Ninja-san Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 I liked having the alphabet category up top. This new system seems more complicated. I don't know I thought the previous one was great. It's gonna be a while to get use to it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Pylon Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Haha, I remember when people got all angry over the sidebar being introduced. Hell, I was probably one of them at the time. Either way, I like the new design and I still can't begin thank you all for the work you all do. I've been here off-and-on since 2001, and every time I pop by you guys have something up that makes my day a bit more enjoyable. I love this site! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Orichalcon Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 I like the darker logo, looks nice and sleak. I will say that I miss the sidebar, I'm sure it'll just take a bit of getting used to, but I had my routine search through the site planned out nicely with the sidebar. I'd love the forums to be converted to a slightly darker greyscale to go with the logo. That's just personal taste though. Looks great, more professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The UnMod OutKast Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 When I started actually using the sidebar, you go and take it away from me. The darker logo looks cool though. I just wish the whole site could be darker in shade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atmuh Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 I know you said to give it a few hours of use before I say anything about my opinion of the redesign but after looking at it for about 2 minutes I already like it a ton and I can't see that changing. Outstanding work man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekofrog Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 asskisser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Falling Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Lol, I just thought the site didn't render completely but now I see what is going on. I'll give it a try the coming days. It always bothered me that there were so many links and texts and I couldn't really find anything which was sort of off putting. Looks alright now, I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillRock Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 I like the new design, but don't like the removal of the sidebar at this point since I used it solely for navigation since I signed up. Still, i'll give it a few days for myself to adjust Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K.B. Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 The dark grey background is right in the middle of a good contrast (or lack of.) Something that's closer to the light gray at the bottom would work a bit better near the top. The logo in particular is hard to see against the dark grey. Seconded, if I understand that comment correctly. The dark gray is too dark when compared to the rest of the screen. It blurs the top of the headphone logo and draws my eyes away from the rest of the page. Also, the bold, white arial on that dark gray looks bad because of lack of transition. This isn't as noticeable on the megadropdown text because of the wave in the background, but the location text sticks out (in this thread, this text is "OC ReMix Design Revision Notes & Feedback"). If the current shade of gray is kept, I suggest adding some sort of effect to blend the edges a bit. The front page is unbalanced without the sidebar, so it looks very awkward. Shifting the ads to the left, or even to the bottom or the top, should fix this. This unbalance is only on the front page as far as I can tell. I liked the sidebar a lot better than these megadropdowns (I knew they were there but didn't like using them), and I liked having less text space in the forums (I can't read as quickly now with so much left-to-right space), but as far as navigability the megadropdowns look like they'll work just as well. But yes, grrrr to no sidebar, at least for the time being. And if it wasn't clear, I don't have a bone to pick about the changes. Just giving feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Now that my Chrome cache has finished clearing after eight minutes , I definitely like the changes. I have mentioned to djp before about how I thought the four different forms of navigation on the front page (sidebar, tabs, alpha, megadropdowns) were very confusing, and this is a huge simplification. I think now it will be easier to control the way the users navigate the site, and it probably means less work for djp. The one thing I think has been lost is the Submission Standards and Instructions page, which used to be one click near the top of the sidebar. I'd recommend adding that to the about dropdown or music dropdown, or both, or the quicklinks under the logo, because of how important that page is to the site. The color scheme is much higher contrast, which is great. It's been pointed out that the headphones sort of blend in, which should be fixed if possible, and I also notice the top half of "OverClocked ReMix" is not a link like the bottom half is (that's usually how I get to the front page.) I also think that vgbulletin thread titles should be on a different color background, maybe a light gray. That's all my comments so far, excellent work overall! Edit: Oh I forgot, but I also think moving the ads or recent remixes column to the left on the frontpage will look more balanced. And it might be cool to have the recent remixes column on every page of the site now that there is more room, I know you had thought about that before. Edit 2: One thing I totally forgot to mention is the load time. Definitely faster for me now, dunno if anyone else has experienced that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozovian Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 Perhaps workshop should get its own drop-down, with submission info, workshop portal, forum, and other stuff. The dropdowns are a little irregularly placed, tho. The first three behave like menus normally do, expands down and to the right. As long as there's room in the window, could all the drop-downs do that? While on the topic of workshop-related stuff, the submitting, tutorials and feedback links at the top of the page are easily overlooked as just filler info. Eyes are drawn to the discussion part in the upper middle the page, not the edges of the portal. I also think the horizontal space could be better used. Latest remixes or ads to the left, or something else. perhaps ocr could have some of its own ads running, for old and new projects (recruiting or released), recent announcements, ads encouraging feedback to wips and posted stuff, ads for interviews, ads for workshop, ads for different site features... And random for every page, like the mascots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crulex Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 The darker logo looks cool though. I just wish the whole site could be darker in shade. I kinda agree with this comment. The darker shades are awesome, and if the whole site was like the new header, then it would be a complete win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Wolf Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 It's pretty and clean Dave, I like it. I never really used the sidebar, and most of its info is now contained in the dropdowns anyway. The only thing I would point out is that for new people coming to the site, I feel the site may be becoming less and less "surfer friendly." I think many people land on the homepage with really no idea who we are, and the only hook they may have initially is that they want to download remixes for a specific game. I personally feel it's pretty important to give them quick access to a page containing those mixes. Now of course they can access that through search. But what I feel is important for making people stay is the cross referencing that goes on by having an alpha page. It presents a (usually) large number of mixes without being overwhelming. It doesn't even need to be available on the homepage, but I definitely think it should be present on the "list all remixes alphabetically" page, otherwise people are relegated to clicking through a list of every mix on the site, or making their best guess what page number "G" would be