popot.org

Prince of Persia related subjects that do not have their own boards.
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Norbert
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popot.org

Post by Norbert »

As I've announced here, I'm currently working on a new Prince of Persia website. As I wrote here, I'll use a (this) thread on this "Other PoP related" board to keep everyone informed about any developments. If you want anything I'm working on and writing about here to take a different direction, this is the place to shout at me.

I have just ordered popot.org. Since the weekend has just started, it will take a few extra days before the company processes my order. Among other things, the account includes 3GB disk space and PHP5/MySQL5 support.

I'm thinking about using one of these scimitars as the background image for the horizontal website logo (and 'link us' image):
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scimitar.svg (public domain)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... imitar.svg (CC-BY-SA)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... redone.svg (public domain)
I'll probably change the colors to fit whatever looks cool. The image itself will be faded, behind the text "Prince of Persia: Original Trilogy" and the smaller subheading "Modding Community".

Keep an eye on this thread if you want to know what I'm doing/working on.
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Norbert
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Re: popot.org

Post by Norbert »

I'm looking into what fonts to use for the website logo. I want to give the "Prince of Persia: Original Trilogy" headline a Persian-like look; the smaller subheading "Modding Community" a computer/DOS-age look. I've picked five possible fonts for each:
http://www.norbertdejonge.nl/misc/popot ... _fonts.png
For the headline, I like the 5th option (Unzialish), for the subheading either 3 (Venice Classic) or 4 (V5 Prophit Non).
In the final image, the headline will (obviously) be a lot larger than the subheading.

I think I'll make the right part of the scimitar tiled (Blur->Pixelize...), to create an effect that visualizes that fans of the Original Trilogy are not afraid of pixel art from ye goode olde days. There may be some images of ancient Persian architecture out there (a palace or a evening sky line, or both) that could be used on the background. Something with the right copyright, so I have some searching to do. Maybe towers on the left side and right side of the pages.
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Norbert
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Re: popot.org

Post by Norbert »

Damn, that was way faster than I expected: the domain is already registered and ready for use.
I received all necessary passwords and other information to get started.
With a bit of luck (and hard work) the basic stuff should be on-line on Sunday evening.
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Norbert
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Re: popot.org

Post by Norbert »

Okay, I will use one of the following images of the Taj Mahal mausoleum in the background, together with a faded scimitar:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... _India.jpg (CC-BY-SA)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TajMa ... Mongia.jpg (CC-BY-SA)
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Norbert
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Re: popot.org

Post by Norbert »

I found several panoramic (landscape; horizontal) photos of the Taj Mahal that could be more useful:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... al-net.jpg (CC-BY-SA)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... jMahal.jpg (CC-BY)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taj_Mahal-11.jpg (public domain)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... ,_Agra.jpg (CC-BY)
The last image is only 640 pixels wide, so it may not be very usable:
http://norbertdejonge.nl/misc/popot/pop ... 8_0001.png
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Norbert
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Re: popot.org

Post by Norbert »

Norbert wrote:The last image is only 640 pixels wide, so it may not be very usable:
http://norbertdejonge.nl/misc/popot/pop ... 8_0001.png
It is usable. I've mirrored the image: its right side is now also bright, and it's 1000 pixels wide.
Dropped V5 Prophit Non in favor of Venice Classic; also added a color gradient under the subheading.
http://norbertdejonge.nl/misc/popot/pop ... 8_0001.png

The top image is good enough for now, like this.
Will continue with the project tomorrow.
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Norbert
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Re: popot.org

Post by Norbert »

The basic layout is finished. I've uploaded the first files:
http://www.popot.org/
The menu will be on the left side of the page, the right section is scrollable.

Next up are the menu buttons and choosing what main pages the website will have.
The categories that I have currently in mind are, from top to bottom:
- News
- Download The Games
- Custom Levels/Mods
- Level Editors
- Other Useful Tools
- Walkthroughs/Manuals
- Community Forum (= an iframe with forum.princed.org)
- Help / FAQ / Contact
- Web Links
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mk1995
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Re: popot.org

Post by mk1995 »

Whoa, nice work there. Though for the "Modding Community" text, I would've prefered the third option. But it's your choice.

Topic stickied.
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Just to make something clear: I will not reply to daft PMs like "Where can I find X?" or "Can you give me a link to Y?". Most of your questions are likely answerable if only you took your bloody time to look through these forums and use Google if all else fails. Sheesh...
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Norbert
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Re: popot.org

Post by Norbert »

Hey mk1995, thanks for following the developments.

I've picked the categories and created buttons for them:
http://www.popot.org/
The buttons do not yet work, but that's what I'll work on next.
I'll also embed this forum into the "Community Forum" page.
Will keep posting in this thread as things progress...
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Norbert
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Re: popot.org

Post by Norbert »

programmer wrote:This website doesn't work for me, unfortunately.
It was down and I mailed my content provider about that.
In fact, I spend several hours today writing an application called "SMS when down":
http://www.norbertdejonge.nl/SMS_when_down/
I've suggested to my provider that maybe they should start using it.
It sends its user SMS messages when certain IPs/domains are down.

Anyways, I've also worked on popot.org.
The buttons work now and the "Community Forum" page now displays this forum in an iframe (looks acceptable).

