GJK Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Hi all, Yes, the news is bad, the plug has been pulled already. Appologies to Manx who I jumped on just yesterday about mod sites. His reply was that "it got too popular". Well, same here already. Over 10 gigs of bandwidth per day from all over the world. My client/buddy who's the host said there's just no way to keep it up without him having to charge me a pretty hefty rate to keep it. I have most of the mods that were on the site locally on my home system. I can try to email a few requests for some of the smaller mods but I obviously will not be able to fulfill everyone's requests. I'll make a more formal post on the forum next. Sorry guys, is was good while it lasted (so briefly). Damn, lots of programming had gone into that site already to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Wacky Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 You had a lot of mods there. Maybe if you took some down it would help out. The site was looking promising as one of the few places that held a lot of CMBB mods. [ October 18, 2002, 11:28 PM: Message edited by: Captain Wacky ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 I fear the only solution may be to rely on CMHQ once the lads get time to have it up and running. It's a tough break, Gary, it had a lot of promise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameroon Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 What if the site didn't do mods, but did continue the "proving ground" stuff for scenarios? Those are small, so maybe they'd not tax the bandwidth so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Honestly, there is but one way to do this. I have been around long enough to see some of the finest, largest mod-sites crumble under the pressure of bandwidth, and what follows is my analysis of how we can keep the mods alive. The great web-master Kump has the perfect site. On it you can find EVERY unit, and he plans to have a screenshot of all mods for each unit, as they come out, along with a link to where they can be located. So what we need is a large (and I mean LARGE) group of sites with but a few mods posted. Sort of a grass-roots direction. If we could get 10-20 good, small devoted sites, each with a couple of mods, it would greatly alleviate the bandwidth strain. One poster recently mentioned updating the CM web-ring. That and Kump's site ought to be able to direct the masses to the myriad small sites. What do you think? [ October 19, 2002, 12:15 AM: Message edited by: Panzer Leader ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Originally posted by Panzer Leader: One poster recently mentioned updating the CM web-ring. You go from calling him a fat, bald megalomaniac, to simply "one poster"? Turn chicken on me, J-J, or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJK Posted October 19, 2002 Author Share Posted October 19, 2002 Yet another solution is to use newsgroups. There is already an alt.games.combat-mission, yet I never see any mods posted there, only bashing of some guy that downloaded the game from the newsgroups most likely. Yes, the mods won't always be there, but a simple request and I could upload a mod to the newsgroup in minutes. Retention on the newsgroups varies by news provider, but it's usually 4 days or so. If you miss a mod, you simply put in a nice request for somebody to post it. Larger mods would need broken down into segments using something like winrar (there is a Mac equivelent). I use easynews (www.easynews.com) for my newsgroup provider, but most ISP's provide an NNTP server already. It's $10/month for easynews. I would be more than willing to post mod's there for anybody that has requests (provided I still have the mod of course). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Personally I can't stand newsgroups - never use them. Oh, and MD, that wasn't Madmatt, dude. It was someone else. Check yer history, mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Originally posted by Panzer Leader: Personally I can't stand newsgroups - never use them. Oh, and MD, that wasn't Madmatt, dude. It was someone else. Check yer history, mate.It was Harv from SK - BUT - then Madmatt posted about it, saying that if we wouldn't listen to Harv, by God, we would listen to him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Didn't catch that part. Did he happen to mention anything about a dedicated mod forum? And another thing, does no one like my "grass-roots" idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanachai Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: It was Harv from SK - BUT - then Madmatt posted about it, saying that if we wouldn't listen to Harv, by God, we would listen to him!Panzer Leader was bad-mouthing Harv? What thread was this? Panzer Leader, you're not allowed to be an arrogant swine without massive backing. It's the whole 'yarbles' thing. You're going to need to fill out some forms, lad. [ October 19, 2002, 01:04 AM: Message edited by: Seanachai ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameroon Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Originally posted by Panzer Leader: Didn't catch that part. Did he happen to mention anything about a dedicated mod forum? And another thing, does no one like my "grass-roots" idea?I definitely like the idea of a distributed hosting, but central listing. I happened to mention something similar somewhere, when someone was asking about creating another mod site (maybe it was Gary's original thread, not sure). It's just impractical for all the mods to be hosted at one place. But one mod here and there on a site, but all those sites listed centrally would hopefully not be too much of a strain. And if a mod was particularly popular, a mirror for that particular mod could be done. I think if we had an enterprising DB and web front end developer who wanted to do the main site creation with the ability for mod hosters to list the mods they are hosting (whether it be via direct d/l link or more likely via a link to the page where one can find the mod(s)), we'd have a good start. Then allow the mod-seeker to search and organize that list and we'd get some sweet mod action Even baring the flashiness of the second part, the first would be fairly straightforward, but require promotion so mod-hosters would post their list of mods. Anyway, here's hoping some good solution can be found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJK Posted October 19, 2002 Author Share Posted October 19, 2002 Well, for those that do like using the newsgroups, I'm posting my collection of mods that were on the Proving Grounds to alt.games.combat-mission now. Some of the mods are on another computer that I can't get to until Monday, but a good number of them are being posted now. I suggest a descent newsgroup reader such as Free Agent (www.forteinc.com) and not Outlook Express. P.S. I don't advocate going to newsgroups that cater to pirated material or pornographic material, so don't go there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarquelne Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 If you want distributed hosting there's always Kazaa or another peer-to-peer network. The software I use (Kazaa-lite: spyware-free) is good about resuming downloads, so lage files/slow-ish connections shouldn't be a problem. A website could list the files turned loose on the network. Grogs aren't normally the sort I'd expect to find haning around Kazaa-land... ('cause they'd demand that all the mp3s be faultless VBR 128-320 files, and argue about the quality settings and the codecs used) but after the that "Night of the Refresh Monkies" stuff I guess the bandwidth and demand can be quite high. I have a computer that's on all the time, lots of hard drive space (this is something for those *&^%^ing IBM "Deathstar" drives to do) and a cable-modem connection, in a week or few I, at least, could host a Kazaa-based mod. "site." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 The problem with the newsgroups/kazaa type things is that it does not have the community feel that this game engenders. That and you have to have second-hand software to get it to work (somewhat) That, and also, what about all the beautiful screenshots??? A nice group of web-sites, each with its own thems, sceanrios, mods, etc. would be very community-oriented, and would leave me feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarquelne Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Originally posted by Panzer Leader: [QB]The problem with the newsgroups/kazaa type things is that it does not have the community feel that this game engenders. Such things would be in addition to websites - the newsgroups/kazaa just supply the bandwidth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJK Posted October 19, 2002 Author Share Posted October 19, 2002 Originally posted by Tarqulene: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Panzer Leader: [QB]The problem with the newsgroups/kazaa type things is that it does not have the community feel that this game engenders. Such things would be in addition to websites - the newsgroups/kazaa just supply the bandwidth.</font> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Yeah great news site. The links work. Hey do you think that chick who wants a date is hot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kump Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 The great web-master Kump has the perfect site. Panzer Leader, sucking up ain't going to get you anywhere. The only thing great around here is the gas I pass once in awhile to ensure I remain undisturbed in my computer room. The small site distribution sends shivers down my spine. Keeping up valid web links can be a chore. I'd rather have fewer permanent sites around. So many new sites come and go... 1) Great sites that get a lot of attention and the new owner learns the truth of popularity, high bandwidth. For those who can't afford it, bye-bye. Another great site sinks. 2) Other new site owners are on fire initially as they get excited about doing something different and new, then find out how much time it can suck away, and lose interest. Site stagnates. Means I get to update a lot of broken links, or have to remove a lot of entries due to the MOD not being available. I'll keep the Proving Grounds link around and answer questions of folks who query me why the link is invalid. When things get more permanent for those MODs, I'll update the links. But hey, the more the merrier. Hopefully the Catalogue can help make things a little saner. By the way, the person who was asking all MOD authors to contact him was Antaress who runs the Patrick's CMBB Page . And the good news is he is still active, with a new MOD just added of the IS-2. Wish he would put a date somewhere with the text, so I can check for new stuff more easily. Good site. May it remain up for some time to come (knock cyber-wood). kump Edited to say that I typed more than energy, so how can I have slipped in? I started first [ October 19, 2002, 03:05 AM: Message edited by: kump ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
energy76 Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Great idea Panzer Leader, I say go ahead and get it going; you don't need the permission of the bums around here! This means you (1st need to make sure Kump will go along with it, and (2 you need to create some method for folks who have got space to sign up. Also, a thread here to get the word out and maybe a web page somewhere explaining it. energy Edited to say that Kump slipped in his post while I was typing mine... [ October 19, 2002, 02:44 AM: Message edited by: energy76 ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manx Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Gary, I'm very sorry to hear this. The issue of CM sites hosting big files (i.e - mods) for a game which is already very popular (and it's getting more so) is a major problem when it comes to keeping under agreed bandwidth quotas with service providers. Short of setting up your own server, and all the costs that go with that, this will always be a problem for people wishing to offer mods on their sites. Yes it is messy, but as suggested, maybe more sites offering smaller "rations" is the way to go? Anyway Gary, thanks for trying to do something for us all, it's appreciated, and i hope you can continue to be of service to the community in other ways -- you still have all the scenario related stuff that you were planning to do on your site, so perhaps you could concentrate on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJK Posted October 19, 2002 Author Share Posted October 19, 2002 Thanks Manx for the words. Smaller mod sites might work, I still see an issue of bandwidth though. If the mod is 2 mb in size but it's getting downloaded a 1000 times a day X 5 mods, it's still going to chew up some bandwidth. I think the newsgroups/Kazaa thing might be an option for those that wish to get their mods out but can't find someone to host them. I've got a good load full up on the newsgroup now. I'm going to talk with my host tomorrow and see if the scenario/opponent finder thing would be too much still to host (my hosting is free, so I don't have much leverage there). We'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hensworth Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: I fear the only solution may be to rely on CMHQ once the lads get time to have it up and running. Yes, and for Gordon to release CMMOS for CMBB. My CMBO is modded to the hilt but I am yet to download a single mod for CMBB. I've been so spoilt by Gordon's marvel that I can't be bothered with individual mods anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hertston Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 What a shame. The Proving Grounds looked very promising, not least because it seems to be the only mod site that gets regular updates. To be honest, I think that was the the cause of your troubles - nothing was happening at Tom's and (especially) combatmission.com (Combat Mission HQ). Many thanks for your efforts... hopefully someone will come along who already has the setup in place who could host it ? [ October 19, 2002, 05:10 AM: Message edited by: Hertston ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal DI FOLCO Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 We really have a problem here ... Why is CMHQ dead ?? At least Matt should appoint a guy that would upload the mods so CMHQ could continue to serve as a ftp mod repository, with other sites doing the marketing (pics, text...). If we don't have that we'd either have to form a "collective" of sort with a group of people offering webspace/bandwidth, or go to PtP Kazaa-like system - but this would be a mess IMHO, 'cause we'd lose the "community" aspect... Madmatt/BFC, can you help ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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