for example. That needs to be more bite sized. Now personally, I haven't used that alpha navigation in years, but that's because I've downloaded every mix posted since 2003 anyway. But when I was new to the site, I used it incessantly. It was hugely fun to just click a letter and find out what treasures were within, what games I didn't even remember that sparked my interest. It was like a game. Initially, I focused down on mixes for games I knew, but it was really cool and expanded my horizons to have that alpha navigation. Because I would be on the S page for example, to download Super Metroid mixes, and while scrolling I'd run across Secret of Mana and go "AWW YEAH! I loved that game! I can't believe I didn't think of that one! I'm getting some of these mixes too!" So there's my two cents on the alpha nav. Everything else looks beautiful as far as I'm concerned, and while I remained a neutral country in the Great Sidebar War of 2006, I like the extra space. Great work Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PassivePretentiousness Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 I know absolutely nothing about graphic design, but the new primary logo/menu looks pretty busy to me. The wave form thing in the background is distracting my eye. nitpicks, nitpicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pezman Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 The only thing I would point out is that for new people coming to the site, I feel the site may be becoming less and less "surfer friendly." I think many people land on the homepage with really no idea who we are, and the only hook they may have initially is that they want to download remixes for a specific game. I personally feel it's pretty important to give them quick access to a page containing those mixes. Now of course they can access that through search. But what I feel is important for making people stay is the cross referencing that goes on by having an alpha page. It presents a (usually) large number of mixes without being overwhelming. It doesn't even need to be available on the homepage, but I definitely think it should be present on the "list all remixes alphabetically" page, otherwise people are relegated to clicking through a list of every mix on the site, or making their best guess what page number "G" would be for example. That needs to be more bite sized.Now personally, I haven't used that alpha navigation in years, but that's because I've downloaded every mix posted since 2003 anyway. But when I was new to the site, I used it incessantly. It was hugely fun to just click a letter and find out what treasures were within, what games I didn't even remember that sparked my interest. It was like a game. Initially, I focused down on mixes for games I knew, but it was really cool and expanded my horizons to have that alpha navigation. Because I would be on the S page for example, to download Super Metroid mixes, and while scrolling I'd run across Secret of Mana and go "AWW YEAH! I loved that game! I can't believe I didn't think of that one! I'm getting some of these mixes too!" QFT. I rarely come to the site with the intent to listen to a specific mix or check a specific game. I like being able to browse, like a library, and I think that option should remain. In my personal opinion, the new darker gray looks pretty depressing as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 looks way nicer- lack of sidebar is throwing me off still, but each time i come to the site, i miss it less and less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kizyr Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Only one minor issue... The "workshop" link at the top of the forums covers up where to enter your username. (Using Chrome, by the way; this may not be an issue in Firefox.) Otherwise, aesthetically, I like it. It'll take some getting used to (kinda miss the sidebar) but it does look better. KF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evilhead Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Sidebar noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pokezel Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 The navigation feature I used most was the alphabetic game navigation. So I hope that comes back someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinjstewart Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Simplification of the navigation system = good. But the problem with the new layout is that the amount of space given to the text of forum threads is now ridiculously wide. Reading text that spans the width of your monitor is not comfortable. This is fairly well-known -- just visit any professionally designed website with lots of text; the paragraphs will never be wider than 800 pixels, because it's just easier on the eyes to have them that narrow. I shouldn't have to resize my browser window every time I come to this site. Also, I'm going to add to the voices who think the top navigation bar looks cluttered. I'd kill the waveform image in the background, and the shadow/reflection of "Overclocked Remix." Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadix Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Site layout is really slick, but I gotta say I was really alarmed by the lack of the a-z listing. IMO it kindof makes the regular remixes seem less accessible. Sure you can search but unless I'm just blind theres no sensible, UPFRONT way to just browse through the database anymore. I thought that the browsing up in the corner was one of the most ingenious elements of the sites design, because it made the remixes practically jump out at people looking at the site for the first time. It's like "OH I WONDER IF MY FAVORITE GAME IS LISTED". Sure you can just search, but it kindof takes out the novelty of discovery out of the site. More obscure title mixes are probably going to get screwed because people aren't going to think to check if that game has been mixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_T_Zeratul Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Put me in the "bring back the alpha links" camp. Sure, I've got every mix released up to this point on my computer, but it's great for when I'm at work and want to point my coworkers at a particular mix. Also, if someone wants to find remixes from a particular game, the current system won't let you do that (I tried; it said it couldn't find any remixes with Final Fantasy 6 in the title). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarnish Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 To be honest, I liked the previous design better. The lack of the sidebar is kinda disturbing for me too, as well as the lack of the alphabetic game navigation. I would also point out what previous users did too, that the "Workshop" link at the top menu bar covers up the username box, making that modul completely useless. Furthermore, although this may be just me, I don't like that when you're in the forums, there are no left or right sidebars at all. This kinda makes navigation through the site less convenient, and I also feel it makes the site less user-friendly and welcoming. I personally find myself less enthusiastic to visit the site in this design. I do not know what made the change of the design necessary (maybe it was just time for a change), but as far I see it, it wasn't really worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Only one minor issue... The "workshop" link at the top of the forums covers up where to enter your username. (Using Chrome, by the way; this may not be an issue in Firefox.) I would also point out what previous users did too, that the "Workshop" link at the top menu bar covers up the username box, making that modul completely useless. I use Chrome too and after I cleared my cache those links leapt to the left side of the page above the logo and don't interfere with the vbulletin username. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dafydd Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Still haven't gotten used to it. One thing that bothers me (one that I'm sure I'll get used to) is that on this 1680x1050 monitor, the links on top of the page would look better in the center rather than the left end of the top of the screen. Didn't notice when on my 1280x1024 one, and I guess most people don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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