Some new and interesting add-ons were installed along with the August 2022 major Xenforo forum software upgrade. The ThemeHouse Achievements and Leaderboards are two new add-ons. They work hand-in-hand.
This tutorial will cover Achievements, Leaderboards and XP. Since the upgrade many members have asked about each.
If you look at "Your Profile" page you will see the following displayed, it shows your current XP, Achievements and Level.
What is XP?
XP = Experience Points.
Historically experience points (XP) originated with the old Dungeons & Dragons role playing game (RPG). Points were generally gained by defeating an enemy or when completing a task.
Over time several gaming and non-gaming forums have implemented XP.
On ECF XP is the number of points a user receives each time an achievement is earned and for other activities. A users XP represents their activity and contribution to the forum.
XP are acquired by members for contributing content to the forum. Some contributions earn higher XP numbers. Experience Points (XP) are also a way to playfully encourage members to contribute to the forum.
Here are a few examples: A member is awarded XP for actions they do on the forum. For each post a member creates they are awarded 5 XP. Starting a new thread earns 10 XP. Creating a Media post earns 5 XP. On and on it goes.
After reaching a certain amount of XP (experience points), a member is leveled up (ex: level 1 to level 2 etc.). As a member earns more, and more, XP they continue being leveled up. Someone who is at Level 77, for example, has made many contributions to the forum. Once at higher levels it becomes more difficult to attain the next higher level.
ECF is using the logarithmic leveling formula. This makes it so that over time, it becomes harder to achieve the next level the higher you are in the leveling system.
What are Achievements?
Every member who has logged into ECF since Xenforo 2.x went live on 24 August 2022 has received several achievement alerts. The system is configured to alert users of all earned achievements.
There are currently 83 achievements. All the achievements can be seen here:
www.e-cigarette-forum.com
Looking at the above linked page, you will see that when a new member completes the basic ECF registration process and adds an avatar they earn 10 and 15 XP respectively. They are awarded these two achievements.
As a new member does more they earn additional achievements and XP.
Browsing through the achievements you will note the number of XP earned once an achievement is awarded.
Some examples: When a member creates their first post they are awarded 20 XP and earn the Message Poster achievement. Creating 10 threads earns the Thread Poster: Level 2 achievement and 75 XP. Creating a post on any of the holidays earns that achievement and 20 XP. An Ultimate Achiever earns 5000 XP.
Some achievements are earned only once while others can be earned multiple times. Over time system administrators can add new achievements as desired.
The rarity of an achievement indicates how difficult it is to earn. There are 4 achievement rarities. Lowest to highest: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
At the top of the Achievements page you will see your ECF overview.
The overview displays your current level, total XP, achievements, how much XP is needed to reach the next level and the number of rarity achievements you have earned. Additionally you can choose to "Show all" 83 achievements or "Show earned".
If you do not want to receive Achievements notifications you can turn them off. Simply click on the bell icon for each achievement to silence them.
Displayed next to each achievement is the number of members who have earned that achievement. In the following example, there are currently 73 members using the Bookmarks feature.
You can also see the achievements you have earned by clicking on the Achievements tab on "Your Profile" page.
Achievements can be added to your user information that is displayed when you post on the forum. See below my avatar for some examples. You will see three achievement icons. Hovering over an icon displays which achievement it is.
To add an achievement click on "Change achievements". You can select up to three achievements to be displayed. Those can be changed at any time. You can also deselect achievements so none are displayed. By default no achievements are displayed.
What is the Leaderboards?
ECF's Leaderboards page displays user information for Posts, Threads, Achievements, XP and Media.
A user can look at information for the current week or view any of the four previous weeks, display the current month or view any of the last four months.
www.e-cigarette-forum.com
• Posts displays the number of posts a member created (weekly/monthly)
• Threads shows the number of threads a user created (weekly/monthly)
• Achievements displays how many were earned by each member (weekly/monthly)
• XP shows the number of experience points awarded to a user (weekly/monthly)
• Media displays how many media items a member uploaded to the ECF Media page (weekly/monthly)
A quick note on Media: Historically members have posted photos of their vape gear. Some members have posted photos of their gardens or their pets. Any member can post media to the ECF Media page. It is very easy to do.
At the end of each week, month and year the members who rank 1-3 in each leaderboards category are notified via an alert.
The member who gets the #1 spot can earn one, or more, of the following achievements and XP:
• Rank 1 (1000 XP)
• Top Rank: Weekly (75 XP)
• Top Rank: Monthly (250 XP)
• Top Rank: Yearly (750 XP)
Those are some of the achievements that can be earned over and over again.
What does any of that do for me?
That all depends on what each individual member desires. Some will enjoy and embrace the enhanced user forum experience. Others may not care at all.
Users who desire an enriched forum experience, or those who are members on other forums using the same, or similar, add-ons will immediately recognize the value these add-ons bring to to ECF.
Some members have broached the subject of ECF seeing less activity. As I see it, and perhaps as ECF senior management sees it, add-ons like these can help to boost ECF user activity. That is something all members should desire.
