I apologize if i come across rude, I really enjoyed the older ngng style layout. Any sort of plans in the works to clean up or modify the layout any? The new site layout just feels wrong almost like a default out of the box layout and is very "busy" and cluttered. Also, with the old ratings wiped and new quirks out its really hard to navigate through the not so desirable builds.
I think its a consequence of the scaling and changing of the game. The more mechs there are themore difficult it is going to be to make the site easy to navigate. Ratings are also hard when a single change can affect an entire line of builds. It's also hard when a build can withstand changes well - how do you keep the ratings for one and justify removing another?
Thats okay DtfKev, everyone is entitled to their opinion. No, we will not be going back to the NGNG styled layout and theme. The game, and the site, have grown to the point where that style and layout is rather limited and not really scalable. Nor is using SMF as feature rich as most forum users, especially Benefactors, wanted. Last I saw, and this was many many months ago mind you, the NGNG team use a free based platform with free based support and free based plugins. XenForo is a premium platform and we have invested a good deal of money in premium plugins and structure; partly for our premium members but also as general features for regular members. Old ratings being wiped is probably a good thing, honestly. Otherwise you would have had builds that were massive then but that are suboptimal now and yet they would have been rated as 5 star builds. Quirks will introduce a whole new level of play for specific things and specific builds. This will require a new evaluation of that build and of that system. There are plans to change the overall color scheme soon but no other iterative changes are being made beyond that. Perhaps you could tell me specifically what you are having trouble in navigating as I really don't see that much of an increase in learning curve from what was to what is? As for Skribs comment? I have no idea what any of that that even means.
What I mean is the game is constantly changing. A single change (LRM tweaks, crit bonuses, ghost heat, etc) can make a build rise and fall overnight. So if a build has a weapon before its good, maybe it gets rated 3 stars. But next patch that combo is great. Now users would rate it 4 or 5 stars. How does tue rating system translate in such an environment? If a build is rated before the new quirks, does that rating stand after quirks? Because old ratings may not be accurate in the current state of the game.
This is very true and not something that we are paid to audit. Players are free, and many do, to come back and change their rating on specific builds. I have been guilty of rating a build a 2 or even a 3 star only to have to come back and bump that up as I've grown accustomed to playing that specific build. There is no way to present a "up to the minute ZOMG THE most accurate EVER" rating for any one build. PGI changes things so often that it almost becomes a FoTM system that lasts only as long as the interval between patches.
Your concern has been noted. There is no real method of executing on your concern other than wiping ratings every time a new patch comes out and that isn't really an option.
Not so much worrying about the ratings I understand that will come with time. As well as not so much a learning curve as just "uneasy" on the eyes. I can appreciate the fact you've spent money on software and somewhat understand the reasoning behind switching. Again, not to sound rude it just feels like a default forum layout with a logo splashed on it. It just doesn't "feel" right. The color scheme just feels off for a "mechwarrior" forum. Only spent a few seconds on this... but some input?
Nawwww, it's all good. I don't take it personally nor do I think you are being rude at all There are plans, when the necessary money is raised, to have a professional come in and redo several aspects of the site; including the colors used. FYI: The default for XenForo looks like this...
Well that sounds spectacular. I was very found of this site and the community around it and I cannot wait to see it flourish. I'll look into donating myself to see what kind of progress we can make!
I will address the specific points in your image, now that I can see it LOGO LOOKS LOW-RES : Agreed. It needs some work. So far nobody has stepped forward to take on the project so it is what it is. However, that being said if someone finds the usefulness of this site somehow reduced by the quality of the logo then they have bigger issues to worry about NOT NEEDED - CREATE A SUB FORUM: This was something that I had actually tried but just creating more sub forums means things expand and expand and expand. There are already too many forums and subforums as it is. I also wanted to bring the resources and guides to a more prominent position and since you have commented on it then I am taking it that it worked. We've had more people reading and using guides since moving it there than we had before (I am tracking all the metrics with Analytics). REDUNDANT - SEARCH BOX ON RIGHT: Yes, but the SEARCH link takes you to a page with ALL of the search features laid out. The SEARCH box expands to include some. While it may appear redundant it is allowing you access to a more feature rich search engine built in to the software. MOVE TO THE BOTTOM: Benefactors, and Space Pimps, get the convenience of being able to access their content first. This was done by design. This site is funded 99% by them (Google Adsense amounts to crap in the overall scheme of things). This will be staying where it is at. On the old site the layout was very similar so while your suggested is noted this will not be something that will change. If you don't want to see the lounge because it takes up space? Click the little UP arrow on the right of the blue bar there and make it minimized. MEMBERS MOVE TO FOOTER: Why? I'm genuinely curious as to how this affects your overall experience? MECHSPECS.COM: Not Needed? It is part of the system that shows your current location within the forum. Also, by positioning things, the way we have, we have geared ourselves better for Search Engine Optimization. If you go throughout the site that will MechSpecs.com portion will change to your current location within the forums. The old site also had this feature and most contemporary forum software has it. SIDEBAR CLUTTER: Again, I disagree. This isn't something that affects the forums itself. When you read a post it is in full width, same when you surf forums and sub forums. The main page has this information on it because there are people that actually pay attention to it and like seeing summary of things like that. If you don't like it click the little RIGHT arrow at the top navigation bar (right below the GoogleAds banner) and you can remove all of that clutter on the right hand side.
Took me a while to get used to the new layout. I was thinking a lot of the same things as you @dtfkev but you get used to the changes. I reaaaally like the new site now.
some inspirations : https://www.audentio.com/shop/XenForo-themes https://www.audentio.com/shop/view/XenForo/tactical-39 http://www.xenfocus.com/xenforo_skins.php https://brivium.com/demo/ https://brivium.com/xenforo-styles/?type=free
Thanks for the tip on disablling that. I guess looking back at the past forums I've run that I've just become and uber minimalist.
I didn't like it too but now that I got used, it's allright. I find the sidebar one of the best features too.
