META: Under Construction

I am anticipating a successful conclusion of the legal agreement between me and the awesome folks at UGO some time today, so in preparation for the change in management I am redesigning the blog. As a result, things might look a bit higgeldy-piggeldy for a bit; please bear with me as I iron out the problems.

156 Responses to META: Under Construction

  1. ams says:

    Great news!

  2. Dionne Jinn says:

    Good to hear. Btw, that pic is hilarious!

  3. John says:

    Boom goes the dynamite, baby! A new era of Heromachine awesomeness is thus born!

  4. Whit says:

    Took me a second to get my bearings, but as soon as I saw the new banner, I knew that was a good sign. 🙂

  5. ams says:

    Like the new look….

  6. Dionne Jinn says:

    100% agreement with ams. The new look looks GREAT!

  7. mrmatt220 says:

    Nice. 😉

  8. Gero says:

    I like the new layout. So I’m guessing the deal you and UGO are working on is you get the entire site, and not you stay working for them?

  9. Nick Hentschel says:

    Just as long as the program still works….

  10. X-stacy says:

    Awesome (or Awexome! as the kids are saying these days). And I like the new look!

  11. Hammerknight says:

    Sounds great.

  12. alvacascus says:

    New year, new look.. two thumbs up.. 🙂

  13. Vampyrist says:

    Looks good

  14. Joshua says:

    Looking good there, Jeff; keep it up. 🙂

  15. ams says:

    How do we get our avatar up?

  16. Joshua says:

    @Nick Hentschel- 10 points to Gryffindor for the use of Kermit the Frog as your avatar.

  17. Basic says:

    Awww yeah. This is a site for sore ey- *is shot*

  18. Joe says:

    Awesome news, Jeff. Here’s hoping everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, works out in your favor!

  19. Jeff Hebert says:

    ams: I think they’re automatically pulled from your Gravatar icon if you have one … as to how you do that, I’m honestly not sure. Give me a day or two and I’ll see if I can come up with the answer.

  20. ams says:

    Thanks Jeff. Really like the home page and the animated display of characters!

  21. Trekkie says:

    I was a little taken aback when I first refreshed and saw the new layout, but it looks good!

  22. Jeff Hebert says:

    Gero: That’s correct. The new deal is basically that I get ownership of everything HeroMachine, and they are not involved in it at all any longer. Which also means I no longer will be working for them, meaning that I will be starting a new full-time gig some time in the next week or two for an unrelated company in a non-HeroMachine capacity. However, since I’ll regain ownership of the program it can continue to live on along with the blog stuff, only I’ll be doing it for myself instead of IGN/UGO. I do not anticipate it generating enough revenue to support me full time, thus the need for a full-time gig.

    However, I do plan on continuing full support and development of both the community and the apps in more of a hobby-type capacity. If it ends up making a lot more money than I thought, then … well, I still will owe my new employer service through the completion of the project in question, but after that maybe I could go back to HM full time. We’ll see.

  23. Dan says:

    I really like the new layout!! Very nice.

  24. Tarkabarka says:

    Yeap the new look is soo cool i really like it.

  25. Hammerknight says:

    Are you going to have all of your Hero Machine for us to use on this site. I do still use the other ones here and there.

  26. Kaldath says:

    I Love the new look of the site and really love the rotating Hall of Fame images! my own nitpick is and its a small one, I don’t like the new comment area and having it broken up into pages, I much prefer a single stream of comments from the first one to the last one instead of having to click a previous or next button.

  27. Jeff Hebert says:

    Kaldath: Thanks for pointing that out, I didn’t realize this is how the new theme would work. I’ll poke around and see if I can change that part back — I agree, I much prefer one long comment thread.

  28. Jeff Hebert says:

    Hammerknight: I believe so, yes, though I can tell I am going to have to do some tweaking to get them working in a WordPress template instead of being standalone. Plus there were some UGO-specific things going on in there I’ll have to swap out. But that’s my goal, to have them all here, definitely.

