showcase their project properly, then I dread to think what the project will look like.
A warm welcome to you. If you are checking this before showcasing your project, then I offer my hearty congratulations to you.
This guide is primarily for people who don't know HTML or for those who would dare post a full text showcase. I will be listing my top tips for creating sexy showcases that will draw the masses in to gaze in awe at your work.
Showcasing is very important, it lets people know about your project. This should boost your downloads, and the better you make your showcase the more downloads you will get. Showcases need to be informative, concise and pleasing to the eye. They are your best way to advertise your project to us.
So without further ado, I will list my top tips, helpful hints and annoying alliteration. The following is a short list where you can jump to each topic by clicking the link, if you know nothing then please read the whole thing.
Giving information is important. When people come to your thread they don't want waffle, they want something straight to the point telling them what your project is about. If you are new then a line or two of introduction can be fine, but telling people about the project should be very near to the top, only below a title and/or percentage bar.
Laying out your showcase in a correct order is not as important as the above points, but it's still useful. I don't really have to explain much here, as it's just common sense and what works for you. You should have the following near the top: A banner for your project, percentage bars, status information and a small opening paragraph.
Your opening should inform viewers about what your project is about. If it's a scenario; what genre is it, and is it multi/singleplayer? If it's a mod pack; what will be included?
You should probably include screenshots or youtube videos at the bottom if you have them all in sections, but there's no harm in having them on the sides throughout your showcase too.
You may be wondering how I've managed to get bold text and other things during this showcase. Is it voodoo? Is it black magic? No, it's using the inbuilt forum BB functions and HTML.
BBCode stands for Bulletin Board code, and it a quick and easy way for you to format your thread. With BBCode you can achieve such magic as colouring, underlining, bolding, italicing, listing and more.
For HeavenGames' extensive reference for BBCode, check
Before you go spreading BBCode over your showcase like some hideous marmalade, you must first think about how to use it in a good way.
My first tip is
Using the hex system is the way forwards. The hex system is a way you can define your own colours by using a 6 character code. Hex is in base 16, so you can have the numbers 0-9 as well as the letters A-F. To use this system, simply use [
You may have noticed I colour coded the #xxxxxx, that is because the first two characters represent the red value, the second two represent green and the final two represent blue. You can mix colours to your choosing, but try not to use
Just play with the letters, and mix a few around.
If you are interested, the background colour of the forum main post is
Here is a massive table with hex colours for your copying pleasure:
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009900 | 009933 | 009966 | 009999 | 0099CC | 0099FF |
00CC00 | 00CC33 | 00CC66 | 00CC99 | 00CCCC | 00CCFF |
00FF00 | 00FF33 | 00FF66 | 00FF99 | 00FFCC | 00FFFF |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
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339900 | 339933 | 339966 | 339999 | 3399CC | 3399FF |
33CC00 | 33CC33 | 33CC66 | 33CC99 | 33CCCC | 33CCFF |
33FF00 | 33FF33 | 33FF66 | 33FF99 | 33FFCC | 33FFFF |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
669900 | 669933 | 669966 | 669999 | 6699CC | 6699FF |
66CC00 | 66CC33 | 66CC66 | 66CC99 | 66CCCC | 66CCFF |
66FF00 | 66FF33 | 66FF66 | 66FF99 | 66FFCC | 66FFFF |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
999900 | 999933 | 999966 | 999999 | 9999CC | 9999FF |
99CC00 | 99CC33 | 99CC66 | 99CC99 | 99CCCC | 99CCFF |
99FF00 | 99FF33 | 99FF66 | 99FF99 | 99FFCC | 99FFFF |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
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CC9900 | CC9933 | CC9966 | CC9999 | CC99CC | CC99FF |
CCCC00 | CCCC33 | CCCC66 | CCCC99 | CCCCCC | CCCCFF |
CCFF00 | CCFF33 | CCFF66 | CCFF99 | CCFFCC | CCFFFF |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
FF9900 | FF9933 | FF9966 | FF9999 | FF99CC | FF99FF |
FFCC00 | FFCC33 | FFCC66 | FFCC99 | FFCCCC | FFCCFF |
FFFF00 | FFFF33 | FFFF66 | FFFF99 | FFFFCC | FFFFFF |
With hex you can have over 16 million different colours. And I'm not listing them!
