Well, SF and fantasy will always be a part of this site, no matter what the name may or may not change to. But the change in philosophy is desperately needed - rather than just working on another Trek mesh this week (not bashing Trek - this is just an example), then making hundreds of images of it for the next year, we should be turning out a product that is unique and exciting.

3DG should be a place where writers, sketch artists, musicians (hadn't thought of them yet) and modellers can all work on creating work for an original universe that they were a part of from the beginning. And while they're at it, they just might learn a little something from each other, too.

I have to disagree with setting up a place for all types of arts, 3d, 2d and whatever else, because frankly i'm afraid that this site would eventually either become a big mush like deviantart or just don't get started at all because we lack the possibility to fill the place up.

I do agree with re-thinking the whole site, the whole philosophy. it is time for 3dgladiators to evolve to something new.

thus, my opinion stands: kill everything here right now, open two new one for discussion one for art. there we can sort out what needs to be done on a nutral background without being bothered by the old bodies around us.

Ahh, the winds of change blowing again. Episodic short stories might be a good idea, perhaps even short animated movies. Put a new episode on the homepage periodically in order to give people a reason to visit the site.

Tutorials are a BIG plus to a site. The problem is getting people to write them with a modicum of quality. I know there are a lot of new versions of the software we all know and love. It would seem to be a good time to showcase some of the new features.

It has been said before that we need to branch out, and I agree. The non-trek and indeed non sci-fi posts are refreshing, especially when quality works such a sthe recent McClaren F1 are posted.

You go on about short films, how about a series? Sounds stupid, I know, but listen. People love their TV shows, they write fan stuff all over the internet about their favorite characters going together, or having a huge battle, etc. RPGs are the same. Fans joining together to basically write something new, about the thing they love.

Well, how about we create a series. It'll allow the writers to WRITE, it'll allow the 3d and 2d artists to draw, and it'll allow film people to maybe make the series. Like that Stargate spoof thing, a few months back in the Film/Editing Forum. Something like that, where we use the forums to chat about storylines, etc. The artists might go "Oooo... I have this idea", draw it, show it, and then the writers go "that's exactly what I wanted". Do it like that?

Now, if you say it's a rubbish idea, that's fine. But, if you want something that's (a) different, (b) brings people together (c) gets art, writing, etc and (d) keeps the forums. This COULD be it?

That is a good idea, as long as people are committed to it and stick with the exercise util the end. That's the hard part.

Short films and series'...

/me points everyone's attenion here: http://www.3dgladiators.net/forums/f...s=&forumid=383

*bows head in shame*

One failure doesn't mean it won't work! Just means it didn't work THEN...

let's not start with big projects for which we don't have the personnel...

As Chris (kakaze) just pointed out this would not work. Creative people will only really be inspired to work on their own ideas. Trying to get people to follow a universe collectively designed will only really attract those without the imagination to create something of their own. This could only work if people had free reign to write about what took their fancy.

As for the 2d, 3d side of it then it could maybe tied in by allowing people to visualise their favourite stories. And not just in mini movies etc. It's been proven that just doesn't really work. But encouraging artists to make scenes from the stories might just ( or book covers for them if you like.)

As someone green and made of photons once said ... "be mindfull of the past... save you it can.." ... it's been proven time and time and time again that big collaborative projects just dont work. Better lots of smaller ones which only attract those truly inspired by a piece of work.

And if you guys are serious about going down the linked story/ related artwork path you're going to need to code an effective rating system. Theres a lot of really awfull amateur writers out there and there needs to be some way for the cream to rise to the top so that that is whats found first. To be honest that is another good reason to try and avoid fan stories of tvshows/ movies.... generally they are of the worst quality.

Richard.

I already noted that the porjects we work on will be small and manageable. We're not going to try to make the Lord of the Rings trilogy here...

Also, the site won't be keyed to a specific universe - the main rule is that the projects we work on must be original (avoiding the fan-fiction curse you alluded to). In fact, we could end up with a couple of sci-fi projects, a sword-and-sorcery project, and even a spy story - each being worked on by a different team of artists and writers. In effect, we're not just going to be a 3D community anymore, but a story-telling community.

As far as failure is concerned, it won't be an option for me. While I will be contributing to some of the efforts as a writer, I will also be making sure that progress is always being made in each project - if it means bringing in new blood to work on it, that's what I'll do.

