March Changes Part 2 - New Download view and more!

[Delphy]

Hi All,

We all know that MTS2 is one of the largest Sims 2 sites in the world, and the vast majority of you come here just to download the great items from many wonderful creators here.

Today I'm introducing a "gallery" style download browser which greatly simplifies the browsing of downloads on the site, hopefully allowing people to more quickly scan the creations available.

This "gallery style" is now the default, but if you prefer the old style "list view" you can change back to it from your Edit Options screen (Creators might find this handier).

I've also sped up the download caching system by implementing some new backend code so hopefully it should be a little quicker.

In addition, the upload wizard has been modified in the following ways:

Packages now don't get saved to the database until either the item is posted in the final stage, or on approval if it's a moderated download
I have removed the Compatibility screen for Walls and Floors
Foods are no longer in moderation (this was an error in the setup - it shared a category with another area that was).
The custom content list no longer shows in the preview except in areas where it would show in the actual download page


You might also notice a new little banner at the top of download pages, for normal members and guests with a donate button in it. This wont be there forever, I'm just trialling that system, since it'll be used for when we need to do donation drives in the future. Go ahead and donate anyway if you like the site. :)

We hope you like the changes, there is more to come soon. :)

Regards
Delphy

[Nouk]

Sounds good, gonna check it out now :) Thanks :)

[Megahue 2]

Thanks so much!! It is very easy to see all the downloads!! Thank you for all you do for us Simmers!

[carlydunham]

i love the new download photo images it makes it alot easier to see the downloads!!!

[Kisatsu]

Looks lovely guys. The new gallery view is really nice!
Thanks for the hard work =)

[RealGanacampo]

I wanted to change the download view back to the old list view, but it doesn't work.

I click on save changes in the edit options screen but it never saves the changes.

edit: Now it does work.

I really prefer the old style, I find the new one confusing.

[Tronickus]

Sounds good!

[lamammaforever]

Yes, it's great. Thank you Delphy, I really appreciate the recent changes, very useful. A big kiss to you and the staff members, and have a great St Patrick Day!

[Three Lions]

Thanks, the new Download layout looks v nice!

[FluffyWonKenobe]

l love the new gallery style, when I opened up the downloads section this morning it was a very refreshing change!! Thanks for all you do for us!

[Octavius]

Looks great, i do prefer this view over the older one, thanks. :)

[cleaner]

was a nice surprise now when i saw the view the first time. :) i think it'll really be a lot easier and nicer to browse when you're not looking for something specific, but rather like to check around what there is. :)

[Sims&Slayer666]

Awesome Delphy! You've distracted me from guitar practice once again LOL

[Chiarina]

I love the new "gallery" style! Thank you!

[crocobaura]

Hi Delphy. The new gallery style looks good, but I find it a bit difficult to follow. Changed back to old style view. :) Many thanks to you and your staff for making this site the best sims2 site on the www!

[nerina]

Love the new style, I'm really appreciating threse changes :)

[AbstractSIMmer187]

Oh wow Delphy, you really are a star.

I love the new style and i really want to donate really soon but my mother says whether i must or musn't.

Thanks again DELPHY, keep it up :)

[simefreek05]

thanks, it will take a little time to get use to but i like it

[Ciane]

I too love the new look! Thank you!

[tambaileym]

always making things better, thank you so much!!

[mikkisweet71]

:help: How do you donate to a site if you have no credit card? That is the only thing that is keeping me from making a donation.

[Shan0689]

The new style looks good, but like RealGanacampo I find it a bit confusing... Maybe I have to get used to it, but I think I'll just change it back. Anyway, thank you for all your hard work, I really appreciate it!

[Hardy boyz]

Sounds good to me.
When I start to work this summer, I'm gonna donate some money - that's a promise!

//HB

[JasonUlloa]

Thanks for the changes Delphy!!

[syn28]

Seriously Delphy, one day we're going to have to chip in and give you a nice vacation at some really exotic location.

For all the code smashing you do, you deserve it. :up:

[igloolik]

Wow. i kinda like the new view and i kinda don't. Really I don't like it simply because it's not what I'm used to. I'll have to see, in the long run, if it's easier or harder for me to browse. Thank you for taking food out of Game Mods, it wasgetting on my nerves a bit. great job! :up: :)

[Berg]

I like the new gallery style, much better for browsing actually, though I never really thought the old style was annoying... Heh, seems like also perfection can use some improvement once in a while! :D

Now I'll ask hubby if we have some Paypal funds to spare!

