My gripe with IPB

So, a couple of months ago I purchased a IPB license, must say I love it. But I have a couple major complaints.

1) Why can't I find a skin to save my life. I don't care if I have to pay $30 for a nice skin, I just can't find a variety of good skins. I mean, CleanCut is awesome, and it looks like Carbon Blue is nice too. Butt seriously, not one Call of Duty Modern Warfare based skin. Free or paid. I won't convert my SMF board until I have a comparable skin. I mean, SMF has a better variety of FREE skins for their RC product. Which leads into my next gripe.

2) Why can't I find mods I am looking for for free. Seriously, Every mod I look for is like $5. Or more. Now, I don't mind paying for good mods, but a simple mod seems to cost these days. Stuff that is free on the org, cost $'s. I guess I am spoiled from all the mods available for vB, SMF, and phpBB. For free.

Thanks for letting me rant.

 

I thought this looked cool, no idea who made it.
http://www.worldofraids.com/

I'm still trying to figure out the modifications scene.

 

I've seen COD skins.

I have no problem finding free mods. Where are you looking?

 

Can you show me a COD4 MW skin. Just 1.

As for mods, I am still figuring out what I need and don't need. Buut the lack of skins right now is holding up my next conversion...
EDIT: Here is a great example. This mod cost...$15
http://community.invisionpower.com/files/file/2387-t30-hide-content-111/
What does it do?

Now the same/similar mod on the org...
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=235384
Price: Free...

And Matt, I know you saw this, so maybe you could explain why it so expensive to mod for IP.B?

 

LOL! Go SMF! Send me a link when you get things more stabilized.

 

Buddy also checkout skinbox. They have some awesome skins and I am using it on my website already.

Very high tech and modern looking.

 

have you tried www.invisionize.com for mods and skins

might find that the kind of skin you are looking for may cost a lot more than $30 though

 

Invisionize is terrible ever since the site was sold. It's basically a ghost town, and the only decent content there are the graphics.

Anyways, I highly recommend Skinbox. They have a skin that has several background for different games called Warrior.

As for mods, I have found very few mods that you have to pay for. I go to InvisionModding for my mods.

 

I have look at skinbox. They have a total of 25 skins for the 3.0 line. Very nice, none fit my propose.

invisionize is where I find most mods I am looking for, at a price. I haven't browsed their skin department, but I did do a search and came up empty.
Also, why would it cost more then 30. I am not asking for a custom skin, I am asking for a premium skin. And I have this style skin for SMF for free. I am just asking for something comparable.

 

I had the same gripe with the IPB mods, I think it's in a thread here, it was one of the main factors of going back to vBulletin for me.
I also had troubles finding a skin that I liked.

 

Like I said before, there is a skin that might have a CoD background, and the rest of the skin fits the gaming theme.

It's hard to ask for something comparable between software that is free and one that is paid.

And that's probably why there aren't a whole lot of skins out there for IPB... People who have the money to pay for IPB usually have the money to pay for a custom skin ("usually" being the key word).

And again, Invisionize is terrible now.

 

Ah yes, after browsing some more I realized what people were saying about warrior skin, I see it has like 9 different background.
As far as diff between free and piad software, you are not understanding what I am saying...

IU am not asking for a completely customized skin. I have no problem paying for a premium skin for $30. I don't want to pay no $400 for a "special order for you skin".
I am not trying to compare free to paid, rather I am saying is that SMF (which happens to be free) has a better skin selection of FREE skins then IPB does all together. Paid or free. Yes, $400 gets you anything you want, I don't have no $400.

 

IPB Forum Skins - Call of Duty Forum Skin - Game Website and Interface Templates - GameSiteTemplates.com
Blood - IPB skins and vBulletin styles from Skinbox



As for mods, I actually like to use InvisionModding.com myself. It's a quality forum with a fantastic repository.

 

Yeah, I understand that. What I was saying is that people who pay $150+ for software are more willing to pay for a premium skin or a custom skin, rather than get one for free. And you may not have $400, but it's not that big of a stretch to think that some people who pay $150 for forum software will have the money to get a custom skin that costs twice that.

And of course SMF is going to have more free skins than IPB has paid or free. If you look, phpBB is the same way. And that's because the software is free, which means more people are able to use the software and thus build a skin for it. You can't make a skin for something that you don't have access to. The downside to this is that since the software is free, and most skins are free, your forum is going to be less unique as people will be able to use whatever skins they want, whereas with paid software and paid skins people won't afford one or both, so the skin is a little more unique.

The simple truth is that since you have to purchase IPB to use it, there's going to be a smaller amount of people who know how to and are willing to make modifications and skins, and because of that they are more likely to charge for it.

 

You have to pay $285 for vBulletin nowadays, yet our main skin at my site costs $30, with the second one half off....

And back in the good time, when vB was 180, i picked up bluefox for like $35. IPB is supposed to be easy to skin for, I started on my own skin, but I hate what I came up with.

 

I'm with you there. I forgot the guy's name, but there's some "top quality" skinner who did Kathy's site. I emailed him in April 2009 about something, and got a response nearly 6 months later asking me what I'd wanted. I'd already sold my stuff just weeks after emailing him.

I didn't expect much from him, other than the outrageous prices he charges. It's not even quality work. I've noticed so many minute errors on skins by him.