By RPS on June 5th, 2011 at 5:37 pm.
Hello! You will notice that there have been a few changes to comments and also to the forums. These are part of an ongoing redesign that is taking place thanks to the tireless work of Mr Sutcliffe and Positive Internet. The site should begin to be faster, and have more functionality for you. There’s so much more to do, but it’ll happen gradually, so you guys need to keep giving us that feedback – we require and appreciate it. The best place for feedback is this folder on the forum.
Also, this coming week we’re going to have a crack at getting the best out of an E3 that looks to be big for PC – you can follow all the E3-specific content on this tag. It’s also worth following our Twitter account for additional notifications and newsbits.
Finally, you’ll notice that we’re doing our best to flag up feature content. There will also be far more feature content on the whole in the coming months, because the site is now really hitting its stride. Hopefully we’ll do more of the kind of things that you’ve been asking for, like sending Quinns down a mine. Thanks for your heroic reading, and hopefully you’ll get to see RPS become the site we all hoped it would be when we started all those years ago. A particular thanks goes to the subscribers, who recently bought us an additional server. You guys are okay.
05/06/2011 at 17:39 Coins says:
Hooray for RPS!
05/06/2011 at 18:24 McDan says:
Hooray indeed! Go RPS! I promise I’ll subscribe when I have money!
05/06/2011 at 18:59 Baka says:
I promise I’ll subscribe as soon as I don’t need a CC for it anymore!
05/06/2011 at 20:01 Gnoupi says:
Not to oversell it, but the SECRET mails the subscribers receive EXCLUSIVELY from the RPS staff are highly worth the subscription fees :P
05/06/2011 at 20:48 Nick says:
I barely have money and subscribe. I may be an objectionable arse at times but I love you guys.
05/06/2011 at 21:00 stahlwerk says:
Donation works with PayPal and gets you a spot on the subscriber mailing list as well. At least I think it does, since I donated last month and received a mail with an [RPS Subscriber] subject.
Also: Hooray for the ‘shotgun!
05/06/2011 at 22:52 MikoSquiz says:
Can I get a yearly subscription?* I’ve already donated ($12, I think) but I never keep money in my PayPal account that I don’t intend to spend within 5 minutes, so the whole monthly withdrawal thing doesn’t really work for me.
( * Two, if you promise to do more in-depth stuff like Minecraft: Mine the Gap and Go Team! You can stop doing news completely if it helps, everyone reports the same news anyway, and who cares about the next Call of Duty’s release date anyway?**)
( ** Other than the five million people who bought the last one the day it came out)
06/06/2011 at 02:52 Shadowcat says:
Yes, I hope you’re still working on enabling one-off payments for yearly subscriptions, and the like?! I’d love to be a subscriber, but I really really really hate the direct debit style of payment, and am not going to sign up for that, regardless of the amounts involved.
06/06/2011 at 03:33 sasayan says:
I think my RPS subscription is the only optional expense I have right now. Except for beer. Which isn’t really optional. It’s that important. (Both RPS and beer.)
05/06/2011 at 17:45 P7uen says:
I specifically requested that my subscriber fee be spent exclusively on Jammie Dodgers.
In retrospect, I’m glad you redirected it into the betterment of RPS.
Hooray!
06/06/2011 at 02:03 BAshment says:
I’m sure you can spend the monies on sending packets through the royal mail express biscuit delivery service and they vat exempt so there is no excuse not to.
(although custard creams will be more highly appreciated)
05/06/2011 at 17:45 Mirqy says:
more of this kind of thing.
05/06/2011 at 17:56 cairbre says:
How long has the site been running? I only stumbled upon it about a month or so ago and now it’s the first games site I check everyday. I was logging on to pcgamer and still do but this site has won me over. Keep up the great work lads.
05/06/2011 at 18:02 beloid says:
the obvious answer would be “PC gaming since 1873″ but if you click the archive dropdown list on the right it goes all the way down to July 2007
05/06/2011 at 18:10 cairbre says:
Thanks for the info. Okay it could be my hangover and the fact that i am feeling tired and emotional but I just became a subscriber. Less than €2 a month can’t really complain. Greetings from Ireland
05/06/2011 at 18:31 FriendlyFire says:
I had not even noticed that there was a subscription link. Considering RPS became my first news source for all things gaming within a matter of weeks, I am more than happy to shell out a meagre 2 bucks a month for you guys.