  29. Arioch says:

    That’s good news! I’m relieved and happy to read this, and wish vehemently things will work out for the best for you and Hero Machine

  30. ams says:

    Seeing if avatar works?

  31. ams says:

    bummer….

  32. ams says:

    Success!!!

  33. Kaldath says:

    Hey Jeff, I was thinking, Once Heromachine is yours again your should put the Heromachine Logo back in the Background section again like it is/was in HM 2.x

  34. Worf says:

    Well, if ams can try this so can I… wonder if it works..

  35. Dionne Jinn says:

    Care to advice the rest of us ams? At least I would like to have a pic, too.

  36. Worf says:

    YAY, It DOES work! BTW Jeff, glad things seem to be working out. Man was I shocked when I read the first hiatus post…

  37. ams says:

    Here you go dudes and dudettes, go to this link and follow the directions. Took a little time to kick in afterward, but it work.

    https://en.gravatar.com/

  38. Worf says:

    @Dionne Jinn: Create an account at gravatar.com that’s all you need (uploading an avatar photo would be nice too) 😉

  39. Kaldath says:

    Dionne Jinn Just go to Gravatar.com sign up for an account, and link an avatar of your choice to your email address and it will be pulled into this site, and any other site the used Gravatar whenever you use that email to post with.

  40. Kaldath says:

    Also note that Gravatar allows you to use Muliple Email addresses and have a different avatar (or the same one if you want ) for each addresses on your account.

  41. Dionne Jinn says:

    I’m just trying it out. Let’s see if it shows up here…

  42. Tarkabarka says:

    Yeap working the avatars.

  43. Lime says:

    Great news!

  44. Dan says:

    ok, joining the fun…

  45. Jeff Hebert says:

    OK, a couple of changes in the commenting — all comments should now be on one page without having to go back to older ones or whatnot.

    Also, I turned on “nesting” of comments, so if you reply to someone, your reply will show up beneath theirs instead of just in column order. Let me know how that works for it, or if you’d rather turn that off and go back to just one big chronological column.

    This is fun!

  46. dblade says:

    Liking the little gallery slideshow on the home page. New users can get a good idea of the capabilities of HM3. Or fall in despair before the unattainable awexomeness of the masters! 🙂

  47. Dan says:

    Just trying it out…

  48. Worf says:

    So if I reply to a reply it should double-nest right? 😉

  49. dblade says:

    I kind of like the nesting. Less confusing and I won’t have to @Person(##): anymore.

  50. dblade says:

    I just nested in your nest, suckah!

  51. Worf says:

    @Jeff, if we’re revamping everything, is there a way (without breaking the site) of bringing back the “preview comment” button? I used to like that a lot….

  52. Jeff Hebert says:

    None shall nest before the Prime Nester!

  53. dblade says:

    It looks like it double-nested.

  54. Jeff Hebert says:

    I believe the limit is 5-deep nests.

  55. Jeff Hebert says:

    I’ll check into that, Worf.

  56. dblade says:

    Maybe 4 deep?

  57. Worf says:

    YAY!!!! Thank you oh Bald Avenger! 😀

  58. Jeff Hebert says:

    It’s good to be the boss!

  59. Dan says:

    It’s like the Inception of nesting. Or Something. I’m just giddy right now.

  60. Dionne Jinn says:

    This nesting thing should come handy when we have time to get our next OCD…

  61. Dionne Jinn says:

    And it does.

  62. Aaron says:

    so its free to use?

  63. Hammerknight says:

    I like the nesting thing, it makes it easier to reply(commend)directly to the person that you want to.

  64. FRM says:

    this new site looks cooler than UGO.

  65. Jeff Hebert says:

    Free to use for now, yes Aaron. No promises how long that will last.

  66. FRM says:

    how do i create a profile? like put a picture next to my name, and stuff?

  67. Jeff Hebert says:

    Thanks FRM! Glad you like it so far.

  68. Aaron says:

    cool and i will understand if it goes to a payment method we all gotta make a livin somehow

  69. Jack Zelger says:

    Great to hear, Jeff! And I was especially pleased with the new design because within seconds of opening the page, my two characters went by in the slide show! 🙂

    Oh, and I recently did an “update” of Gadget as an older woman, with a more refined costume. She was my favorite of all my HM3 creations. I’ll find the image and give you a look.

