Downloads: An Alternative to the Librarium

[Brother Tyler]

Long ago (too long ago) we lost the Librarium functionality. For those of you that weren’t here, the Librarium was a great function whereby members could submit articles for public consumption. Many Liberites saw the approval of an article on their DIY Chapter as the ultimate objective and “seal of approval.” Many of us have lamented the loss of the Librarium and the articles within. All along, though, we’ve had an alternative. And in many ways, this alternative is superior to the Librarium.

 

The Downloads has been around as long as the Librarium, and it also allows members to submit articles and other files for public consumption. One key benefit of the Downloads section is that members don’t have to know the intricacies of, and aren’t subject to the limitations of, BBCode. Members can still edit, revise, and update files. More importantly, articles such as those for DIYs will be in formats that can be controlled better for printing (that work is done on the front end by the author).

 

There are two articles currently available in the Downloads section that I’d like to direct your attention to. The first is @Mathis59’s Inquisitorial Guard and the second is my own Nova Hawks. These two files represent extreme ends of the spectrum in terms of production value (not article quality, mind you). The Inquisitorial Guard article is a simple Microsoft Word article, without pictures or embellishments. The Nova Hawks article, meanwhile, is a pdf with background images and lots of embellishments throughout, and was originally developed and presented here. These two articles demonstrate the range in variation of what is acceptable for submission.

 

It should also be noted that neither of the articles to which I’ve directed your attention use the Index Astartes format. While I’m sure that many (most?) will choose to use the very good Index Astartes article format, you may use any format you choose.

 

I’ll develop some Microsoft Word templates that members can use (if they don’t want to create their own from scratch, an alternative that is perfectly acceptable). These templates will be on the lower end of the production value spectrum, but anyone that is savvy with Microsoft Word (or who knows how to look things up om the Internet ) will be able to make any adjustments they want to personalize the articles (and you are highly encouraged to do so). I’ll definitely create templates for the Index Astartes format, as well as the format used by Forge World in the Badab War books. I may even adapt the format from the Legion articles in the Horus Heresy books from Forge World. I’d also love to come up with various formats for other factions so that we can see DIY Xenos organization articles, Imperial Knight households, etc.

 

Ideally, DIY article development will proceed as:

• Member creates development discussion in Liber, other members provide input
• Once member is satisfied that development is “finished,” article is created for and submitted to Downloads
• Members can download, rate, and comment on the file within the Downloads section
• Member also submits Downloads file location and DIY information to appropriate Tabula
• Original Liber discussion remains open so that the member can continue to refine and develop the DIY
• Updates to article in the Downloads section are posted whenever the author desires (steps 5 and 6 remain in a cycle)

We might even use this opportunity to develop/link to style guides to help members with their articles.

 

One note: BBCode discussions use much less space than articles, so we don't want hundreds of 5M articles. If my Nova Hawks article were any longer, I'd reduce file size by getting rid of background images and such. Additionally, if I were going to have lots of images, I might break the article down into multiple files.

[Kelborn]

Sounds promising!

Will definitely have a look on this, while uploading my newest DIY. :D

[SickSix]

Cool. Would definitely like to see a template of some sort.

[Bishoujo]

Having to download someone's DIY article instead of actually being able to view the content through the site is unfortunate and will make this content fairly unavailable to people browsing on moderately secure corporate networks.

 

Please don't misread my tone as "this doesn't fit my needs so it's not worth doing."  On the contraty, I think this is a cool alternative option that many (most?) people may enjoy.  It just, sadly, isn't a great solution for everyone.  Even if it doesn't appeal to me, however, I appreciate you pointing out this alternative!

Edited May 8, 2018 by Bishoujo

[Brother Tyler]

The downloads would be in addition to the current discussion topics, not in place of them.

[Bishoujo]

The downloads would be in addition to the current discussion topics, not in place of them.

