DMCO Appeal: Help us pay for a redesign!

[Steve]

Hi guys!

We've been eyeing up the Tactical style (XenForo internally refers to 'templates' as 'styles') for XenForo for about a year now, and now seems like a pretty awesome time to take the plunge as ThemeHouse (the company behind the template) are currently running a 20% sale globally across their style offerings.

Here's a demo of the Tactical style.

If you're interested in helping us to raise the funds to pay for this style and use it on devilmaycry.org, then I humbly request that you consider donating via this page or by donating directly to [email protected]; if you'd like to receive credit you can also email me through this address to let me know who donated what and when.

If we're able to raise the funds then I'll get the funds ready and pay for the style on Thursday, December 28, 2017, when I'm back home and able to do so. I'll also get on top of adding a sprinkle of DMC style to the... style.

Hope this covers everything - posting in a bit of a hurry before heading out for the hols. Happy to answer any questions when I'm back. I don't know when the sale/coupon code will expire, but provided we meet the $28 goal by Wednesday or Thursday next week then we can get the wheels in motion ASAP.

In the event that anybody is interested in making use of ThemeHouse's 20% sale coupon code, it be here: Holidays2017

Edit: Not sure why the Donation page is saying that it'll only run until tomorrow (Sunday)... can't seem to change that, but oh well!

Happy holidays!

 

[Steve]

Hi all!

I'm back! Hello!

Firstly: Big huge massive thanks to DantesLink for the awesome donation. Thanks to DL we're approx 50% on the way towards raising the money. I'm over the moon and super thrilled to see things coming together so quickly, even given my hastily put together appeal.

A quick update is in order! However, I think it's best that I make it clear that my goal is to get us using XenForo v2.0 ASAP. Having said that, it appears that ThemeHouse is taking a somewhat unusual approach to tackling style (template) subscriptions than I, personally, am used to. Effectively, if we want to use the Tactical style for what we're using now (XF v1.x), then we can buy the style and use it hey-presto awesomeness. The problem arises when we upgrade to XF v2.0 - ThemeHouse require an additional payment for access to the XF v2.0 version. 'Hmm,' I recall uttering. Not really how I would have handled things but things have probably progressed a fair amount in the XenForo styling scene... fair enough.

Another problem arises in the fact that Support could not give me a solid release date for the XF v2.0 version... or if they are 100% going to port it over. It's a bit up in the air at the moment, really.

However however, the fellas over at PixelExit are flogging a similar style called Fusion Gamer for around about the same price and they not only allow customers access to both XF v1.x and v2.0 versions of their styles for one price, but are also confident that Fusion Gamer will be a style that releases before the new year, so the XF v2.0 version will probably pretty soon.

Here's where I need you guys to help tell us which style you like the most: Tactical or Fusion Gamer. Bearing in mind that the version of Tactical that we require may never become available. I have had dealings with ThemeHouse support in the past, though, and they are superb. PixelExit - I know that I've purchased a product (a forum add-on) from them in the past and don't recall encountering any issues. I can't remember which forum add-on it was, though. Just that it went as expected and worked just fine.

Personally, I'm leaning more towards going for Fusion Gamer which I can still customise to make to make more DMC-ish.

If I had the time, I'd make my own style from scratch, but XenForo really is a bit of a headache (for me at least) to style. Might be different for XF v2.0, but it's such a slog with v1.x.

So yeah, if you still want to donate, that would be awesome. The funds will be going towards our next style and getting us upgraded to XF v2.0 as quickly as possible.

Any questions, please fire away.

 

[DantesLink]

Thanks for the update, glad to help! Honestly don't mind either choices. Since it'll be more dev' friendly, I'd be fine with Fusion Gamer.

 

[Dante's Stalker]

I like Fusion Gamer better, too.

 

[Steve]

Hey guys!

Good news! Thanks to you guys we can now pay for access to a brand new style! PixelExit are still working on updating Fusion Gamer, but it's looking like it should see a release any day now.

What I want to do now is focus on raising the funds for access to XenForo v2.0. The goal is $40 and if anybody would like to lend a hand, a new donation option is available here.