  70. Frankie says:

    Great new look, Jeff. Congratulations to owning all things Heromachine!

    Looks like we all(especially Jeff) dodged a big bullet-bullet.

  71. Trekkie says:

    This is great so far! The nesting looks good and seems very useful.

  72. Worf says:

    Go to http://en.gravatar.com and make a profile. Just make sure that one of the e-mails you register there is the one you use here.

  73. Worf says:

    Bullet-bullet??? Are we back to bulletman jokes? 😉 😀

  74. MartianBlue says:

    I really like the new layout, The heading is amazing, and the rest just pops. Glad to hear things are definetly taking steps in the right direction

  75. Frankie says:

    Sure, why not? HM has been born again. And Jeff DOES love the folks at the House of Bullet.

  76. Frankie says:

    Nice! My avatar worked. Not my best piece of work from HeroMachine, but the others are on my old computer. Oh, well.

  77. Worf says:

    you can always change it later

  78. The Imp says:

    Sighed a big sigh of relief when I popped onto the site just now. Looks like things are proceeding nicely.

  79. Corran Horn says:

    I just made a new character just so I can have a good avatar. I haven’t actually made something in a long time, and now I’m getting back into it. Oh, and it also allowed me to introduce one of my friends to the website. And Jeff, I’m really digging the new look.

  80. Dionne Jinn says:

    Nice nickname, Corran.

  81. Nick Hentschel says:

    If you knew me, you’d understand just how much that avatar makes sense. Thanks.

  82. Nick Hentschel says:

    After inspection, I’d like to second. This new thread structure (allowing DIRECT replies to posts) is much easier to manage than the old one. Navigation is also going well, so far.

  83. FRM says:

    thanks, Worf.

    Headlessgeneral– could you post the text for your archer dude, which you made with my pose?

  84. Gero says:

    Ignore this post, just checking if my Gravatar works…

  85. Gero says:

    It does not, guess it’s back to their site for me…

  86. FRM says:

    thanks, headlessgeneral. i didnt see that post before.

  87. Gero says:

    Oh, wait, now it’s working. Guess it just takes a second to load in…^_^”

  88. Kaldath says:

    I like the nesting, also glad to see both your posts Jeff with the yellow background again as it makes it easier to pick out your comments and that it is once again is a Single continuous comment stream instead of a page format … Good Work!!!

  89. FRM says:

    i never took the time to appreciate the awesome HM logo.

  90. Kaldath says:

    Oh, just a thought since you are redesigning the site, is there a way to allow a poster to edit his/her own post ?

  91. Kaylin88100 says:

    Hi guys. Great start to 2012, huh?
    Let’s see if my Gravatar works…

  92. Kaylin88100 says:

    Yay! It worked! 🙂

  93. Dionne Jinn says:

    Does this change influence the time difference between UTC and the blog time?

  94. Big Mac says:

    Ready and patient brother….

  95. Jeff Hebert says:

    Dionne Jinn, I don’t think so. That setting is separate from the template. Why, is there an offset problem? I had it set before to my actual location, which is US Mountain Time, and I haven’t changed it as far as I know.

  96. Jeff Hebert says:

    Loving these avatars, folks!

  97. Dionne Jinn says:

    No. I was just curious. I like to know how the blog time relates to the UTC time, or UK time, or Finland time…

  98. MartianBlue says:

    I second Kaldath’s suggestion of the editable posts.

  99. MartianBlue says:

    if possible?

    see what I did there? 🙂

  100. Jeff Hebert says:

    I don’t know how to do that but I will do some poking around and try to figure it out. That would be a nice feature, definitely.

  101. Vampyrist says:

    I love the new site. Jeff, Since the forums are currently owned by UGO and will most likely disappear after some time, is there some plan to have an alternate forums for us creators to post our latest works.

