TorqueBay opens its gates
by Konrad Kiss · 04/18/2010 (4:02 pm) · 28 comments
Edit: As of September, 2012, Torquebay is currently offline. It will be back up in a few months - I'm working on creating it again from scratch.
It's been some time since my last report. This blog is about the results of my past week - which I've been balancing between our close-to-beta sci-fi game, Xenocell, TorqueBay (which is what I'm to write about right now) and my kids!
TorqueBay is a Torque link site - with a twist. The idea came when GarageGames changed their website layout, which resulted in less exposure for Torque content providers who have not made it into the GarageGames store for one reason or another. To be honest, my sales of the Cliff Construction Kit fell back. It made me think about people who were in my shoes. So I came up with the idea to centralize all Torque content on the web. Not an easy feat, but I don't plan to do this alone, of course.
One thing is very important to note before I dive further into the details. TorqueBay is not an official TorquePowered site - even though it has 'Torque' in the domain name. I received the green light from GarageGames a while ago on using this specific domain name and developing this idea. This notion was very important to me, as I wanted to help out both the community and GarageGames (TorquePowered). Through launching and maintaining TorqueBay I hope to bring everyone closer together. Also, I had/have no intention to step on anyone's toes. Alright. With that out of the way, let me tell you more about TB...
It is a Torque link site. It has kits, packs, blogs, bundles, tutorials - everything about Torque. But it's not just a boring pile of links! It has a number of features that some of you have been hoping for. Read on!
The site is completely tag driven. Tags can be picked from a cloud. There's a tag search feature that helps you find the tag you're looking for within the cloud. Unlike on other websites, you can choose several tags. Each tag you choose will further filter your results.
Every single new link or site that is accepted generates a tweet on our Twitter page via the Twitter API. This is how we plan to push update alerts whenever something new makes it into The Big List of Everything Torque. So if you want to keep up with Torque new resources in the future, be sure to follow torquebay on Twitter.
Comments on kits and packs and just about anything. I've wired the system to Disqus via its API, so every single submitted link has it's own thread. Since we use Disqus, you can use your existing Facebook and Twitter accounts (or do a quick registration with Disqus) to leave a comment - registration is quick and easy.
Anyway, the point is - now you finally will be able to access first-hand info from other devs about each resource or kit before you make a purchase. The intention is good, and in the interest of the community: certain kits out there need to raise the bar on the quality of content, and cut back on fancy promises. How many times did you have a hard time using a pack that was told to be Torque-ready? Well, now you will at least know what to expect before you make a purchase.
Another cool thing is that for links that point to an item that could be purchased, you will see an "indie" range price. Prices appear in USD and EUR. If they are given in other currencies, then they are converted to USD. So, say, if you're looking for the cheapest foliage bundle, it won't be too hard to find.
Also, there's a Freebie section (which in reality only lists items with the Freebie tag). This might help those developers, who are looking for free content to prototype with.
If you are a content provider, you can add your content to the site. There's a huge red button that you can't miss, try that. Every link submission needs approval, so your link box will not appear on the site right away. It will take somewhere from a few hours to 1-2 days to get approved. It's just checking for appropriate content, grammar and the right tags.
The site will only be successful with your help! Be sure to add your content, or content that you like - be that your (or someone else's) dev blog, your website about your art pack, or a tutorial - anything. Two rules only: 1. Search first. 2. It has to be about game development - possibly Torque related. If a Torque developer can make use of your link, then that means that TorqueBay needs that link!
If you already would like to add a new link, be sure to include your email address with each of your submissions in the Remarks field. This is not only so we can contact you about the details of your submission. Top (quality over quantity) submitters will be getting cool stuff such as free content pack licenses, bumps on TorqueBay, etc... (We'll see what else - no idea just yet, but I definitely want to value everyone's hard work.)
It will help you search - but more importantly, it will give you a better idea about what you've found. If you're an indie content provider, then it will get you significantly more traffic and will hopefully end in more sales if you sell quality content.
Yes! Clicking any of the link boxes takes you to the TorqueBay site browser, which lets you view the page with what you're looking for. You can go back to the TorqueBay site, or you can choose to jump to a random Torque site. This has been fun even with the first 4 links! (But then again, I can have fun watching snails, so... see for yourself instead!)
Right now, clicks are registered to soon be used in a ranking system. I believe that this is done in a somewhat clever manner - to avoid click spamming. Clicks that are reported on link boxes are not the click counts that are worked with for the rankings - they are simple counters that carry only somewhat useful stats.