You see, I've realized that the most successful communities are those that reflect the particular skills and passions of their owners and administrators. SFM and LWG are successful because those who run it are excellent artists. As someone who has never touched a 3D program, I really have no business trying to maintain a site based solely on 3D artwork - but as a writer, and a creative person, I know that I can work WITH 3D artists and other writers to help tell a story. And as an experienced leader, I can ensure that we are always moving forward with quality projects.

I'd been thinking of doing this with my Phoenix Studios site, but the time spent working here at 3DG had kept me too busy to fully explore it. Now that it seems only a matter of time before the current incarnation of 3DG turns into a ghost town, it seems only logical to build this new community on the existing framework that we already have in place.

Look for an official "mission statement" later this evening. In the meantime, I have to dig out my old plans for Phoenix Studios...

Don't bite off more than you can chew...do take it gradually.

Let me just toss out a few thoughts...

I think what ricktu said about the steps to re-creation are a good idea. It’s so true there are so many dead forums out there, its not even funny. A well thought out general theme and purpose would go along way.

The kind of content I would like in a website would be:

1. Industry News (either in TV, Film or gaming but real news.)
2. Tutorials, for a variety of 2d and 3d applications
3. A high grade front end, that is updated frequently. As an example, I really like 3d totals layout, its quite smashing.
4. A quality gallery or artists
5. A broad range of themes, not tilting towards something (ala scifi). I can’t stress this enough guys. 3DG absolutely HAS to find a way to reduce the scifi emphasis.
6. A bias towards appealing to adults. Professionals don’t like hanging out with 15 year olds with cracked software.

Also I don't think there should be any emphasis being put on a mesh download section. Perhaps it’s true that a lot of sites have them but most of the highend websites, in fact, don’t. So obviously it wasn’t detrimental to their success. For instance, if I release any of my future work, its going to end up on Turbosquid or the like before I give away months of hard work for free.

you know the funny thing?
logging in just now, there were 11 users online. this is a normal figure for most parts of the day. yet the post count is nearly zero. why? we get plenty of ppl looking.. just not posting...

If the site is to take a new direction, it might be prudent to do a little pruning of the member list. Weed out every who hasn't posted in, say the past 30 days. That way we get a better idea of who really contributes.

I wouldn't recommend this. After all we're trying to re-interest people in this site. If an old member hears about whats going on and comes back to find his username deleted it may be just enough to make him say "stuff it" and move on before seeing if he likes the new place or not.... you should never tick off potential customers....

If you want to find out the real size of the current userbase over the last month either just look through a months worth of posts and write down the names or better still start a rollcall thread...

Richard.

Don't just delete willy nilly, Rick. Send out a general email to everyone saying "anyone who hasn't posted in 30 days will have their account deleted", that way anyone who wants to come back can and the rest, well, ****'em.

1. Yes the site could use a 'flashy-er' design, but let's not use templates. The site should refect originality. (Why not have a site design contest or something? No need for a prize, the honour of winning it would suffice :) )
2. Maybe we could 'downsize' the forums a bit, you know bookshelf and stuff adding to general discussions. That way you don't get the idea that some parts of the site are 'dead'
3. I know that big projects are out of the question, but what about small ones?

update lol
through today I've been checking in. I keep seeing 12 to 19 users listed on the forum front page... yet.. 6 posts all day.. and most of them in here.

ok.. we're getting traffic.. but why are they not posting?

Once again, our projects will be small, at least at first. Nothing gets a group motivated like a sense of accomplishment, so if we set attainable goals, and keep acheiving them, we'll become more and more motivated to take a crack at larger and more ambitious projects. The problem with the Romulan project we began was that we were trying to do too much all at once - it was like dumping a 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzle out on the table and saying "Let's get started!" We need to take things one step at a time.

Kakaze, I don't intend to delete any members - after all, once we start producing some real content here, old members should start coming back, and I don't want to make them re-register.

And I like the idea of a site design contest, once the forums get trimmed down - it could be a good way to get the creative juices flowing.

And Kai, the reason a lot of people aren't posting is because we don't really have anything for them to be a part of. All we have right now are threads where the replies consist mostly of "Yes, that's a nice ship." or "My favorite movie is..." When we start our new project, we will actually have something for people to participate in, not just something for them to observe.

maybe...
but right now, we seem to be an online library service..
some of the threads (about 50%) being viewed are over a year old.. so why are they digging those up?