sebsy Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I'll be honest, doing an historic based diary holds no interest for me at all. I much prefer taking a starting point from the present and coming up with something different from that point but still exciting. As for my next diary, I won't actually be using the game for it, it will be solely done on my own back. I just want to make a diary from what ideas I can come up with so the game won't be used for it in any way at all. Hopefully this is ok, I'm pretty sure I won't be the first to do it and as long as I'm open about it I don't see any problem. Only problem being I can't get in to it at the minute. Frustrating is the best word to describe my situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd1 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I'll be honest, doing an historic based diary holds no interest for me at all. I much prefer taking a starting point from the present and coming up with something different from that point but still exciting. As for my next diary, I won't actually be using the game for it, it will be solely done on my own back. I just want to make a diary from what ideas I can come up with so the game won't be used for it in any way at all. Hopefully this is ok, I'm pretty sure I won't be the first to do it and as long as I'm open about it I don't see any problem. Only problem being I can't get in to it at the minute. Frustrating is the best word to describe my situation. That's why I suggested a January 2011 start - it's near enough that the roster is the same, you can remember the storylines and you know a little of where they were headed. Alternatively, how about the night after Wrestlemania? Same applies but it's a bit closer to the present. You could even change the outcome of WM if you wanted to. I can understand your desire to do the here and now, but if you are not enjoying it (having started over and over numerous times) then trying something new might be more fun in the long run. Again, just trying to help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebsy Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I tried to get one going from the night after Mania but then Edge retired and it fecked my plans up. Cheers for all the suggestions though, they are always appreciated. I will probably go for starting the night after CP. I can then build up my own way for MITB whilst keeping close to some of the more obvious paths that come out of CP. Then my second PPV will be Summerslam, which is a big PPV, but not too much of a huge one to have to do for my 2nd PPV than if it was a Mania or a Rumble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20LEgend Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Like when I brought back Desmond Wolfe and then the rumours made me think he won't be back and Xplosion commisioner made me wish I hadn't brought him back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Trying to do a really current real world project has that "danger". I ran into it when I tried the WWE project "back in the day". No matter what starting point you pick, you can pretty much be assured that sometime shortly after your divergence point, something in the real world will happen that will make you regret what you have done - whether its someone signing, being released, turning, winning a title, whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebsy Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Yep, but I've not hadt he problem with my previous 2 diaries. Perhaps I'm just trying to be too precise with my new one as I want it to last for a long time and be entertaining whilst staying realistic in terms of who gets pushed etc. Just need to sit and have a think about when will be the best place to start from, and go with it, not watch wwe for a few weeks so I can get a good bit planned without seeing stuff happen on tv and then want to change it and it should all fall in to place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boltinho Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Only problem being I can't get in to it at the minute. Frustrating is the best word to describe my situation. Just need to sit and have a think about when will be the best place to start from, and go with it, not watch wwe for a few weeks so I can get a good bit planned without seeing stuff happen on tv and then want to change it and it should all fall in to place. Sir - I really dont want to rain on your parade but the start of a diary is when people are 5 times as excited about it as they are once the grind kicks in. Theres no point forcing it. If youre struggling now it wont last so just wait until you really have the bug and a great idea. Im really not trying to be negative - theres just no point doing it if it hurts. That will show in the writing and people will see. If youre not enjoying it and they wont be enjoying it why bother? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebsy Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 It's quite the opposite. I'm really looking forward to getting my diary going and I know it will last the course as I'm going to get a good bit written before I actually start posting it. I've got so many ideas for various superstars - angles etc - it's just finding the right time to start from and as I say I've pretty much decided the Raw after Capitol Punishment is they starting point. It's going to be a pretty good starting point as any as I can build my own way towards MITB then Summerslam. Also gives me a couple of weekends beforehand to do some much needed housework that I've been neglecting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Casey Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Well, here's a suggestion I've found useful for my own diary: Plan ahead. Seriously, sit down with a calendar of some description and work out what your hot storyline is going to be. Write it through to its conclusion, be it at Summerslam, Mania or whatever, dropping the various points onto the key shows. This is what I've done with the SWF diary I'm currently working on. I'm in October, and I know what the main event of Supreme Challenge in July will be. I also know how the whole of the show is likely to shape up along the way. If I was writing WWE, I'd be making plans to elevate Kofi Kingston and Christian to the top of the card. I'd be scheming over a Christian/Cody WM main event, with Rock/Cena and Kofi/HHH in support. You don't need every storyline booked to that level of detail, of course - I have my North American title storyline fairly well plotted for the next three months