test content
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc

Small forum art design change [Feb. 13, 2014] *Changes complete, see post #208*

11416181920

Comments

  • anodynesanodynes Member Posts: 1,999 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    I saw the new grey blandness today, and my eyes started to glaze over. Harder to read with the new 2014 forum design.

    So, went about altering it back to the 2013 look, and fixed some things that have been annoying me for a long time.

    Some screenshots with notes on changes:
    Image 1
    Image 2
    Image 3
    Image 4
    Forgive the compression, site had size limits

    How do you get this happening in your browser?
    Install the Stylish addon for Firefox (theme was built with this) or Chrome.

    Then, go HERE, and install the theme I've made.

    Then simply start using the forums!
    Can be enabled/disabled at will via the addon.

    As long as the logo and background images remain available via their CDN (no reason it shouldn't), it'll work just fine.

    Hope people find this useful.

    Thank you. At least now there's a decent amount of contrast. It may not be a perfect version of the forum, but it's miles ahead of the official one.
    This is an MMO, not a Star Trek episode simulator. That would make for a terrible game.
  • lucianazetalucianazeta Member Posts: 740 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Well, it's an improvement.
    STO%20Sig.png~original
  • draogndraogn Member Posts: 49 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    I don't think the banner is aligned right. All I see is an arm holding a phaser. Which tells me the banner is set to a specific size rather then being dynamic.

    The rest of the forums are just as an eye sore as they were before. That new arcgames website is also a massive eye. But I suppose we've at least move the software a bit closer to forums of this decade. Perhaps now we can start adding features in that even the most basic forums have today. Such as a report post and ignore feature.
  • dalolorndalolorn Member Posts: 3,655 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    eradicator84's add on is a god sent!

    I always find way around game bugs, but never thought I had to find one for the forums. :rolleyes:

    Yeah, I'd be using it too, but for reasons I won't go into, I can't do it. :(

    Infinite possibilities have implications that could not be completely understood if you turned this entire universe into a giant supercomputer.p3OEBPD6HU3QI.jpg
  • johnstewardjohnsteward Member Posts: 1,073 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    I must say i hate the new Forum look. I feel the contrast between the grey background and the white tesxt is too low and i dont in generel lilke grey white.. it wasnt very trekkie before, but at least with blue and black kind of reminding us at least a bit of a console in star trek.

    sso whatever you guys do, pls change it again/back

    Edit: okay i now use this stylish thing too, thx @eradicator84

    its much better than the official one
  • shadowwraith77shadowwraith77 Member Posts: 6,395 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Bleck.....too much grey mixed with white. While it does look more pleasing in some aspects, the color mixing is kind of dull. If only you would pick a darker back drop than the grey, than all would be grand. :o
    tumblr_nq9ec3BSAy1qj6sk2o2_500_zpspkqw0mmk.gif


    Praetor of the -RTS- Romulan Tal Shiar fleet!

  • decroniadecronia Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Hi Captains,

    All planned design/ art changes are now complete (new header, text color changes, etc.). We'll continue to pass along your feedback in this thread, but a lot of the feedback before this post was provided while changes were being made -- feel free to post your most up-to-date feedback after this post. Please be clear and concise in your post, in addition to being constructive, that way your feedback is heard.

    NOTE: Functionality of the forums should not be included in this feedback, only art/design.

    Thanks for your patience as all changes were made and verified.

    Cheers,

    Brandon =/\=

    Where do we give feedback on functionality? Though functionality and design should go hand in hand.

    On art and design, I am going to go with some of the others where the grey on grey in quotes is concerned. I am having to highlight them to read them. A better contrast is needed there. This is an example where design and functionality are meant to go hand in hand.

