CNCNZ.com, It's Future and Me

[Sonic 295]

You may have noticed the major lack of updates on the main page over past 4-5 days and bearly any before that as well. I have to be honest. I'm not happy right now, in fact I haven't been happy for awhile now. I think I've done a good job of hiding it.

 

This past weekend I thought about the future of this site, what direction is it heading, how I want it to develop, can I find the motivation to finish all the projects I have hanging in air for this site, can I implement the ideas I have. So many questions.

 

I questioned my own role, questioned my own motivation, since about November 2004 I've often thought about handing a controls over to someone else with me stepping a side or taking a back seat. The problem is, and no offence to anyone on the current staff or reading this, I can't think of any one.

 

I have played with idea of closing up shop and simply not dealing with the problems, but then I realise it would leave a BIG void in my life, when you work something for so long its hard to let go.

So before you head off and slit your wrists at the thought of CNCNZ.com bowing out I can you tell its here to stay, but it does need a major kick in the ass if it is to survive.

 

We need a major staff overhaul, our current staff is how do I put with out hurting their feelings and egos....ummm.... not involved enough. I do realise we all have jobs, school, university etc. But things need to change here. I haven't spoken with many of the current staff in months, I find this most shocking. I will be e-mailing the staff in the next few days informing them of the planned changes.

 

I want to give someone I've known for a while now more control, more responsibility on the site, I will speak with this person privately first though.

 

New staff will be needed, but the question needs be asked. Why the hell do people apply, get a position on the site but fail to contribute?

Do you know how many article writers I have added then removed in the past year? I lost count :roll:

We had some news updaters doing great work for awhile there, now they have disappeared to.

 

Staff - you have been warned.

 

I guess I have changed my view of this community in the past few months and now its reflecting on my own site. Basically I feel like I'm going through the motions each day. When I'm not posting anything the main page I know no one else is so the site gets out dated, I hate that. If we have news updaters who actually post I can continue working behind the scenes on all my other little jobs.

 

I started to change my outlook when GeneralZ proposed the idea of us playing Renegade or something, I really think this would be a good idea, after replying in thread I knew I want to keep going, keep CNCNZ.com alive but things must change.

[FlaK 0]

I think all webmasters feel that way to a certain degree, I know I do. It's gotten to the stage now where posting community updates was more of a hassel than anything else, so I just stopped trying and focused on internal and major news only. I'm jealous that you can have such an active site, and I admire you for having the dedication to scroll through heaps of sites daily looking for updates. I too have made news posters have haven't done anything, I mean no posts at all, but it's so hard to find dedicated people that I'm hesistant to remove their statuses.

 

I think I'll be the first of many to say: Do not close CNCNZ.com.

 

However, if the 'thrill' of improving your site has gone away, and the task itself is just a repetitive thing you do when you have to, I suggest stepping down for a while and seeing how things go without you. The lack of enthusiasm and dedication will show on the site, and people will simply go elsewhere.

[Thierry 0]

CNCNZ is short on updates, yes, but it ain't dead.

Besides, where would the Tower Gaurd and World Rebellion go to.

CNCNZ is around for a lot more years then most C&C Websites, and its so big too.

But good staff is hard to find, I can tell :roll:

 

Maybe some of the regulars here could help?

[Saracen 16]

The community is wearing thin and so is the news. Mods are disappearing, EA won't bring out anything new to keep our taste for RA3 going, and to be honest, the community is drying up big time!

 

I can understand what you're feeling Sonic. No relection on my relationship or anything, but it's like a marriage gone sour, the excitement has gone... Basically what this site, and in fact the whole community is having is it's mid-life crisis.

 

I'll be honest when I say this, none of the new blood being injected into this community is interested in continuing the C&C legacy. All those who have been here and played C&C back in 1995 are in their 20's and 30's now, and do realise that there is more in life to do than spend spare time on the site.

 

Trouble is when you look around the new blood in this community, most of them aren't bothered to try and set up new sites, they don't care about keeping the legacy alive, just in being spoon-fed the info that they need, and maybe if they are interested in being creative, make a map or 2 and that's it.

 

Really we veterans have to get our heads together and focus on the problem. I think in some aspects we are too divided these days, as each site tries to hold it's own. Webmasters need to try and involve each other.

 

Back in the prime days of the community, we were having competitions. Community based tournaments, and generally a good laugh at everything. It was all thanks to Delphi and the community teams at Westwood. It helped us stay alive, fresh and enjoying everything that we did. EA, they don't give a crap what happens and it's resulted in killing off alot of sites.

 

I would post regularly, but there's just no material around. That there is, you have either covered, or are just too irrelevant to the C&C community. I am behind ya Sonic, I don't wanna see this site go down, but with Phreakly and Rogue Leader (2 of our biggest veterans) not showing themselves, it really doesn't help the backbone of this site...

