefox, to type up this reply I had to open the page up in IE.
What's funny is I don't remember doing this when I first got GC2, but it's something that's happened lately (no changes or updates on my part related to Firefox either).

Really the only irksome point I've come across of late.

LOL I would just like to be able to log on without going to my e-mail account and pasting in the verification link. By the way, the wife went to bed a little early last night so I though I would get a few turns in. Next thing I knew my daguther was asking me why I was up so late. It was 2AM.

just wanted to reply for precising that I have no problem whatsoever with firefox and this forum
I'm currently using firefox 1.5.0.1 with cookies all deleted upon closing firefox

there's a login form just at the beginning of each forum page next to the title (galactic civ II dread lords)

other than that, most of these I already said in 'The forum (problems)' in the off topic section

I agree with most here, a phpbb / vbulletin based forum is what you should take as an example to what users want if I'm not mistaken (nothing prevents you from doing it in aspx if you prefer though...)

Well, I feel guilty for saying this since I have no doubt your folks spent a fair bit of time working on this forum setup, but I have to agree that while I have no real complaints about the game, the forum is kind of awful to use. It's a bit less that it doesn't work right (although that's an issue) but more what functionality it doesn't have that would be nice.

1. I'm going to echo the thought that proper sub-forums would help a *lot*. I think every post ought to be in its own sub-forum, and the forum index should be restructured so you can easily see which forums have new posts. That way, as Bingjack said, people who, for instance, have bugs can more easily see what bug reports have already been posted, and those of us who just want to talk about the game or modding or what have you can skip the bug reports, etc. Would be easier for your QA people too, I would think.

At the very least, change the filters so they behave like sub-forums - i.e. every post *needs* to have a (functional) filter, the index page shows all filters and whether they have new posts or not, etc. But honestly, while filters are great when you need "flexible" sorting (auto-sorting, auto-filters, quickly adding or deleting filters, putting a message in more than one filter, etc.) I think that something like a forum just needs the simplicity of fully separate categories.

2. I'll also echo having full search available... titles *and* message bodies.

3. Also agree with needing a preview function and an edit function that doesn't require HTML tags.

4. Having page numbers for each topic available from the topic indexes and some kind of "last post" and/or "last unread post" option would be helpful for navigating straight to what you haven't read yet.

5. It would be nice to be able to see all the posts that a given forumite has made. Would also be useful to be able to private message and/or e-mail other forumites as well.

6. I'd be willing to bet that the speed issues would be helped immensely if the underlying code of the post pages was streamlined. According to Opera's info page, this particular page is 200+ KB in size! And the source shows lots of nested tables, embedded javascript, font tags, spacer GIFs, presentational attributes, etc. A sizeable chunk of that could probably be streamlined and/or pulled into external scripts and CSS.

And that's not even counting the 300+ KB (!) of inline files (images, CSS, and scripts) that Opera reports the page already linking to. There's a LOT of streamlining that could be done that would likely help immensely with performance.

There's also issues that are related to needing someone whose job it is just to maintain the forums. There's a lot of duplicate threads that ought to be pruned and/or merged, changing to sub-forums would mean needing to make sure posts go in the proper places, poorly-titled threads to be renamed to something a bit more useful, sticky threads that need to be pruned, merged, updated, etc.

Honestly, I'm going to echo the suggestions some people have made just to use one of the free or low-cost forum software setups out there. They're moddable, fully customizable, fully-featured, easy to use, and I've seen websites that integrate the forum software into their websites in a blog-like manner similar to what you have now.

Again, I do appreciate the work you folks must have put into this, but sometimes it's kind of silly to reinvent the wheel when there's perfectly good wheels already out there. Let the folks who make forum software full-time do their thing for you so you can concentrate on writing the types of programs that you write full-time.

Peace & Luv, Liz

Although I hate to say so, the only advantage these forums have over pretty much any other forum software I use is the medals at the bottom of people's posts and the integration with the metaverse accounts. If you can mod a preexisting forum package to add those two things (and whatever graphical theme you want, of course) you'll be miles ahead of where you are now (assuming the software scales to this type of load).

List of issues I've personally gotten annoyed with:

The page you get sent to when clicking on "forums" is pretty much pointless if you're heading to general. Its just a list of the stickies and you have to click "more" to actually see any recent posts.

Preview button.

Editing issues.

The fact that even with the option of sub forums, in practice there is really only one general forum, because the sub forums either don't work or are set up in such a way that no one realizes they exist and how to use them.

What things don't you like about it? Since it was written internally, I can pass on your suggestions to others.

I can't imagine why anyone would design their own forum software when there are several excellent, free packages out there that work well and people can use.

Here are my issues:

1. Fix the quote function.

2. Allow email notification on "watched" topics.

3. A better organization scheme. I have a very difficult time finding my posts.

As great as GalCiv and Stardock are, the poor forum software seems VERY out of character.

Thanks for listening to our feedback! And thanks again for the best game I have played in many years!

I would just for ONCE like my posts to go where I wish so I can get answers to problems in game.  I've posted in the help section for help with the forum but my posts get deleted and all emails to stardocks about my problems with the forums go unanswered.

1. Fix the quote function.

There is nothing wrong with the quote function.  Highlight the text you want to quote, hit quote, voila, quote added to post.

My main desire for the forums is a much more useful search functionality. The forums are a great tool, but it's extremely painful to dig up an old thread for reference unless you can remember the title.

Ideally:
- By default it should search the body and author fields as well as title (ie: search *every* field).
- Non-default search options could be made available by having an "advanced search" button that takes you to a search page with assorted options. Here's a good forum search page example: Link and another:
Link
- An author-only search option would be nice, to be able to find all my posts (not just those threads I started) or, say, Frogboys.
- Similarly, it'd be nice if the "My Posts" button showed *all* my posts, not just those I've started.
- And it'd also be great if I could click on another user's profile and from there be able to get a list of all his/her posts.
- If you think these author searches will take up too much forum server horsepower, you can help that by adding options to search only the "last 5 days", "last 30 days", etc.