Suggestion about organising custom levels

[Liz Mayhew]

I know nothing about how websites and forums are run, but here's an idea about organising custom levels.

As each level is posted, it simply has it's own custom level number (0001 -9999). Each level stays in its own place on the board. This makes it easy to find and easy to see when it was made.

Don't know if this is possible at all - just an idea.

[janetgalle]

OK, here's how I do it. (If you want to know, read on...if you could not care less, stop here! )
I have used MWW (Mettes Wonderful Website) to sort all the levels by user.
I have added one new folder that is named AAAnew, so that it stays at the top of the list in the CustomLevels folder. I download all new levels to AAAnew. It makes it much quicker to download to just that one folder than to search for the level makers name every time I download a new level.
That way I can just open that first folder on the list, and I don't have to remember who made what when I want to play it.
On the day that Mette updates her website, I download all the nicely sorted levels (and away they all go to their own little folders) and then empty out the AAAnew folder.
When I want to play a new level I can open the AAAnew folder and I only have to scroll through how ever many levels have been posted since the last update.
I also have NO folder for the levels that I am currently working on, they go to the bottom of the list, and since they are not in a folder I can access them with the editor.

Mette: My only request would be that you update on the last day of the month instead of in the middle. Then people could sort by month if they wanted to. (oh, I do have another request: please don't stop doing what you're doing or I'll be back in level mess *ell!)

jg

I usually post my levels as soon as I finish them, my series "NightBefore"could have been zipped all together, but with the models I think it would have been too big. Liz's "Coinquest" (I believe she's up to 20 on that one, with many models in there, too) and Kikis "Boulder" series have been spread out over weeks. You could add a new forum area for completed series. When the level maker is finally done with all the levels, she/he could then zip them and post the zip in the new area. Players could then download them (or not) to CustomLevels into a folder named "series" or whatever. But as long as Mette keeps us all updated, I think a new area would be rather redundant.

[mette]

Thanks for the kind words about my web site It's always nice to know you're making something useful

I'll look into updating at the end of the month, but I'm not making any promises. The 18th is for some weird (???) reason almost always a good day for me whereas the 30th/31st is almost always a bad day for me to do it. I don't know why really , but I'll look into it

Mette

[VirtLands]

I've noticed that soon after downloading fresh levels from the "Forum"
it's easy to forget which author (or UserName) created which levels.
Some filenames are nicely abstract and there is no clue in the file about who created it, unless you get back online and search for it again.
My idea is for each author to embed a sign somewhere in their level perhaps where it is not accessible to regular gameplay. In this sign they display data about who created it, etc. Those wishing to, can use a text viewer/editor to view the level file and search for that data, unless there is an easier way.
There seems to be a huge collection of over 3000 levels aleady, so
I'm addicted.

[uneekrose]

I usually download from Mette's site, it was to much to keep up with the level's everyone posted every day. Then I play by user, after I've gone thru what that user had to offer (some are just to much for this brain to figure out)...anyway I cut and paste their folder into another folder titled played. That way the custom levels loaded faster and I didn't have to weed thru everyone that I had already played (or not). By keeping the custom levels in the owners own folder it was easier to know who to ask questions to if I had any.

I did notice quite a few duplicate levels though. Some in other user folders, others just renamed. But I have a duplicate file finder and went thru the trouble of checking to make sure it was a true duplicate before deleting it.

Mette, I really appreciate you taking the time each month to gather all that together and place it in zip files, it makes it so much easier.

[Gen]

Monica, if you have Window XP, you can use the "move this file" command instead of cutting and pasting. I think it is easier.

[uneekrose]

I never thought of doing that, might give it a try, I could also put a shortcut to that folder in my send to list. Thanks for the idea.

[Qman]

Put the Levels in two Folders (Good & Rubbish)
That way you can find you best ones and play them and your worst ones!






PS; You cannot open levels that are in a folder within the "Coustom Levels" Folder in the Editor!!