or so, but not beyond that. I know roughly where the Jack Bruce/Troy Tornado storyline is going... but things might change. Allow for flexibility by all means, but I suspect that if you set some pretty significant goals in the short, medium and long term to reach, you'll find it a lot easier to ignore what happens in WWE over the next few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd1 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Well, here's a suggestion I've found useful for my own diary: Plan ahead. Seriously, sit down with a calendar of some description and work out what your hot storyline is going to be. Write it through to its conclusion, be it at Summerslam, Mania or whatever, dropping the various points onto the key shows. This is what I've done with the SWF diary I'm currently working on. I'm in October, and I know what the main event of Supreme Challenge in July will be. I also know how the whole of the show is likely to shape up along the way. If I was writing WWE, I'd be making plans to elevate Kofi Kingston and Christian to the top of the card. I'd be scheming over a Christian/Cody WM main event, with Rock/Cena and Kofi/HHH in support. You don't need every storyline booked to that level of detail, of course - I have my North American title storyline fairly well plotted for the next three months or so, but not beyond that. I know roughly where the Jack Bruce/Troy Tornado storyline is going... but things might change. Allow for flexibility by all means, but I suspect that if you set some pretty significant goals in the short, medium and long term to reach, you'll find it a lot easier to ignore what happens in WWE over the next few weeks. This is absolutely fantastic advice, and I'd like to add something to it. Like James, I try to have a goal to aim towards but I find that it's helpful to stop every couple of months and think where things can go beyond that. As I'm sure many others have, I've been guilty of planning ahead, getting to Supreme Challenge and thinking "what now!?" You've spent six months building towards your biggest storyline, it's given you your biggest buy rate, your best rating...and you've got no ideas going forward. Every couple of months just have a break from your booking just to look at your roster and think where people are, where they are headed and perhaps most importantly how they are doing. Is one of your midcarders on fire? Could he be the next North American challenger? Is your main event heel a disappointment and rather than shocking the world, is stinking up arena's across North America? Then maybe you would be better looking for someone more reliable as a future challenger when your face wins the belt. I may know that I'll end up with a new face champion after Supreme Challenge, but aside from the inevitable rematch, do I have anyone to step into the challenger's role after that? You don't need to have an entire storyline played out, but knowing your options before you get there is a massive, massive help. I know when I got to that position of ending a seven month feud and I was lost. I had done what I had set out to do, and was pleased with the result, but because my attention was so focused on that, I hadn't really thought about who could move up into new storylines. I should point out to any readers of Under Pressure that I'm not talking about my diary game EDIT: I forgot to add, with regards to James' advice, that this will almost inevitable make your game more enjoyable, regardless of whether it is a diary or not. Sure you can book on the fly and get to 2012 in a week, but having goals and ambitions will make your game more memorable, and you'll find more reason to play the save. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I will give a loud second (or maybe third) to JC's advice about planning long-term. That's huge for me in any project. From my own experience, looking forward to the big moments I had planned kept my Generation Supreme project going longer than it otherwise would have. When I went back awhile ago and re-read it in full, I was kinda embarassed about how often I brought up feeling burned out and that I was thinking about ending it. Not that those admissions were not true, but simply that it happened early and often. From the start, I really wanted to make it to the Supreme Challenge. Once there, I wanted to be able to debut Sean McFly. After that, I wanted to be able to able to bring back Bruce the Giant. And though I ended things not far after, I almost kept going just so I could have Davis Wayne Newton take the belt from Rich Money. I really focused on the "big moments" I wanted to be able to write. Similar long-term plans have kept other projects going as well, but not so overtly. jhd1 makes a good point as well, as having some flexibility within those plans is important. Finding a nice balance is key. I used to make use of many different Word documents to keep track of everything - future events, future feuds, turns, random ideas... I now tend to use one spreadsheet (I use Open Office) and a series of different sheets within it to keep track of everything. I find it very effective, and even more important on my current WCW project, as I really don't have a game as a reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebsy Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Once again cheers for all the advie chaps. I do plan ahead, quite a good way for the main storylines. As I say it's just been that for whatever reason I haven't been able to get anything going because something keeps happening in real that makes me rethink things. I've decided the night after CP will be my start point. I have a roster filedocument in openoffice that I can use to see who is injured, when they are back etc. The only thing I don't do that I might look to implement is some kind of calendar that I can update on the fly. Only something that I can fill in with little bullet point notes like a big return or a title change etc. Starting the night after CP I will set out who I want to win the respective brand matches at MITB and how I want their cashing in to go. I can look at the main titles and how I want those to play out and then a couple of other big storylines. Then just book the smaller feuds on a more week to week basis. I know I'm starting from the night after CP now and everything is in place. Really looking forward to getting it started, just got a few weekends now to play some poker and do some jobs and all is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayelek Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 This is a question mostly