It's now been a year since the new, creator-oriented Wolf3D.net went live, and I am delighted with where we are now.
When Wolfsource (Now Wolf3D.net) first started in 2019, it started with an aim to provide a platform for fans of Wolfenstein 3D and other Wolf3D games to chat and find Wolf3D content. Providing a News Website and a stable Discord, Wolf3D.net filled a hole that had been present for several years, and was well received.
While it served it's purpose, there were things that were desired out of the website that were extremely limited, or did not work. The redesign started in May of 2020, building a new website from the ground up with a rapid shift in form.
Instead of a basic Blog website, the new build would shift focus to community-generated content. The basics were still to be there; Community News, Game Catalogue, Guides, etc. But Wolf3D.net was to be built as a self-publishing platform as well, where users could upload their own games and resources for others to use.
Building from the ground up meant things could be tailor made to account for the quirks of the community (fan-made ports, mods of mods, source ports, and different Wolf3D games) that have emerged over the past decades, an important point to move closer towards the website's goal.
The new website's launch and continued development was been fairly positive, though work has continued since the relaunch, adding new sections to the website and refining the tools for users to be able to share their content.
In late 2022, community suggestions on Discord lead to the updating of the website theme *further* (With asset help from Aurora), to try and offer a more user-friendly and readable experience.
The appearance of the website underwent a massive change to a more readable format, though the content and goals remain the same. Wolf3D.net is still being built on the belief that all aspects of the Wolf3D community are awesome and deserving of attention, whether they be the recent addition of multiplayer to ECWolf 1.4, the porting efforts of MacenWolf, or simply the classic map pack.
While those beliefs have drawn some vocal detractors over the years, Wolf3D.net remains commited to trying to connect users with all the tools they need to get into Wolf3D game development of any sort, and a friendly diverse community to talk about it all with.
So where are we at the moment? Outside of tweaks and fixing up the mobile website, the focus is on content. While this obviously extends to allowing users to upload resources of all sorts and self-publish their projects to the website with their own Game Pages, it also includes:
- Hosting community events across both the website and the Discord. Currently the most prominent examples of which are:
- Contests held regularly on the website, typically of the art variety, and
- The new Spotlight section of the Discord, that attempts to highlight a different Wolf3D project each month and hopefully expose classic and interesting games to a new audience.
- Regular articles being written about all aspects of the community; opinion pieces, historical recounting, interviews, really anything and everything Wolf3D related (Including this article!)
- Expanding the Guides section, which aims to contain the means for users to learn most aspects of Wolf3D modding, whether it be getting started developing in DOS coding, wrapping your head around an editor, or utilizing the features of various source ports.
There is a lot of potential in Wolf3D and it's community, and Wolf3D.net has absolutely been made with a love for both. I hope to see the website and Wolf3D community as a whole grow even more in the coming years, and to see the amazing creations people come up with!
A big thank you to everyone who has made Wolf3D.net and it's Discord what it is today. It's been a great few years so far!
The website is still in beta as things are worked on, new bugs are encountered and things are generally refined. Feedback on the website is always welcome, and if you have any suggestions to make you can join the Wolf3D.net Discord to do so!
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