RMU vs GDU

[Marked 197]

One month on, we have some stats where we can compare RMU and GDU.

 

I wrote a fair bit on the theory behind our change from GDU to RMU. To summarize, GDU was masking our core subject-matter, that of RPG Maker. GDU->RMU was a change that made it obvious we're about RPG Maker and the nav made it easier to find your RPG stuff.

 

The idea behind this was, for example, if you wanted to find RMXP resources you can get there with one click from any page on RMU (there's a link in the nav on each page), whereas for GDU it was 3 clicks. So in theory, there should be a heck load more pageviews for RMXP resources, and all the rest.

 

Here's a comparison of the last of GDU and the first month of RMU

 

Just for interest.

 

What this tells me is that all my theory on the change is a bit weak. However it could still be that our visitors find us irrelevant either which way. The big one for me is pages/visit. People viewed less pages than they did on GDU. But the bounce rate means that more people tried another page at least.

 

It's very close really. There's also a seasonal thing of course, the stats start at christmas day.

[dolarmak 23]

Like i said before, I preferred the mission of GDU trying to support all Game making platforms. To me that was a big sell, but I also understand that we didn't really have any one specialized in anything except RPGMaker and maybe RageMage with Python. So I understand the change.

 

As for the Idea that 1 click is better than 3 to get where you want to go I totally agree. I think it was a wise change to the main page of the forum to set it up the new way.

 

Keep up the good work Marked, hope things will pick up soon so people can see how much hard work you're putting into getting this made.

[seena1379 0]

I think RMU is better than GDU because it's more related to Rm.

GDU was trying to support all Game making platforms but we didn't have much members who wanted to ask help

for other game making platforms i agree that 1 click is better than 3 i think you're doing well and i respect you,re hard works.

Edited March 4, 2013 by seena1379

[QuesTMajoR 4]

!!!THIS IS THE BEST!!!

[isaacsol 10]

I liked GDU, but I feel that with RMU, we can focus efforts and produce a more stable community than with a huge variety if game platforms which we didn't have much experience in.

[Leon 55]

There is an old saying "If you chase two rabbits, you will lose both of them."  Essentially, by going broad spectrum on all Game Developing platforms without having any experts in anything other than RPG Maker is basically saying we are trying to be something we are inept in.  Now, if we had experts in C#, C++, and many other diverse areas; I'd say go with GDU.

 

However, if we go with multiple support without having the support structure FOR platforms other than RPGMaker, you will actually turn people away with the thought of 'these guys dont know what they are doing.'

[Marked 197]

I'm pleased to see so much support for the current setup :)

 

I've made an embarrassing mistake that I somehow overlooked. If you see the above graph the blue line drops to 0 at the end, because that days stats didn't exist yet. So the RMU stats where a full 24hours down, the real stats line up like this

[QuesTMajoR 4]

What I Dont like in RMU is because it doesnt have:

 

<spoiler> I NEED A SPOILER </spoiler>

[Leon 55]

What I Dont like in RMU is because it doesnt have:

 

 

 

 

like this?

 

 

 

 

Ha. spoiler is broken for some reason...

[Marked 197]

Is it? O.o working fine in firefox and chrome. I recently remade it for the scripts section. Try refreshing the page coz you may have some cached javavscript.

[QuesTMajoR 4]

Oh Like THis:

THIS IS A SPOILER MADE BY 2 BRACKETS AND A SPOILER TEXT.

 

Edited March 3, 2013 by QuesTMajoR

[Leon 55]

Quest, use the brackets instead of <>  use [ ]

[QuesTMajoR 4]

Quest, use the brackets instead of <>  use [ ]

Oh yeah THANKS! ^__^ chigoo told me to use brackets also.. THANKS!

[Bigace360 38]

While I do want to get into Unity or UDE in the future, I don't think that switch would be a good Ideal for the site. Which is a good reason why this switch back to RM central is for the best. If we already have a lack activity sometimes for the RM end of the game development, how are we suppose to keep up with other game engines, such as Unity and Unreal Development Engine. If people need help in other engines we shouldn't turn away, but this site should be RM first and other engine second, as that is what you started with and that is what you should end with.

