Dylan
Former Developer
Hey all,
After several weeks of development and closed beta testing, we're finally ready to release DragonByte Reviews v1.0.0 Beta 2. As with most of our Beta releases, the initial release is only available to people who purchase it.
To get the boring stuff out of the way; this is a Beta version. While it has received internal testing, it doesn't compare to actual use by you guys, our customers. If you're not comfortable with the idea of potentially broken functionality and reporting bugs in a clear and detailed manner, we would advise you to wait for a more stable release.
There are still more features planned that will be added before the final gold release, so if you want a hand in shaping the way the mod will function and don't mind it being a little rough around the edges, we welcome your feedback!
With the boring stuff done, here's the bit on what the mod actually does. DragonByte Reviews is an advanced review system that allows you to get your users interacting with your forums on a new level. With a wide range of permissions, you can allow your users to create/rate reviews, and customize it to your liking. You can also setup separate instances of the review system with different rating questions, custom fields and a review front page look.
Major Features
Multiple Instances You can run an unlimited number instances of the review system on the same forum with same set of files! Each instance can have a different look and feel to it with the help of the customizable display blocks, custom fields and custom rating questions.
AJAX integration We used AJAX wherever we could to help reduce the page reloads, including adding/viewing comments and rating reviews
Automatic image resizing All images added to the review system will be resized and have a thumbnails generated. This will help reduce the page load time but not having to dowload the full image when you just need the thumbnail.
Images in WYSIWYG editor We added the vB WYSIWYG editor with the ability to add inline images into the review text so that you can create reviews that pop.
User or Staff reviews Different usergroups have different levels of permissions. Staff's reviews can be auto approved while user submitted reviews can be set to require approval. All reviews are created through an easy to use feature rich front end.
Front End and ACP Approval Review approval and editing can be done quickly through either the front end by moderators or in the ACP by adminstrators.
Complete Feature List
Reviews
Approvals
Integrations
Categories
StyleVars
Per Instance Permissions
Custom Fields
Review Front Blocks
Forum SideBlocks
Screenshots
Thank you for your continued suggestions and support!
I would also like to give a special thank you to the closed beta testers who helped get it to where it is now.
Discuss this news here.
After several weeks of development and closed beta testing, we're finally ready to release DragonByte Reviews v1.0.0 Beta 2. As with most of our Beta releases, the initial release is only available to people who purchase it.
To get the boring stuff out of the way; this is a Beta version. While it has received internal testing, it doesn't compare to actual use by you guys, our customers. If you're not comfortable with the idea of potentially broken functionality and reporting bugs in a clear and detailed manner, we would advise you to wait for a more stable release.
There are still more features planned that will be added before the final gold release, so if you want a hand in shaping the way the mod will function and don't mind it being a little rough around the edges, we welcome your feedback!
With the boring stuff done, here's the bit on what the mod actually does. DragonByte Reviews is an advanced review system that allows you to get your users interacting with your forums on a new level. With a wide range of permissions, you can allow your users to create/rate reviews, and customize it to your liking. You can also setup separate instances of the review system with different rating questions, custom fields and a review front page look.
Major Features
Multiple Instances You can run an unlimited number instances of the review system on the same forum with same set of files! Each instance can have a different look and feel to it with the help of the customizable display blocks, custom fields and custom rating questions.
AJAX integration We used AJAX wherever we could to help reduce the page reloads, including adding/viewing comments and rating reviews
Automatic image resizing All images added to the review system will be resized and have a thumbnails generated. This will help reduce the page load time but not having to dowload the full image when you just need the thumbnail.
Images in WYSIWYG editor We added the vB WYSIWYG editor with the ability to add inline images into the review text so that you can create reviews that pop.
User or Staff reviews Different usergroups have different levels of permissions. Staff's reviews can be auto approved while user submitted reviews can be set to require approval. All reviews are created through an easy to use feature rich front end.
Front End and ACP Approval Review approval and editing can be done quickly through either the front end by moderators or in the ACP by adminstrators.
Complete Feature List
Reviews
- Preview before submission
- Rich Snippets
- Google Maps
- Inline images
- Automatic image resizing
- Fully integrated WYSIWYG editor
Approvals
- Can be done through front end or ACP
- Quickly approve or reject a review with a reason
- Rejected reviews can be resubmitted with a message differentiating them from new reviews
Integrations
- Live Feed & User Wall
- vBNotifications
- vBActivity & Awards (Coming Soon!)
- Advanced Post Thanks/Likes (Coming Soon!)
- Any Product/Shop System (With minor integration coding)
Categories
- Unlimited Nested Categories
- Categories Unique to Instance
- Per Usergroup visibility
StyleVars
- "Checkmark" image in the Packages / Discounts display
- Border around the reviews & side blocks
- Padding around the reviews & side blocks
- Thumbs Up/Down images
Per Instance Permissions
- Set instance to display if one isn't specified
- Add link to navigation dropdown and specify link title
- Allow google map integration (looks up by address)
- Set number of reviews to display per page
- Set the types of image files allowed to upload
- Set rating questions associated with this instance
- Usergroup permission: Can View Reviews
- Usergroup permission: Can Add Reviews
- Usergroup permission: Auto Approve Reviews
- Usergroup permission: Can Approve Reviews
- Usergroup permission: Can Rate Reviews
- Usergroup permission: Can Modify Others Reviews
- Usergroup permission: Can Delete Reviews
- Usergroup permission: Can Delete Others Reviews
- Usergroup permission: Can Comment
- Usergroup permission: Can Delete Comments
- Usergroup permission: Can Delete Comment on Others Reviews
Custom Fields
- Links automatically covert to bbcode
- Single Line Text
- Multiple Line Textbox
- Select Dropdown
- Checkboxes
- Radio Buttons
Review Front Blocks
- Highest Rated By Reviewer
- Highest Rated By Users
- Latest Reviews
- Most Commented
- Most Popular (View Count)
- Latest comments
- Reviews by X (specific User ID)
Forum SideBlocks
- Latest Reviews
- Highest Rated
- Most Popular (View Count)
- Random
Screenshots
Thank you for your continued suggestions and support!
I would also like to give a special thank you to the closed beta testers who helped get it to where it is now.
Discuss this news here.
