Help import downloads and earn free VIP!

[killohurtz]

As you may know, with the migration of the site to new forum software, we have to import all of the downloads over from the archive. A few individuals (myself included) have imported over 600 items since the site went live a week ago, but we still have a long way to go! This is where YOU come in! Hopefully this thread clears up any questions you have about the process so you can start helping us out.

1. First, head over to the archive and identify a map or other download that still needs to be imported. Be sure to run a search on the new site to check if it has already been done.
2. Once you are on the archived download page, download the file and any attached screenshots to a new folder for convenience. Make sure you're saving the full size images, and not the thumbnails! The thumbnail will have "thumb" somewhere in its filename.
3. While still in the archive, search for the download's thread. Copy the URL or thread number (example: http://archive.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=13309) If there are additional images here, make sure to download them too.
   1. Try to search thoroughly - use different keywords, Google, go through the author's profile and look through their threads, or even try the new site's search system.
      
   2. If you can't find a thread, don't panic! Just skip this step. Chances are the download either had no thread in the first place, or it was in the old archive, which is no longer accessible.
4. Go to the new downloads section and click the Add Download button in the top right. Select a category:
   1. If you DO have a thread, choose Import Queue.
   2. If you DON'T have a thread, choose the best fitting category.
5. On the Add Download page, fill in the information as follows:
   1. Title: whatever the name of the download is.
   2. Version String: a1, b1, rc1, etc. for maps; 1.0 for everything else. If you don't know the exact version of the map, write alpha / beta / rc as specified in its thread.
   3. Tag Line: Put the author's name here.
   4. Download Type: Uploaded File. You should have this on your computer from Step 2. If the file was a .rar or .7z archive, you will need to extract it and re-compress it into a .zip file.
   5. Description: Paste the thread URL / number in the first line. Copy and paste the description from the download page below it.
   6. Make sure Upload Download Icon is checked.
   7. Click Upload Images and add all of the images that go with the download.
6. Then click Save. Once the download is posted, you will be prompted to add an icon.
   
7. OPTIONAL BUT HELPFUL: On the right side of the page, find the option "Reassign Download to Different Thread," and enter the thread number.

And that's it! This may seem like a lot of work, but it goes fairly quickly once you get the hang of it.

Now, what about that free VIP? You will earn two days of VIP for every import, as long as you've done at least 30 (a pretty sweet deal if I do say so myself)

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask them here.

 

[worMatty]

Are you deleting the old downloads when they have been imported? If you aren't it's going to get very tricky to find things to import. Perhaps you could give people permission to delete threads and downloads from the archive.

Perhaps it's best to do all the maps in the Workshop forum first. That way you have already found the thread, you don't have to search, and you can just look at the forum index.

Could we allow the use of 7z archives in the new download system?

 

[Geit]

Are you deleting the old downloads when they have been imported? If you aren't it's going to get very tricky to find things to import. Perhaps you could give people permission to delete threads and downloads from the archive.

Perhaps it's best to do all the maps in the Workshop forum first. That way you have already found the thread, you don't have to search, and you can just look at the forum index.

Could we allow the use of 7z archives in the new download system?

Any threads that get imported are being moved to the "Already imported" category on the archive. Any old Downloads can't be hidden automatically after an import due to them having no link to the new system.

 

[Spipper]

So I just imported an old map recently, and reassigned the download to a new thread. Do I still need to keep the link in the description? Since I'm the original author and the download has been reassigned to the proper thread I don't really need help from a mod?
Also should I, in the description, link the old archived map workshop thread URL or link to the thread in the new workshop? I've seen downloads in the import queue do both.
Finally, can I update the maps in the import queue with new screenshots, download etc. if I want to release a new version of said maps?

 

[killohurtz]

So I just imported an old map recently, and reassigned the download to a new thread. Do I still need to keep the link in the description? Since I'm the original author and the download has been reassigned to the proper thread I don't really need help from a mod?
Also should I, in the description, link the old archived map workshop thread URL or link to the thread in the new workshop? I've seen downloads in the import queue do both.
Finally, can I update the maps in the import queue with new screenshots, download etc. if I want to release a new version of said maps?

Technically, no. The thread link is simply for convenience in assigning it to the download, and was more intended for importing downloads that belong to others (since those authors are not around to find/assign the thread themselves). You can do whatever you want with your own!

You can link to either the archived thread or the new one. They both use the same thread number, which is the only bit of information needed to assign the thread.

And yes, you can update your map while it's in the queue. Once the thread is assigned and everything's in place, the only thing left to do is sort it into the correct category, which won't affect anything else.

 

[timberghost_paintball]

Hi the archive appears to be inaccessible. My skyboxes and texture packs appear to have not been transferred and I was unable to access the archive to do it myself. I keep getting requests for the files but I don't think I saved local copies of the assembled packs so I'd have to remake them and repost which I'd rather not do if I didn't need to.

 

[killohurtz]

Hi the archive appears to be inaccessible. My skyboxes and texture packs appear to have not been transferred and I was unable to access the archive to do it myself. I keep getting requests for the files but I don't think I saved local copies of the assembled packs so I'd have to remake them and repost which I'd rather not do if I didn't need to.

Yeah, sorry, the archive was lost several weeks ago, so unfortunately anything that didn't get ported is gone.

 

[Sergis]

over 600? that sounds like work that should be done by a pythonscript, not a human

 

[LeSwordfish]

No! We didn't think of that!

 

[Sergis]

no big surprise

 

[ExtraCheesyPie]

Goddamn machines taking our jobs

 

[killohurtz]

Plot twist: I was a robot this whole time