  102. Jeff Hebert says:

    This is a test from Jeff as an anonymous user for the new “edit after the fact” plugin. Edited to add: It works!

  103. Jeff Hebert says:

    I actually have a WordPress forum installed and running on a super-secret page, but I’m hesitant to publish it yet until I can talk to the guys at UGO about the fate of the regular forums. I’m a little nervous about having two totally separate forum sites to administer, plus I worry about what will happen to all the content currently on the UGO Forums.

    Basically I’m a nervous nellie. But yes, I do have an alternate set up and ready to go if need be, which I started a few months back during the last “the UGO Forums are going away” scare. If it comes to it I’ll publish it and we’ll get going on it. At least it would be under my control on my server …

  104. Jeff Hebert says:

    OK, the new “edit comment” plugin seems to work. You should have five minutes from the time you post your comment to edit it in-line. If you all think we need more time than that, let me know — it’s configurable.

  105. Dionne Jinn says:

    It is nice to have them.

  106. Joshua says:

    I’m testing out both the edit function and seeing how my avatar looks.

    Edit: 1). Edit’s working seamlessly; though, can you see about giving us a bit of a wider berth on the time limit, Jeff? 2). Avatar doesn’t seem to want to work– any help from the HM gang out there?

  107. NEON says:

    AWEXOME !!! 🙂

    It is great to see everything is going well.

    And I love the site’s new style, in fact it is my favorite so far.

  108. Dionne Jinn says:

    The avatar might just need some time. They seem to be lagging.

  109. Joshua says:

    Yep, it simply took a bit of time for it to kick in. Thanks, Dionne.

  110. Myro says:

    Okay, wow, I was so not expecting this when I clocked in. The new site is starting to shape up nicely.

  111. headlessgeneral says:

    No problem, FRM. Sorry it took so long.

  112. headlessgeneral says:

    Avatar test

  113. Kaldath says:

    Yeah, the Avatars seems to make things feel more personal for some reason, then the old text only posts did.

  114. CKnap says:

    Awsome work so far Jeff, glad too hear heromachine is still operational. If the fact come that we cant keep using the old forums id urge everyone to grab the txt from their poses, bodies, backgrounds and items, just incase. That way we can re-post them on the new one if need be.

  115. headlessgeneral says:

    Yay!! Fun!

  116. FRM says:

    is anyone going to answer my challenge about using this pose?:
    http://frmartworks.wikispaces.com/Heromachine+Saved+Texts
    (it’s the Flying one)

  117. gendonesia says:

    woohoooo new year, new face, new spirit!

    gotta check my gravatar >>>

  118. FRM says:

    CKnap– what pic is that your using as ur avatar?

  119. celticdragon79(TJ) says:

    Lookin sweet!!! Glad we didn’t lose ya Jeff!!!

  120. Dan says:

    What is it Gero? Is it something that you made?

  121. Captain Kicktar says:

    Avatar test, and giving the great changes, I hope you work it out well.

  122. gendonesia says:

    ok it work!

  123. CKnap says:

    Its the one I created from my Destroyer character, but re-edited it. I cant see it atm so im not sure what it looks like :/

  124. CKnap says:

    I uploaded an avatar and it seemed to of worked at first but since i changed the image i cant see it anymore.

  125. CKnap says:

    Nvm just had to change the email now i can see it

  126. alvacascus says:

    er.. what about organizing new character design contest while this blog is under construction?

  127. celticdragon79(TJ) says:

    avatar test

  128. Ace Lions says:

    I’m glad things are going well I love HeroMachine. I use it all the time for my characters

  129. Jeff Hebert says:

    We’ll do another one on Monday, alvacascus. One missed week will give folks a chance to catch their breath 🙂

  130. clownprince says:

    testing my gravatar
    ===
    testing the edit feature
    ===
    swiftly works. good to have you back with the new look Jeff 🙂

  131. Ian says:

    That will be wonderful for fixing links!

    This is like Christmas Jeff, keep it up!

  132. Mr.MikeK says:

    I am glad to see this! I actually like the new look. Jeff, it may take a while but with the traffic HM generates you should be able to get sponsors fairly easily. It may not be able to support you full time for a while, though.

