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Here's how you get the old STO website back (at least for now)

logandarklighterlogandarklighter Member Posts: 96 Arc User
Here's how you get the old STO website back (at least for now).

You need the latest version of Ad Block Plus for either Google Chrome or Firefox.

For Google Chrome: Go to the Ad Block Icon in the upper right hand corner of the browser:

(It's the Red "Stop Sign" logo with "ABP" On it)


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Click on that, then on the drop-down menu - go to "Options" at the bottom and click on that.

OS60DKD.png


On the next page you'll see the following:


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Click on the "Add your own filters" tab.


Then add "global_redirect.js" to the top line, then click on the "add filter" button.

When you see this:

FeqbeZt.png


Then simply close the tab, open up your old bookmark, VOILA!

Your old site is back and you can give the MIDDLE DIGIT OF DOOM to PWE (until they completely close down the old site at least).

This should at least help people in the transition until they get all that stuff set up PROPERLY on the arc website.

And yes - this works on ALL the sub-pages. Including the page to upload characters to the test server page.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • logandarklighterlogandarklighter Member Posts: 96 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    The Firefox version is slightly less intuitive. But once you're past the first part, it's as easy as the Chrome version.


    You want to click on "Tools", then go to "Add-ons"


    http://i.imgur.com/uprsued.png



    On the full tab that opens, look near the bottom-right. About in the middle there is a "Filter Preferences" button. Click on that.


    http://i.imgur.com/8KGzemo.png


    That will bring up the following sub-window - where you'll want to click on the "Custom Filters" tab at the top:

    http://i.imgur.com/CKZbRjP.png


    And that brings up the following window. From here, the procedure is similar to that of the Chrome version above. Just click the "add filter" button at the top right and type in "global_redirect.js" and save that.


    http://i.imgur.com/X1U4TLO.png


    And from there, just close out the tabs, bring up the old bookmark and it works just like the Chrome Version. No nasty Arc redirect!
  • mightybobcncmightybobcnc Member Posts: 3,354 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    It's so bad that we're having to resort to client-side fixes for their screwups.

    Joined January 2009
    Finger wrote:
    Nitpicking is a time-honored tradition of science fiction. Asking your readers not to worry about the "little things" is like asking a dog not to sniff at people's crotches. If there's something that appears to violate natural laws, then you can expect someone's going to point it out. That's just the way things are.
  • stf65stf65 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    It's so bad that we're having to resort to client-side fixes for their screwups.
    What TRIBBLE up? They changed the forums. They did the same thing back in 2012. The fact that some hate change, no matter how insignificant it is, doesn't mean the change was a TRIBBLE up.
  • logandarklighterlogandarklighter Member Posts: 96 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    It's a TRIBBLE-up because they forced the change before they were ready on the back-end. They don't have hardly any of the functions that we NEED from the old site on the Arc Site.

    It's like the gaming equivalent of the Obamacare website. They shouldn't have pushed the change until they had ALL the back-end stuff ready to go.

    So yes - we're having to resort to "hacks" to do such simple things as manage our accounts, get characters on the test servers, look up needed info etc.
  • nikkojtnikkojt Member Posts: 372 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    stf65 wrote: »
    What TRIBBLE up? They changed the forums. They did the same thing back in 2012. The fact that some hate change, no matter how insignificant it is, doesn't mean the change was a TRIBBLE up.

    This isn't about the forums. This is about the massive clust--uh, mess that is the new STO (and by STO I mean ArcGames, because that's the only logo on the page) website.
    I am NikkoJT, Foundry author and terrible player. Follow me!
    There used to be a picture here, but they changed signatures and I can't be bothered to replace it.
  • misterde3misterde3 Member Posts: 4,195 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    stf65 wrote: »
    What TRIBBLE up? They changed the forums. They did the same thing back in 2012. The fact that some hate change, no matter how insignificant it is, doesn't mean the change was a TRIBBLE up.

    So you don't find the fact that it's impossible to read the old Dev blogs for more than 8 seconds screwup? Good for you.;)
  • stf65stf65 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    misterde3 wrote: »
    So you don't find the fact that it's impossible to read the old Dev blogs for more than 8 seconds screwup? Good for you.;)
    I don't know where you're looking, but I have no problem reading the dev blogs from the news section on the arcgames site: http://community.arcgames.com/en/news/star-trek-online

    I simply click on what I want to read and it loads just fine. I can scroll down and see more and more older blogs as I go. I'm using google chrome and not having any problems.

