Dozerfleet Labs

Dozerfleet Labs is a division of Dozerfleet Productions, and manages hardware and software development as well as downloads. It is in charge of all the equipment that the other divisions rely on to both produce and promote content.

Having been declared an official division in December of 2011, it is also the youngest division. On Monday, September 8th of 2014 at 9:45 PM EDT, a home for the Labs division at Tumblr was officially declared and skinned accordingly, though it was later integrated into the main Dozerfleet Tumblr page in 2015.

It's structure and flexibility were intended to allow for updates specifically to Dozerfleet Labs endeavors, allowing The Dozerfleet Blog more opportunity to concentrate on Dozerfleet Comics and Dozerfleet Literature. It also was set up to contain a catalog for downloads of Dozerfleet widgets for the general public to play with - including absorbing Utterly Sims into the new catalog as the Machinomics Downloadables Collection.

History
Dozerfleet Labs can trace its origins all the way back to the Albums Master, which was an attempt in 2003-2004 to come up with a set of customizable icons that would allow Cormorant projects to have the best overall content management that could be mustered. Several flavors of icons were experimented with and briefly offered for download to the world at large; but the Albums Master never officially caught on. The division's pre-Dozerfleet days picked up in late December of 2004 and early January of 2005, as the Dozerfleet founder began experimenting with modding IFF files to create the cast of 90 Has No Secant in The Sims Deluxe. After joining Mod The Sims, the Dozerfleet founder began producing the first Sims 2 creations in what would become the Dozerfleet Sims Downloads Collection; which would later operate though the imprint DzMD.

Experiments with software began in 2003, via the Lansing Community College class CITP 110. However, the next class up from that was a severe learning curve. By the end of the spring semester of 2005, the founder knew enough about HTML 4.01 Transitional to begin work on the DSHW format and a Cormorant official website. Lab work would continue to be a small, behind-the-scenes part of things even after the re-branding in 2006 to Dozerfleet Productions. Most Labs-type work involved DzmD downloads, and fell under a banner related to that imprint. Outside of DSHW, one of the earliest adventures in developing full-fledged websites was Kurse of the Kryptonite, a tutorial site to teach 8th graders HTML 4.

During the Ferris Years of 2006-2010, Dozerfleet Labs operated as a more-or-less sideline of The Dozerfleet Forum and this database. It operated as a mere feature of the Comics division in 2007, developing an improved version of DSHW 1.0-M for Ciem. In 2009, this was followed up by developing DSHW 2.0 for use in creating Ciem 2. There was some desire to pursue a DSHW 3 at this time, and implement it for Ciem 3. Alas, that involved intense JavaScript code and was shelved. The current standard is DSHW 2.6 as a result.

Most activity in this period not directly involving comics could best be described as being the development of the framework for DzMD. By 2011, the Question Prompting Assistant was first developed. This device made reference to a Dozerfleet Labs division, though no such division officially existed at the time. It was soon decided that the Dozerfleet Web Network was a franchise of Dozerfleet Labs, and that an official designation was not far off. Building a photo paper stand for miniature photography was the next logical step. By December of 2011, Dozerfleet Labs was declared an official division.

Post-designation, Dozerfleet Labs began to work on organizing its contents. It also developed the Niles-n'-Plebian Kranny, as a rough draft for a private sector friendly edition of the Question Prompting Assistant.

Tumblr
In the month of September in 2014, Dozerfleet Labs was given its own dedicated blog on Tumblr specific to its operations. This includes serving as a download access point for all downloadable content in the Dozerfleet Downloadables Catalog. To this end, a sub-section dubbed "Machinomic Downloadables Collection" within the catalog became a download center for all 3D virtual environment custom content downloads - especially those of Dozerfleet Comics properties. Emphasis was placed on the Sims franchise, as this new setup was set to absorb and replace the Utterly Sims brand that had been in operation on and off since 2009. However, the new setup did away with Utterly Sims' exclusive focus on the Sims franchise. Characters could be made compatible for inclusion as player avatars in other games. Non-gamers would have downloadable web or other widgets made available on the blog, including the Kranny.

