CVGM.net - Chiptune, Retro & Video Game Music

Hi,

Once again it's that time when a large patch of changes is installed to CVGM. This post is intended to guide you through some of those changes, and how they affect the site. Many thanks to Terrasque for working on this patch

Firstly, the big obvious changes that hit you in the face the moment you visit the site

* Updated Queue / Now Playing Window - The Now Playing tab is only visible in the right hand side of the screen, and not in the main pane AND the right hand side together. This makes the main pane much cleaner and easier to navigate. It also fixes issues of YouTube clips showing a large black box there, and several other caching issues.

* New Upload Page - Visit the Upload page of any artist and the page has been completely revamped. All information is now laid out in a friendly manner making it much easier. All links to external sites such as HOL, Pouet etc. are now featured on the bottom of the page.

* Now Playing Videos On Upload - You can now specify a YouTube video clip to appear in the Now Playing box directly on the upload page. Remember to only add the YouTube video ID, and set the offset number (in seconds) to start at the same time as the song does to try and make them as synced as possible.

* Add Song Link Information - From any song page, you can now add different link types such as Pouet, HOL, Atari Legends etc. Just click the Add Links underneath Song Corrections & Updates. You can also view any change history there as well. An optional comment field is also added so you can make any comments for the staff to read. All new links are verified by an administrator before being added to the song. All moderators should use this system of updating as well.

* Edit Song Information - Anyone can now edit song information! See below for more information.

Moderator/Staff Specific Changes

The following changes apply mainly to staff and moderators of the site:

* Updated Info Panels - On any screen, where the normal Pending Uploads, Pending Artists etc. boxes appear there will now show the count for each section in brackets. If something is waiting, you'll see it almost right away. The cache updates quite frequently.

* Moderator Comments - Songs now contain a text field where moderators can document anything they want, as it's only visible to other moderators/admins. Use this to explain bans, rejections and anything else that might need an explanation later.

* New Info Tab - A new menu option appears under Pending Uploads etc. showing how many pending song changes are waiting. These are generated when a user adds a new site link.

Other Changes
Of course, there are many other changes made internally to the site that don't get noticed on the outside. Caching has been improved as always, and some fixes have been applied for areas that were problematic with caching. You should notice things move along a little quicker in some areas like the queue.

All site links have been migrated to the Generic Link system that was implemented a few weeks ago, making future updates even easier. Adding new databases is now far easier, and multiple links can also be added. This was a large change to the database and all upgrading went smoothly. Expect to see some neat things with this in the future Feel free to recommend new resources to use in the database, there can never be enough useful information!

Editing Song Information
Yes folks, you heard it correctly. Anyone can now make changes to most of the information on the site. This is done by clicking the Edit Information button in the Song Corrections & Updates section of the song page. Fields such as the year, artists, groups, labels and lots of other information can be edited here. When selecting multiple groups, or to unhighlight an entry, hold the Control key when you click (probbably the Apple or Command key on the Mac). When done, submitting the changes will then go to a moderator for approval.

This new system allows anyone with an account to make important changes to the song information without having to wait for someone to add it for them. Please be sure when you add information that you verify your sources beforehand. Links to download songs should still be reported in Song Corrections / Changes along with any other info that cannot be changed from the page.

We hope you enjoy the new changes, as we sure do

FishGuy876 & Terrasque