I had to see if there was a way to generate some revenue that could be directed towards hosting and other expenses. I don't plan this to be a short-lived flame, but I don't plan to lose too much over it either. That hopefully makes sense. ;) So here's what I came up with:
Once you put your link up on the site, it will start generating you traffic. To receive even more traffic, you will be able to push certain products into the front page, first row limelight. Say, for a discount event or the launch of a new version.
Bumping your link will push it to the very top of all links. So what's the catch? There are two actually: it will cost you $1, and the length your link stays up there is only as long as someone else bumps another link. Even if that happens, in your own tags you could be on top for a lot longer.
One thing is for certain - if you bump your link once then it will always appear before links that have never been bumped, no matter when that bump happened.
Linking back to TorqueBay will be bumping you higher automatically. The more traffic TorqueBay gets from your site, the higher it will place your links (identified via the publisher url).
The website's Google Analytics data will be made public once I wrap my head around the API. Also, some time wouldn't hurt either, especially so close to having Xenocell leap into public beta. All in all, I figured it would be cool to show you the traffic you generate.
Please visit torquebay.com and see if you can add something to it. I'll see to it that approvals do not take too much time. Depending on how many links you push up there in the following days, I'll be approaching others to help me out with the approval process.
Right now, I'll need to get some sleep, so it might take a few hours for me to get back to approving links.
Thank you for reading through. I hope you'll find TorqueBay useful.
-- Konrad
@konradkiss
KonradKiss @ GitHub
konradkiss.com
Intro
It's been some time since my last report. This blog is about the results of my past week - which I've been balancing between our close-to-beta sci-fi game, Xenocell, TorqueBay (which is what I'm to write about right now) and my kids!
TorqueBay is a Torque link site - with a twist. The idea came when GarageGames changed their website layout, which resulted in less exposure for Torque content providers who have not made it into the GarageGames store for one reason or another. To be honest, my sales of the Cliff Construction Kit fell back. It made me think about people who were in my shoes. So I came up with the idea to centralize all Torque content on the web. Not an easy feat, but I don't plan to do this alone, of course.
One thing is very important to note before I dive further into the details. TorqueBay is not an official TorquePowered site - even though it has 'Torque' in the domain name. I received the green light from GarageGames a while ago on using this specific domain name and developing this idea. This notion was very important to me, as I wanted to help out both the community and GarageGames (TorquePowered). Through launching and maintaining TorqueBay I hope to bring everyone closer together. Also, I had/have no intention to step on anyone's toes. Alright. With that out of the way, let me tell you more about TB...
What is TorqueBay?
It is a Torque link site. It has kits, packs, blogs, bundles, tutorials - everything about Torque. But it's not just a boring pile of links! It has a number of features that some of you have been hoping for. Read on!
Tags
The site is completely tag driven. Tags can be picked from a cloud. There's a tag search feature that helps you find the tag you're looking for within the cloud. Unlike on other websites, you can choose several tags. Each tag you choose will further filter your results.
Twitter integration
Every single new link or site that is accepted generates a tweet on our Twitter page via the Twitter API. This is how we plan to push update alerts whenever something new makes it into The Big List of Everything Torque. So if you want to keep up with Torque new resources in the future, be sure to follow torquebay on Twitter.
Comments
Comments on kits and packs and just about anything. I've wired the system to Disqus via its API, so every single submitted link has it's own thread. Since we use Disqus, you can use your existing Facebook and Twitter accounts (or do a quick registration with Disqus) to leave a comment - registration is quick and easy. Anyway, the point is - now you finally will be able to access first-hand info from other devs about each resource or kit before you make a purchase. The intention is good, and in the interest of the community: certain kits out there need to raise the bar on the quality of content, and cut back on fancy promises. How many times did you have a hard time using a pack that was told to be Torque-ready? Well, now you will at least know what to expect before you make a purchase.
Prices and Freebies
Another cool thing is that for links that point to an item that could be purchased, you will see an "indie" range price. Prices appear in USD and EUR. If they are given in other currencies, then they are converted to USD. So, say, if you're looking for the cheapest foliage bundle, it won't be too hard to find.
Also, there's a Freebie section (which in reality only lists items with the Freebie tag). This might help those developers, who are looking for free content to prototype with.
Your Content
If you are a content provider, you can add your content to the site. There's a huge red button that you can't miss, try that. Every link submission needs approval, so your link box will not appear on the site right away. It will take somewhere from a few hours to 1-2 days to get approved. It's just checking for appropriate content, grammar and the right tags.
The site will only be successful with your help! Be sure to add your content, or content that you like - be that your (or someone else's) dev blog, your website about your art pack, or a tutorial - anything. Two rules only: 1. Search first. 2. It has to be about game development - possibly Torque related. If a Torque developer can make use of your link, then that means that TorqueBay needs that link!