[ShinGamix 1]

One thing could be that GDU is not completely gone. I still see GDU a lot of places even the url is gdu still. I am not saying it is anything bad but it prob doesn't help either.

 

 

but things around here are looking better.

Edited March 3, 2013 by ShinGamix

[dolarmak 23]

While I do want to get into Unity or UDE in the future, I don't think that switch would be a good Ideal for the site. Which is a good reason why this switch back to RM central is for the best. If we already have a lack activity sometimes for the RM end of the game development, how are we suppose to keep up with other game engines, such as Unity and Unreal Development Engine. If people need help in other engines we shouldn't turn away, but this site should be RM first and other engine second, as that is what you started with and that is what you should end with.

It would be nice if we could support Unity or UDE, but it is obvious that we'll never get rid of RM support. If you're into that I'd talk with Rage Mage, he actually knows a bit about it.

I never expected this place to fully support all development tools, but like i said before it would be nice if we had more members who did use other engines so those who only use RM would feel comfortable asking about and learning new ones.

[Polraudio 122]

As liz said were just not ready for gdu yet. RMU would be better to stick with till we start getting people good with other engines. I wouldnt mind trying other engines but i just dont have the time to learn something else.

 

A domain change might make the stats even better(i know its planned).

[Noob Saibot 38]

Wow, I leave for awhile and shit hits the fan...however, even I have wasted time, effort, and money in sites that didn't seem to go anywhere.

[Bigace360 38]

Wow, I leave for awhile and shit hits the fan...however, even I have wasted time, effort, and money in sites that didn't seem to go anywhere.

http://www.gdunlimited.net/forums/topic/7521-prelaunch-game-kits/?hl=%2Bnoob+%2Bsaibot&do=findComment&comment=64890 *sign*

[Noob Saibot 38]

http://www.gdunlimited.net/forums/topic/7521-prelaunch-game-kits/?hl=%2Bnoob+%2Bsaibot&do=findComment&comment=64890 *sign*

 

That was a money issue. Most people that would have agreed to create resources wanted me to pay them for their work when it was explained that it was a make and pay module. With the exception of a few I contacted to work on stuff. However, I think a resource site in itself is still a good idea, but finding people to fill it with all new content is hard and expensive.

[Bigace360 38]

That was a money issue. Most people that would have agreed to create resources wanted me to pay them for their work when it was explained that it was a make and pay module. With the exception of a few I contacted to work on stuff. However, I think a resource site in itself is still a good idea, but finding people to fill it with all new content is hard and expensive.

Lol really, was that one of the reason why you closed it, I didn't even know that. Well you should know that some people can't or choose not to read important detail like that. I'm wondering what was going through there mind when they thought that they were going to get some type of pay from you, when it was really the people looking for their resources that would be paying them. The nerve/laziness of some people.

[Marked 197]

Wow, I leave for awhile and shit hits the fan...however, even I have wasted time, effort, and money in sites that didn't seem to go anywhere.

Lol. You think? I bet you've made over 50 sites. You even deleted this one when it wasn't active enough when you managed to get the old admins to listen to you. This is my only site and it's not a waste of time or money. I'm in the positive in terms of revenue and even if I wasn't the help that people have got over the years was worth it in itself.

[Noob Saibot 38]

Lol. You think? I bet you've made over 50 sites. You even deleted this one when it wasn't active enough when you managed to get the old admins to listen to you. This is my only site and it's not a waste of time or money. I'm in the positive in terms of revenue and even if I wasn't the help that people have got over the years was worth it in itself.

 

Well maybe not 50, but I probably have registered that many domain names.

[dolarmak 23]

Lol. You think? I bet you've made over 50 sites. You even deleted this one when it wasn't active enough when you managed to get the old admins to listen to you. This is my only site and it's not a waste of time or money. I'm in the positive in terms of revenue and even if I wasn't the help that people have got over the years was worth it in itself.

I know exactly what you mean. At least you're in the positive revenue stream, I've always lost money when it came to websites, even when designing them for companies. I've gotten screwed over so many times it's left me never wanting to make a website again if i can help it.

