Well, you've probably noticed it by now. The mundane avatars are no more. It has all been replaced with a ranking system based on gems.

I have updated the FAQ ( http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/faq.html ) with info about it, so check that for details. If you have any questions or comments, post here!

(This won't take effect on all forums immediately, so you might still notice regular avatars in some places for a while.)

They look a bit strange now, everybody with three gems instead of an avatar, well I guess it takes some time to get used to them.

Again i'm with ya all the way tal. The gems look quite nice.

All hail the mighty Tal!

Look at me! Look at me! I'm ... I'm ... quite valuable :D :D

No better way of getting a headache than finding a topic where everyone have gems, then scrolling down quickly, while looking at the gems. In other words - I don't really like them.

Awwwwww, I liked the old ones, want them back... NOW:almostmad::aww::aww:

LOL!!! I am soooooooooo glad I have a custom avatar!!! I do miss the eyeballs though! I couldn't handle life as a gem.

Please promise me we don't get custom (glassfibre) gems!

If you don't like the gems, there's a one-word solution: DONATE.

Hmmm---donate---been meaning to do that for awhile.

Gems.....I...I like it Tal!!
Nice one! Still original and still very good.
So are we able to choose over to portraits now..i guess that would take a while to implement now.

Still..Im more special than you! na na na na na naa!

:D great work Tal!

I've just received a good suggestion, I think. Limit the gems to only one at a time, the latest one. It would definitely cut down the eye strain and distraction of staring at those gems. What do you think?

good idea in my opinion, though I'm a not a gem so.. :)

LMAO. Great idea Tal! Now all those other boards can be 'envious' of your creativity! ;)

Im really liking the idea Tal. Makes a lot of sense, and the three gems does hurt the eyes abit.

Do what you think is right, Im just glad your thoughtful enough to ask our opinions.

Tal ... I like the gemstone idea. Talk about original! I'm honestly going to have to think hard about which gems are more valuable. I never paid that much attention in the game! ;)

I'm wondering ... when people are acting up on the boards and need their post count reduced ... do they get a big vancant space ... as if they were pick-pocketed? :lol:

Interesting way of doing it Tal. I will have to see how this works,you may get me to work for a custom avatar.

neat idea, I like the gems. They are all smaller than my avatar. Cool :):roll::spin::square:

My first reaction was one of a minor shock. It's like those who haven't paid money to SP are now clearly branded. I like the system we had.
If you've decided on using gems it might as well just be one rather than three, I agree on that.

[This message has been edited by Earl Grey (edited May 28, 2002).]

One it is then... I don't get the complaint about being "branded" though. It's not like I debased non-contributing members to a profile without any pictures whatsoever. You now get a new system which is just an unique as avatars or portraits.

I value all members equally, the gems should be subliminal message enough to tell you that. Even the lowest of newbies starts as a gem here.

Don't assume that those without a custom haven't contributed. I like leveling up.
And Tal, it's all good. Your seemingly endless work at SP is greatly appreciated.

Hmmm... I definitely prefer gems to stars (at least we're keeping to the BG spirit) however one gem instead of three would be a big improvement - much easier on the eyes.

Edit: Aaah - much better. Didn't even know there's 30 gems in BG?

[This message has been edited by Vukodlak (edited May 29, 2002).]

Well, here you go then. One gem it is. ;)

It'll still show three in some places that haven't been updated yet.

I highly dislike the whole gem thing. It's a long way down from what was once. But I guess I dont have a say in it....

I don't mean to be negative...I LOVE this site! But I don't like the gems. Actually, I really don't even like the portraits. I thought the the avatars was one element of this board (and granted a minor element) that made it different from the other boards I have visited.

I kinda dislike the gem thing as well; the avatars thing was a bit better. IMHO, the new system increases conformity and uniformity for those without custom avatars. Still I don't want to be negative, the new gem system is very cool, still better than that of other forums. Props to Taluntain for originality.

[This message has been edited by C'Jakob (edited May 29, 2002).]

Like the gem theme, but my question is why on the FAQ page do you have the BG2 value of the first and last gem?

One more thing!

You cant tell the difference in the gems unless you read what number it is. Kinda stupid. Every one seems the same unless you have a custom avatar/portait.

Haha! I think this looks freaking hilarious. Talking gems. Once I saw Headbanger talking as three gems in the creative surge, I hurried for the whatnots forum for an explanation.