If you already would like to add a new link, be sure to include your email address with each of your submissions in the Remarks field. This is not only so we can contact you about the details of your submission. Top (quality over quantity) submitters will be getting cool stuff such as free content pack licenses, bumps on TorqueBay, etc... (We'll see what else - no idea just yet, but I definitely want to value everyone's hard work.)
How will this make your life easier?
It will help you search - but more importantly, it will give you a better idea about what you've found. If you're an indie content provider, then it will get you significantly more traffic and will hopefully end in more sales if you sell quality content.
Random site?
Yes! Clicking any of the link boxes takes you to the TorqueBay site browser, which lets you view the page with what you're looking for. You can go back to the TorqueBay site, or you can choose to jump to a random Torque site. This has been fun even with the first 4 links! (But then again, I can have fun watching snails, so... see for yourself instead!)
The coming months
Content ranking
Right now, clicks are registered to soon be used in a ranking system. I believe that this is done in a somewhat clever manner - to avoid click spamming. Clicks that are reported on link boxes are not the click counts that are worked with for the rankings - they are simple counters that carry only somewhat useful stats.
Bumps
I had to see if there was a way to generate some revenue that could be directed towards hosting and other expenses. I don't plan this to be a short-lived flame, but I don't plan to lose too much over it either. That hopefully makes sense. ;) So here's what I came up with:
Once you put your link up on the site, it will start generating you traffic. To receive even more traffic, you will be able to push certain products into the front page, first row limelight. Say, for a discount event or the launch of a new version.
Bumping your link will push it to the very top of all links. So what's the catch? There are two actually: it will cost you $1, and the length your link stays up there is only as long as someone else bumps another link. Even if that happens, in your own tags you could be on top for a lot longer.
One thing is for certain - if you bump your link once then it will always appear before links that have never been bumped, no matter when that bump happened.
Linking back to TorqueBay
Linking back to TorqueBay will be bumping you higher automatically. The more traffic TorqueBay gets from your site, the higher it will place your links (identified via the publisher url).
Analytics go public
The website's Google Analytics data will be made public once I wrap my head around the API. Also, some time wouldn't hurt either, especially so close to having Xenocell leap into public beta. All in all, I figured it would be cool to show you the traffic you generate.
Wrap up
Please visit torquebay.com and see if you can add something to it. I'll see to it that approvals do not take too much time. Depending on how many links you push up there in the following days, I'll be approaching others to help me out with the approval process.
Right now, I'll need to get some sleep, so it might take a few hours for me to get back to approving links.
Thank you for reading through. I hope you'll find TorqueBay useful.
-- Konrad
@konradkiss
KonradKiss @ GitHub
konradkiss.com
About the author
http://about.me/konrad.kiss
#2
04/18/2010 (5:44 pm)
Haha, very good move Konrad, playing with it already! :) 
#3
It only have one major flaw as I see it. Why is this not part of TP?
Beats me that they let this consumer traffic pass by instead of nursing the community, this area have sadly been sliding forever now...
Anyways, good luck with the awesome project.
04/18/2010 (7:02 pm)
This sounds great, theres been similar attempts previously but with hard work to make it function, I think this is a good one.It only have one major flaw as I see it. Why is this not part of TP?
Beats me that they let this consumer traffic pass by instead of nursing the community, this area have sadly been sliding forever now...
Anyways, good luck with the awesome project.
#4
04/18/2010 (8:17 pm)
So i can suggest packs that i have bought from any site? 
#5
04/18/2010 (8:40 pm)
Pretty slick, man - I like it! 
#7
04/18/2010 (11:25 pm)
Nice work Konrad!
#8
04/19/2010 (1:31 am)
Very nice work. Will definatley use it. 
#9
Well done Konrad!
04/19/2010 (1:37 am)
This is a very well formed site that gather usefull information about the Torque engine.Well done Konrad!
#10
@Steve: Thanks! I've corrected the links. That kind of joystick was the only one that'd be persistent enough to stay with me for as long as my Commodore 64 did. All the others were broken in Decathlon I think. :)
@Novack: Thanks for the suggestion! Great site. Will find a good picture for it and push it live.
@Christian S: TP needs to put every single new feature through a heavy QA session. Also, they can't just change fundamental aspects of the site from one minute to the next, because its being used already. Perhaps if TorqueBay will work well, they will be interested in opening a separate section and having TorqueBay as part of the site - who knows. I'm open to that - actually I'd love that. But first we should prove TP, that there's actually enough quality Torque related content out there that'd warrant such a service.
@Maximillian: Yes! Please do so! If you've found something cool, let everyone know! If you had a bad encounter, do the same, and post a warning about it through comments.