05/06/2011 at 18:48 Renfield says:
Fascinating. I could’ve sworn the first time I read an RPS article was following some exams in 2006.
RPS: bending the space-time continuum since 1873.
05/06/2011 at 20:07 Shark says:
The archive even goes back to 1999
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/1999/01/01/weve-not-written-anything-else-about-that-game-yet/
and the article after that one somehow listed articles from its future.
This surely is a magical place.
05/06/2011 at 20:47 Baboonanza says:
Wow. That means I’ve been reading RPS for 4 years. That’s longer than I’ve known my wife!
05/06/2011 at 21:27 McDan says:
Awesome link Shark, I do love going back and reading old RPS articles. And same here on the realising I’ve been visiting this site at least twice a day nearly every day for 4 years. Thank you RPS.
05/06/2011 at 17:57 Raiyan 1.0 says:
Heroic reading.
Wha… I mean, of course. Fills me with pride.
05/06/2011 at 18:18 Man Raised by Puffins says:
You mean Guile’s theme doesn’t kick in when you start reading RPS?
05/06/2011 at 20:35 Raiyan 1.0 says:
Thank you for that link. =)
And yes, it does kick in now. All the time.
In my head.
05/06/2011 at 18:08 Gabbo says:
As a subscriber spending mere penny’s, can I get a picture of the new server and a letter of its progress every month?
05/06/2011 at 20:05 ConcreteOtter says:
I just hope they don’t send any pictures of poor servers huddled together malnourished and with flies buzzing around.
05/06/2011 at 18:08 Jake says:
I would pay extra on my subscription if it went towards sending Quinns down mines: it could be Minecraft In Real Life – drop him off in the middle of a distant land and have him punch trees to make pickaxes and try to build a ramshackle hut to keep himself safe at night. Just an idea.
05/06/2011 at 18:26 JackShandy says:
Only if all the other RPS writers dress up as creepers and run after him shouting “BANG!”
05/06/2011 at 18:32 AndrewC says:
Ooo yes, And lock Walker in a room until he finds a selection of abitrary objects.
05/06/2011 at 18:59 Man Raised by Puffins says:
I’ll chip in an extra quid if we can also seal Jim in a derelict underground Soviet facility with only a bottle of vodka for company.
05/06/2011 at 19:02 Jim Rossignol says:
Vodka will never leave me.
05/06/2011 at 19:32 Kieron Gillen says:
Or hurt you.
KG
05/06/2011 at 20:36 Dozer says:
I like the idea of Quinns playing Minecraft in a mine. RPS, make it so!
05/06/2011 at 20:53 Nick says:
Was that in one of your PCG reviews Kieron, or am I remembering incorrectly?
05/06/2011 at 21:16 Hypocee says:
For cripes’ sake don’t send Quinns down a mine, send someone who can bring back some iron.
05/06/2011 at 23:29 BooleanBob says:
Send? Are you sure it wasn’t push?
06/06/2011 at 02:01 fupjack says:
I didn’t realize there was a subscription. Subbed! RPS articles are certainly worth $2 a month.
I actually work at a salt mine. So if you can find a way to send Quinns to upstate NY with a laptop with Minecraft installed, we can totally get a picture of him playing Minecraft underground. Come to think of it, why haven’t I done that myself yet?
05/06/2011 at 18:11 Jumwa says:
I’m very much a fan of the vBulletin forum setup, like the look you’ve got going for it.
05/06/2011 at 18:29 QuantaCat says:
Is this in answer to the “complaint” about people not finding the content they wanted, and meaning it had more useless content instead?
Good answer, though. Happy to have subscribed and contributed!
Now please rename that silly donate button.
05/06/2011 at 18:30 Herzog says:
About subscriptions: have you thought about adding another payment option other then paypal?
05/06/2011 at 18:51 Jim Rossignol says:
Yes, that is one of a number of things on my list of Things That Need To Be Done, Eventually.
05/06/2011 at 18:54 Lars Westergren says:
You guys are ok too. Tolerable, even!
05/06/2011 at 18:59 man-eater chimp says:
Don’t get crazy now…
05/06/2011 at 19:10 Lambchops says:
Some would say they were consistently better than average.
05/06/2011 at 19:50 PleasingFungus says:
They’re fine.