I can understand and follow your pun; "you are all my gems here on the SP." But there is no way I'll be able to seperate all gems. I also think that half the people will dislike the idea, that they are infact things now rather than creatures. Those signs are already showing.

In addition I think gems will be more frustrating to look at next to portraits. More frustrating than 3D avatars are next to portraits. But that is a much more insignificant problem. And one that is pure opinion against opinion.

Couldn't we hire someone professional to design female avatars? Or design Avatar monsters for all? Since that is the problem. I would gladly donate a little extra for that and so would others I hope. With a good 50 active members we should be able to get at least a few handfulls of portraits? I have no idea about that fact though. Just making conversation.

Anyway if gems have come to stay I am cracking up watching them talk. Like some whacky storyline from Monty Python. :1eye: But very very original! You are a pearl Tal. *g* *snicker*

[This message has been edited by ArchAngel (edited May 29, 2002).]

Great job, Tal! BTW, check your email...

What about gems from icewind and planescape torment(is there any beside that portal gem?, maybe "blooddrops" and teardrops? :) ) I can see only gems from BG1.

And why dont you put name of the gem instead of words: "latest gem"?

But nice idea!

Yup, names of gems would be nice coz that would finally help me to remember what gems are worth (once I tracked back to Maevar's guild just to pick up a useless - 1gp gem, thinking it was valuable :mad:)

no like gem thing. especially no like "latest gem:"...

Everyone's a critic. :rolleyes:

And I don't suppose anyone's read the updated FAQ. I obviously type that thing just for my own benefit. In there it says that "if you hold your mouse cursor over the gem it will display its name".

And gems aren't supposed to "be" people like ArchAngel there suggested. They're supposed to act like stars, like ranks. You collect better gems as you go along, not "become" better gems.

And I'm getting a bit tired of the "ugh, I don't like gems, and I don't like portraits either while we're at it". I explained well enough that there aren't any more female avatars and that many females who donate don't have anything to pick from. I didn't change the whole system because I thought it'd be funny to piss you all off but because it was imperative.

And anyway, while we're at it, although this was not the idea behind the change, I'm sure all people who have contributed in some way do appreciate being a bit more special than everyone else on these boards. After all, people who either donate or buy things from SP are the minority that allows me to keep this server running and pay the monthly costs of $140. Yes, this minority pays (or contributes things you read/download) for the fun you all have! I don't make enough money from pop-ups (and no money at all from banners) to be able to pay even half the monthly costs of running this site. And I'm talking purely about money it costs to pay for hosting such a big site, money that stands between this site being here or being shut down. The value of my work and everything else is excluded from the equation by default. I'm just happy if I can scrape together enough money every month to pay for the site to be here for another month. And if it wasn't for the generous donations of a handful of people here, there would be no SP here any more.

So I would appreciate it if everyone toned down the comments that sound like jealous whining aimed at those who have avatars & portraits now. If you want an avatar or portrait so badly, you're very welcome to contribue something to SP and get your own.

There's also DragonRider SkyWard's comment that you can't see the difference between the gems. Well, for those with working eyesight I'd think that different colours and shapes would do the trick.

The gems are all from BG2 and go in value from lowest to highest. We want some uniformity here, obviously, that's why I didn't throw in gems from other games.

[This message has been edited by Taluntain (edited May 29, 2002).]

Change it back! Change it back!

I prefer the old Avatars they were so much better these look *sad*

Now I am DEFINATLY getting a custom avatar, or was it your intent to get people buying stuff and donating money to get rid of them?

Ahh, well, I suppose that I'm going to have to get used to it, can we at least have the names of the gems though, i can't remember how expensive any of the gems are???

I'm going to take your advise, 8people, Now, wheres my dads wallet...?

I like the gems, they are part of BG-1/2 and IWD-1 and probably IWD-2. The air of the infinity engine games is one of the things that, except the good niveau of info on site and on boards, make this site unique. Additionally, there is only a limited number of avatars available - considering that fortunately more and more people contribute work or money to SP they are getting rarer. The change to gems will make more avatars available for these purposes.

The change to gems is an appropiate solution for the problem. However, I think adding the name of the gem instead of "latest gem:" or 15/30 would IMO be a good idea.

Hehe...I'm glad I'm now a beautiful gem intead of an ugly goblin or whatever I was ;).

I think it's original and looks cool. Also people with custom avatars are now more clear. Think that's a good point as well.

But I do agree it would be nice to have the name of the gem above it. Holding your mousebutton above it isn't something a lot of people will think of. It might be more...intuitive or something...