Next up is adding every file I can find that is somewhat related to Prince of Persia 1, 2 or 3D, including all the documentation, tools, editors, and so on. If you have anything you'd like me to add, feel free to post a link to the file(s) in this thread.
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Norbert
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Re: popot.org

Post by Norbert »

The "Get the Games" section now provides downloads for Prince of Persia 1 and 2 (DOS/English):
http://www.popot.org/get_the_games.php
It's a start; more files will be added later.

I'll continue working on the website tomorrow.
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Norbert
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Re: popot.org

Post by Norbert »

Thanks for the feedback, programmer.
The code isn't 100% awesome yet, it'll improve over time.
What do you suggest instead of the iframe?

Today I didn't do much. I've changed the CSS file to make every page properly scrollable. Also, I've uploaded two Prince of Persia 3D wallpapers. These don't really have anything to do with modding the games, so I put them under "Get the Games" (PoP3D section).
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Norbert
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Re: popot.org

Post by Norbert »

programmer wrote:
What do you suggest instead of the iframe?
I'd just place a link to forums with a brief description.
I've added some text and a link above the iframe.
This should allow visitors to choose their own preferred way of visiting this forum.

I want to start working on the "Custom Levels" section, but I could use some feedback before I start. Because, as they say, well begun is half done. First of all, what information should I store about mods? These are things I have in mind:
- for which PoP version
- the mod's name
- the mod's author(s)
- the creation year
- some screenshots
- optional link(s) to walkthrough(s)
- what has been changed, with four 'checkboxes': prince graphics, level graphics, audio, level design
- how much starting time

Also, what should visitors be able to do, and how? Should they be able to vote on the mod and, if so, in what way? Enjoyment? Difficulty? Originality? Replay value (replayability)? Should they be able to comment and, if so, in what way? On popot.org or via a link to this forum? If the latter, should each mod get its own thread? If the former, how many characters should be allowed for the comments?

What else should I keep in mind when working on the code for the "Custom Levels" page?

Finally, it would be possible to use the HTML5 <video> tag to include (short) video footage of the mod, or even of each level of the mod. Are there videos available? Is someone who's skilled enough at playing the game willing to record additional videos?

So, let me know what you think, guys...
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mk1995
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Re: popot.org

Post by mk1995 »

Norbert wrote:- for which PoP version
- the mod's name
- the mod's author(s)
- the creation year
- some screenshots
- optional link(s) to walkthrough(s)
- what has been changed, with four 'checkboxes': prince graphics, level graphics, audio, level design
- how much starting time
Don't have anything to add to that.
Norbert wrote:Also, what should visitors be able to do, and how? Should they be able to vote on the mod and, if so, in what way? Enjoyment? Difficulty? Originality? Replay value (replayability)?
Here's a quick rundown of what I believe you mean with your points and my opinion on them.
Enjoyment: Will the player have fun playing this mod - no matter whether beginner or expert (you might want to seperate those two, though)? This is essential, so include this into the ratings.
Difficulty: What difficulty does the mediocre player consider this mod to have? You can't really give this a rating of 1~10, but you might still want to include this with "Easy", "Medium", "Hard", etc.
Originality: I can't quite tell what you mean with that. Some enlightment beforehand?
Replay value: Would the player like to play the mod again sometime? Personally, I think you should leave that out. To take myself as an example, if I can manage to finish a mod I usually leave it be after that. Unless I get extremely bored and decide to give it another go.

Also, I suggest you to have an overall score (all point values of the categories / amount of categories), and maybe two optional ones:
Graphics: If the modder has done any graphical changes, do they look good? Decent? Do they rape my eyes?
Music: If the modder has done any musical changes, [...]
Norber wrote:Should they be able to comment and, if so, in what way? On popot.org or via a link to this forum? If the latter, should each mod get its own thread? If the former, how many characters should be allowed for the comments?
Not a bad idea at all. I recommend you set your character limit to 255 or so characters to prevent any tl;dr.
Image
Just to make something clear: I will not reply to daft PMs like "Where can I find X?" or "Can you give me a link to Y?". Most of your questions are likely answerable if only you took your bloody time to look through these forums and use Google if all else fails. Sheesh...
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Norbert
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Re: popot.org

Post by Norbert »

mk1995 wrote:Originality: I can't quite tell what you mean with that. Some enlightment beforehand?
Well, I was thinking about mods like Repetition of Time, that have some very original things in them.
mk1995 wrote:Replay value: Would the player like to play the mod again sometime? Personally, I think you should leave that out.
Yeah, you are right. I agree that it's unlikely someone would feel like playing a mod again after finishing it.
mk1995 wrote:Also, I suggest you to have an overall score (all point values of the categories / amount of categories), [...]
Sounds interesting, but I'm not sure that would work, since the Difficulty score should probably not be included.
mk1995 wrote:and maybe two optional ones: [...]
Yes, also possible.
mk1995 wrote:I recommend you set your character limit to 255 or so characters to prevent any tl;dr.
I agree, around 255 characters will be enough.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I've added the Prince of Persia 3D demo zip file to popot.org.
It can be downloaded here: http://www.popot.org/get_the_games.php?game=3D
It's about 50MB.

I'll most likely (start with and) finish the "Custom Levels" section this weekend, so if anyone else besides mk1995 has any ideas or suggestions regarding that section, please let me know soon.
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