Announcing comprehensive LBP.me integration!

[ConfusedCartman]

After lots of hard work between Aya042 and myself, we're proud to announce complete LBP.me integration with LBPCentral! What does this mean, exactly? We're now capable of pulling down data from LBP.me, which means 100% LIVE level listings! Heart count, ratings, plays, and more are all dynamically grabbed from LBP.me and displayed on our end. Simply head to the Level Showcase and post a level like you would normally - you'll be presented with a new form that'll automatically take care of the rest. Here's what it looks like in a Level Showcase thread:



As mentioned, all of that data is pulled dynamically - everything from the level badge to the PSN to the description is all taken from LBP.me, so if anything about your level changes, those changes will be instantly reflected here. Cool, huh?

How does this work?
Well, we're not giving away code, but suffice to say that any level posted from here on out will contain a bit of BB Code similar to this: [lbpmelevelurl]http://lbp.me/v/41rnb[/lbpmelevelurl]

comphermc Edit: If it's not working, ensure that you are not using capitalization in the code. It should be all lower-case. Fix'd

Obviously, it doesn't show up in your post publicly - only when you edit it. But we scan for it on our end, and when we see it, we grab it and use it to collect data about your level. It only works in the first post of any thread in the Level Showcase and Cool Levels for now, so don't try adding that BB Code anywhere else - it won't show up!

What if I remove that bit of BB Code?
We won't be able to show any data about your level, simply because we don't have your level's URL anymore. Now, we could save the URL on our end, so that removing it doesn't remove the live statistics, but we believe user control is number 1 - if you really want to remove it from your level, we're not stopping you.

Okay, so I just posted a level, and I don't see any statistics. What's up?
Two things could be wrong:

- One: you haven't refreshed the page. Due to technical limitations we can't grab data until the second page load on any posted level, so whoever posts that level won't see any data initially. Refresh the page to see it. On the upside, it only happens to whoever posts the level, and it only happens once - nobody else will experience the problem, so you don't have to worry about people visiting your thread and seeing no info. If you see it, they'll see it - promise!

- Two: you gave us a bad Level ID! Try appending the ID you used to the end of "http://lbp.me/v/" - if it gives a 404, that was the problem! Only way to be 100% sure - always copy and paste!

I've got older levels I want to apply this to - is that possible?
Of course! It's super easy. There's an LBP.me button in the advanced editor now that will take any LBP.me level link and wrap it in the appropriate tags for you, but if you want to do it the hard way, it's actually not hard at all. Just take your LBP.me level link, wrap it in [lbpmelevelurl][/lbpmelevelurl] tags, and stick that block of code anywhere in your level post (the bottom is probably the best place for it). We'll do the rest!

We've been working on this off and on for quite a while now, and we can't wait to see how useful it is to all of you. Let us know what you think!

[comphermc]

Very awesome new site feature. Thanks a bunch, CC and Aya!

To see it in action, I retroactively added it to my Aperture Laboratories level in my signature. Very cool!

[midnight_heist]

To see it in action, I retroactively added it to my Aperture Laboratories level in my signature. Very cool!

Very cool indeed.
How do we edit that in ourselves to our own levels?

[Gravel•]

Yeah... really amazing guys... nice feature... so good to have you on the healthier-side of infirm!

[OmegaSlayer]

Great work guys!
That's coooooooooooooooooool!
Great way to end the year and start the new one!

[Morgana25]

Awesome feature! This is one of the reasons I adore lbpcentral.com. Thanks for the hard work and brain power guys!

[Spider-Jew]

Wow, this is so great! I can't wait to create new levels and post them on this site

[fodawim]

Just incase Tom talked to me and make sure you have checks on the feed to not kill the site ill post a little section of the email.

We can't guarantee that they'll be available all the time (as the site has just launched we need to ensure the servers are not overloaded, as this will directly affect the lbp online game experience, so potentially widgets, feeds etc could be shut down to reduce server load.

I suggest that if you are building a web app using the feeds, cache them in your DB first, then output them however you like for your own purposes

[ConfusedCartman]

Just incase Tom talked to me and make sure you have checks on the feed to not kill the site ill post a little section of the email.

Don't worry - we've got all sorts of things in place to ensure that the only time data doesn't display is when the user chooses to remove their level link. In all other cases, the goal is to preserve data and update it as often as is reasonable.

Very cool indeed.
How do we edit that in ourselves to our own levels?

Check the first post - I've got a section for that.

[OmegaSlayer]

Check the first post - I've got a section for that.

Sorry CC but you made it look harder than it is in that post.
You guys should edit your first post and before everything you should past this code
[lbpmelevelurl]insert LBP.me URL OF YOUR LEVEL here[/lbpmelevelurl]
Just that

[Merc]

:O Awesome! i've been waiting to see this done, and I know it will help many new creators get recognised, too bad I don't make levels :/

[OmegaSlayer]

Just updated my level thread.

[Shadowcrazy]

sounds like we need a celebration for the COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT and their from now on use of this system to categorize everything...I'm sure this will make things SO MUCH EASIER for them now too

kudos all around

[Night Angel]

Amazing addition! This is pretty cool.

http://lbp.me/v/tj72ge

[Fenderjt]

Oh cool thanks guys! What a great new feature, il be sure to update my level threads