    Also all I get is handsome phaser guys arm and language on the right is cut off at the "u".
  • johankreigjohankreig Member Posts: 449 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    actually yes it does hurt my eyes, I am dyslexic and have issues with reading white font on various backgrounds, and this is just a pain, the words are bouncing all over, please give us an option to change it back, I view this forum from various places so dont have the luxury of the firefox fix.

    as for those poo pooing the issue, just becasue u dont have an issue, dosnt meen others dont, as for who ever built this, do they not consider DDA requirments when creating it, or even consider asking someone to test the look before releasing it.
    Jorhana Kreig: KDF, Tal'is: Romulan Fed, Shona'a: Romulan KDF, Johan Paul Kreig: Fed
  • edited February 2014
    This content has been removed.
  • aleciabethaleciabeth Member Posts: 33 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    I like the new forum style.
  • rylanadionysisrylanadionysis Member Posts: 3,359 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    I dont do bright backgrounds well, normally I set anything I can to the darkest setting for a backdrop.

    When these forums went to this medium gray it pretty much guaranteed id be on them less often.

    If they even gave me an option to turn the backgrounds black again, ugh.
    Gold.jpg
    Fleet Admiral Rylana - Fed Tac - U.S.S Wild Card - Tactical Miracle Worker Cruiser
    Lifetime Subscriber since 2012 == 17,200 Accolades = RIP PvP and Vice Squad
    Chief of Starfleet Intelligence Service == Praise Cheesus
  • johankreigjohankreig Member Posts: 449 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Sorry to hear some of you are experiencing problems, personally I love the new clean lines of the forum.

    It would be good if Cryptic gave some options for the user to customise the interface.

    atleast someone has some sympathy for those of us who have issue, as for the design and layout its fine, just change the colours and conrasts.
    Jorhana Kreig: KDF, Tal'is: Romulan Fed, Shona'a: Romulan KDF, Johan Paul Kreig: Fed
  • edited February 2014
    This content has been removed.
  • eradicator84eradicator84 Member Posts: 1,116 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Style has been updated!

    Go back to my themes page and click the update button to get the newest version of it.

    Image 5
    Image 6
    - Added left and right border lines back to posts
    - Hacky fixed posts left/right divider gap that shows if someone has a short signature
    - Darkened quick edit, quick reply and advanced reply text input areas
    - Drop down menus up top (search, go to page, search this thread etc) darkened to match theme
    - Advanced reply height now even bigger than quick reply by default
    - Fixed reply text boxes to that can now be extended height wise once again. Width has been set to a fixed width.
    - Advanced search background darkened
    - Avatars now centre correctly horizontally, good for users like dalolorn with thinner pictures

    Hope this fixes what some commented could use tweaking.
    Any other suggestions, let me know.
    AFMJGUR.jpg
  • atlantraatlantra Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Everything is fine to me. White words. No problem here...
    The dress is gold and white. Over 70% people says so. When viewed from a certain screen angle it appears blue and black. The dress displayed on amazon is a blue and black dress, but it's not the same dress in the picture. If you're seeing blue & black you're slightly colored blind. A normal upright screen = white and gold.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • worffan101worffan101 Member Posts: 9,518 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    We are Perfect World, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated, we will add your money to our own.

    More seriously now...

    Eradicator, thank you so much! Now, if that add-on only worked in Chrome, it would be great.

    Devs: This format is still painful, and I happen to personally dislike add-ons. Please, please change back. This new format just looks sloppy.
  • mirrorchaosmirrorchaos Member Posts: 9,844 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Hi Captains,

    All planned design/ art changes are now complete (new header, text color changes, etc.). We'll continue to pass along your feedback in this thread, but a lot of the feedback before this post was provided while changes were being made -- feel free to post your most up-to-date feedback after this post. Please be clear and concise in your post, in addition to being constructive, that way your feedback is heard.

    NOTE: Functionality of the forums should not be included in this feedback, only art/design.

    Thanks for your patience as all changes were made and verified.

    Cheers,

    Brandon =/\=

    erad's solution is providing the older design and art that worked well last time about since it was hard to scroll through the replies with such a grey background. unfortunately because the grey background harder to read with white text, functionality was impaired in the process. you also mention the words "should not" so there is a chance that functionality feedback would be looked at even if its very small?

    thats about as clear, concise and constructive as you are going to find, rather damning evidence so far that a user had to create the old look which others are switching to.
    T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW.
    Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
  • ijimithyijimithy Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Noo! You must stay on the forums Rylana lol!