05/06/2011 at 19:57 ColOfNature says:
They’ll do. For now.
05/06/2011 at 20:43 Dozer says:
“consistently better than average” is now the site’s byline. Well done!
05/06/2011 at 21:39 Lambchops says:
I can’t claim credit, I think it was Bhazor or Bacillus or one of the blokes beginning with B who said those words a few days ago!
05/06/2011 at 19:31 Soender says:
I like
05/06/2011 at 19:33 Tybalt says:
Well, I can see that you wouldn’t be Lawful, but Chaotic? It is the coolest variant of Good, but you always struck me as as more vanilla, Neutral Good.
Or maybe just Chaotic Consistently Above Average.
Yes, I registered to make this comment. That is how strongly I feel about it. Cost me 2 bucks too, since i figure you hound and terrorize all those registered that don’t contribute.
05/06/2011 at 20:55 Nick says:
chaotic neutral methinks.
05/06/2011 at 19:45 carlo says:
Splendid times ahead, then! Ace.
Question about supporting you: as someone who tends to read most of his news using Instapaper & Co, I was wondering whether you would consider signing up for Readability.com as a publisher? I am an user of theirs (no other affiliation) and there’s already a few bucks from me waiting there for whoever owns your domain.
So, you know. As an user I think it’d be nice if you would consider it. :)
05/06/2011 at 19:53 Vandelay says:
“These are part of an ongoing redesign that is taking place thanks to the tireless work of Mr Sutcliffe”
It’s good to see him making a positive contribution to society now.
06/06/2011 at 01:41 Legionary says:
This is the best comment I have read on RPS.
05/06/2011 at 20:13 Rii says:
I want to see an online store! And amongst the mugs, keyrings and other assorted nonsense sold by this store should be a hardcover coffee-table compilation of RPS’ best. Make it happen!
Or else.
05/06/2011 at 20:53 Baboonanza says:
And a sexy calendar of all the writers
05/06/2011 at 21:01 Jake says:
And hats and biscuits.
05/06/2011 at 21:10 Tusque D'Ivoire says:
I want early access to the official RPS game beta, please!
05/06/2011 at 21:49 Renfield says:
Horace (the Endless Bear) plushies are a must; delivered in endless vans.
05/06/2011 at 22:03 cairbre says:
I like that idea
06/06/2011 at 04:29 Rii says:
The question of how to manifest Horace the Endless Bear (as surely he must be manifested) is certainly an intriguing one.
05/06/2011 at 20:15 johnpeat says:
I raised this on the old forums but this seems a reasonable place to re-iterate it – the Twitter/Facebook and (particularly) Reddit widgets are crippling the site’s pageloading to a silly degree…
I use AdBlock to disable them entirely – but my AdBlock skills are weak and this means I block ALL ads on the site, not just those bits in particular…
At the very least you need to change the way they load so they load AFTER the page (so that people can scroll-down and read stuff without having to wait for them to update) – currently they’re part of the regular page content and so bog everything down (esp the Reddit one which is painfully slow).
I realise things like this promote the site – but it shouldn’t be at the expense of killing it’s appeal to users???
05/06/2011 at 20:55 Leelad says:
You need to find someone who is king with Greasemonkey, Firefox addon that allows the changing/reformatting and other wonderful things to webpages that you wish to be changed.
05/06/2011 at 21:08 Jim Rossignol says:
We’re looking at how to change those at the moment, but it only seems to be happening for a small number of people. The Reddit button’s load time seems to depend on where you are, etc.
05/06/2011 at 21:19 Jake says:
I’ve noticed them playing up a couple of times, but it doesn’t really stall the page loading for me in Firefox 4. The problem might be the amount of HTTP requests – lots of javascript especially.
I use Addthis for social media buttons (you can see it on my site), it has the benefit of having all the code together rather than being several separate WordPress widgets. It can show the number of clicks too.
05/06/2011 at 22:51 johnpeat says:
Just for reference – I use a LOT of different PCs and generally end-up browsing RPS on most of them – using a variety of ADSL, mobile, public and even corporate networks…
The widgets slow down initial page load (stopping you from scrolling down until they’re fully loaded) on EVERY machine I’ve tried them on – Firefox (most versions) and Chrome (I don’t touch IE) – Windows, Linux and even OSX (Hackintosh!!)