[MusicalMaven]

WOOT! Delphy, you are a shining example of how to HELP the community! Your work to make this site even easier to use is, well, simply awe-inspiring. If only more TS2 sites would learn from your example.

[JLonier]

Thank you for getting rid of the compatibility for walls and floors! I like the new upload system and now I'll like it even more. Thanks again.

[8ecky]

Will take some getting used to but looking forward to seeing if it helps. Thanks for your hard work.

[Meister16]

I love the gallary look, it's easier to browse. =]

[hexameter]

Thank you for the hard work on the new features! The new "gallery" style looks well, but I'll return to the old "list view".
hexameter

[Komodo Jo]

Great...Thanks For Updating...

[decorgal21572]

I was taken aback by the change because I wasn't used to it. I like how we can scan stuff much more quickly. Thanks though for the option to change back to the old style too.

[Mimi52861]

Thank you Delphy for your hard work & efforts to improve the site, but I don't really care for the new gallery look. For me, half of the preview pics don't load or are extremely slow in loading. I was on this site off & on all night & I was even on it when you took it down to make the changes this morning, (it interupted my downloading-grrr) LOL!

As I was saying, I come here a lot & most of the time the pics load with no problem (other than a bit of lag in the beginning). But now, with the new gallery, it's even worse. If there's anything I can do on my end to make the pics show up, someone please let me know. I think I'm going to go back to the old view...seemed to work better for me.

And yes, thank you for giving us the option to use either view!

[betsy4arts]

Love the look of the gallery,great idea!! All of your hard work is always much appreciated!!!

[doglover246]

I like it! :)

[squall117]

Great work man!!!
I love the new style :)

[Y2kRobie]

Sounds good!!

[raynedanser]

I think I'm one of the few people that doesn't like the new download view. But when I change it back to list view, there are no thumb nails. Is it supposed to be this way? I really liked the list view better, but I also like the thumbnails.

Is there a way to change this too or is it one or the other?

[Delphy]

Both list view thumbnails and thumbnails on the gallery view work perfectly fine for me. :)

[RealHogsFan]

let me say that I just LOVE the new layout. So far that's all I've seen of the changes so far, i'm just visiting for the first time today. :p

[Ailias]

Im used to old style so gonna switch back now :) I dont like display changes may be too conservative.

[rudast]

I know we as humans are reluctant for change

I much enjoyed the older layout, found it easier to view and locate
I went into edit options and selected list view, however in the downloads I still get the new layout and not the list view

I know its something that I will have to get used to, however what made this site more attractive than others was the easier list layout

Thanks for all your work

[Delphy]

rudast, you sure you are still getting the gallery view and not the list view?

[corvidophile2]

Thanks for the changes Delphy!

The gallery view looks great but i 'm used to the old one ;-)

[mvanlaar2]

I like the old view better as well. We humans are strange in that we don't like change very much. But thanks for trying to make things better. As they say you can't please all the people all the time. :)

[IsolinaBlack]

Woahhh... Nice, but it may take some getting used to at first. xD
This is a very interesting idea, though.
I must ask -- in the new "click here to see all downloads" thing, I went to the "last" page... Is the free camera hack v 1.0 really the first thing ever uploaded to MTS2? xD (I am aware that it is a retarded question, but I've always wondered what the first upload here was. xP)
Anyways, uhm, yeah. Never mind.

Superb work on all this coding! So many changes recently. xD Great work.

[pfish]

Good job, Delphy for new download view. I prefer the old view. It is hard to get used to downloads view in a new way. :)

[mickey_inlimite]

Looks great! :D Good job! ;)

[happybuni7]

I for one think that the new download view format is awesome! Love it! Thank you.

[simefreek05]

i LOVE it now! thanks a bunch!

[CgMbSax22]

the downloads are now so easy to see now
the only problem is that it makes it very easy to click the pictures

in the next update, if you could make clicking the pictures go to the thread link instead of the jpeg, that would be amazing. other than that small thing, this website is amazing

[PhantasyGurl]

I love it, Delphy!

[Zhaana]

Aww what a surprising change ! It's great, it's quicker to load ! ^^

[MarianeSimms]

Delphy, dear, I´m not sure if I understood that:

"Packages now don't get saved to the database until either the item is posted in the final stage, or on approval if it's a moderated download"

It means that if you upload something you will have to upload it again if it is approved? It wasn´t very clear for me because of language skills!

