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SHS forum upgrade, new features and new look!


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#21 Kaeloree

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 03:24 AM

Just a quick note: the reason the forums are slow is because the database is being rebuilt, fixing the code/quote tags from the past > now. :)

#22 berelinde

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 03:47 AM

Page load times are incredibly long. What used to take a second or two now takes over a minute. This makes viewing topics painful.

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#23 Kaeloree

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 03:50 AM

'K'aeloree', on 02 January 2010 - 08:54 PM, said:

Just a quick note: the reason the forums are slow is because the database is being rebuilt, fixing the code/quote tags from the past > now. :)

;)

#24 berelinde

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 03:58 AM

Is there a way to differentiate between In-Progress mods and completed ones? All NPC mods have green buttons now, but I'm pretty sure Faren hasn't been released, as an example.

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#25 Kaeloree

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 04:06 AM

That'll be fixed when they go vertical--thanks for pointing it out! :cheers:

#26 SConrad

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 04:11 AM

Finally a chance to actually look and reply to this:

Thanks for the comments everyone. It might take another couple of days to iron all the kinks out, so please bear with us in the meantime. For one, we have to rebuild post, message and signature content to make sure all the bbcode and quotes work properly. We're doing that right now, which is causing the slowdown you're experiencing.

I see that some like the look, while others don't. Unfortunately, that's how it's going to be with any graphics. There were very mixed reviews about the old skin(s) as well, as I recall.

As for the forum software, I personally love it. Personal conversations rock, the new file uploader is cool (remember, you have to enable it yourself!) and the additional anti-spam measures will be a welcome relief for the staff.

'Archmage Silver', on 02 January 2010 - 07:27 PM, said:

The looks are generally OK, but I liked the old skin better, it had kind of grown on me. Any chance of either you or Seb looking into creating a version of it for the new board software in the future?

Nah. The skin system has been completely rebuilt, which means that we'd have to redo the skins from scratch. Instead of doing that, we decided to go with a "fresher" look, which is what you're looking at now. As the software evolves, the look and feel of it should too, in my opinion.

This one will grow on you too.

'ghostdog', on 02 January 2010 - 08:40 PM, said:

A secondary, slightly darker skin would be nice.

I'm not going to say no, but I don't think it's going to be a priority anytime soon. We discovered with Slayer (the dark alternative to Asylum) that very few of our members actually used it. With regards to that, it's not really worth the time and effort it takes to create a new skin. It's also a pain to maintain several skin versions with updates.

We will add a mobile-only skin at some point, however, which will make it much easier for mobile users to read the forums. Seeing how I personally spend 3-4 hours a day on my iPhone currently, I definitely see it as a welcome addition.

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#27 Pandæmonium

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 04:22 AM

I like the new look. Very clean and clear, and it certainly looks different to any other forum I visit.
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#28 Ranadiel

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 04:41 AM

I honestly preferred the old skin, but the shock of the change has gone away and I don't hate the new appearance anymore. Don't know if I'll ever love it, but it is certainly a lot better than some of the new skins at other web sites I go to.

'berelinde', on 02 January 2010 - 06:58 AM, said:

Is there a way to differentiate between In-Progress mods and completed ones? All NPC mods have green buttons now, but I'm pretty sure Faren hasn't been released, as an example.

Currently the green icon is showing whether there are new posts in a forum or not. Since all viewed topics have been reset, all forums are showing as green unless you select to have topics marked as read in a forum(at which point it goes black).

#29 berelinde

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 04:43 AM

Would someone mind writing a tutorial on how private conversations work? I'm more than a little unclear on it, at present. I see only two buttons under a member's avatar: friend status and PM. Is there a third I'm not seeing for some reason?

Hope I'm not posting inane questions. I'm just trying to learn to work the new features.

As an aside, the load times are much better now.

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#30 Jarno Mikkola

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 04:44 AM

'Pandæmonium', on 02 January 2010 - 02:22 PM, said:

Very clean and clear, and it certainly looks different to any other forum I visit.

Well, I wouldn't say it looks that much different than the G3 forums, when you replace the red with blue... but I like the outlook too.

