Building a Community

[Buster's Uncle]

Oh that - you've been in 3rd place since late May, or something.  I may have mentioned it in BU's Obnoxious PC Thread...

[Buster's Uncle]

I've talked about this plenty of times before, but it bears repeating:  the release of Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth on October 24th is both a danger and an opportunity for our community, and if we pull together and step up doing what we already do best, we'll surf that wave high.

This community, like soylent green, is made of delicious, delicious people.  -People who have the power to make their online home work, and to shape it in their own image.  We need help in the run-up to the BE release with finding and posting news, with commenting and contributing however you can in the next two months +.  I already spend more time working here than I would on a mere full-time job, and I can't do it all, all by myself.

More than that, we need, as before but even moreso, more SMACX content.  Modding projects.  AARs.  MP games.  Fanfic.  Whatever I haven't thought of but you have.

Our best hope for the future is to not get too distracted by the shiny new thing, and, as happened a few years ago with Civ 5, have far too many people wander off bored when they find less shine than they thought.  Just as in the spring, when we saw a very large activity bump happen with the BE announcement - there should be many new BE-heads and old CIVilians coming around, and we'll do very well from a focus broadened, but not lost.

It's largely in YOUR hands.  In the next month would be a very propitious time to commence, or resume working on, and posting about that SMACX project of yours, commenting on the work of others, and in general, posting MOAR!  We're going to have a lot more like-minded nerdz at AC2 by the end of the year to talk to, and it's gonna be great!

We can do it.

[Buster's Uncle]

...Additionally, the same sort of thing goes for Recreation Commons and Other Games.  Again, a focus not lost, but broadened...

And a big one:  Facebook is undeniably a VERY useful and productive promotional tool.  Our AC2 Facebook page could be doing more to draw eyes our way, and the simplest thing you can do to help is go there and "Like" the page.  That spreads the URL around and makes it more visible to your contacts.

Thank you for your support.

[Buster's Uncle]

Yitzi has done it again.

http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=10782.0

Check it out.  Make bug reports.  Request modifications (that Yitzi will say are not at the top of his priority list presently  ).  Give the man feedback - it's the least we can do.

[Yitzi]

Request modifications (that Yitzi will say are not at the top of his priority list presently  ).

Although it should be noted that the biggest modification in this patch was the result of a request.

[SenniTreborius]

About increasing profile of AC2
As some may know I am struggling with recording the game.
My end goal is to setup recordings of MP games where each person recordings his own turn, commenting at the time or editing the video file to add comments after each turn.
Then each turn would me spliced together and the edited video posted after the game ended.
I think that that would make for an entertaining watch on you tube, especially as a finished playlist could be linked to here.
Or correct me if you think I'm wrong, mad, degenerate or whatever!

[Buster's Uncle]

No, I think that is an idea chock-full of super-excellence.  We could really use a YouTube presence w/ loads of link-backs.

         

As I say over and over, there are far more SMACers out there than have ever found the online community - one of our biggest missions is to get the word out for those people to find.

[SenniTreborius]

I had a thought at this time. In order for my idea to work I would need to use a free easy to use Video Screen Capture Software so all the player in the MP could use it. OBS might be to complicated for this. Some are listed here http://www.ghacks.net/overview-best-video-screen-capture-software/
I think that I will have a muckaround with some of these to see what is suitable.

[Flux]

Those of you who've been following my act for about the last year have heard all this before, but it's still true.

We've got a real opportunity here; this is the first forum I'm aware of BY SMACers For SMACers, without all the outside stuff getting in the way.  That's a thing worth nurturing, if you ask me.

We can build this place into something fun, entertaining, informative and worthwhile - more than it is already.  All it takes is all of us trying.  Go to that little extra effort to post, generate content - whether art, modifications, how-tos, scenarios, AARs or whatever - recruit others, and generally get involved.  If you're like most people reading this, you check by and read a little once in a while, wishing there was a more active SMAC(X) community to participate in.  Much of our reason to be here is to socialize and be entertained by one another.  Well, someone has to go first; I'm looking at YOU.

AC2 was a static skeleton at the beginning of February, but a handful of people quickly turned it into a real, live, forum.  Now it's time to step up our game.

One person can make a difference - I've demonstrated this repeatedly.  But it's never much of a show for long without someone to talk to.  Two people can make a big difference.  Everyone trying a little harder makes ALL the diference.

We need MPers, modders, hardcore players, scient fans/contributors, fan fiction writers, people with technical problems and people willing to troubleshoot.  We need fun, thoughtful people to joke with in Rec Commons and science-oriented people posting articles/commenting in the science forums.  (We need more Americans, 'cause it gets real slow on here in my evenings, between the Euros going to bed and the Aussies waking up.)  We need whatever interesting, appropriate-to-a-SMAC(X)-forum, thing I haven't thought of/mentioned, because putting our heads together is what it's all about.  It's all worthy and important, and we need all of it, and the people into each thing.  We need active people, and we need to bring in more of them.

We need YOU.

Just pitch in however you can; make that extra little effort, because we we're greater as a group than as individuals.  Try, please.  Make that comment.  Post that faction, story, art, ect.  Get in on that MP game.   Send those acquaintances a link to the forum.  Post to entertain me, and I'll do the same.  Let make a lot of friends here, and make the most active AC forum in the world 10 times busier.

We can do it.

Looking over this, we are doing a fairly good job. To set a goal for myself (and I hope the community) I want to try and be as active as possible until we get at least say... 15 posts per day? Maybe add 1 new thread in there too.
I almost want to make an active members list, just to see how many people actually post.
Lets see...
BUncle
JarlWolf
Ete
Yitzi
Sisko
...And thats about all the people I've seen post that I can think of. I feel like there's one more name I cant put my finger on.
Still, for a game from more than a decade ago, sister of something as ancient as Civ II, thats pretty good.
And you know what? It makes me feel like when I do that Reaganites or Red Unit faction, that I'm actually contributing rather than adding to the endlessly growing list of random crap on a forum.

[SenniTreborius]

No, I think that is an idea chock-full of super-excellence.  We could really use a YouTube presence w/ loads of link-backs.

         

As I say over and over, there are far more SMACers out there than have ever found the online community - one of our biggest missions is to get the word out for those people to find.

Woopee just recorded the first vid with OBS. Unfortunately changes to windows 7 basic, but its recorded. going to bed now.

[Geo]

...And thats about all the people I've seen post that I can think of. I feel like there's one more name I cant put my finger on.

 

[Valka]

...And thats about all the people I've seen post that I can think of. I feel like there's one more name I cant put my finger on.

 

*Ahem* There are some of us who aren't SMAC players but are still very much active posters here and who have links to this forum on our own sites and on other forums.

[Geo]

Yeah, you did miss out on quite a few more then a single name, BlueFlux.

[Buster's Uncle]

[Flux]

I expected that.
I've mostly been active in the modding thread, so anyone who posted there recently I've noticed, but not so much in the Council Room.