    Just checked and it works exactly the same in ie too. It redirects me to the link above and everything clicks and reads as normal.
  • aloishammeraloishammer Member Posts: 3,294 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    misterde3 wrote: »
    So you don't find the fact that it's impossible to read the old Dev blogs for more than 8 seconds screwup? Good for you.;)

    Well, you know people differ. Some don't like obvious malfunctions, others are all "thank you sir, may I have another."
  • misterde3misterde3 Member Posts: 4,195 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    stf65 wrote: »
    I don't know where you're looking, but I have no problem reading the dev blogs from the news section on the arcgames site: http://community.arcgames.com/en/news/star-trek-online

    I simply click on what I want to read and it loads just fine. I can scroll down and see more and more older blogs as I go. I'm using google chrome and not having any problems.

    Just checked and it works exactly the same in ie too. It redirects me to the link above and everything clicks and reads as normal.

    Yesterday it cut me off at Season 8 Blog #35 when I scolled down to the bottom and the page made additional chunks of links available. I got nothing older than that.
    Problem is the Dev Blog Index still leads here:

    http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=870711

    where the links are not useable because they always lead back to the ARC page.
  • pwecangetlostpwecangetlost Member Posts: 538 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Its a great sign when individual players are fixing people's problems with the changes, faster than a large company with hundreds of paid employees is. This is much better, thanks. Now I've got no more badly contrasting grey and grey on the forum, and I can use the far better and streamlined original website. It may not look as fancy as Arc, but its got significantly better usability.
  • stf65stf65 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    misterde3 wrote: »
    Yesterday it cut me off at Season 8 Blog #35 when I scolled down to the bottom and the page made additional chunks of links available. I got nothing older than that.
    Problem is the Dev Blog Index still leads here:

    http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=870711

    where the links are not useable because they always lead back to the ARC page.
    Well, I can't help how it cut you off, or whether your internet is just slow or you were too impatient to see if it loads more, but it has loaded fine for me since it was introduced. I was pissed because I kept scrolling down trying to get to the bottom and it just kept loading older information.

    And Brandon posted a thread back in december stating the forum links would be down for a few weeks after the new arc website went up because they needed time to reestablish all the old links.
  • projectfrontierprojectfrontier Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    misterde3 wrote: »
    Yesterday it cut me off at Season 8 Blog #35 when I scolled down to the bottom and the page made additional chunks of links available. I got nothing older than that.
    Problem is the Dev Blog Index still leads here:

    http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=870711

    where the links are not useable because they always lead back to the ARC page.

    But people LIKE the pretty pretty princess! They chase her from castle to castle ... oh wait, that's Mario.

    Yeah, Cryptic taking their "tablet layout" and dumping it into every browser was a terrible idea - my work around involved manually eliminating the javascript from console though.
  • stf65stf65 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    But people LIKE the pretty pretty princess! They chase her from castle to castle ... oh wait, that's Mario.

    Yeah, Cryptic taking their "tablet layout" and dumping it into every browser was a terrible idea - my work around involved manually eliminating the javascript from console though.
    The tablet layout is the future, whether people like it or not. Computers are going the way of the dodo bird. I spend far more time per week on this forum using my tablet then I do my computer. The only time I'm using my computer to get here is on the weekends when I'm home. The rest of the time I'm always on my tablet on the forum.
  • misterde3misterde3 Member Posts: 4,195 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    stf65 wrote: »
    Well, I can't help how it cut you off, or whether your internet is just slow or you were too impatient to see if it loads more, but it has loaded fine for me since it was introduced. I was pissed because I kept scrolling down trying to get to the bottom and it just kept loading older information.

    And Brandon posted a thread back in december stating the forum links would be down for a few weeks after the new arc website went up because they needed time to reestablish all the old links.

    I'm on a 51388 kBit/s downstream VDSL.
    Okay, just did a test for fun: I checked how far backwards I can get in 3 minutes and I got till Legacy Of Romulus Blog #20.:)
    IMHO it makes little sense to basically block the old page and force people here while the forums and other functions are not yet updated. It's okay to give a warning the old page is longer updated with some kind of "check our new ARC page for the latest info" and it would be okay for me if the forum links became gradually updated and only lead to the new links.
    That's would've been a fair solution.
    Or if I access Dev Blog whatever that the link takes me to its ARC page equivalent.