I'll probably spend the next few days finding and adding content. If you don't feel like adding stuff through the site, you can send me a link directly (see bitgap.com for my email address).
Again, thank you guys! Your enthusiasm is very encouraging!
04/19/2010 (2:03 am)
Thank you everyone for the nice comments!@Steve: Thanks! I've corrected the links. That kind of joystick was the only one that'd be persistent enough to stay with me for as long as my Commodore 64 did. All the others were broken in Decathlon I think. :)
@Novack: Thanks for the suggestion! Great site. Will find a good picture for it and push it live.
@Christian S: TP needs to put every single new feature through a heavy QA session. Also, they can't just change fundamental aspects of the site from one minute to the next, because its being used already. Perhaps if TorqueBay will work well, they will be interested in opening a separate section and having TorqueBay as part of the site - who knows. I'm open to that - actually I'd love that. But first we should prove TP, that there's actually enough quality Torque related content out there that'd warrant such a service.
@Maximillian: Yes! Please do so! If you've found something cool, let everyone know! If you had a bad encounter, do the same, and post a warning about it through comments.
I'll probably spend the next few days finding and adding content. If you don't feel like adding stuff through the site, you can send me a link directly (see bitgap.com for my email address).
Again, thank you guys! Your enthusiasm is very encouraging!
#11
04/19/2010 (4:56 am)
Konrad that is an excellent job you have done there. The only issue I see with it is that when you select multiple tags it's not very apparent that the site is using both to filter your on screen results. Perhaps maybe add some sort of box around the current tags that are being used to help the user see what filters he has on? Anyways great work here!
#12
04/19/2010 (4:58 am)
@Donald: Thank you. Ease of use for the site is still not quite what I want it to be, I agree with that. I'll see what I can do to make it even more intuitive in the coming days. 
#13
D R Pemberton
deadlyassets.com
(edit)Link added(/edit)
04/19/2010 (5:14 am)
Nice one, bookmarking it now, adding a link to it soonD R Pemberton
deadlyassets.com
(edit)Link added(/edit)
#14
Added: TGB Platformer Kit by TorquePowered - http://torquebay.com/!10008
If you could make your automated tweets use a format like this
Added: TGB Platformer Kit - http://ow.ly/12fh #torquepowered
Title of the kit - a url shortner like bit.ly or ow.ly (these have stat tracking) then every post that you have yourself system post should use this hashtag #torquepowered this will help our community get found easier in the social media space.
04/19/2010 (5:43 am)
Konrad one more suggestion. This one comes from a social media angle.n Take a look at the tweets you put out.Added: TGB Platformer Kit by TorquePowered - http://torquebay.com/!10008
If you could make your automated tweets use a format like this
Added: TGB Platformer Kit - http://ow.ly/12fh #torquepowered
Title of the kit - a url shortner like bit.ly or ow.ly (these have stat tracking) then every post that you have yourself system post should use this hashtag #torquepowered this will help our community get found easier in the social media space.
#15
@Donald: Thank you. While I don't want to change the url (it's pretty comact as is, and the submission is never too long) I've added the #torquepowered string at the end of the tweets. Thanks again for that idea! Very cool.
Edit: Of course that #torquepowered will only work with new additions. :)
04/19/2010 (5:51 am)
@David: Thanks. I've already added your link I think, but if you find anything, be sure to submit it.@Donald: Thank you. While I don't want to change the url (it's pretty comact as is, and the submission is never too long) I've added the #torquepowered string at the end of the tweets. Thanks again for that idea! Very cool.
Edit: Of course that #torquepowered will only work with new additions. :)
#16
04/19/2010 (6:02 am)
True it only works if all of the community uses the same one. 
#18
Edit: It's up! :) http://torquebay.com/!10070
04/19/2010 (10:05 am)
Thanks Jon. I can't see what you've added. I think I'll need to refine the submission form. A submission is successful only if you get a success message. Try submitting again - if you still have your data entered into the form, then it didn't yet go through.Edit: It's up! :) http://torquebay.com/!10070
#19
Edit: Oh and put a favicon, really useful for the bookmarks toolbar :)
04/19/2010 (11:23 am)
Hey Konrad, yet another sugestion: the top bar, the one that appears when the user wants too see a certain element, would be really useful to have a "Close" option, to remove the bar when finally decided to stay in that site.Edit: Oh and put a favicon, really useful for the bookmarks toolbar :)
#20
04/19/2010 (11:51 am)
@Novack: Thanks! Will do! :) 
Associate Steve Acaster
[YorkshireRifles.com]
Love the old Kempston joystick motif, think I've still got one left over from the '80s somewhere around here.
typo for links in last link of "Random Site" and first link of "Wrap Up"