[Marked 197]

Oh I had no idea you made websites. In my 2 web jobs I spend most of the time working on the font-end, design stuff, but what I really like to do is make stuff, like the scripts section. It's hard to distinguish if you don't much about it. I'm talking about making things run, the engine-room of a website. For example, if you look at the "Categories" in the sidemenu, that output comes from this function

    public static function getCategories(){
        $engines = ScriptsModel::$_engines;
        $category_list = array();
        foreach ($engines as $engine_id => $engine_name) {
            $categories = ScriptsModel::countCategoryScripts($engine_id);
            $count = 0;
            $total_sum = 0;
            $category_list[$engine_name][0]['name'] = 'All ' . $engine_name . ' Scripts';
            $category_list[$engine_name][0]['count'] = 0;
            foreach ($categories as $category) {
                $count++;
                $category_list[$engine_name][$count]['name'] = ScriptsModel::$_categories[$category['category']];
                $category_list[$engine_name][$count]['count'] = $category['count'];
                $total_sum = $total_sum + $category['count'];
            }
            $category_list[$engine_name][0]['count'] = $total_sum;
        }
        return $category_list;
    }

And that's fun. Though to be honest not too many people use my creations :P Project cards was popular though.

 

One of the main reasons this site is in the green is because isaacsol hosted the site for free and then in December when I moved onto my work's servers, this site doesn't have those bills. I gotta pay 12.5USD each year which I pay out of the ad revenue for the site. But you know, that's just like an hour's work for me. A hour's work per year for the site... I spend about that on petrol and lunch for uni each day.

 

I'm also really efficient at making websites for small businesses. I use a CMS, a modern and frequently updated template framework, etc. I get setup real quick, the main time wasting comes from stupid clients who don't know what they want and don't want they asked for.

[dolarmak 23]

I enjoyed creating stuff too. I built several shopping carts from scratch cause that was what the company wanted, but in the end i was screwed over in terms of payments, job opportunities and advancements with the companies. It left me very discouraged.

 

You've definitely got a knack for it so keep up the good work.

 

I just saw the new VXA script, tutorial and resource buttons you made, they look nice. Will you be doing that with the other 2 Rpg Maker sections?

[Marked 197]

I built several shopping carts from scratch cause that was what the company wanted

Wow, I wouldn't even attempt that. For our clients we use Magento. Still learning how to extend it but haven't had much opportunities. There's a big community too.

 

 

I just saw the new VXA script, tutorial and resource buttons you made, they look nice. Will you be doing that with the other 2 Rpg Maker sections?

That is the plan. Not an easy task however. I'll do VX and then XP, which I expect to take me many months. I have to convert all of the content for both the tutorials and the scripts. With things like my comment integration, it can take a while preserving the data. The editors I used make it super easy to create scripts, but moving scripts requires things like altering dates, views, downloads etc. in the database.

 

I'm also planning other things based around this like making it easier to submit content and making sure everyone knows how to do that. As is I doubt anyone is going to even bother submitting their work even though its really simple. We've always had a real lack of people who want to make and share things. So it's about promoting that and developing a culture of sharing. There are tons of people who come through here that easily can make things, tutorials are simple as, but they just don't.

 

The homepage will also be the content portal for the site. If you're wanting to see what's new on RMU then that's where you go. I started a wee bit, but I plan to stretch this out a lot :D I'm uber busy and always will be from now on.

[dolarmak 23]

Wow, I wouldn't even attempt that. For our clients we use Magento. Still learning how to extend it but haven't had much opportunities. There's a big community too.

 

This was back in 2000-2001 when most shopping carts were crap and every one wanted their own version of what was popular but still be called original. It was really a pain in the ass, worst of all the companies I made them for soon after switched to a popular off the shelf model from another company mostly cause it was the in thing. Their excuse to me was that people were much more used to using the popular one and they wanted to meet demand. Which essentially cost me my job.

 

Enough about my bad job experiences lol, I like the look and I am looking forward to what you'll bring about. I totally understand about database transferal. If you're making the site script from scratch it's a little easier to use your current database, but i know it's still not simple to integrate. good luck

[FranklinX 37]

Marked! What are the site's top traffic sources? 

[Marked 197]

In terms of websites, its sites like rpgmakervxace.net, rpgmakervx.net, rmrk, youtube, rpgmakerweb.

 

Broadly, the sources are like this (The above being referral traffic), and this is since Feb 06 2013, so about a month