    But right now I can't even run a search on a specific item without running into the old page which then leads me back to the ARC startingpage where I can then literally spend a couple of minutes hitting the END key until I reach the Blog I need.
    And before you ask, nope I'm not inventing a problem here. For a discussion about the BoP Flanking Bonus I did that yesterday and it's not fun.
  • logandarklighterlogandarklighter Member Posts: 96 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    stf65 wrote: »
    The tablet layout is the future, whether people like it or not. Computers are going the way of the dodo bird. I spend far more time per week on this forum using my tablet then I do my computer. The only time I'm using my computer to get here is on the weekends when I'm home. The rest of the time I'm always on my tablet on the forum.


    And yet - will you be playing the GAME on your tablet? I think not. To play THE GAME, you need a PC. And if you have a PC, and you want to access the info on the game, are you going to whip out a separate device entirely? Or would it be more convenient to alt-tab over to the website or the forums for that info?
  • jumpingjsjumpingjs Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    I'm all with you; THE NEW WEBSITE IS THE WORST PIECE OF <Redacted> MIXED WITH <Redacted>, WHICH WAS THEN SLAPPED ONTO A SERVER'S <Redacted>!!!!!!!!!!!!


    I currently use the STO Dev Blogg App in the windows store just to see if anything new has been posted.

    Then I realised something. The app was not updating to the new blogs being released (and they did exist, the galactic news network tab on the forum said so). "Well, that is funny" I thought. I go on the website, looking behind the fugly ARC banner, Nothing new.

    My conclusion: THERE ARE probably GOING TO BE NO NEW BLOGS ON THE OLD [and better] WEBSITE ANYMORE!


    So ... I'll save you your time, and remove your sanity.

    There is nothing we can do. :mad: :(
    Hopefully I'll come back from my break; this break is fun; I play intellectual games.

    I hope STO get's better ...
  • aethon3050aethon3050 Member Posts: 599 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    This website change was obviously done at Perfect World's request; it doesn't help Cryptic OR the customers in any way, shape, or form.

    Cryptic, PLEASE tell Perfect World to go pound sand, and return your website to its former, Trekkish, functional self. This new site is terrible.
  • stf65stf65 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    And yet - will you be playing the GAME on your tablet? I think not. To play THE GAME, you need a PC. And if you have a PC, and you want to access the info on the game, are you going to whip out a separate device entirely? Or would it be more convenient to alt-tab over to the website or the forums for that info?
    You're kidding right? I use my tablet to access sto wiki and many other sites while I'm playing all the time. Plus I wouldn't be surprised to see myself playing STO on a console in a couple of years.

    Sorry gandpa, but the times, they are a changing. :)
  • aethon3050aethon3050 Member Posts: 599 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    stf65 wrote: »
    You're kidding right? I use my tablet to access sto wiki and many other sites while I'm playing all the time. Plus I wouldn't be surprised to see myself playing STO on a console in a couple of years.

    Why would you want to play STO on a console?

    Also, a great many of us don't own tablets...so I guess we're just SOL with the website?

    As for tablet vs. console...until tablets are as fast to use as a pc, and are capable of matching its performance and upgrade capabilities, I will have no interest in them. Right now, it feels like the software is just being tailored to suit the disadvantages of the tablet, which is rather backward, IMHO.
  • suzy32suzy32 Member Posts: 383 Arc User
    edited February 2014
  • stf65stf65 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    aethon3050 wrote: »
    Also, a great many of us don't own tablets...so I guess we're just SOL with the website?
    Sorry if you don't own a tablet or smartphone, but that argument's like saying: a great many of us don't own cars so we're SOL because we can't drive somewhere, so we should all just stick with horse and buggy.

    The world keeps progressing whether everyone wants to try and keep up with it or not. That's what the concept of generation gap is all about. Your parents, or grandparents, couldn't understand why you wanted a computer, but the last couple of generations loved and embraced them. It's the same concept with my generation and how we love tablets.

    At this point in time about the only thing I use my computer for is online gaming. Everything else that I used to use my computer for is now done with my smartphone or tablet. Tablets and smartphones are the future.
  • aethon3050aethon3050 Member Posts: 599 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    stf65 wrote: »
    Sorry if you don't own a tablet or smartphone, but that argument's like saying: a great many of us don't own cars so we're SOL because we can't drive somewhere.

    The world keeps progressing whether everyone wants to try and keep up with it or not. That's what the concept of generation gap is all about. Your parents, or grandparents, couldn't understand why you wanted a computer, but the last couple of generations loved and embraced them. It's the same concept with my generation and how we love tablets.