Outside the catalog, the Dozerfleet Labs front page functions as a blog to broadcast updates to the catalog. Posts were also set up to discuss Dozerfleet equipment, reveal miscellaneous developments not pertaining to the Comics and Literature divisions, or to discuss topics of technological interest to the Labs division. In the process, some of the regular Blog's burden on discussing Dozerfleet Labs was lifted.

This allowed The Dozerfleet Blog to concentrate its focus on the Comics, Literature, Records, and TV divisions. Wilinski Forest remained the offshoot of the regular blog which became dedicated to world, cultural, and political news stories that either existed entirely outside of Dozerfleet operations or else did not directly affect said operations. (E.g., The Dozerfleet Blog would cover the obituary of an actor or tech crew member that died if said individual were part of Dozerfleet Studios and Ferris Access Channel creations. A story related to Joan Rivers or Robin Williams, however, would be discussed on Wilinski Forest instead; since neither Hollywood celebrity ever had a direct impact on a Dozerfleet project.)

Initially given a "dirty industry" aesthetic, the site was revised within a month of its original UI to a futuristic, clean lab. Headers, to look ideal, required the Dot Matrix font to be installed on visitor's systems, with Arial as a substitute font.

In late 2015, the entire Dozerfleet Blogging System was reconfigured into a simplified format with one Tumblr page, and with updates shared among this and DeviantArt and Facebook. That Tumblr page was later decommissioned in 2016, and downloads were shared on the Facebook page or on DeviantArt. Certain select Sims downloads are also offered on Mod The Sims.

In April of 2020, a new Dozerfleet Labs, with a futuristic theme, was created on Blogger - to offer content which was difficult to offer on Mod the Sims. The design is pending yet another overhaul, possibly to a post-apocalyptic theme in the vein of Far Cry New Dawn.

Equipment
Main article: Dozerfleet Labs equipment specs

In Ride of the Three Bulldozers, Ivan Wilinski's quest is to reclaim the village of Veskinsya from tyrannical oligarchs by starting a public revolt. He does this after he'd been exiled to live in the forests outside of town. He and his revolutionaries raided a construction equipment yard, and made off with several vehicles to use in the place of the tanks which the oligarchs did not yet have. Therefore, every major operating station of Dozerfleet Productions is also part of the equipment of Dozerfleet Labs, and is considered another "vehicle" in the "fleet" that makes up the Dozerfleet.

More hardware and equipment is considered part of Dozerfleet Labs than just the PCs, but the PCs and other items with an operating system are the "bulldozers." Since the fall of 2010, there have been two bulldozers that primarily comprised the "fleet." A cell phone, active from 2009-2012, was considered the unofficial "third bulldozer."

Dozerfleet Main refers to the main tower or desktop station in operation where data is stored. Dozerfleet Portable refers to the laptop that assists in operations during travel. Dozerfleet Mobile usually refers to the founder's main smart phone. A fourth, Dozerfleet Ultra Portable, refers to the main tablet / e-reader device that assists in correspondence during travel, easing that load on the laptop used for heavier tasks.

Machinomic Downloadables
Main article: Dozerfleet Machinomic Downloadables

Beginning in 2005 as the Cormorant Sims Downloads Collection on Mod The Sims, this branch was later renamed "Utterly Sims." Through this line, many Dozerfleet Comics properties (and a few non-Dozerfleet ones as well) were adapted for both Sims 2 and Sims 3. While downloads were distributed primarily through Mod The Sims from 2005-2008, the later years saw them hosted primarily on MediaFire and linked to from either The Dozerfleet Forum or this database.