 

But I do understand, and I'll do what I can to help, if I can find a bit of news about :roll:

[BWare 0]

Sonic, I completely understand what you are saying, but CNCNZ is a cornerstone of the CNC community, and closing it now, especially with the prospect of RA3 on the horizon, would be a colossal mistake. The franchise's future is uncertain, and the core community is needed now more than ever. We need you!

 

Let me personally apologize for my lack of contribution in the articles department... it is a typical excuse, but school and work HAVE been absolutely ridiculous. Much more than I had expected, actually. But I am now just getting into spring break, have much more free time, and WILL have an article for you by tomorrow or as early as tonight. I again apologize for my apathy... I made a commitment and I will to live up to it.

 

...but that's just the articles department. Is there anything else that we can do to help? Feel free to delegate. I think I can speak for most of the other members in saying that we are here for you, and will help in any way possible. You have a great pool of resources here Sonic, and you command a great deal of respect from them. Don't hesitate to use us! :wink:

 

I think GeneralZ's idea is absolutely a great way to overhaul CNCNZ, and give it that much-needed "kick in the ass." We should REGULARLY be involved in playing together online, form clans, etc. We should be an active force in online gaming! Guys with fast connections, you could set up servers at certain times every week, and we can have regular frag fests in Renegade or 8 player Zero Hour action. We could sticky schedules, server passwords, etc on the forums, maybe give a special section for our online gaming.

...I tell ya, the possibilities are great. Sonic, I understand your discouragement, but try to realize the potential good that we already have! We just need to implement!

 

Regardless, I thank you Sonic for acting as webmaster to this amazing website for so many years and bringing us both news, entertainment, and new perspectives in the CNC world. It is my hope that we can expect the same stellar performance this website has given for years to come.

 

The world just wouldn't be the same without CNCNZ!

[Mario 0]

what sort of staff do you need and what would they do?

[FlaK 0]

I think the answer to this problem is fairly obvious, C&C King... Webbies.

[chickendippers 1]

I must agree that making an improving a website is the most interesting part, and when it gets down to the day-to-day it can get pretty dull if you're just posting all the news.

Good newsies (the like of Unidentifiedname) are impossible to find now-a-days and the community is drying up, luckilly for me I've had CnCWorld to re-build from the ground up so I've been kept busy.

 

One sollution would be more and better use of CNC Community, but we always say more needs to be done but nother ever actually changes - introducing or changing CNCCom so that more sites use it would benifit the shrinking community no end.

 

Once RA3 is released the community will grow once more - we have seen a few new sites already.

[Tree 0]

Webmastering sometimes gets boring and repetitive, but I feel that destroying CNCNZ would leave a huge hole in the community. Just keep at it :evilgrin:

[Sonic 295]

Lets get one thing cleared up, I'm not closing CNCNZ.com, I'm sticking with it. I simply want to change things.

 

Infact I've already started. I've sent a message to who I want to be the new Co-Webmaster. This person will be given as much control as I have. More on that later.

Once I plan out what type of new staff I want search for things will change, the hard part will be finding this staff.

 

The way I feel is not the direct actions of how EA have handle the community either. Its something that has been building over time.

[Luk3us 63]

Changes huh... Cool stuff...

 

When are we going to see all the pretty new content?

[Saracen 16]

I doubt the site will change much. Sonic has tried just recently and it didn't work. If it's not broke, why need to fix it. The blue and yellow theme has worked perfectly for so many a year. But maybe a banner competition or a site design competition to the community. Mind you, those entrants that can make good sites, and appear quite dedicated could be excellent potential news posters.

 

Once I plan out what type of new staff I want search for things will change, the hard part will be finding this staff.

 

Maybe it's time to find a few veterans who are still active, but not working for any site at this present time. It would be a start, and obviously not the solution.

 

Article writers are just not an appealing position anymore. I say that because people have to spend a large amount of time typing, it's not gonna keep people doing it. Having staff that are openly free to post articles, and are made aware of this, is probably the best solution.

 

Maybe we could have a community news searcher who collects the news everyday and sends e-mails to other staff who can then post it. That way it cuts down the search time and trouble of wading through countless sites to get the job done.

 

Really all that needs to be done is one extra news poster, and a few new interesting jobs such as the one above. The focus really is really on map makers and those who can create content for the site.

 

Funkelchen, although not a member of staff does maps for CnC Den. He is a member of staff over at Planet Act of War though as a moderator. Maybe, since I'm in the forums over there I could do a little push for staff. This I believe is the way forward.

[apocolyp4 0]

It is very difficult for newbies to enter and be actively engaging in any community whether it be making maps, mods or setting up a website. There are many reason for this that Ill point out in this post and Ill give some sugguestions of how to overcome them.

 

As C&C King earlier said most of the us who enter and/or started the community way back in the mid 90`s are now entering their twenties or thirties and have grown up with less of them staying active in the community. Most of the newbies are at the age that most of us where when we started which is in their early to mid teens.