[whiterider]

Mariane, for a while we've been creating a database of every package in the world ever... or something like that :P
Basically, when you fill in the boxes for included content in the upload form, whatever you put in the boxes is added to the database. So if you put "pink flowery beard" by Bob in the box, then the database will record that there is a pink flowery beard, made by Bob.
Previously this information was saved as soon as you went to the next page in the upload form, but that caused problems when people spelt a name wrong, or filled the creator box with ?s. So now, the information isn't added to the database until you actually submit the upload, to give you time to double-check, or until the upload is approved by a mod - to give the mods an opportunity to double-check too ;)

[Reece]

Nice going, Delphster. It kinda freaked me out a little when I saw it at first, but then I thought 'He's changed it again.'
Nice work. It's a whole lot better :up:
~Reece

[MarianeSimms]

Thank you for answering so "pronto" Whiterider. Then, that means I may upload only the pictures and write the description? I´m asking that because uploading things is a hard work for my connection. Ah, sorry if this is not the place for questions.

And, Whiterider, I swear I turn to check behind me! :O

[newgamer6]

the new format looks great, thanks for the effort you guys put forth to make this a wonderful site

[Starspeed]

At first, I was apprehensive about this, since I have not been fond of other sites' gallery views. After giving it a try, I find that I truly like the way it is presented here. Congratulations on a job well done, Delphy!

[marshmallowygoodness]

The changes look good, but why are both my chat and request buttons gone? Could you please send me a message with an explanation if you know? I'm really confused.

[Delphy]

Requests got removed becuase it was removed from the Navbar a long time ago and only one forum existed.

Chat got removed becuase I wanted it removed.

[Ostrander68]

I appreciate the work you do, but I just don't care for the "Gallery" style look.. It will take a while to get used too..

[TheDuecedFaerie]

The new download view looks fantastic - so sleek! :D

[nychic_emt]

Personally, I like the new layout and the option for those who don't care for it. And yes, you need a vacation for all the hard work you do here continuously looking for better ways for us. I have donated in the past, and I am sure I will donate again here and there in the future.. the little 'clip' at the top of the page caught me off guard when I signed in.. and I thought to myself.. "self.. have you not donated in a while?" lol.. anyway.. I did bump my speed up with my dsl server to 3.0 (6.0 not available to me, or I would have gotten that.) With your backend crunching it should move quite nicely. In watching the page load time, I can't say it's any faster yet, as it is Sunday.. but I am sure there are a lot of folks on today... I will check it out later this week or late at night to see if it's made some difference, as speed really excites me, (sometimes too impatient to sit and wait) But, a HUGE thanks for all you do!! I just noticed though that the smilies are not working.. (at least at the moment.. tried it 3x, and a no go) FYI
thanks again!

[General Oohoh]

I like the new gallary display on the downloads page. Thank you for the great changes Delphy! :)

[amiburro]

as usual, you have done a great work, thanks!!

[$RaMRoM$]

Great Ill go check it now

thanks for hard work delphy :gjob: :up:

[Iceciro]

Delphy does so much awesome work for these forums, he needs a cape and a mask. Super Delphy, man. Totally our hero.

[beyazsiyah]

tamam ama nasıl indiriliyor? (okey but how is to load?) :deal:

[Calalily]

I like the fact that you update and that I have the option to backdate - thanks - but I noticed a potential problem, and didn't know where to put this.

I always click the thanks button, but just noticed today that where before I click the thanks button it says for example "5 people have thanked this". Yet when I click, it says "1 person has thanked this". I would like for my thanks to get through, and if it's just a glitch that only I see, that's okay :)

[Delphy]

Calalilly, it's just a visual glitch depending on different thanks amounts - so long as it says "Thank you for Thanking this download" that means your thanks get registered.

[mollipopster]

Love the changes. Especially the gallery view. Thanks, Delphy! :up:

As a matter of fact, cheers to all of you at MTS2 who work so hard to enable my addiction.

:Pint:

[skiingiggy]

thanks for all of the hard work that you put into the site. The new download view looks great and it is great for all of the downloaders, but i prefer the old view. Nice job though!

[babysister32]

Wow This is Great so much faster :!:

[dilitru]

That's a helping! You're a genius Delphy!

[Rafałek]

Sounds good! :report:

[melody77911]

I can't download anything today.
What's going on?

