Link directly to a game's page?

Quadko · Post by **Quadko** » Sat Oct 25, 2014 4:30 pm

Is there (or could there be?) a way to link directly to a game's info from the forum? Am I missing something, or is linking to the page list and saying "search partway down" the best way to get people there? And very happy to learn I just missed the obvious, if that's what I did.

edit: Hm, I tried the search page (google partner search?), but it isn't restricted to this site; odd. Oh, well!

I tried to see if I could jump to the entry on a page by anchor tag even, like .../g_puzzle.php#gamename, but it doesn't seem setup for that - no a tag with id="name" on the game sections or hyperlinks. That or a custom search could help, even if each game doesn't have a unique page.

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 5:33 pm

Quadko wrote:Is there (or could there be?) a way to link directly to a game's info from the forum? Am I missing something, or is linking to the page list and saying "search partway down" the best way to get people there? And very happy to learn I just missed the obvious, if that's what I did.

edit: Hm, I tried the search page (google partner search?), but it isn't restricted to this site; odd. Oh, well!

I tried to see if I could jump to the entry on a page by anchor tag even, like .../g_puzzle.php#gamename, but it doesn't seem setup for that - no a tag with id="name" on the game sections or hyperlinks. That or a custom search could help, even if each game doesn't have a unique page.

Have you tried copying the link at the top of you browser and pasting it? That usually works for me!

Post by **wardrich** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 1:43 am

tienkhoanguyen wrote:
Quadko wrote:Is there (or could there be?) a way to link directly to a game's info from the forum? Am I missing something, or is linking to the page list and saying "search partway down" the best way to get people there? And very happy to learn I just missed the obvious, if that's what I did.

edit: Hm, I tried the search page (google partner search?), but it isn't restricted to this site; odd. Oh, well!

I tried to see if I could jump to the entry on a page by anchor tag even, like .../g_puzzle.php#gamename, but it doesn't seem setup for that - no a tag with id="name" on the game sections or hyperlinks. That or a custom search could help, even if each game doesn't have a unique page.
Have you tried copying the link at the top of you browser and pasting it? That usually works for me!

This would work if he wants to link directly to a zip file, but he's asking if there's any way to link to the game's review on the page.

To answer that, no, it can't be done at this time. The site has been an old pet project of emmzee's, and the coding of it is slightly archaic by today's standards (no offense!). A lot of the stuff is hard-coded in.

He is working on a new layout, however, as we've all gotten older and taken on more responsibilities as life rolls on, he hasn't had as much time as he'd hoped for developing the site.

The best thing I can suggest (and it's a bit more work) is to copy the synopsis from the page, and copy the screenshot and download links and paste them into your post as well. You can use the following html tags to make your post a bit prettier:

Code: Select all

<img src="LINK_TO_IMAGE" alt="Screenshot">

Code: Select all

<a href="LINK_TO_GAME">&#91;Download&#93;</a>

Quadko · Post by **Quadko** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:39 am

Thanks, Wardrich!

Post by **emmzee** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 11:07 pm

Yup, all the pages are hard-coded html. With over 600 entries, it would take a long time to convert them to a database system. I've had inclinations of redoing the site over the years, but now that I'm in full-time work and part-time school (and likely starting to plan a wedding

) it unfortunately probably won't happen soon.

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 11:28 pm

Cheezits and Rice!hehe

Wow. That is big news. Congratulations............

Quadko · Post by **Quadko** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 10:54 am

Congratulations on the pending nuptials!

Certainly no worries on the pages, not a big deal. But I do wonder, hm, could a global search and replace add a "harmless" anchor to each entry... or at least on the "all games" page...

If you don't mind, I'll take a look and let you know if I get good results. You can ignore or use it at your convenience, then. But all the current stuff certainly works.

Cmaza · Post by **Cmaza** » Sat Nov 08, 2014 5:51 pm

Quick question. If the likely required workload of the conversion were of no consequence, or if we were to ignore the likely size and number of items to be eventually transferred over to any potential new database system and/or layout.. Did you have any ideas in mind for what sort of system or layout you may potentially be interested in?

Quadko · Post by **Quadko** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 12:29 am

If you're asking me, I don't care, just a way to link directly to a game's blurb and download link - whether that's one page per game, or just an anchor on each game name to scroll directly there, that's what I had in mind.

No complaints about the site, of course! It's got a classic low bandwidth feel rather than the encyclopediac database feel that HotU once did and many modern sites provide. But free stuff and hobby - glad it exists! And the forum! Double plus good glad. Just looking for a way to easily link from the forum when we have a game someone is looking for.

And if you're asking emmzee, that makes more sense.

Cmaza · Post by **Cmaza** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 7:34 am

Yeah, I was more aiming my question at emmzee. No worries, though.

Post by **MrFlibble** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 12:53 pm

On a related note, there are some broken links in the site's database (external download links that is), and some games featured could be updated to more recent versions.

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 1:48 pm

MrFlibble wrote:On a related note, there are some broken links in the site's database (external download links that is), and some games featured could be updated to more recent versions.

On the note of updating my personal games: Tron (demo), futbol (demo), and ArkanDOS (demo)...

I am tired out, and not getting any creative inspirations right now. Cheezits and Rice!hehe It is also pretty draining reading 450+ pages of coding books in 3 weeks. So I am just resting for the Christmas Season and maybe picking back up the year. I am burned out, overworked and under paid haha However, I love my job.

Like we talked about, it is at my leisure however that may not be good for the public. They say a game is better if you take your time?

Post by **wardrich** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 11:50 pm

tienkhoanguyen wrote:
MrFlibble wrote:On a related note, there are some broken links in the site's database (external download links that is), and some games featured could be updated to more recent versions.
On the note of updating my personal games: Tron (demo), futbol (demo), and ArkanDOS (demo)...

I am tired out, and not getting any creative inspirations right now. Cheezits and Rice!hehe It is also pretty draining reading 450+ pages of coding books in 3 weeks. So I am just resting for the Christmas Season and maybe picking back up the year. I am burned out, overworked and under paid haha However, I love my job.

Like we talked about, it is at my leisure however that may not be good for the public. They say a game is better if you take your time?

...This has to do with the games listed on dosgames.com... it has nothing to do with your titles.

tienkhoanguyen · Post by **tienkhoanguyen** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 6:27 am

I was not complaining!

DOS Games Discussion

Link directly to a game's page?

Link directly to a game's page?

Re: Link directly to a game's page?

Re: Link directly to a game's page?

God, Cheezits and Rice, is number one!hehe

God, Cheezits and Rice, is number one!hehe