    On a more serious note I can read it fine and normal (I am dyslexic too and I struggle with small text but the dark colour seems to help me read it more? I dunno I can see it fine but its only day 1)

    My advice for anyone like myself is to change the fonts you use for your browser I use a Dyslexic friendly font that helps me read the text clearer and I can say it looks kinda funky at first but it really does work. If I get the link I'll update the post with it.

    The Fix that people have been recommending might work but I don't think PWE are going to go out of their way to fix something they don't see as broken that is unless people actively say something to the mods all the time.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    No Drama, No Fuss, Just good old fashioned pew pew!
  • wildchild8wildchild8 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    kirksplat wrote: »
    http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showpost.php?p=15156361&postcount=301

    Go through the steps, and it will solve your eye strain problems.

    Good work dude! and sanity returns to the forums. white on black text and slightly bigger returns.



    white on a grey back ground is horrific for contrast and the font size has been lowered on the new look. if the grey was darker it wouldnt even be so bad but it seems to be just at a level to create a "twilight" effect where by it takes that split second longer for your brain to differentiate text.

    its the same reasoning why sans-serif fonts are mostly used for reading chunks of text on the web, it reduces that split second it takes people to process the embellishments of a serif font on screens.


    also on the main forum listings font size needs to be bigger. This is basic web design stuff, and how people scan pages at a glance, and how to present large blocks of information (thread listings and pages of posts)

    new forum style just sent you back to the 2000's imho.

    the web of 2014 is meant to be giving users a richer experience. I'm all for simplicity in design, but not when it breaks people's mental models.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    www.elitedefensestarfleet.com

    /channel_join PublicEliteSTF
    PublicEliteSTF Channel Info: bit.ly/PublicEliteSTFV2
    WE WANT A KDF BOP 3 PACK!!
  • wilbor2wilbor2 Member Posts: 1,684 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    On my phone it looks great but on my laptop win7 it hurts my eyes i thought it was just me needing new glasses but maybe not seen as others are saying the samething
    gs9kwcxytstg.jpg
  • jeyj13jeyj13 Member Posts: 42 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    The new forum style hurts my eyes and makes me lean back and squint to read it.
  • gofasternowgofasternow Member Posts: 1,390 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    No, but it takes my eyes a little off-guard when I switch to someplace a lot brighter.
  • nulonunulonu Member Posts: 507 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    It's visually unappealing compared to how it was but if people with sight problems are seeing it better then it's worth it.
  • aloishammeraloishammer Member Posts: 3,294 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    worffan101 wrote: »
    Eradicator, thank you so much! Now, if that add-on only worked in Chrome, it would be great.

    I'm using it in Chrome right now and it works fine. :confused:
  • kneeliftkneelift Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    I don't like it one bit.
  • worffan101worffan101 Member Posts: 9,518 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    I'm using it in Chrome right now and it works fine. :confused:

    Must be my useless hunk of silicon--I mean, computer--then.
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,236 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    sunfrancks wrote: »
    PWE were going for the classic mid nineties look. They Nailed it!

    Use the plugin and style if you want to be sane again... ;)
    Or not... It's only required if you dislike the new one. :P
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    My character Tsin'xing
    Costume_marhawkman_Tsin%27xing_CC_Comic_Page_Blue_488916968.jpg
  • stark2kstark2k Member Posts: 1,467 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    I like the new forum look, they did away with all the background clutter, keep it simple, keep it clean.
    StarTrekIronMan.jpg
  • acrosscatacrosscat Member Posts: 84 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    nulonu wrote: »
    It's visually unappealing compared to how it was but if people with sight problems are seeing it better then it's worth it.

    Exactly this. It's much easier to read, after a little while.

    The one thing I do lament is colouring URL links no longer being an option, but c'est la vie.
    ____GREAT LEADERS LET THEIR ACTIONS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • stark2kstark2k Member Posts: 1,467 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    acrosscat wrote: »
    Exactly this. It's much easier to read, after a little while.

    The one thing I do lament is colouring URL links no longer being an option, but c'est la vie.

    Thought you can color in the links yourself during your posting options.

    *See This*

    By the way, I want that Gorn's looks and that toga, C'mon Cryptic bring that into the game.
    StarTrekIronMan.jpg
Sign In or Register to comment.