The Next Generation - Updates

New website launched!

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:47:00 -0400

I'm happy to announce that the Metropolis Project now has it's own website! It's still a bit rough around the edges but it's got all the basic things I wanted to have in place: a forum, some good static information, and a mechanism to start collecting pledges and/or donations (albeit a bit of a crude one, for the moment). Head on over and check it out, the URL is:

http://themetropolisproject.org

Like I said, there's still a lot to do; I'll be looking forward to any criticisms or comments you guys might have! As for this blog, I'm not sure yet whether I'll keep it going with the occasional update or just let it deactivate (I believe Simtropolis blogs are deleted after 30 days with no activity). In either case, it will be Mostly Dormant, so check out the website, where, now that all this launch business is over, I can hopefully get back to writing some actual posts once in a while ;)

See you there!

Technical Difficulties

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:35:00 -0400

I've noticed recently that it's been impossible to view any blog entries beyond the teaser text... the site seems to be generating an error when you try to access an individual entry; Unfortunately, this seems to be true of all the blogs hosted on Simtropolis, and there's no word yet on when it's getting fixed; The good news, though, it that I'll have the project's own website launched in less than a week, so keep an eye out and sorry for the inconvenience!

Happy New Year!

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 04:22:00 -0400

Back from a winter holiday, and with good news! The website is finished, except for a few minor hiccups; It's currently being beta-tested and polished up. I will be delaying the *official* launch a bit, though, as I'll be AFK on a trip for most of next week; But if all goes according to plan, it should be open for business in less than two weeks time!

Hope everyone has a healthy and happy 2010!

Update: Getting to Work

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:53:00 -0400

Sorry if my posts have been a bit sporadic recently, working hard on getting a website up! After weighing up a couple options I decided to use Drupal to build the site (thanks to Intoxination for an earlier heads up on that). I think it should allow me to get a basic site up without too much hassle while still being a good foundation upon which to expand the functionality later, a la yesterday's post.

For the moment the priority is to get information out there and try to build interest in the project, so my first objectives are to have some good, comprehensive info and FAQ pages up, and hopefully have a system for tracking pledges in place from the start. After that I can think about prettying things up a bit.

Keep an eye out for further updates! Oh, and happy Veteran's Day! If you know any veterans, take some time to say thanks!

The Next Steps: Project Roadmap

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:13:00 -0400

Well, with a name and a general direction for the project, I think it's time I quit just running my mouth off and take some action!

First thing we'll be needing is a home... which means it's time to dust off my web design skills! I've already got a domain name, which I will be revealing in due time (when it's more than just a 'coming soon' page.) When I say "dust off" I do mean that I haven't built a site in a good long while, so if anyone out there with professional experience would like to pitch in I'd be happy to have some help! For the moment there won't be anything too complicated, just some information pages, a blog, and maybe a forum. Once that's all squared away, I'll be working on the database functionality needed to start accepting pledges and tracking member information. Beyond that, I plan to develop a more extensive system for organizing community input into the project itself (more on that later).

There's definitely more things I want to elucidate about the project's structure before everything kicks off, but there will doubtless be plenty of time for that while getting the site built. So, keep an eye on the blog, hopefully I'll have something up and running soon!