For those that haven't seen the news (A MUST READ), we have just launched IndieDB a site dedicated to covering indie games. With this launch comes a bucketload of changes which I will run through now. Once we gauge the reaction from this news, it is possible that these changes will be ported onto ModDB along with IndieDB's new design (but red of course!).
New Design
IndieDB features a familiar design, but with rounded corners, streamlined header, cleaner footer and plenty more tweaks such as less images to speed up loading times.
Smarter Platform Selection
Whilst modding is primarily limited to PC games due to consoles and mobiles being closed platforms, indie games are being made for iPhone, Android, PS3, Xbox360, Wii, Flash etc. To cater to these developers and gamers, we have revamped our platform system so you can choose which platforms you want shown in the menu dropdown. By default all content from all platforms is shown, however you can easily select a platform and view only related news and games.
Search Suggest
Search on ModDB / IndieDB isn't great... we know that and are working on it. One MAJOR improvement that IndieDB now features is search suggest. Don't believe us? Start typing the name of your favorite indie-game into the search box top right corner on IndieDB. We have a feeling you will like this feature.
Login by Email or Username
You can now login to any DesuraNET site using your email or username.
Speed Improvements
Whilst this is a backend change, we have recently upgraded our database server, fine-tuned our profiling and overhauled the sessions system to minimize the load on our machines. This should mean faster load times for you and greater scalability in the long run.
Better Spam Filtering
We have 0 spam tolerance and will 100% erase any members that spam. Despite this, spammers have been abusing the PM system and jobs board. We have just put in additional restrictions to make this very difficult for them.
Helpful 404
The 404 page has a shiny new design and comes with a very handy search box (with suggest). Never get lost again!
Less Ads
IndieDB only displays one ad per page (no header ad) and that ad disappears if there is no ad to show (0 ads per page!). Forums and videos are now 100% ad free also.
Network Integration
Did you know your login on ModDB works on IndieDB and Desura also? All sites in DesuraNET share the same backend, so you don't need to re-join or re-add content. If your content isn't shown on IndieDB and you want it displayed, just ask and we shall assist.
Shout-out
While ModDB has been supporting indie developers for a long time, IndieDB is a first for us and we eagerly look forward to working with indie game developers on all platforms be it PC, mobile or console. IndieDB is far from being the first indie site on the web, so I wanted to quickly shout out to some of our favorites. We look forward to supporting indie games and working with you (and many other game sites also, email us).
As always, developers and gamers we want to hear from you so we can make this the ultimate place for you to interact, promote your games and make friends. So let us know your thoughts, and check out the official launch post for much more detail. Game on developers!
Amazing stuff! Great to see an entire site dedicated to indies.
I like the style. Though, it's gonna be a bit hard using 3 different things ... Moddb, Desura and Indiedb
They share the same backend so you don't need to. Remember ModDB isn't changing, so if you like ModDB stick with it and content posted on IndieDB will continue to be shown on it. Also Desura is a distribution platform for released games and mods. It is more about "playing" while IndieDB and ModDB are more about "developing" and interaction between developers and fans.
Thank you that answered my concern lol keep up the work INtense!
I secretly have a man crush on you well I did until just now
Small suggestion, I only browsed a little bit through.
But adding a "engine" filter would be nice. Maybe it's just me, but I enjoy browsing by what engine is being used just to see the type of stuff that's being made with that engine.
It's just fun to see the competition for same engines being used.
Interesting !
Long-missing feature, and with the flood of indie developers using MODDB to promote their games, segregating them is a good move. Not that I'm complaining, I love reading about indies as much as I do about mods... but they don't need to be intertwingled.
I'm left wondering about things that muddle the line - when does a game move from being a mod to being an indie game? The Spring engine is particularly befuddling, since it functions more as a modding-platform-without-a-base-game than it does as an engine... but it's also hard to call the games for Spring mods (even if it does do so, internally).
Is the distinction primarily going to be commercial vs. hobbyist/OSS? Or standalone vs. mod? Or free (and not ad-supported) vs. pay? Or free (incl. ad-supported) vs pay?
I'm pretty sure they classify Indie as games without Publishers/Investors. There are indie games out there that sell for money (making it commercial), but they don't have a publisher supporting them with money to pay staff and use for advertisement and etc.
At least that was my understanding.
We are pretty loose on our definition. Essentially anything that isn't made by a AAA studio, i.e. Blizzard, EA, Epic etc. So if you are self funded and don't have a big studio behind you - most likely we will allow you to list on IndieDB
Any way to switch from being listed as a company on ModDB to being listed on IndieDB instead without nuking all our data?
segregation is bad, we are going to be marginalized. People want mods for their current games not to bother learning new ones. Such is the face of lazy gamers these days.
Really amazing work!
Moddb should look like this!
About Time it launched! Very nice! Much better than the Beta look.
Nice! I realy like the new features and the improved design. :)
YAY! Great updates.
I like the new design and idea of separating the two types, plus the integration. Now to dump those really, really, annoying adds with the sound I have to turn off all of the time. I clicked on the ordinary adds many times over the years, but I refuse to click on sound adds out of principle. I like to listen to what I want on the PC, not what someone else wants me to hear. I do understand it is a revenue stream and they are needed, but lines do need to be drawn sometime. Thanks for reading my dribble and not deleting me. lol...
Ads should never have *automatically* initiated sound, report them and we will get them removed.
Whilst I like the idea, I'm a bit afraid that some of the publicity indie games are getting might be lost this way seeing as it gets covered on another site now, or did I miss the point entirely?
Content from IndieDB will also be shown on ModDB, so everything's easily trackable through ModDB.
Not sure it's the same visa versa, though?
Hey, really awesome. Though I will have problems paying attention to both :/
Just a side question: How far is Desura and when can we expect it to be released? If I'm correct there hasn't been any news on this in a while...
Desura is about a month off the next stage. It is a massive undertaking and we are working as fast as possible! IndieDB was one step in the right direction.
Great :) Amazing updates :)
Won't you be losing a lot of money through having less advertisments? Or will you make up for it through the 2 separate websites?
We are hoping to soon be selling games on Desura and earning money by providing a great service rather than relying on ads.
This is so awesome!
I LOVE the new design! :D
The Indie games will be moved fore this new site? I think that I will miss them here...
All the indie games will still be retained on ModDB. ModDB isn't changing. IndieDB basically filters all the indie stuff from ModDB to give it its own home :)
Awesome, good work !
Most excellent!
Love it. Thanks for the shout as well Scott! - Erik, DIYGamer
This site is great! Thanks!
Why are your load averages added together? The 1, 5, and 15 minute averages are 3 different ways to look at a single set of data, not multiple different things happening at once; it makes it look like the load was about 9, when it was actually just three independent readings saying "3"...
Great
this is really great! im loving the improvements, but now I cant decide whether to browse the site as desura, indie, or mod. :/ :D
Great news. Nice to see some of the improvements.
Great update!
Only thing that seems a bit odd is there is no icon on moddb for indiedb.
this is great stuff! good work !
Another great idea from ModDb!
Love all your sites and look forward to poking around this one too :)
Finally, I've always enjoyed the site design of ModDb and Desura so its good to see a consistent and sweet design for indiedb. Keep up the great work guys.
So far, so good.
Keep it up, loving your work.
Damn you for stealing my idea! :) Kudos for being one of us trying to help indies! :D And doing such a kick *** job on it!
See you down the road.
/IndieGamesPortal.com
Pure Awesomeness