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By: Earl Grey
Looking at the website, on the surface it may not look like much at all. That is until you break down everything that makes up a website.
I have previously made a blog post explaining the reason behind the website and a bit about the development Here, in this blog post however I will be breaking down what the site does both in the front end (What you see) and in the back end (What you don’t).
First the fun stuff!
The first, more obvious feature is the blog system. We created two instances for the blogs. One for Development which the admin team can update in the backend. And one for Users which anyone can create from your profile pages.
The User Profile is in fact a system that uses bunch of separate systems to populate information regarding a specific user. It takes your username, profile picture, bio and various other details that you can choose to fill in when editing your settings. It will also display some of your activity such as blogs you post or Auditions you submit for the Casting Call.
Integrated into this are also the Achievement and Rank systems which we will cover more in depth next.
The Achievement system works as a way for users to earn badges from various activities. You can earn them by taking part in events, having your blog/content featured, helping other people and other various activities. There are several categories of Achievements.
These can be earned by anyone and are not limited.
These have a time limit or total user limit and once gone can not be achieved again
These are achievements earned by various events or seasonal activities
You can view the full achievement list Here
You may be familiar with Discord Ranks. The website uses a similar system where you can earn rank based on activity. When you participate in the website, you will be earning points in the background known as ‘Reputation Points’ These accumulate and if you reach a specific number, you move up in rank.
You can earn points by writing blogs or having your blog/auditions upvoted by other members. You can also earn points from Admin/Moderators should they feel you are particularly helpful or have done something of merit. Various achievements may also reward Reputation Points also.
Be aware that you can also lose points if you are making blog posts that are not helpful, contain little information, are off topic or are clearly created for the soul purpose of gaining points/rank.
Points may also be removed for bad behavior or negativity.
Admin will use the Reputation system and monitor users in the backend to see who is gaining/losing points to ensure the system remains fair and balanced or to look out for potential ‘troublemakers’ in the community.
There are other ways in which you may earn/lose points but we can’t give everything away ;)
A system made unique for Hero Academia: Beyond. We needed a good way to manage Voice Actor auditions and cast people in specific roles. Here you can not only see what roles are cast/available and listen to the auditions, but you can also upvote your favorite auditions! Show your support and you may help to choose the next role!
When you signed up to the website, you will have been greeted by s small dot next you your ‘Notification Bell’ Icon. Here you can view all of your notifications or mark them as read. Notifications are our way to push updates or information to you via the website. Be sure to check them regularly!
In the drop down menu where your profile picture shows on the menu. You can see a ‘Report Bug’ link. This will allow you to report any issues with the website or (When available) the game itself. This will submit a ticket but categorize it directly as a bug which will then catalogue in our Bug Tracker in the backend. It is super helpful to us if you can find a verifiable bug, so helpful that we even created an achievement for anyone who confirms one!
The contact form on the homepage is in fact connected to our Ticket System. This allows us to take the content you submit to us and categorize it as feedback, suggestions, comments, issues and more! We can then communicate back to you where you will receive email updates. This then saves all conversations which you can check up on at a later date.
Backend systems are used by Admin/Developers to create blogs, manage accounts and content. These naming of backend systems differs largely from frontend. On the front a Ticket System is just a ticket system. But a developer will name that system something unique. Here is a breakdown of some of the backend systems we use.
Managing everything is the Admin Panel itself. This is named ‘Cosmos’ and runs many things either automatically or manually by a member of the team. Cosmos is an interface allowing us to connect with each of the systems within the website. We can also create reports on number of users, activity, unresolved issues and much more!
Hermes is the messenger of the gods. A fitting name for our Ticket System. Here admin can view, sort and respond to tickets, assign themselves or others to handle the ticket and post internal notes where required. This helps us to easily manage your communications.
(This one doesn’t have a ‘special name’ (yet)).
Here we can track bugs and monitor them. It allows us to keep on top of anything that needs fixing and remains there until we can resolve the issue. We can view these tickets away from the ticket system so someone who may not deal with general questions will see only what they need to.
Iris is our Notification system. Here an admin can send a notification to a specific user or even all users at once. This gives us the power to ensure updates are given to anyone who needs them!
It is important that we know what our admin are doing when it comes to your accounts and data. Therefore we ensure we log and track everything that happens in the backend. Only higher teir admins access these logs and can find out if anything has been changed that shouldn’t have.
This log tracks any changes made to user reputation by admin. If we have given points or removed them. It shows us who has the most points/least and shows a log of why they may have been given or taken. So this christmas Santa will know who has been naughty or nice!
This covers anything from managing blogs (Both development and user), casting call and user accounts. If you have accidentally deleted your blog, it will remain in our backend for a time so we can recover it for you. If you have forgotten your password, an admin can enter a new one for you. If you have done something of merit, an admin may award an achievement to you.
Everything you do on the site can be managed by our team.
So that covers some of the 'Main' features of the website. Other features run in the background such as your sessions (knowing you are logged in). It is all the various systems working together that bring the website to life and allow you to interact with it and other users.
We really hope you enjoy your experience on the site and we are always open to any feedback or suggestions you might have to improve your experience. Please do use the contact form on the home page should you wish to discuss.
Thank you,
Earl
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