    At this point in time about the only thing I use my computer for is gaming. Everything else that I used to use my computer for is now done with my smartphone or tablet. Tablets and smartphones are the future.

    Comparing driving to walking is nothing at all like comparing tablets to PC's. A PC can do anything a tablet can do, better, with one exception: portability. Portability is obviously in the tablet's favour, granted, but portability doesn't make something you use while stationary work better.

    You also cannot upgrade your tablets...and good luck playing high-end games on them. There are many, many *useful* things you can do with a PC that you just can't do with a tablet; meanwhile, there is really only one thing you can do with a tablet that can't be done with a PC: walk around with it...which isn't very useful while trying to use it effectively. It isn't a 'generational gap' problem; when I have one of those with the younger people around me, I can readily admit that. This, however, is purely an issue of performance, upgradability, and the speed with which tasks can be performed. I also like not having to constantly clean fingerprints off of my screen.

    I'm not opposed to tablets becoming awesome at some point; it'd be pretty sweet if we had tablets like they had in Star Trek. They just aren't there yet, which is why I don't see the point in anyone trying to foist them upon us at this time. I also don't see 'tablets are the way of the future' being a valid reason for PWE trying to force us to use this obvious marketing ploy of a website.

    So...in short, I can understand liking tablets; they're pretty cool. I just have to disagree as to their ability to replace PC's anytime soon. Supplement, sure; replace, nope.
  • stf65stf65 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    aethon3050 wrote: »
    Comparing driving to walking is nothing at all like comparing tablets to PC's. A PC can do anything a tablet can do, better, with one exception: portability. Portability is obviously in the tablet's favour, granted, but portability doesn't make something you use while stationary work better.

    You also cannot upgrade your tablets...and good luck playing high-end games on them. There are many, many *useful* things you can do with a PC that you just can't do with a tablet; meanwhile, there is really only one thing you can do with a tablet that can't be done with a PC: walk around with it...which isn't very useful while trying to use it effectively. It isn't a 'generational gap' problem; when I have one of those with the younger people around me, I can readily admit that. This, however, is purely an issue of performance, upgradability, and the speed with which tasks can be performed. I also like not having to constantly clean fingerprints off of my screen.

    I'm not opposed to tablets becoming awesome at some point; it'd be pretty sweet if we had tablets like they had in Star Trek. They just aren't there yet, which is why I don't see the point in anyone trying to foist them upon us at this time. I also don't see 'tablets are the way of the future' being a valid reason for PWE trying to force us to use this obvious marketing ploy of a website.

    So...in short, I can understand liking tablets; they're pretty cool. I just have to disagree as to their ability to replace PC's anytime soon. Supplement, sure; replace, nope.
    Sorry, but by your own statement, you don't have a tablet I don't think you're qualified to talk about what pcs can do better then tablets.

    Like I said above, my tablet can do EVERYTHING my pc does except gaming. I can access the internet just as efficiently. I can watch movies and tv. I can use spreadsheets and do complex calculations. There is very little that a tablet can't do that a pc can; and it can do so much more that a pc could never do.

    Now as far as gaming, I think we're going to see consoles push the pc out of that market too. Consoles already allow you to play games at a higher quality that most pcs. They allow you to watch movies, access the internet with keyboards, and so on. At a certain point all games are going to be made functional through a console instead of through a pc. Why? Because consoles are just better at it.

    In the beginning you're probably going to see a netflix type of situation where console is going to access your game on the pc and translate it to your flatscreen tv, but eventually that transition is going to be complete.

    I'm not saying this is going to happen tomorrow, but I think you are going to see tablets and consoles completely erase the need for pcs over the next 5 years; and many tech analyists agree with that. There are plenty of articles out there to read about it. Use your pc to find them while you still can. :)
  • aethon3050aethon3050 Member Posts: 599 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    stf65 wrote: »
    Sorry, but by your own statement, you don't have a tablet I don't think you're qualified to talk about what pcs can do better then tablets.

    Like I said above, my tablet can do EVERYTHING my pc does except gaming. I can access the internet just as efficiently. I can watch movies and tv. I can use spreadsheets and do complex calculations. There is very little that a tablet can't do that a pc can; and it can do so much more that a pc could never do.