 

This is where the problem lies as with the age gap there is also a skills gap. For an example most 14 year olds dont know how to create a website using HTML never mind using Flash, PHP or ASP and they are put off from creating a fansite as they cant make a website using tripod that looks like the websites created by the "men" of the community and they are intimidated from making a site. Site like cncnz are very intimidating to beginer web designers, hell every time I make a website for a college project I still compare it against this one to see if it measures up.

One way to get around this is to set up a section of the site to help beginners to be able to create professional looking websites. This should be by not just giving them some webspace or give them a link to a few tutorials but have a section that has some examples and some templates and well as a posting section where beginners can ask question and also be shown by a member of staff how to create a websites and have the resources for them make it easier and quicker to set it up.

 

Its the same with making mods and maps. We older people take it for granted that the younger members can learn to make a map, edit ini files or create units by just looking up a few tutorials. An example is that even though I follow every instruction to the letter I am Still unable to add a new unit to Generals even though I can modify it to work in Renegade.

 

Also with mods and maps one main problem with them is that in the end they are all basicaly the same as most teams concentrate on changing the units or having a different landscape. Very few focus on trying to add something origional and unique to the gameplay. So why dont we set up a committee here that disscusses what new and origional features that can be added to a mod or map and post it on the web to give someone an idea for a mod or map to work on. Also for the website through this committee to help get them started with the mod or map if they need the help. An example or types or origionality in a mod/map when I was working with a few others from this site in creating a RA2 mod (which sadly fell apart) in which me and an old member called Kingofall were working on a map that he created which created which had the two players in two islands which after a set amount of time the game would transport the units from both sides onto an island in the middle of the screen where the would fightit out to see who wins.

 

I have to admit I was guilty of being uniterested with the community in the last couple of years mostly due to college work. This has change lately however due to a email that I recived a few weeks ago from someone who downloaded a mod from this siter TS and few years ago and had sent me a email telling how much he like the mod. After reading the letter and sending a thank you to him I decide to check to see how many people had downloaded and I was shock to see that over 2000 people had played something that I made. That has rekindled my interest in the community and the past few weeks Ive been creating a website for mod and map making for C&C games and some other projects that Im working on for college like a remake of a spectrum rpg that I used to play.

[FlaK 0]

Sonic, I'll help whenever I can. You just need to ask. :wink:

[Saracen 16]

I think staff won't be to hard to find.. in fact we wouldn't have to look far if all you guys are going to be commited to the long term future of the site

[Mario 0]

damn straight i'll help out the best i can

[Sonic 295]

I doubt the site will change much. Sonic has tried just recently and it didn't work. If it's not broke, why need to fix it. The blue and yellow theme has worked perfectly for so many a year.

I'm not planning on the change the layout or curren content. Just finding ways to inject something new into the site overall.

 

Article writers are just not an appealing position anymore. I say that because people have to spend a large amount of time typing, it's not gonna keep people doing it. Having staff that are openly free to post articles, and are made aware of this, is probably the best solution.

I'm sure you are aware that articles can be submitted without approval from me under our current system.

 

Sonic, I'll help whenever I can. You just need to ask. :wink:

What would you be interested in FlaK?

[apocolyp4 0]

For those of us who want to to help out we should post here what you are able to contirbute either as a news poster, article writer, moder, map maker or anything else that you think that can be usefull. After we find out what everyone can do then itll be much easier to start improving the site and or the cummunity in large. Ill start.

 

Ive got experience in mod making for TS, RA2 and Renegade. Im also able to make maps for RA, TS and RA2 not Generals as I dont have that anymore but Im getting it in a weeks along with Zero Hour.

At the momnent Im making a C&C mod and making website that will focus on creating smaller mod maps for TS, RA2 and Renegade that will focus on origional gameplay. A few of these projects includes an idea ive had for a while for RA2 map making called multiplayer scenario mission in which will be mission based multiplayer maps where both sides try to complete oposing objectives i.e. One player might have to guard a building or unit for a certin amount of time and the other player has to destroy it within the time frame. Im also have been experimenting with add a few new units to renegade to spice it up a bit like an obilesk tank for nod.

[FlaK 0]

What would you be interested in FlaK?

 

Hmmm, well I could update content, help out around the forums, make my own content (maps, tutorials etc), you name it and I'll try it.

[Mario 0]

i could prob be a news poster i dont have a clue how to mod

[Saracen 16]

These positions take great dedication, and especially with news posters spelling and grammar are huge mandatory prerequisites. With good basic HTML knowledge a must. :roll:

[J-Fire_Man 0]

I think staff won't be to hard to find.. in fact we wouldn't have to look far if all you guys are going to be commited to the long term future of the site

I wish I could help CNCNZ, but with all of the schedules I have, I can't do much.

[Saracen 16]

OK let's get the ball rolling here... Who is serious about taking on a place within the site?

[FlaK 0]

I'd like to help out, but I have exams coming up meaning I won't be able to help as much I would have liked... I'll give it my best shot, if you want me.