Community News #1

[Scaredgirl]

Community News #1


This is the first issue of a monthly Elements community newsletter. Idea is to keep everyone informed about what's happening with different parts of our community, and what will happen in the near future.


Elements Forums
After months of hard volunteer work by many different people, the forums are finally starting to look like they are "ready". Of course there are still a lot of things to improve but the navigation, different sections, layout, all of those are looking pretty good I think.

"Card Ideas" section is currently undergoing the biggest change. We introduced the "card idea leveling system" which really improves usability. Anyone with great new card ideas, please post them using the template provided. If you have posted great ideas in the past, dig up those threads and remake them using the new template.

We will also make some changes to the way how PvP events are organized and run. This is one area where there has been a lot of miscommunication and confusion, leading to cancellation of events. The goal is to have an PvP event calendar that shows upcoming events (and organizers) weeks before the actual event takes place. Zanz is also building a new reward system that would allow PvP organizers to give out rewards which would really help make the whole process smoother.

Elements is all about deckbuilding, but we don't currently have a staff member in charge of that. Plan is to appoint 2-3 x "Deckbuilding Helper Guys/Girls" to help new players with their deck building, and also organize the "Decks" section.

We also need to build two big sticky threads "Forum FAQ" and "Game FAQ" which will really help new players.

At some point during the summer I will install an updated version of our forum software. This update will fix some of the issues and small bugs that our forum software has, but majority of users probably won't even notice anything happened. More about that later.

Upcoming changes to Forums:
- tons of new card ideas listed in Crucible
- PvP section revamped
- new forum jobs: 2-3 x "Deckbuilding Helper Guy/Girl" (not the actual name)
- new better way of organizing deck ideas (probably something similar to what Card Ideas has)
- "Forum FAQ" and "Game FAQ" threads
- updated version of forum software


Elements Wiki
New Elements Wiki took a giant leap forward during these last couple of months as we got new Wiki Editors who really stepped up and did an awesome job.

We now have all the card images with good quality. A lot of decks have been posted but they are still pretty much disorganized. Once we get the deck image builder fully functional, we can start organizing the decks and also add a star rating system.

Check out the new Wiki in its current form here: http://elementswiki.co.cc/

Upcoming changes to Elements Wiki:
- Planplan's deck image creator (already installed but waiting for a bug fix)
- uniform template for deck ideas
- strategy tips for all the cards
- new tutorials
- star rating system for decks


Elements Chat
Elements Chat got a new "Quick Links" drop down menu that has all the most important links. If you want more links added, please let me know.

I fixed some of the bugs but there are still some left. I'm updating the chat software during this summer which will hopefully fix the rest of the bugs and also bring new cool features.

Upcoming changes to Elements Chat:
- updated version of chat software


Elements Radio
Elements Radio project is currently on hold. Once we "finish" Wiki project, Elements Radio will be bumped to a higher priority.

The biggest problem with this project has been getting DJ's to do original content. I've had maybe 6-7 people promising to deliver content that never came. That's of course understandable because producing radio shows is not as easy as it sounds. Hopefully we'll find someone who has the time and energy to help us out.

Meanwhile Elements Radio will continue to play songs 24/7. If you heard something you like, go here: http://www.jamendo.com/ and download that song/album for FREE.

Upcoming changes to Elements Radio:
- finding the #1 DJ for Elements Radio (the voice of Elements)
- Elements Radio website with all bands, DJ's, and links to radio stream
- live broadcasting of PvP events

Thanks for reading and post comments here if you have any.

[Wardead]

Will there be a newsletter every month?

[Olidot]

Will there be a newsletter every month?

Well, it is MONTHLY so yes.

[Wardead]

Oh I didn't notice that, and you just kept me updated SG. I was obsolete before.

[hrmmm]

a great "huuray!" for the news.

the new wiki looks neat handy and well-arranged. great job!

keep up the great work (specailly scaredgirl, who will never get bored)!

[bojengles77]

I can't wait for the revamped pvp section - great ideas i can't believe how quickly the community is growing and how involved everyone is

[stymie]

I like this newsletter. I don't keep up with the forum stuff like I should so this is very helpful. Thanks, and keep up the great work all.

[killfer8]

I like this Newsletter keeps me informated

[icybraker]

Elements is all about deckbuilding, but we don't currently have a staff member in charge of that. Plan is to appoint 2-3 x "Deckbuilding Helper Guys/Girls" to help new players with their deck building, and also organize the "Decks" section.

Approximately when will signups be available? I'm interested in joining.

Better names? Deckmaster. Deck Designer (whoo, alliterations!).

Great newsletter. Look forward to reading more.

[plastiqe]

I'm consistently amazed at the progress put forth by the effort of so many people, especially Scaredgirl.  You've crafted such an amazing online gaming community and I just wanna say, thank you.

[dekskose]

i would like to see the newsletter and what would been great to is a horoscope (wich i would liek to make)
one message for evry element for each month