Award System

[Calamity]

Hi,

You've probably seen these "award systems" on different vBulletin forums. I've seen it on a couple of vBulletin V4 forums at least, and I was wondering if it was possible to get one made for vBulletin V5? Example: http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=232684, but perhaps one that looks a bit better, please see screenshots below.





The same website the screenshots are taken from also have these awards display on your profile, in a own box like this:



They run vB4, so it's probably done through an existing mod. However, I haven't found any similiar thing for vB5, which is a shame.

[glennrocksvb]

Thanks for your suggestion. I will evaluate it if this is possible in vB5 and doesn't require too much "hacking".

[Calamity]

Thanks, Glenn! I hope it's possible. If not, then that's no problem.

[Felix2]

Would be nice.
According to Dave over on vB, as of last month, there still is no such mod for 5x.

http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=323354

About a year back I tried to port a 4x version. Didn't go so well.

[Calamity]

That sounds about right.
I don't think I've seen such a mod for vB5. It's a shame. Have to make due with usergroups with special username markups or something like that.

[Felix2]

Yes. I used the user groups. That was why I did the special glow links and then used then in different colours. But it isn't the same.
I also have post bits with various medals, but this is not a nice clean mod, rather it is a brutal hack. My way of replacing the lost vB4 awards.

That is Moderator, Admin, 1000+ posts.
Looks really nice and changes with user changes, but it requires the theme be hacked.
Since every theme is different, there is no standard method.
I also did a banner at one time. If I can find my notes, I will see about posting it here.

[glennrocksvb]

The award system mod you linked is a full-featured system. I doubt that it's all possible in vB5 at this time due to lack of PHP hooks. I could probably do a simple award system based on reputation points and/or number of posts.

[Calamity]

Hi Glenn,

Sadly, that's not what I'm looking for, so maybe this could be a project in future if VB5 ever allows for it, or brings the feature back? Not sure if it's planned or not. Thank you anyway for looking into it. I appreciate it!

[Felix2]

I was thinking along the same line Glen. Copy the Reputation code, rename things, assign medals, integrate it as a separate system using different names.
It is sort of what I did in the Post Bits, but that is an ugly hack even by my standards. Manual SQL entries, code hacks, et c. Don't get me wrong, I can and did basically accomplish it, but to do it as a Product and make work on any current theme, without hooks... beyond my vB skills at this time
Doesn't help that the latest releases have broken a number of theme features, group functions, et c. With so much broken code no one wants to spend a lot of time in such a large endeour just to have the next vB release break it all over again.
This is why DBTech will no longer support vB or do updates... why the vBarcade no longer works and why so many Products which worked even in vB5.0 don't work in newer builds.
vB 5.0x, 5.1x and 5.2x are basically entirely different beasts and as more versions are released, less and less products work.
vB itself released notices that it is their intent to remove the product system entirely and put an end to 3rd party code
On a site like mine, I can hack the code up and make things work like I want, but for those people who rely upon vB updates... it is an annoyance to say the least.
The saddest part is, for a commercial product whose users have requested this Award Mod officially since 2008, vB still has done nothing to make it happen.
A company which refuses to listen to its buyers is bound to fail.
This holds true for the security exploit patches, prior bugs fixes, mods, products to which users have provided yet vB refuses to employ.
I really do hope someone manages an Award product, but I just don't see it happening any time in the near future. Not until vB is stable.

[glennrocksvb]

vB itself released notices that it is their intent to remove the product system entirely and put an end to 3rd party code

I haven't heard this? Is this just a speculation or theory? I doubt they will remove the product system. They actually implemented PHP hooks in 5.2.0 but implementation is fairly basic and they're looking for feedback from third-party developers on both the implementation and placement of hooks. See their release notes below:

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forum/vbulletin-announcements/vbulletin-announcements_aa/4336474-vbulletin-5-2-0-connect-is-now-available?p=4336475#post4336475

[Felix2]

FAQ sales notice, "platform and will no longer support Blog as a separate product ... ceasing support of product system... "
They also state they intent to integrate some of the products, thus eliminating a need for the Product option.
However, they do seem to be countering that statement, no doubt due to high pressure from supporters who would drop them if they lost the Product feature.

[glennrocksvb]

That "product" seems to be in a different context. Without the complete sentence or a link to that notice, I take that to mean that Blog will no longer be a separate product or software or system. That's not referring to the "Products & Hooks" system for third-party "products" or plugins.