The service was briefly suspended in protest of EA's pandering to LGBTQPIZON extremists; but was renewed for download distribution on Tumblr on January 5th of 2014. It underwent several revisions, and introduced several concepts with Sims 3 which were either difficult or impossible to do with Sims 2. On September 2nd of 2014, the site was revamped to support The Sims 4. However, it was ruled on September 8th of 2014 that Dozerfleet Labs would get its own blog with a catalog. The distribution of custom content and Dozerfleet Comics characters would not be limited to only the Sims franchise, so the collection had to be made open to the possibility of other game formats.

Utterly Sims was renamed "Machinomic Downloadables" to reflect this emphasis on characters being able to be in multiple games in which machinomics and machinima are created - not just Sims titles. Over the next several months, DzMD's content was designated to be gradually integrated into the new catalog system. Featuring most prominently would be Sims 4 reinterpretations of characters from The Gerosha Chronicles. However, Camelorum Adventures characters quickly became more popular on Mod the Sims. In 2020, a select number of characters reintrepreted in each Sims game were selected for final inclusion as downloadables, along with the creation of the custom pack known as The Sims 4: Oughties Big Rapids Living Stuff.

Announcements on the blog alerted visitors that once the final list of redistributed Sims creations were submitted for upload, that no future Sims 2, 3, or 4 items would be released similarly. Instead, new content would be created either for The Sims 5 and / or for Paralives, pending the release dates of either of those games - and Dozerfleet Main's hardware support capabilities for each.

DSHW
Main article: DVD-Storybook Hybrid Webcomic format

Initiated in 2005 as a way to create Sims stories without having to go through the official Sims 2 website, the DSHW format eventually evolved into something more. DSHW 1.0-M was popular as a format, but has since been replaced. The current version is 2.6, with A,S, and M flavors available. Due to how time-consuming it is to structure a story (or anything) in this format, the project is expected to be particularly large and deserving. Apart from its DVD menu mimicry for its menus, DSHW is essentially a glorified slideshow. Therefore, smaller projects would possibly benefit from using PowerPoint to make slideshows instead. DSHW-using projects are also very sensitive to the specific needs of their production firms. Larger firms with an animation budget and resources would benefit from making videos instead.

As of January of 2014, however, continued development of the format is on hiatus.

Question Prompting Assistant
Main article: Question Prompting Assistant

The "QPA" is an HTML page with an interface designed to assist call center workers with handling the specific needs of their calls. It has a proven track record of assisting call center workers in improving the quality of their call scores. It was originally designed for public sector use, and for companies that receive government grants. But due to the hiring practices and contracts those places operate under, it proved economically inefficient to undermine their systems. It became more difficult for them to invent cockamamie excuses to fire someone just so they could hire someone else and collect more grants. In order to defame the QPA because of this, the man in charge of security clearances at one company went so far as to accuse the Public Sector QPA of being "a threat to national security," without a single explanation given as to how.

Because of this, the Public Sector Edition has been put on a shelf until such a time that government officials learn to develop a more positive attitude. In the mean time, Dozerfleet Labs is slowly working on the development of a Private Sector Edition, to aid businesses with call centers that don't receive federal funding. Business owners who are interested should contact the Dozerfleet founder directly to ask about freelance project development. Work is slow, since the government ordered destroyed all production notes for the Public Sector Edition upon which the guidelines were built for purposes of reverse-engineering into the Private Sector Edition.

Albums Master
Main article: Albums Master

The Albums Master was an icon library and file organization scheme, employed by the Dozerfleet founder during the Cormorant era. It is considered a project in the history of Dozerfleet Labs. It was used from 2003-2006, and was later replaced by the Dozerfleet divisions and Windows Libraries. Features new to Windows 7 rendered the Albums Master effectively obsolete, so all work on it was discontinued.

Niles-n'-Plebian Kranny
The Niles-n'-Plebian Kranny is a free download which is available through MediaFire. It can be altered in a number of different ways to serve as a site navigation box for personal websites. It resembles the Amazon Kindle and Barnes-n'-Noble Nook of 2012 in appearance. Open support was dropped in 2016, given the rapid obsolescence of its references.