Anyway, in one word: I LIKE IT! ;)

Second that: it'd be nice to see gem names on the page itself - me being a lazy git and all that...

Don't know if you mean this, but if you hold your mouse-cursor over the gem, its name will appear....

But it's said before in this thread and it's in the FAQ aswell....so you probably knew that.

[This message has been edited by Master of Nuhn (edited May 29, 2002).]

Yes.


I did.


:lazy:

CHANGE THE AVATARS BACK TO NORMAL!!!PLeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaassssssss!!!

I'm not a fan either I'm afraid. Might be that it will just take some getting used to, but it was kinda fun to look forward to the next change of avatar. Not quite sure I can get any sort of thrill out of the gems changing.

I'll now take the custom one after all. Doesn't change regularly, but looks better.

Now I am DEFINATLY getting a custom avatar, or was it your intent to get people buying stuff and donating money to get rid of them?

I'm going to take your advise, 8people, Now, wheres my dads wallet...

It seems that the new system is doing something right, even if some don't like it.

(ofcourse, seeing is believing)

[This message has been edited by Xenecor (edited May 29, 2002).]

I liked the old avatars better as well... oh well, now I just have to do something drastic to get a custom one. Like, say, rob a bank and send the loot to Tal. :)

Ara
(Caffeine, sugar, lack of sleep.... my new lifestyle rocks!)

*snort*

No one should really be complaining. We get to post here for free and Tal puts a lot of effort into building this site for us. I honestly did not realize how much it cost to maintain this site until I read the FAQ from the new link that was posted.

Tal, will you accept international money orders? I don't have a credit card and I think it would be more lucrative for you to receive any donation in full and not just a percentage from a sale.

Tal I agree with your point. The system is supposed to work as a reward you collect rather than a reflection of the person. But as you see, not all perceive it that way. Which is what I pointed out and why. sadly. It is obvious you aren't trying to piss someone off. Rather the other way around.

Everyone's a critic. :rolleyes:Patience my friend. :)

Anyway. I've changed my mind. I don't think the gems are bad afterall; since Xenecor is right. So deeply right.

[This message has been edited by ArchAngel (edited May 29, 2002).]

I agree totally with Sapiryl.
Tal has made this site for us to enjoy, he made a chatroom, a good daily news bulletin, a great downloads section, and one fo the best online communities i've ever seen.
He pays somewhere near $150 so you people can be here, and enjoy what he has made for you. So stop being so ungrateful and accept what has happened.

I for one like the new system, and make sme feel a lot more special :p And those who want to be like this too? Get donating, sending or contributing!

And in in 5 months time when i am allowed to get a credit card, the first thing I do will be buying cheap games online, then donating to SP.

Nice work Tal, keep it up!

Tal, the new gems look clean and smooth. It's totally unique, and I commend your creativity. Keep up the good work.

Stop complaining everyone. If you want something other than gems, give the poor guy some money ;).

I like it. I feel more special with my custom avatar now :).

I noticed that mostly people with custom avatars like new gems idea :),

btw. i did read FAQ, but didnt notice that name thingie, my apologies!

I have to get this out of my system... the word "Gemification" has caused that Red Hot Chili Peppers song, Californication, play in my mind over and over again.... The ramifications of this gemification are dire.

I wonder, how many people will be wanting the Watcher avatar?

Ara
(I know this is ot... so sue me, I am incoherent...)

Interesting :)
I personally wouldn't mind a no avatar/portrait/gem system either :p

Sapiryl, sure, anything that works for you. PM or e-mail me if you require more info.

Anyway, since I've lost all hope that people would actually find out that there's an alt tag on the gems with their names (no one reads the FAQ, that's obvious), I've removed the alt tags and added names next to gems.

Better now?

[This message has been edited by Taluntain (edited May 29, 2002).]

how about reinstating the alt tags so that once you mouse-over them they read "gemophobic? then donate!"

changed my mind. if this system will spurn people into buying via/donating to SP then i'm all for it. :gotal:

Much better. Thank-you.

I'm still agenst the whole gem thing but how much would it cost for me to send money to you form the states?

With PayPal near nothing. 1% of the donation. If you haven't got a master card then ask a friend or parents to do it. I would be proud of you and so would Yoda :)

I don't mean to be rude sense Tal went through all this work to change everything, but I prefered the 3D avatars. It's good how in encourages people to donate, I liked being alive rather than an object.