    I am looking forward to the full transition.

  133. Jessica says:

    This is great news, Jeff! Glad to hear it.

  134. alvacascus says:

    Roger, sir! Can’t wait until monday.. 🙂

  135. knight1192a says:

    Wow, weird. I’d been following the Meta Hiatus updates Jeff and I knew what was going on but I gotta say I wasn’t expecting what I’d see when I came on today. Was a little worried at first that for some reason things had broken down or something until I saw this update. Glad to hear things are going well. Gonna have to get used to the new look, though.

  136. Watson Bradshaw says:

    whoa! thing sure look great on the site, love the format changes and cant wait to see what is yet to come. I am so glad things are working out for you Jeff.

  137. MisterDinoMan says:

    I honestly don’t use the application all that often, but I’m glad as hell that the blog is sticking around.

  138. Dionne Jinn says:

    The more I look at this new layout the more I like it. Can’t wait to see what it will look like when everything is ready (if there ever comes such a state as “completely ready” ;))

  139. darkvatican says:

    Nice look on the blog, Jeff. Glad you’re still running the show!

  140. Gero says:

    Nah, just a symbol from a book series that I like. When ever I have to make an avatar somewhere I use it…

    Edit: Hey, we can edit now!

  141. X-stacy says:

    Hey, just a mildly personal question: I seem to remember that when you worked for UGO you couldn’t do art commissions because of your contract. Will your new job allow you to do that to support your income? Or is the back-and-forth on the quest for perfection too time-consuming to make it worthwhile anyway?

  142. Jeff Hebert says:

    The answer is a qualified “I don’t know yet”. I mean, yes, I can legally now do whatever I like in my own time, so I could do commissions. It’s just that, at the moment, I am sufficiently freaked out over trying to get squared away to think about it too much.

    I have to make a decision by tomorrow on whether or not to take the job, which is back in Austin. That means leaving my wife and the critters here in Colorado while I get a cheap-o bachelor pad in Texas. But for that to happen means planning travel, visits, finding a place, furnishing it with the bare minimum a guy needs (i.e. mattress, TV, PlayStation, and cable), getting settled into the new gig, etc.

    In other words, I’m at least a few weeks away from being in a place, emotionally and mentally, of being able to decide if I want to do commissions or not. But at least I now have the option!

  143. X-stacy says:

    Ouch. I don’t envy you the decision of chancing longer unemployment vs being separated from your family.

  144. Dan says:

    Oh man Jeff, that really sucks. I hope everything works out for you.

  145. Jeff Hebert says:

    Well put, that’s exactly the conundrum.

  146. Jeff Hebert says:

    Thanks Dan, but other than being in Austin, the job itself sounds great. It’s with the guy I worked for just before HM got bought out, and he’s awesome. I’d be learning about doing mobile apps, which is neat, and I do like Austin.

    It’s just the being away from my wife and home that I am dreading. I LIKE my wife and our life here! But, you know, you gotta do what you gotta do. I feel incredibly lucky to have an offer, and one with a group I already know I like very much. So in the grand scheme of things it’s all very good.

  147. Nick Hentschel says:

    Hey, *I* live in Austin! ;-(

  148. Jeff Hebert says:

    Well then, maybe I’ll see you there, Nick! I lived there from 1995 to June of 2010, so it’ll be a homecoming. Maybe I’ll see you there!

  149. Dionne Jinn says:

    Has UGO already killed the forum or am I just having difficulties accessing it?

  150. Dionne Jinn says:

    Never mind. It’s still there…

  151. Dionne Jinn says:

    Is there any chance that the png-transparent background feature in export options could be tweaked to include at least some widescreen layouts?

  152. Jeff Hebert says:

    Yes, that’s possible. I think. I’ll look into it.

  153. Me, Myself & I says:

    Wow, see what happens when your away for a few months trying to run a new business. Everything changes. Good luck Jeff.

  154. Jeff Hebert says:

    Hey, it’s MMI, how exciting! Welcome back, sir!