 

I meant in relation to the previous Librarium, not the current forum posts.  My apologies for being unclear.

 

Though the more I think about it, the less my concerns actually make sense.  The Librarium was kind of a goal, but the downloads section won't serve that purpose (and it doesn't appear that it's trying to - that was just a mistake on my part).  So they're very different things and I think my mind just tried to compare them in a way that isn't really valid.  It's just a cool alternative option for people working on their DIY articles in the forums and that's a very good thing!  So, disregard my initial commentary, lol.

[Cpt_Reaper]

How about this for an "end goal":

 

When your Liber article is considered "finished" you upload a file to the Downloads section.

 

Then, once a year, the Moderators from each Liber sub-forum goes through and gathers a handful of stand out documents and compiles them into a single document like the old Index Astartes. Maybe throw in some interviews with the authors, and a gallery of some artworks and models of said armies.

[Brother Tyler]

How about this for an "end goal":

 

When your Liber article is considered "finished" you upload a file to the Downloads section.

 

Then, once a year, the Moderators from each Liber sub-forum goes through and gathers a handful of stand out documents and compiles them into a single document like the old Index Astartes. Maybe throw in some interviews with the authors, and a gallery of some artworks and models of said armies.

That's certainly within the realm of the possible.

[Cpt_Reaper]

I do love when my caffeine fulled ideas go over well.

[Doctor Perils]

I very much like your idea Cpt_Reaper :tu: - perhaps an opportunity to create some special editions of the Legio Imprint as well?

[Wargamer]

Colour me intrigued. :)

[Ace Debonair]

How have I missed this topic until now?
 
This sounds like an excellent idea.
 

How about this for an "end goal":
 
When your Liber article is considered "finished" you upload a file to the Downloads section.
 
Then, once a year, the Moderators from each Liber sub-forum goes through and gathers a handful of stand out documents and compiles them into a single document like the old Index Astartes. Maybe throw in some interviews with the authors, and a gallery of some artworks and models of said armies.

I've felt like what the Liber has been missing for the last few years was something to work towards - a tangible goal for DIYs beyond simply writing until you were fed up with the idea.

The old Librarium served to give me a lot of motivation in that respect, the thought that maybe one day I'd get an article that was 'Librarium-Worthy', up there with the best-written stuff that others had produced. (Not that I ever did achieve that, but it wasn't for lack of motivation! )

Something like this would, at least for me, fill the void left by the Librarium's absence most adequately.

[SickSix]

We could do our own FW style campaign books! (Well I couldn't, I have no ability to make FW-like data sheets and stuff)

[Doctor Perils]

As the saying goes: "don't put the cart before the horses" ;)

[Brother Tyler]

We could do our own FW style campaign books! (Well I couldn't, I have no ability to make FW-like data sheets and stuff)

That sounds amazingly like something we've discussed with regard to Legio Imprint issues.

 

The trick is always in getting contributors willing to put forth the time and effort (and with the appropriate tools, of course) and the right content.

 

For now, though, the simple act of uploading a "finished" article as a download file should be seen as the basic goal.

[Brother Tyler]

I've uploaded some templates that members can use to create their own DIY articles. These come in a .zip file as Microsoft Word .docx files. There are three formats:

• Index Astartes
• Imperial Armour Badab War
• Horus Heresy

These formats can be adjusted for any type of faction, either referring to official examples for topics/sequence or using whatever you want. You are encouraged to make any changes you want when creating your own articles, and these articles come with only a few images as absolutely necessary for the format (so you'll need to add suitable images of your DIY to flesh them out). Note that these are (hopefully) set up so that beginners can fill in the blanks (actually, you'll have to replace the "lorem ipsum" placeholders).

If you see anything that needs to be corrected, or have suggestions for improving these (keeping in mind that the templates provided will be suitable for those that aren't well versed in Microsoft Word), feel free to let me know. I'm also considering other templates for more detailed DIYs (e.g., things like codex formats, etc.). Let me know if you have any ideas.