The Reddit one is worst by far – it takes anything from 2-3 upto 10 seconds for it to appear – once I’d disabled them in AdBlock, it was a revelation in pageloading times.
The problem is I can’t seem to ‘exclude’ rps from adblocking whilst still including blocks for those widgets – and I don’t want to block Facebook and Twitter (I can live with blocking Reddit) across the board!!
05/06/2011 at 23:24 Jake says:
You can probably block the specific widget with NoScript rather than Adblock, it lets you target individual bits of JS.
05/06/2011 at 23:46 Delusibeta says:
Idle speculation: I wouldn’t be too surprised if the speed of the plug-ins in question are tied to the speed of the servers of the services behind them. In Reddit’s case, said servers are notoriously crap.
06/06/2011 at 03:42 bill says:
I was (seemingly) able to fix it on my home PC by usig adblock… but i followed some instructions from somewhere and I don’t remember exactly how I did it.
i think it was something like: go to the RPS front page. Click on Adblock and click the “Open list of blockable items”. Find the Twitter, Facebook or Reddit items you want to block. Right click on it and choose “Block this item” and then, on the window that comes up, you can select any wildcard options, or restrict it to the RPS domain. Seems to work for me and I don’t THINK it’s blocking other items.
But the problem for me is that i spend half my time on shared work PCs, and those are (a) underpowered, and (b) don’t have adblock. So browsing RPS on those is a rather painful experience. Though recently at least the pop-under ads seem better optimised and don’t just crash the browser. They do slow it to a crawl sometimes though.
06/06/2011 at 08:53 MartinNr5 says:
No problem here with the social buttons other than my old pc doesn’t like the overload of Flash/Javascript in general.
Eurogamer more or less kills my PC if I keep the site open in the background and try to do something else.
Also; Yay for RPS!
06/06/2011 at 09:25 futage says:
To block just the reddit/facebook/etc. nonsense, use:
||platform0.twitter.com/widgets/*
||facebook.com/plugins/*
||reddit.com/static/button/*
06/06/2011 at 15:51 bill says:
@Jim:
another option might be to have the widgets only appear on the single-post pages, rather than on the main front page. that way you’d only be loading up one of each.
And that way, people might be redditing/tweeting/fb-ing things they’ve actually read, rather than before they read them. I realise that’s against everything the new web stands for, but you know…
05/06/2011 at 20:57 Spinoza says:
Magically , RPS stop crashing in Opera for me.It caused much of rejoicing and happiness interspersed by bouts of hysterical laughter. In my house.Well done.
05/06/2011 at 21:12 Tusque D'Ivoire says:
if it returns: block the ads with rightclick -> Block content.
Opera kept completely crashing on my favourite site, too, i fixed it with that.
05/06/2011 at 21:16 Inglourious Badger says:
I knew there was something I’d forgotten to do!
……………
Consider me now subscribed
Long live RPS! Etc
05/06/2011 at 21:17 somini says:
Our prayers to Horace were heard…
05/06/2011 at 23:33 DrazharLn says:
This is at least the second time you’ve said the site is really hitting its stride, you know (The first time was when some guy, Gieron Killen maybe, died).
More newsletters would be nice, though.
06/06/2011 at 00:12 Gadriel says:
This post made me finally get around to registering and subscribing. Now I’ll feel compelled to add my own worthless opinions to the streams of absurdity that characterise the comment sections here.
EDIT: Also, I hope this “redesign” doesn’t echo the Gawker one. Or others on the internet. I’m all wary of site redesigns now. Though, to be fair, the new Gawker layout is what made me stop being lazy and using Kotaku for news, instead coming here.
06/06/2011 at 00:57 Davee says:
Subbed!
Never remembered to do it before. And these newsletters sound intriguing, hope to see one soon! :)
06/06/2011 at 07:33 MajorManiac says:
The world has just become a slightly better place. If only I could subscribe without paypal.
Will it be possible to setup a Direct Debit in the future as I’m sure this website is worth a good £5 a month.
06/06/2011 at 09:45 Òscar says:
showing approval.
06/06/2011 at 14:55 sonofsanta says:
You’re welcome.
<3
07/06/2011 at 12:35 RegisteredUser says:
Why is there still a 1, 2, 3 etc listing for the comments when if I click on them I load all of them anyhow?
Other than that: Well done chaps.