But if this is how it's going to be, then I'm right behind ya. :D :wave:

3D avatars were better-looking, but this will certainly put more money into SP, and thus make SP better. :)

Oh well, I'm a big bad custom user anyways. ;)

Hmmm...I wonder how I'm going to break it to the parents that I'm sending $10 over sea's, on the net none the less! My parents dont like the inter net very much. They think that every thing that they type can be seen. And that includes credit card stuff. I dont know what I'm going to say...

Anyways I havn't said that I'm going to be doing it but I havn't said that I'm not.

Quit the complaining people, the gems are 3d, look closely, they have three dementions. They arent Avatars, ohwell, we the people of SP are still individual in respect to the other webpages that call themselves message boards.

People these days!!! Tal wanted to change HIS site, and you all come whining. He changes it again to better suit you all, and you still come whining! If you really don't like it, go to another forum. I personally like it. I'd rather be a gem than a stupid monster!!! :rolling:

The way I take it, you are not a gem :) There's only the amount of gems collected and the most valuable gem you've earned due to your postings :p

If it were stars instead of gems, it wouldn't cause this much confusion methinks :p Yet, the gems are very original I have to admit.

DRSW, do what I'm doing, and send an International Money Order!

Um, DeBhaal, try "dimensions." Sorry to nitpick, but heck, dementia is something else entirely!

[This message has been edited by SlimShogun (edited May 30, 2002).]

Tal, it's A-Ok. Keep breathing and repeat "I will not punch the monitor no matter what everyone says about the avatars". I like whatever you have in stock, Taluntain. ;)

I go off on a 5 day bender and come back to a whole new system! I like it, especially if it brings in some more cash;)

This is not a complainment but every first time in a day i open SP boards i get 2 popups from >NetFlip<, its only when i open SP so i thought ok Tal is putting pup ups, its least i can do to help but then he says he doesnt have them (ok he says he doesnt make money on them, but its silly to put pop up just for looks).

Btw, what is the best way to send 10$ of support for SP from Croatia (I'm still without card), and do you prefer bucks or tollars? And how much is 10$ in tollars!

I liked the avatars more.... :)

test....

Well, avatar or gem... I will spam anywayz :)

I never said pop-ups were there just for the looks. What I said is that I don't make even half the money with them that I need every month to cover the hosting expenses. That still means I make at least some money with them, or better, the only money I make from advertising is from the pop-ups, and even this is not nearly enough.

As for sending money from Croatia... Just pack it into an envelope and send it to my address. It's just accross the border, I trust it won't get lost. Just put the money in it so that you can't see it from the outside. And $10 is 2410 SIT. Whatever you send is fine with me (USD or SIT).

[This message has been edited by Taluntain (edited May 30, 2002).]

:( Those gems they they just suck!

Why replace nice creatures with stupid gems? I hated the gems in the game, and now the are here...

What is next? We get an amount of many accordinf to or posts?????

Please change it back... I want to level up a few times and become an Orc, not just another useless gem....

Removing two of the gems was good, looks much better now.

Maybe they should be more like the old avatars, i.e. cut down the text above the pic and replace it with the gemname. Example:

John Smith
Sunstone Gem
<Picture>
Posts: 88
Registered: Jan 1999

I think it'd look much better, and slightly more like the custom ones.

As I said before, whining about it won't achieve anything. And you can cry your eyes out telling me to change back, but it's not going to happen.

Volar Blackmane, the point is not to make people see themselves as gems (or things, as someone pointed out), but to give you the idea that you're collecting better gems as you go along, as opposed to custom portraits & avatars which actually do become representations of that specific user.

This new system makes the contributing members more special by giving them a bit more individuality than everyone else on the boards, but also gives all others something to play with. The other alternative would be to only keep avatars & portraits for those who contribute and drop everyone else down to just usernames. And I'm sure you'd all hate that even more.

Now it all boils down to whether you want to actually do something for SP to get that avatar or portrait you so badly want. I can tell you one thing up front - whining won't get you one. If you want one, you can get it the same way as everyone else. The details are in the FAQ.

If you feel that running SP is simply my problem and that your presence here is more than enough of a contribution, that's fine. Even if the reality of the monthly bill for SP says otherwise, you're free to carry on with that line of thought. But at least don't make presumptions & demands based on some wild idea that I owe you something. (Avatars, in this case.)

[This message has been edited by Taluntain (edited May 30, 2002).]

I think the gem thing is ok. I guess people always complain if something changes, but everyone will eventually get used to the new system.

