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New Website Visuals

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by DarkStarr, Sep 20, 2013.

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  1. Tartness

    Tartness Avatar

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    It is a step in the right direction. I do enjoy the speed increase. I suppose what I would like to see more of is SotA lore on the visuals/images. I suppose that will come with time though, I'll be patient :)
     
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  2. stile

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    Well, heres my thought..

    Im good with it. It could get some recommended minor adjustments as well.

    Mostly tho.. I want to see the devs working on the game.. Not html :)

    That said, if they are going to.... Make it mean things. My site may not be great in a lot if ways, but every color, every button, every graphic, divider, etc has meaning that relates to the game.

    My nav buttons are map flags, in a map navigating you to locations which you then zoom in on (duel scale map system... Made into web page).

    Colors are related to the guild (maybe SotA relates colors to the virtues?)

    Etc, etc.

    Its a symbol. Its my flag for my country. Its not just some buttons and a layout..

    It may not look awesome but that would be because of my limitations as a graphics and html guy :)

    But the concept is sound... Thats what id like to see for a SotA web site. Something that portrays the same values that the game does by incorporating the meaning of they game into the site.

    Hmm id theme it on the virtues. Nav buttons that somehow represent the virtues at the same time they navigate... Background... Some sort of monastery garden scene. Each page framed in a shrine? The background for content written on stone tablets? Just stuff off the top off my head but a theme like that takes on a life of its own as you build it.

    Crowdsource it as a contest maybe. That'd be one id join in on.. Make a front page, a theme, and template page.. Submit. But dont do it in a weekend its important.. Give it a month or two deadline!

    But.. As i said, im happy with what we have and want the devs to spen time on the game. Make the page presentable yes, but dont spend to much time on it!

    Like lori said though.. The front page is going to be a first impression for many, and first impressions... Well, we all know!
     
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  3. G Din

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    OK, I don't like the new home page at all. Its too bright. Didn't they do some testing and it was found that green text with a black background was ideal for reading and better for your eyes? Not saying using those colors, but its gotta be darker. You need better contrast because monitors (with backlighting) will bother your eyes more with lighter or white areas.

    Go from the Home Page to the forums and back again.
     
  4. mike11

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    Prefer the old look much more.
     
  5. rild

    rild Avatar

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    I dig it but some tweaking will help. Parchment is cool, but I don't associate with Shroud. Stone with the colors from the crest (red yellow blue gray) would be good tie-ins, but I also appreciate that the look of SotA is just developing, and parchment and lighter colors does match much of the concept art.

    I really don't have a very strong opinion about it, but I like the fact that time and attention is being put into this public face - I think that can only improve the site.
     
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  6. G Din

    G Din Avatar

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    Ahh well, i just set firefox setting to black background and green text.

    EDIT: Had to change it back. Too buggy , some tabs wouldn't show etc. ARG !!
     
  7. Sinclair

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    I like it, its faster and the overall look is more "friendly" as being sooo "dark" :)
     
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  8. TigerKhan

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    I like the newer look, it's easier to load on my computer and looks good.
     
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  9. dreamlarp

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    I like the new look. It gives a much more nastalgic feal to it. Brings back memories of the Ultima games. BTW if you dont mind what WP theme did you guys use? I love the layout and functionality.
     
  10. Koldar

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    I'm not really a good judge on the color pallete, most people don't like my taste of colors. I usually let a skinner come up with a good selection of colors. When I have designed websites in the past, the focus is on speed and functionality. I think the devs did a great job speeding up the site. They streamlined the layout and menu options to allow easy access to updates while cleaning up the homepage. The only problem I see with the layout is that there isn't a way to get back to the homepage.
     
  11. tphilipp

    tphilipp SotA Dev Moderator SOTA Developer

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    @dreamlarp - it's a custom theme
     
  12. dreamlarp

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    Gotcha, too bad I have need looking for something it it.
     
  13. tphilipp

    tphilipp SotA Dev Moderator SOTA Developer

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    @dreamlarp - well, can you elaborate?
     
  14. Bubonic

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    i like the overall cleanliness, and the color palette...

    but to be honest the font doesnt feel very lord british-y to me... and it feels like it could use a bit more borders and polish, as if it weren't quite finished yet. Im assuming these types of things will be addressed in the updates. :)
     
  15. G Din

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    I can :) How about some Bayern Colors or a Champions League Theme? :)

    [​IMG]
     
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  16. tphilipp

    tphilipp SotA Dev Moderator SOTA Developer

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  17. tphilipp

    tphilipp SotA Dev Moderator SOTA Developer

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    Quick update - pushed out a change that shouldn't make any difference visually, but the graphics were quantized and are now half the size. So, the site should load even faster now, although probably hardly noticeable as the images were already much smaller than the old website ones.
    Please let me know if anybody comes across something that doesn't look right - thanks!
     
  18. Dracowyr

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    Just wanted to toss my hat in here with a quick mockup - with all respect to the current developer of course! I love sites that showcase the beautiful concept art, but I may be biased in that area.

    [​IMG]
     
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  19. Dame Lori

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    Dracowyr that looks great!
     
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  20. Dracowyr

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    Thanks Dame Lori -- Great site by the way - I frequently drop by it!
     
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