Download Link

=][= IMPORTANT =][=

Even though I've made these available for download and highly encourage you to use them, please hold off on uploading for now. We are cleaning up the database in preparation for the site upgrade that will be coming soon. Once we get that finished, we'll let you know so that you can upload your articles.

Edited May 17, 2018 by Brother Tyler
Added screenshot

[Doctor Perils]

Great work Brother Tyler :tu: I'll see if I can get one up and running at some stage

[Kelborn]

I've uploaded some templates that members can use to create their own DIY articles. These come in a .zip file as Microsoft Word .docx files. There are three formats:

• Index Astartes
• Imperial Armour Badab War
• Horus Heresy

Oooooooohhhhhhh....

YES! Awesome! Will give them try asap. Thank you, Brother Tyler! :D

[Ioldanach]

These will be of great help to me and others. Thanks!

 

One suggestion - would you be able to add a section for "Using a (chapter/faction) army in WH40K" at the end? At the very least, an author can indicate which official codex/rules are used; and more enterprising members can include their homegrown rules. This is much like I did with my Inferno Wardens article and which you did with your Nova Hawks article. It could be broken out as a large box like it was in the 3rd edition Index Astartes articles, or it could simply be added as a new section.

 

Thanks again.

[Brother Tyler]

One suggestion - would you be able to add a section for "Using a (chapter/faction) army in WH40K" at the end? At the very least, an author can indicate which official codex/rules are used; and more enterprising members can include their homegrown rules. This is much like I did with my Inferno Wardens article and which you did with your Nova Hawks article. It could be broken out as a large box like it was in the 3rd edition Index Astartes articles, or it could simply be added as a new section.

Good idea. I titled it Using a/an (DIY) Army in Warhammer 40,000, like the 3rd edition Index Astartes articles, but it's in a small text box. I was tempted to provide full versions to allow authors to provide rules for unique formations, units, weapons, and wargear, but that would have required (at least) two versions: 8th edition (i.e., current WH40K) and 7th edition (i.e., Horus Heresy). If I make such templates, they'll be available as separate files.

 

I also added an About the Author section, like many of our Librarium articles had.

 

Also, the Horus Heresy template font was changed to Celestia Antiqua, like in the books. You can download the font from several free font websites.

 

And since you brought up your Inferno Wardens article, Ioldanach, do you plan on using the templates for a downloadable version using the section and header images that we can see in the discussion you linked? Hint hint hint 

[Ioldanach]

And since you brought up your Inferno Wardens article, Ioldanach, do you plan on using the templates for a downloadable version using the section and header images that we can see in the discussion you linked? Hint hint hint 

I'm already on it. 

 

I'm having to make some adjustments to get it to look right (i.e., filling lines, no wasted space). It should be ready for uploading by the time you give us the green light.

[bloodhound23]

Very cool. I look forward to polishing mine up for submission.

[Lephisto]

This is an awesome idea. Thank you for providing those templates. I'm actually going to enter the Armies on Parade this year and I really wanted to print off my Index Astartes so people can read about my chapter while they admire the models.

 

Some one suggested that we could make some of the articles produced into a forgeworld style campaign book? That would be awesome. Maybe we could do like a Badab war-like story? Now that we have Primaris marines, maybe?

 

Definitely subscribed to this thread to watch more closely on this idea.

 

EDIT: I was just wondering what fonts are used in the original Horus Heresy articles, Index Astartes etc? It's so i can go and download them to use in the templates.

Edited May 28, 2018 by Lephisto

[Commissar Molotov]

Thank you for these files, Tyler! I have downloaded them and will be exploring how I can use them to showcase my DIY creations. 

[Brother Tyler]

Thank you for these files, Tyler! I have downloaded them and will be exploring how I can use them to showcase my DIY creations.

Hopefully we can see the Castigators grace a series of downloadable files.