And now on to the wonders of HTML...
HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language, and is like an extension to BBCode used to design entire webpages. With HTML there are a lot of powerful tricks at your disposal. The main showcase HTML feature is increasing text size, using a horizontal rule and tables.
Firstly, a simple <
If you want to make your text bigger (for the title) simply use: <
Now, let's move on to
All tables start off with <
Here is a list of useful extensions you can add inside your table or td tags:
width=" | height=" | bgcolor=" | background=" | colspan=" |
rowspan=" | valign=" | border=" | cellspacing=" | cellpadding=" |
bordercolor=" | align=" | Put the tags together for a blank cell. |
When creating a table remember that you must not use the enter key, otherwise your table will sink to the bottom of the thread. If you have to use enters, check the 'do not convert new lines to br' box at the bottom of the new topic interface.
<table><tr><td> No gaps! </td></tr></table>
Comes out as:No gaps! |
<table>
<tr>
<td> Lots of gaps </td>
</tr>
</table>
Unfortunately comes out as:Lots of gaps |
You may have seen some showcases break the forum table allowing for full width. You can do it by putting the following at the top of your showcase:
</td></tr></table> <table width="100%"><tr><td>
To re-enable the forum table, post the following code at the END of your showcase. You don't need to do the first line if you've already closed your table.
</td></tr></table>
<table class="thread" width="100%" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=5 align=center >
<tr class="alt2"><td valign="top" width="20%"> </td><td valign="top" width="80%">
Screenshots are the backbone of every showcase. Without them people will not take an interest in your project and your showcase will collapse and take an all expenses paid trip to the bottom of the forum.
With this in mind, you still need to put thought into your shots.
I don't want to see an unfinished section of the map - your screenshots should try and tell everyone how great your project will be. Take shots of some amazing eyecandy or trigger work if you have it, get different angles if you're proud of something and make sure your screenshot will stand tall.
Some things to remember:
Screenshots should ideally be spread throughout your showcase - although there's nothing wrong with having a section devoted to them. Screenshots can really be put anywhere you want, just make sure you do it neatly! Tables might help you with this.
But remember, the server is against you. If your image is larger than
Images are bound to liven up your showcase. But we don't want to see a smattering of random and useless pictures. They can be used to style your showcase or simply as props to replace tags.
You could use them as your own bullet points, to make sexy coloured text, or just some amazing borders. Make sure your showcase is still pleasing to the eye.
Among our best kept secrets are percentage bars. These nifty little images are for everyone to use to show progress on your project.
Take a look through all of
We've got a lovely new youtube embed feature. So if you've made a youtube video, then why not use it? To embed, simply put the URL into your showcase, simple as that. If you just want the link you need to enclose it in url tags.
It's a great way to engage interest - but don't worry if you can't use this feature. Videos only become viable if you're making a huge project.
What makes your project special? If you don't have anything here then you won't engage much interest. You need to have something special about your scenario otherwise it just becomes a clone.
There's nothing wrong with using well known genres, however you need to make it interesting if you want to become well known.
There's also a unique way to present your project. To get you started, I haven't seen anyone use a mascot/character in their showcase yet...
This is just a brief list of what to do, and what not to do.
If you're making a long project, always underestimate your % complete so you can pile it on at the end
Well, that concludes my guide. I hope you find it useful.
"You can't trust yeebaagooon to lead a rebelion, He would send everyone to steal mirrors so he could bask in his own brilliance." - Out Reach
"Yeebaagooon had never seen a more handsome man in all his life. He couldn't control himself, He needed to act. Gripping the mirror in his strong arms he kissed the figure before him..." - Out Reach
AoMH: Unfinished Scenarios|Singleplayer: Codename Ripto|Multiplayer: Minigames Z|CSC 7
Ex Seraphs Dictator, Spore Heaven Seraph
[This message has been edited by Yeebaagooon (edited 06-06-2010 @ 01:46 PM).]