Try before you buy?!

Hello Karl!

karlv I have seen the Demo´s on the site, but these don´t allow one to play with the config, not even the demoadmin.

Backend / Global Config

That's all (excluding the separate plugins and its parameters)

Frontend

Emerald is (almost) frontend driven! The demoadmin can see and access the dashboard with all the quick icons/links:

This main navigation is also available as a menubar on subpages or direct menuItems like "Subscriptions history".

If you edit a Plan, you have access to all tabs and all plan parameters...

e.g. "Actions":

am very interested in Emerald due to it´s easy social integration and pay-with-points functionality.

Payment Gateways

The EasySocial payment plugin is also on the demo page. There is not much to see either. Here is the very simple configuration tab/slider with parameters:

Confirm Subscription

On plan purchase, the user can choose the "EasySocial-Points" as payment method. Current and required points amount is displayed in the button:

If the user has enough points, he will get a success message:

If user has not enough points...,

... he will get an error message:

Hope this helps ;)

I'm sorry but don't get something from above pictures and it might be important.

What exactly points are we talking about: "Pay with points"

What points, are points bought in advance?

How can user buy points?

I'm asking because I couldn't find "points" in documents or demo.

Thanks

geojoomla What exactly points are we talking about

Points refer to the community extensions EasySocial and JomSocial. It's their internal reward/achievements system. By default, you can "earn" points by certain actions and activities inside your community.

Apart from that, other 3rd-party extensions can hook into their system, and generate points as well. So does Cobalt. Cobalt's internal event system uses the term "Karma" points. You can find the settings in YourSection -> Events Parameters tab -> see two columns with "Karma". A certain Cobalt event can add/subtract Karma (points) from the user's community points account. This requires the respective community integration plugin.

In short, the original Community-Extension or Cobalt fires an event... and that event adds/subtracts points. Those points can be used as a payment option in Emerald.

Cobalt: Buying a certain amount of points directly is not supported (yet). Please, feel free to open a new idea/request topic for the e-Commerce fields ;)
Emerald workaround: You might use a plan and the Custom SQL Action to purchase new points...

You may find other shop extensions that support "buying points". AFAIK, there is a VirtueMart 3rd-party addon (made by Nordmograph). Please, have a search for any other shopping carts...

Thanks @pepperstreet, understood.

I'd say it's a pity that (Karma) points are not working directly in Cobalt.

I don't see the need of such "heavy" stuff like Easy/Jom Social - just for points.

Cobalt can do what both of them do - maybe even better than both of them together - except for those points.

Shopping carts and others -- yes, but again with those Social "bulldozers", right?

In my humble view, lack of own Cobalt points system is a bit of a loss...

But again, maybe not that easy.

geojoomla I'd say it's a pity that (Karma) points are not working directly in Cobalt.

FYI - Related topic and discussion over here ;)

• Karma points / current implementation and future

geojoomla I don't see the need of such "heavy" stuff like Easy/Jom Social - just for points.

We can integrate somethign simplier like AlphaUserPoints

That would be great Sergey!

I see AUP as indeed the "lightest" points system that I was possibly considering - that does not work with Cobalt.

Cobalt own points - even less rules at the beginning (like for reading/accessing or posting) - would be great.

And if points could ever be individualised per article (each article "costs" or "rewards" a certain number of points) - then the "pay to access" field solves the "buying points" automatically and becomes even more powerful.

Just dreaming out loud... :)

Ther are lot of things to improve around point system. We nearly scratched the surface.

AUP is a very unpleasant and integration unfriendly extension. I wantred to avoid it as much as possible because it does not provide clean way of affecting carma for CCK (multiple sections extensions).

May be you can use what we have?

AUP is "lightest" - they do points system well but agree not so friendly.

I think with MintJoomla (and maybe some smaller extensions) only imagination is the limit, but my business partner insists we have to also look at non-Joomla solutions.

And he has a very strong point (no pun intended :) ... Joomla 3 now has >6000 extensions available, what happens if next version starts again with zero extensions available?

But that's off-topic.

geojoomla AUP is "lightest" - they do points system well but agree not so friendly.

FYI - there is an interesting extension/project by ITprism called: Gamification Platform

I have mentioned it in the other topic. Just wanted to make sure you don't miss it ;)
Maybe you can give it a try... unfortunately I had not enough free time, yet.