    Now as far as gaming, I think we're going to see consoles push the pc out of that market too. Consoles already allow you to play games at a higher quality that most pcs. They allow you to watch movies, access the internet with keyboards, and so on. At a certain point all games are going to be made functional through a console instead of through a pc. Why? Because consoles are just better at it.

    In the beginning you're probably going to see a netflix type of situation where console is going to access your game on the pc and translate it to your flatscreen tv, but eventually that transition is going to be complete.

    I'm not saying this is going to happen tomorrow, but I think you are going to see tablets and consoles completely erase the need for pcs over the next 5 years; and many tech analyists agree with that. There are plenty of articles out there to read about it. Use your pc to find them while you still can. :)

    I've used tablets a lot, actually, as I have to use them at work, and I surf the net on them as well; I just don't want one at home, since I have no need to move about with my computer, and I have a second monitor for multitasking. Tablets are also incapable of truly high-quality sound output, which I don't want to give up, and I can't upgrade the soundcard in a tablet to meet my needs. For speed of interaction, a mouse/keyboard setup is still faster, using existing websites and software. No offense, but I'm just as qualified as you are to speak my mind about the pc/tablet debate. It's not that I dislike tablets; it's that I have considered buying one several times, but found them wanting, for my purposes.

    That said, I'm not going to derail the thread any further on this one; we're going to have to agree to disagree on the PC/tablet thing. The point of the thread is, the website sucks. *shrug*
  • stf65stf65 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    aethon3050 wrote: »
    The point of the thread is, the website sucks. *shrug*
    And the person I replied to implied it sucked because they were making it more tablet-friendly. My response to that, which you seem to take offense to, is that's only a good thing, as more and more people, daily, are using tablets and smartphones for their internet access over their pcs. We have to accept that the world is changing around us.
  • aethon3050aethon3050 Member Posts: 599 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    stf65 wrote: »
    And the person I replied to implied it sucked because they were making it more tablet-friendly. My response to that, which you seem to take offense to, is that's only a good thing, as more and more people, daily, are using tablets and smartphones for their internet access over their pcs. We have to accept that the world is changing around us.

    I don't take offense to your views on tablets; I just disagree with them. That's ok; we don't need to agree on everything. :)
  • fraghul2000fraghul2000 Member Posts: 1,590 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    Like I said above, my tablet can do EVERYTHING my pc does except gaming. I can access the internet just as efficiently. I can watch movies and tv. I can use spreadsheets and do complex calculations. There is very little that a tablet can't do that a pc can; and it can do so much more that a pc could never do.

    to the casual soul, the move from the PC to the tablet is a move forward. If all you do is watch TV and browse the web it'll be ok. In reality it's a step down. You get inferior hardware for a higher price without the need to get involved with the tech behind it. It's dumbing people down.
  • stf65stf65 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    to the casual soul, the move from the PC to the tablet is a move forward. If all you do is watch TV and browse the web it'll be ok. In reality it's a step down. You get inferior hardware for a higher price without the need to get involved with the tech behind it. It's dumbing people down.
    Except that you can buy a tablet and game console combined ($800) for less then you can pay for an average quality gaming pc from a retailer. A $350 console is several steps above a $800 gaming pc and a $450 tablet allows you can do everything else a $800 gaming pc can do with the advantage of mobility.
  • mimey2mimey2 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    In regards to the PC/tablet thing, I have a simple solution:

    Show me a tablet that can handle Star Citizen by the time it comes out, or even a console that could possibly do the same thing, and I'll believe it is equal to a PC.

    What is kind of going bye-bye to some degree is the computer tower itself. I'm seeing more and more of those all-in-one type computers.

    But laptops didn't obsolete PCs when they got popular, nor have tablets so far. Time will obsolete normal PCs, or they will change considerably as they evolve. Heck, even in Star Trek itself, PADDs didn't obsolete their kinds of computers. Sure PADDs are used for a lot, but the main bulk of the work as it were is still done by the main computer itself.

    Anyways. on topic, new website sucks, and thank you for the help, OP.
    I remain empathetic to the concerns of my community, but do me a favor and lay off the god damn name calling and petty remarks. It will get you nowhere.
    I must admit, respect points to Trendy for laying down the law like that.
  • misterde3misterde3 Member Posts: 4,195 Arc User
    edited February 2014
    This sort of debate has existed for a very long time.
    MACs were certain to replace the IBM machines. They didn't.
    Consoles were certain to replace PCs for everything gaming-related. They didn't.
    This is just another cycle where tablets are certain to replace PCs. They won't.
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