Hmm, you could add a few lines here: * Website * Forums * Members * Donate
Like the mod 'browsers' the G3 has. :D

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#31 Kaeloree

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 04:47 AM

The PM feature starts a conversation, which you can access in the top right-hand corner. It's very similar to what GMail does; instead of showing separate emails with Re: Re: Re: etc, all the replies to a conversation remain in the same "thread".

With this comes the ability to add people to the conversation (which replaces forwarding/carbon copying etc), which you can do on the left-hand column.

It takes a few minutes to orient yourself, but in my experience on other forums with IPB v3 it's far more streamlined and makes PMing a lot simpler! :)

'Jarno Mikkola', on 02 January 2010 - 10:14 PM, said:

'Pandæmonium', on 02 January 2010 - 02:22 PM, said:

Very clean and clear, and it certainly looks different to any other forum I visit.

Well, I wouldn't say it looks that much different than the G3 forums, when you replace the red with blue... but I like the outlook too.

Hmm, you could add a few lines here: * Website * Forums * Members * Donate
Like the mod 'browsers' the G3 has. :D

Personally, I don't think it looks like G3 at all. It's an entirely different design, with a completely different theme and look. :)

As for G3-style browsers, while the concept is a good one the implementation tends to be clunky and ugly, and wouldn't fit SHS' look--add that to the number of mods available and you get something that's not really worth the trouble. If someone came up with a more streamlined way to do it that fits with the design I'd be more than happy to look into it!

#32 Philiposophy

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 05:20 AM

I was kind of used to the old format so the new one is a bit of a shock to the system right now. However it looks pretty swish and I'll get used to this soon enough. Nice work.

#33 Lava Del'Vortel

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 05:46 AM

yeah, if G3 and SHS were a girls, SHS would be much more pretty and sexy ^^ How the forum looks is very important... I just asked about the darker version because, as I said, I visit the forums at night, just after I wake up, and that will become a bit blinding and painful thing since the brightness... Even just change of pear/white colours to faded red or gray colour would serve the purpose... but I understand that for now getting everything work correctly is more important than other skins which would include such a little colour change.

#34 Mike1072

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 07:43 AM

'K'aeloree', on 02 January 2010 - 12:28 AM, said:

"View New Posts" forum filter
A feature that people have been requesting for some time, View New Posts can now be filtered! Simply click on the drop-down box in the top right-hand corner, and go to My Settings > Forum > Block Forums.

Can anyone verify if this does or doesn't seem to be working at the moment? I tried turning some forums off earlier, and I still appear to be getting updates from them.

#35 Lollorian

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 09:03 AM

I tried blocking the threads in the Wiki forum and they don't show up :D Great feature!!! :coolthumb: (smileys are back :Bow:) ... although, there's no way to diferentiate what you've blocked or otherwise (probably still being tweaked??)

(the skin takes a li'l getting used to, I agree, but the layout absolutely pwns everything :P)

Cheers,
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Edited by Lollorian, 02 January 2010 - 09:05 AM.

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#36 -Telephasic-

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 10:18 AM

Coming in as a guest...

Man, what bad timing for me personally! Taking advantage of the break to play a new BGT campaign (last one was so mod-heavy I got frustrated halfway through with NPC management). Got hit by the Beregost crash, came here to download it, and...oops.

Ahh well.

#37 -Telephasic-

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 10:18 AM

'Telephasic', on 02 January 2010 - 10:18 AM, said:

Coming in as a guest...

Man, what bad timing for me personally! Taking advantage of the break to play a new BGT campaign (last one was so mod-heavy I got frustrated halfway through with NPC management). Got hit by the Beregost crash, came here to download it, and...oops.

Ahh well.


I mean download the crash fixer of course. Is it mirrored anywhere?

#38 Helborn

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 10:23 AM

I like the new look, can't wait for the downloads (how about compressing the "days" somewhat?) but I agree that the white background could use some toning down - or rather a bit of color added would be nice. On a 24" HD display my glasses are tinting from the brightness 8)

Edited by Helborn, 02 January 2010 - 10:24 AM.


#39 aVENGER

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 10:35 AM

Awesome work on the new look. The fonts are much clearer now and the interface feels a lot smoother. The new messenger rocks and the codebox highlighter is a nice touch too.

Great job! :new_thumbs:

#40 Lollorian

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Posted 02 January 2010 - 10:49 AM

Woah to syntax highlighting :woot:!!! +1

Cheers,
Lol

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