[holymacarony]

I think the new download view make it very difficult to navigate, but I gues I'll get used to it. :)
Otherwise I think these new changes are awesome.

[Bobcatben]

my only problem with the gallery view(its awesome except for this) is that it does not show the latest post info, so i cant go in my profile and see if anyone has commented on my downloads unless i swap to the old view.

[royalruler]

yea i like the gallery style... easier to see downloads w/o scrolling too much

[sorolivin23]

love the gallery style, but where is the request page? :((

[chyrm]

I can't seem to find anything on windows vista and the downloads here ...I recently upgraded and would like to replace all the beautiful things I used to have ...can I use the things I used with winxp or does anyone know.....thank you

[tiggerypum]

Bobcatben -

That is why there is the option to still view things the other way, knowing that some creators will want that feature. Personally, I suggest just flipping it back to the old way and leaving it that way - it's not like it didn't work or you hated it right? ;)

holymacarony -

If you don't like it, switch it back. Go to EDIT OPTIONS (in your profile area) and select: [ ] Use old style "list view" for download browsing.

sorolivin23 -

there is no request area except for self-sims. You can currently find that area by using the site map

chyrm -

The game and data files are the same. You can click on filenames and download just as usual. I do not know if you need different software to decode zip or rar files on vista, but that should be easy enough for you to find out from say, download.com or some other major download site.

[PegasusDiana]

Delphy I looked for a contact us, found it clicked on it and it brought me to the main page. This has nothing to do with this post. I want to know if instead of doing the monthly donation, I hate having it come out once a month if I can do a monthly and just pay it all at once? Or is it better if I just do the one time and make it so it's like a monthly? That way I know it's taken care of and I am done. Make sense? I hope so I know what I mean in my head. lol

[Starspeed]

Delphy I looked for a contact us, found it clicked on it and it brought me to the main page. This has nothing to do with this post. I want to know if instead of doing the monthly donation, I hate having it come out once a month if I can do a monthly and just pay it all at once? Or is it better if I just do the one time and make it so it's like a monthly? That way I know it's taken care of and I am done. Make sense? I hope so I know what I mean in my head. lol

For example, instead of paying 12 months one at a time, you want to pay all 12 months up front. Is that the idea?

[PegasusDiana]

For example, instead of paying 12 months one at a time, you want to pay all 12 months up front. Is that the idea?

Yes. That way I am still a regular subscriber or supporter. Not just a donator.

[Calamity252]

This site is one of the best on the net and thankyou ! I really appreciate you all !

Love calamity xxx

You should implement other ways of getting donations like say a P.O box or an address for cheques or cash via mail :)

[countmein]

You are one clever person- I'm in awe!

[LilyOSunshine]

Truthly I prefer the original viewing but the new updates are nice

i have a question

The custom content list no longer shows in the preview except in areas where it would show in the actual download page

what does this mean?

[pfish]

Truthly I prefer the original viewing but the new updates are nice


You can click on old view downloads for original viewing in your edit options in your profile. :)

[Komodo Jo]

I Really Like The New Download View....

[The predatory rabbit]

Thanks so much!!

[furvus_equae]

That's sooo awesome! Now I can see pictures all at once. :D Keep up the /amazing/ work!!

... LLAMA!! :llama:

[Mystique_Toreador]

Very nice I like it

[ravenlep]

I really like the new layout, very user friendly

[ciuty]

hy ALL:D

[TwilightRegalia]

Thanks for all the changes Delphy!
Just one little and quite strange thing. For some reason it says that I have 65534 unread messages when I don't. Please could you, or someone else, fix it for me? Thanks!
Once again thanks for the updates!

[texasboy437]

Thanks a Million, truly, as I have been a regular member and truely appreciate everything MTS2 does from the downloads to Game Help!

[DaleyG212]

i love how thorough you guys are. you're always improving and organizing things and it's really impressive to not just let things get chaotic and stay that way, but to tidy up and find ways to keep the site from having poor-quality downloads.

you guys are awesome.

[Ailias]

I can see there are some older featured creations appear from time 2 time above - that is because of what? No new worthy? ;)

BTW I have 209 downloads but the counter on the left shows some other numbers all the day. It should be constant I guess ;)

[AlisaLis]

:lovestruc Very-very thanks for NessyOriginal!!! I love FF7, and NessyOriginal create it!
:( I'm sorry, I'm from Russia and know English language very bed:(