This tutorial will cover Achievements, Leaderboards and XP. Since the upgrade many members have asked about each.
If you look at "Your Profile" page you will see the following displayed, it shows your current XP, Achievements and Level.
What is XP?
XP = Experience Points.
Historically experience points (XP) originated with the old Dungeons & Dragons role playing game (RPG). Points were generally gained by defeating an enemy or when completing a task.
Over time several gaming and non-gaming forums have implemented XP.
On ECF XP is the number of points a user receives each time an achievement is earned and for other activities. A users XP represents their activity and contribution to the forum.
XP are acquired by members for contributing content to the forum. Some contributions earn higher XP numbers. Experience Points (XP) are also a way to playfully encourage members to contribute to the forum.
Here are a few examples: A member is awarded XP for actions they do on the forum. For each post a member creates they are awarded 5 XP. Starting a new thread earns 10 XP. Creating a Media post earns 5 XP. On and on it goes.
After reaching a certain amount of XP (experience points), a member is leveled up (ex: level 1 to level 2 etc.). As a member earns more, and more, XP they continue being leveled up. Someone who is at Level 77, for example, has made many contributions to the forum. Once at higher levels it becomes more difficult to attain the next higher level.
ECF is using the logarithmic leveling formula. This makes it so that over time, it becomes harder to achieve the next level the higher you are in the leveling system.
What are Achievements?
Every member who has logged into ECF since Xenforo 2.x went live on 24 August 2022 has received several achievement alerts. The system is configured to alert users of all earned achievements.
There are currently 83 achievements. All the achievements can be seen here:
Achievements
You can earn achievements by carrying out different actions. This page shows a list of the achievements that are available.
www.e-cigarette-forum.com
Looking at the above linked page, you will see that when a new member completes the basic ECF registration process and adds an avatar they earn 10 and 15 XP respectively. They are awarded these two achievements.
As a new member does more they earn additional achievements and XP.
Browsing through the achievements you will note the number of XP earned once an achievement is awarded.
Some examples: When a member creates their first post they are awarded 20 XP and earn the Message Poster achievement. Creating 10 threads earns the Thread Poster: Level 2 achievement and 75 XP. Creating a post on any of the holidays earns that achievement and 20 XP. An Ultimate Achiever earns 5000 XP.
Some achievements are earned only once while others can be earned multiple times. Over time system administrators can add new achievements as desired.
The rarity of an achievement indicates how difficult it is to earn. There are 4 achievement rarities. Lowest to highest: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
At the top of the Achievements page you will see your ECF overview.
The overview displays your current level, total XP, achievements, how much XP is needed to reach the next level and the number of rarity achievements you have earned. Additionally you can choose to "Show all" 83 achievements or "Show earned".
If you do not want to receive Achievements notifications you can turn them off. Simply click on the bell icon for each achievement to silence them.
Displayed next to each achievement is the number of members who have earned that achievement. In the following example, there are currently 73 members using the Bookmarks feature.
You can also see the achievements you have earned by clicking on the Achievements tab on "Your Profile" page.
Achievements can be added to your user information that is displayed when you post on the forum. See below my avatar for some examples. You will see three achievement icons. Hovering over an icon displays which achievement it is.
To add an achievement click on "Change achievements". You can select up to three achievements to be displayed. Those can be changed at any time. You can also deselect achievements so none are displayed. By default no achievements are displayed.
What is the Leaderboards?
ECF's Leaderboards page displays user information for Posts, Threads, Achievements, XP and Media.
A user can look at information for the current week or view any of the four previous weeks, display the current month or view any of the last four months.
Leaderboards
www.e-cigarette-forum.com
• Posts displays the number of posts a member created (weekly/monthly)
• Threads shows the number of threads a user created (weekly/monthly)
• Achievements displays how many were earned by each member (weekly/monthly)
• XP shows the number of experience points awarded to a user (weekly/monthly)
• Media displays how many media items a member uploaded to the ECF Media page (weekly/monthly)
A quick note on Media: Historically members have posted photos of their vape gear. Some members have posted photos of their gardens or their pets. Any member can post media to the ECF Media page. It is very easy to do.
At the end of each week, month and year the members who rank 1-3 in each leaderboards category are notified via an alert.
The member who gets the #1 spot can earn one, or more, of the following achievements and XP:
• Rank 1 (1000 XP)
• Top Rank: Weekly (75 XP)
• Top Rank: Monthly (250 XP)
• Top Rank: Yearly (750 XP)
Those are some of the achievements that can be earned over and over again.
What does any of that do for me?
That all depends on what each individual member desires. Some will enjoy and embrace the enhanced user forum experience. Others may not care at all.
Users who desire an enriched forum experience, or those who are members on other forums using the same, or similar, add-ons will immediately recognize the value these add-ons bring to to ECF.
Some members have broached the subject of ECF seeing less activity. As I see it, and perhaps as ECF senior management sees it, add-ons like these can help to boost ECF user activity. That is something all members should desire.
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