[This message has been edited by Uytuun (edited May 30, 2002).]

I'd just like to say thank you to tal for putting all this effort into creating and maintaining SP which is the best Infinity Engine games site on the net IMHO. And you’re all whinging like a load of spoilt brats. You ought to be grateful not just whining that you don't like it. If you don't like it then just ignore it, donate, or just don't come to the boards.
Sorry if i offended any of you but i just had to say this because your ungrateful comments were really starting to piss me off.

I totally agree with you Lazy Bonzo, the boards are a great place to hang out,with our without the old avatars. After all, isn't what we actually post more important than how we look like on the forums?!

It's actually a lot better now Tal. I guess the 3 gems thing was what bothered me, they were hard on my eyes. The single gem with its name beside it will have to do until I decide to donate. :p
Thanks for the little speech Lazy Bonzo, you made a damn good point, you too Uytuun. The gems aren't so bad, and I wasn't looking forward to becoming some of those avatars...orc for example (dirty swiner :p) With gems, there's no way I can dread becoming one of them, since there aren't many nasty evil gems out there. ;)

Well Tal let me say one more thing: You are wrong again. If I must choose between no Avatar Or A Gem, then I go for just my name and posts, so no picture at all...

Cause I really hate Gems!

Damn I hate it when noobs whine. If all you plan on doing, SleepleSS, is pissing and moaning then do it on a board without gems. You're not doing anyone a favor by complaining.

I'm fully behind damona on this one. I don't like flaming but recently whine is all you seem to do Sleepless. So just a 'friendly' piece of advice: Stop It. If you want to whine start your own boards and whine to your hearts content. I think anyone who has read this topic can see that you don't like the gems, you do NOT need to keep repeating it. Ok?

SleepleSS, it's just your bad luck that stripping you of the default gems would take me just as much time as setting you up with a custom avatar. In short, dream on.

Or complain a bit more and I'll change that gem of yours into a brick. Then you'll really have something to complain about.

SHUT UP!! you bunch of whiners. You should be grateful Tal Lets you post you ungrateful bunch of Morons:grr:

Your Giveing me a Headache

[This message has been edited by Bastet (edited May 31, 2002).]

3000 posts... what new gem would I get? :)

the only thing i dont like is the "Latest gem:" slogan before the name of the gem.

What does it change in everyone's life to be a gem or a kobold or anything else... it doesn't matter, as long as we can come and have fun at SP.


By the way! Great work Tal.

Tal, have you noticed that Marnie, with his tempo of posting, will get to Rougue Stone possibly next week?

What then?
Hmmm, I guess it leaves him one of two plaques... ;) :evil:

Tal, are you gonna give people custom avatars when they get to the end? Or will you add something else? :confused:


EDIT: Thanks Tal. :)

[This message has been edited by Faerus Stoneslammer (edited May 31, 2002).]

No. The pretty rogue stone is reward enough for anyone who can make 3500 posts without bothering to contribute anything. And anyway, no regular user has made 3500 in the history of the boards yet. Even Headbanger there is still a few hundred short.

[This message has been edited by Taluntain (edited May 31, 2002).]

Only 407 to go Headbanger!
C'mon! We're all rootin' for ya!

Ahem. Higher math dictates: 497.

:evil: humans use a 'fourth dimension' they call 'time'. the last 2 posts are going to look pretty stupid soon enough. :grin: (still drunk... and malevolent)

HB- are you planning on getting a custom avatar once you obtain the rogue stone?

the god
Gems: 0/30
Latest gem: Brick

[deity edity]: :p you know what you need to do, SS... ;)

[This message has been edited by the god (edited June 01, 2002).]

...as stupid commands me to do.

[This message has been edited by SlimShogun (edited June 01, 2002).]

@Taluntain

Is there anything you can do to fix the now missing avatar pictures on the older posts?

Oh yeah, forgot about updating threads... I'll do it tomorrow. Right now any old topic you either reply to or edit a post in will update to the latest system.

Of course, IMHO, gems should be rewarded in regards to the date we registered. Then I'd be a demi-god! :D Oh, well, back to posting every now and then.

Didnt you say before Talutain that you were going to change back the old pics? or did someone change your mind? if so tell us all who did:hmm:

Please, can you do us all a favor and stop that thing with the gems. Tal has made a decision, respect it. Don't revive that post to (re)complain about the gems. :mad:

What I said is that I will NOT change back. You must have imagined seeing anything else. Anyway, closing this. No point anymore, really.