As it stands we can pay for the new style (again - thanks to you guys!), but it would be extra awesome to be able to roll out the new look and design coupled with the new features of XenForo v2.0, although it is not essential. But as it stands we're approximately two years behind on XenForo updates, so we're missing out on quite a lot of new and fresh features.

Thanks again, gang! Feel free to let rip with any questions about XF v2.0 or the new style.

 

[Steve]

Forget that last email about the XenForo v2.0 subscription fee! Dante's Stalker has donated the full amount and we now have the full amount necessary to get both the new style and access to the next big version of XenForo!

Seriously, thank you to everybody that has donated and helped get us to where we need to be. You guys are awesome!

I'll be renewing the XenForo license tomorrow morning and perform some practice upgrades in my test environment, then all that's left is to pay for the PixelExit style when it's released (which appears to be only days away according to their company forums) and we can DMC-ify it and launch everything in one smooth motion.

I'm blown away guys - really! Woo-hoo!

 

[Dante's Stalker]

:blush: I love this forum :inlove:
And you're welcome!

 

[Dark Drakan]

:blush: I love this forum :inlove:
And you're welcome!

:thumbsup: Awesome contribution & much appreciated.

 

[Steve]

Just a quick early morning update: Thanks to @Dante's Stalker, we now have access to XenForo x2.0!

PixelExit haven't yet posted any new info about the styles, but I'm going to have a tinker with XF v2.0 on my localhost and see I can get better acquainted with updating styles in the mean time.

Here's what's left before we can roll out the big XF v2.0 update:

- PixelExit release new style(s)
- We purchase a style and sprinkle a little DMC flair on it
- We roll out the XenForo and style updates in tandem

 

[Steve]

There is more movement on the style front!

 

[Meg]

*excitement intensifies*

:woot::woot::woot::woot:

 

[Steve]

Here's a little something that I wanted to bring to everyone's attention during these last few days (hours?) that PixelExit are preparing their new XenForo v2.0 styles for launch: Is 'Omni' a better fit for us?

Essentially, we want the perfect style for us, and I'm wondering if perhaps PixelExit's upcoming 'Omni' style might be the best fit for us as a base template. There won't be any additional wait, and it'll cost the same as the others (to my understanding), but in the event that it doesn't I can cover the rest of the price. Listed below are the confirmed XenForo v2.0 dark-themed styles that will release simultaneously, for reference sake:

• Omni: link
• Fusion Gamer: link
• Apex: link
• Blackened Pro: link

IMO, Blackened Pro is a little too close to the default XenForo style look - not a solid choice, really. Apex is okay, I actually quite like that the style resembles the look of a forum I used to visit before it closed down, so there's probably some bias there. Fusion Gamer, I think was the best of the bunch until Omni surfaced, now I'm becoming more and more fond of Omni. I sort of happened upon this style by accident as I didn't originally spot it on their company website, but advertised on the official xenforo.com forum. It's probably also worth noting that Omni is less of a style update/port, and more of a new style designed for XenForo v2.0

So, what do you guys think?

 

[Steve]

The XenForo v2.0 range of styles have been released!

So, how are we feeling about the Omni style?

 

[Meg]

I don't actually see where we can view the style? Am I missing something?

 

[Steve]

No worries, Meg! I think that the previously posted URL might only be accessible to members/customers.

Here's a better look at Omni: https://pixelexit.com/products/omni.32/

It effectively comes in four colour variants, so I don't see why we couldn't make use of all four and allow everyone to pick their favourite colour scheme and still see the same content and whatnot.

 

[Shadow]

Omni looks pretty sleek. :thumbsup:

 

[Steve]

I'm going to run it by the other staffers, see what we're thinking, and hopefully make a purchase within the next few days. If there are any objections to Omni please get them posted ASAP!

 

[Dante's Stalker]

Wow, I'm all-in for the Omni version.

 

[Steve]

Nice one, DS! Looks like I'll be signing up for an Omni license tomorrow morning. Will post with a screenshot to show everything's ready and rolling.

The only real graphics that need to be modified to begin with are the logo and node status icons (currently Red Orb icons on the forum homepage), so I don't foresee this taking much longer!

Can't say it enough: Donator peeps - you're awesome!

 

[Steve]

We're another step closer thanks to our donators!

Just waiting for the payment to be approved and work can begin!