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Packs upload page

need help designing it

Technical discussion about the VGM format, and all the software you need to handle VGM files.

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Packs upload page

Post by vampirefrog »

Hi guys! As you can see here: http://vgm.mdscene.net/packs/upload - I'm trying to make a one-stop upload page for creating packs. I know some of you who are regular uploaders have their own workflow figured out, so I'd like your ideas on how to make this page better for you. Try clicking on the big green icon and selecting a few vgm/vgz files and see what pops up. Use chrome or firefox.

Don't worry, the pack won't be uploaded, it doesn't send data to the server yet, it's all Javascript right now.

So, you'll see a few sections:

- The song list, with some data read from the VGM GD3 and header.
- The release list, which will be the new way of inputting data like game name and system name, I consider this to be more correct. The old format, for example "Trojan (U) / Tatakai no Banka (J)" can be easily generated from the new format, but not vice versa, since we have games with unclear territories, like "UE" and "EU" and "AC". This release list eliminates that. For example, for the Famicom Arcade releases, just add another release (click the big + sign at the top right) with "Arcade" as the system name.
- An image for each release.
- An unique name for the pack (this is for the zip name and for having an unique URL). This is only an issue when there are two or more packs for the same game. It is not functional now, but it will check if the game name already exists.
- Chips, Composers and Developers
- Notes
- History
- Description preview - these last four sections are self-explanatory.

So, tell me what improvements you'd like to see, and how you imagine this becoming part of your workflow.

Also, report any bugs you find.
  • zzo38 Offline
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Post by zzo38 »

Perhaps a thing that might help for people who have their own workflow, is to simply have an alternate page with a single upload field (which can also be sent using command-line programs or whatever), of a ZIP or 7Z archive, and all data is extracted from it in order to automatically make up everything else. At least, I think it is more clear.

Post by vampirefrog »

I know what you are saying, but the command-line thing is kind of risky, so I'd rather have an extra verification step. What I can do is add zip and 7z support on the upload page itself, so you can upload vgm, vgz, zip and 7z. Then, the page would read in the data from the archive and display it before finally uploading it, just so there's some verification.

Thanks for your input!
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  • neologix Offline
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Post by neologix »

Suggestion for packs: have a short-URL alias for them, e.g. vgmrips.net/p/a36eey2 leads to the Mappy! pack or something.

Short URL algorithm could be this one or this one (marked as a duplicate of this one).

Post by vampirefrog »

I've redone the songs list a bit. it now allows renaming the files, and if you click the info icon, it will show you the full GD3 info.

Still needs a lot of work, and the thing that really bothers me is that even after uploading, how will pack edits be approved? So, when uploading a new pack, I just mark it as 'unapproved' until a moderator approves it. But how do I make the database structure that will allow edits without modifying the packs, ie, edits are not applied until they are approved.

Still trying to figure that one out.

Post by Pixel_Crusher »

vampirefrog, I saw your post over at the Project 2612 forums and I think it's a great idea. Has anyone from over there contacted you over the matter?

http://project2612.org/phpbb3/viewtopic ... 8012#p8012

Post by vampirefrog »

Not yet, that place looks deserted. Thanks for the support, though, I like your enthusiasm!

I'm currently analyzing all the GameBase databases that I managed to get my hands on. It seems that the Sega Genesis gamebase has the VGM packs from Project2612, but I don't know yet how up to date they are.

http://chiptune.ninja/gamebase/

I want to use this data, along with as many others as possible, to generate automatic links to external sites, for all >1.2k packs.

This will be a feature of the upload page too.

Post by Pixel_Crusher »

vampirefrog wrote:Not yet, that place looks deserted. Thanks for the support, though, I like your enthusiasm!

I'm currently analyzing all the GameBase databases that I managed to get my hands on. It seems that the Sega Genesis gamebase has the VGM packs from Project2612, but I don't know yet how up to date they are.

http://chiptune.ninja/gamebase/

I want to use this data, along with as many others as possible, to generate automatic links to external sites, for all >1.2k packs.

This will be a feature of the upload page too.
Just saw you got the greenlight for Project 2612's archive. Congratulations! :)

Have you considered contacting the mods over at SMS Power! for the same purposes? They have a very rich VGM archive.

Post by vampirefrog »

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