pertaining to my current TCW diary, but how key are pictures? I don't feel right now like uploading a bunch of graphics and typing up a bunch of image code every time I write up a show, especially if I pick up a B-Show, but will it be an issue in the long run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebsy Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Personal preference, I always use pictures in my diaries and prefer diaries that have pictures. I just like how it breaks things up and allows the reader to find a particular segment more easily but pictures and graphics aren't the be all and end all. Layout is a key part of a diary so as long as it's easy to read - pictures or not - then it's all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd1 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 This is a question mostly pertaining to my current TCW diary, but how key are pictures? I don't feel right now like uploading a bunch of graphics and typing up a bunch of image code every time I write up a show, especially if I pick up a B-Show, but will it be an issue in the long run? Personally, I can't and won't read a diary without pictures unless it has a reputation of being ridiculously good (like guaranteed HOF good) in which case I'll push myself to read it. I just can't sit and read a wall of text on a PC screen, especially if the shows are long. My diaries have always had a lot of pictures in but I find that formatting doesn't take very long once you've got the hang of it. You quickly find your own shortcuts, or even templates to help you. I don't think B-shows don't need pics though, mainly because few people write anything more than a line or two per segment. Hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20LEgend Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 This is a question mostly pertaining to my current TCW diary, but how key are pictures? I don't feel right now like uploading a bunch of graphics and typing up a bunch of image code every time I write up a show, especially if I pick up a B-Show, but will it be an issue in the long run? Having read your first show, I didn't think it was overwhelming and it didn't put me off reading it. But if it's a problem for other IDK. I would definitely say you don't need then on a B show if it's a recap style thing you're writing. I've done y B show (so far) fully written out so I use them but they certainly aren't needed. Overall, it doesn't put me off reading it but if it does other I think it could be something you should look into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20LEgend Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Well, here's a suggestion I've found useful for my own diary: Plan ahead. Don't know my rank (seconding, third, forthing, fifthing???) but I definitely agree with this, and as a matter of fact I am going to play the first 6 months of 2015 with USPW for my diary up until my second biggest PPV of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boltinho Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 This is a question mostly pertaining to my current TCW diary, but how key are pictures? I don't feel right now like uploading a bunch of graphics and typing up a bunch of image code every time I write up a show, especially if I pick up a B-Show, but will it be an issue in the long run? Not sure how everyone else does it but I just have an 'images' word file that has all the forum-ready URLs for images saved. I write the show out and then just go through cutting and pasting. 5 minutes work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Casey Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Not sure how everyone else does it but I just have an 'images' word file that has all the forum-ready URLs for images saved. I write the show out and then just go through cutting and pasting. 5 minutes work. This is what I'm doing. When you load the images to PB (or whatever) take a moment to edit the image names to match your characters' names. Then save the imagecode for one and just change the name to suit. For example, I have the code saved for the following set-ups: [Name][Vs][Name] [Name][Name][Vs][Name][Name] [Name][Name][Name][Vs][Name][Name][Name] [Name][Name][Name][Name][Vs][Name][Name][Name][Name] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebsy Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I just load up photobucket and copy the text for each picture I need. Doesn't really take too long at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebsy Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 http://templates.services.openoffice.org/en/node/4425 Just seen this for any openoffice users which could be helpful in terms of planning. Will certainly be checking it out a bit over the next few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I used to just copy and paste each image link out of my Photobucket account, but I felt that there had to be ways to streamline the process. What I ended up doing was creating a Word (well, Open Office) document that I use as a base template for each show. It has the basic BB coding, header images, and so on. At the bottom, I have all the PB links for all the worker images, so I can just copy and paste them into the right spot. When I first started down diaries, I could spent between one and two hours formatting each show. Just getting the BB coding, images, and everything else in place. With the template, it was typically 15-25 minutes. Big improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xing Ophelia Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 So I'm tryin' the copy/paste Word hint with Office 2010. I'm not havin' any luck. The indents/5 space tabs aren't transferring over. Any clues? Or am I just stuck going the straight line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 So I'm tryin' the copy/paste Word hint with Office 2010. I'm not havin' any luck. The indents/5 space tabs aren't transferring over. Any clues? Or am I just stuck going the straight line? Use full reply, not quicky reply. And once you are on the full reply screen on the forum, toggle the WYSIWG mode on. Its the A/A button the top right - cursor will say "Switch Editor Mode". That should help keep the formatting from the Office document. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xing Ophelia Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Thanks for the quick back. No dice on that for me. The tabs just aren't carrying over. Using the indent button isn't THAT bad I guess. But wasted motions, ya know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.