The *must be done* hacks thread list
 

You know, when you're searching over the forums to find some good hacks, probably you would like to see all the hacks that can fits your needs. This is impossible, but I think this thread could be like a "I would like to see... a modification that will let users to do this, this, this, etc". Or.. more specifically, you could use this thread to post your opinions on determinate hacks that should be done... hacks that must be done for the benefits of all the vb.org community itself. Oh, excuse me for my bad english.. I'm italian.

For example, here my essential hack list:

Registration form on non-vB page (a good descripted hack or a good tutorial)
Latest threads on a non-vB page
Latest users on a non-vB page
..and all the other issues related to non-vB pages.


You?

There is already a complete forum for such requests: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/forumdisplay.php?f=112

... each user here have specific requests for a good hack, so a single thread will never be enough...

1. Any form of RPG or battle system ever

It seems about 3.6 time, no one ever made any of these for free, or tried to port them over from the earlier versions. How is it even remotely fair that there's only one product on the market for something that likely has massive demand, and even that costs money? Did people get bored of the effort of maintaining complex modifications around 3.6 (or even 3.5) era?.

2. Any form of video gallery

The beta video gallery modification for 3.6 seems brilliant, just that's there no info on whether it works on 3.7 or signs of it being updated recently, and the 3.7 exclusive mods are nearly completely featureless in comparison. Just needs comments, categories and various source sites to get videos from.

3. A decent, stand alone shop system for points systems. There has been like, 10 points systems for 3.6-3.7, but zero shops other than IShop? Currently waiting for vB Commerce and Customiser (which will seemingly be excellent), but it would be nice if people actually released things like the shop stand alone, because many people want to use a different points sytem to the shop system, and many may not even another points system or a shop with the mod they chose to install.

4. Any kind of iBPro Casino conversion. Don't want it personally, just that it's been asked for about 10 million times and never really got made by anyone, with numerous developers saying they'd make it and then backing out or vanishing about a few months later.

5. vB Garage update. Same as above, I don't want it, a lot of people do, no one seems prepared to actually code it for them.

The problem with coders not prepared is not the point... if you go to a real commercial coder and ask for these conversions they will be done, in exchange of money... the problem is not the availability but the releases... commercial coders do not like to release their tools for free, so they do not want to do these conversions. -- i'm one of them... that's why i have my site and my own way to release things.

However, there are equivalents on other forum software, and I really want every person who has a forum to pick vBulletin for the mods and community rather than Invision or the like (I've already recommended it to just about everyone who's ever wanted to set up a forum).

I wonder if I could pay someone to release it for the community? Because it's really, really annoying to have vBulletin with less mods than it's competitors who have these useful features...

Such a system takes more than a single programmer. You need a graphics designer to make pictures of all the items and what-not. I've rarely run into a graphics designer that'll do work like that for free unless they already have a personal interest in the project.

Aside from that "RPG hacks" aren't really that popular anyway. There are a handful of "big" forums that put them to good use..everyone else has trouble getting enough users to play. I personally have no interest in playing a "web based rpg" and from what I can see most of the other users that visit forums with them installed feel the same way.

Why do you care what software other people are using? ;) I made the same mistake back when I used UBB but in time I saw the error of my ways and converted to vBulletin. There will come a time when I move on to something else although it probably won't be IPB. At any rate if someone needs something not included in vBulletin they should probably be looking elsewhere. There is no point in buying a car and trying to modify it to be a truck when you can just buy a truck in the first place.

My team of morons is always ready to answer paid requests... the big problem is not coding, it is releasing... most of the other forum softwares have paid teams that are hired to release these engines... when i was on IPB, i was hired for 500 000 lines of coding, whatever the engine i coded... i generated some of the things that are missing on vB even today... but i was not handling the release or the profits of these tools... on vB, the guys want to control the money made by their work... that is different.

personally, i would take all these requests and code them if i can get paid seriously... 50$ for 10000 lines of code is absolutely out of question... and who would be crazy enough to pay long-term contracts for that kind of work ?!

Images? I can get those in about a day or two, since at my own forum, I have like 10 moods suggested daily by members and had to actually stop accepting smilies because I couldn't cope with the amount.

Hint: Ask at most gaming forums or the like, or maybe a site like the Spriter's Resource, and you can often use them with credit to the author.

I'm still debating it. But I know there'd be some interest, and plenty of people wanted a battle system type thing when the topic came up.

Probably because apart from that, vBulletin offers the best features.

Then, why not help vB to be a truck instead of switching to another software that is already a truck?
I think we could/should help vB in order to be.. more that a simple truck. :)

I don't think any coder would see it that way... Jelsoft is a commercial company built to make profit... if we "help" it being bigger, and we receive not a single line of credit at the end, why would we?!...

If Jelsoft hire coders to build these tools, no problem with that vision... if they just wait for us to make their profit grow, forget it... most freelancers will continue to release their work on their side with their own profits in their own hands.

This is not only about Jelsoft, but all the companies that have fan communities... IPB have the same kind of situation, but when a great coder bring great tools, they buy the coder's work instead of (being inspired by) the ideas... on phpBB, the entire project is non-profit, so it's part of the individuals to release their own engines... for sharing.. but most of the phpBB releases lately were to copy vB features... so that does not count.