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Post by Tchalvak on Oct 1, 2009 17:19:37 GMT -5
I'm adding features to NW, but the main page is kinda bogged down with links and doesn't look good, and doesn't present the information too well. So, I want to kinda rip up that main page (not the inner stuff that changes, like the player list or clan list, etc., or chat, which will be recreated in it's own way eventually, but all the links & stuff around it).
So... ...do you have some website or webgame that you thing ninjawars should take pointers from? Or do you have a picture in your head (or even better, a picture that you could sketch out) of how to make the main page better?
I'm looking to brainstorm to get something new and fun.
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kiyo
Ninja
SHI-KA-KA!!!
Posts: 26
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Post by kiyo on Oct 1, 2009 18:38:18 GMT -5
we'll being able to change the main pages color would be nice, like for www.funny-games.biz/main.htmlin the upper right it lets you choose what color you want the main page to be. some green orange, and new purple colors around the site would be nice. and maybe a new font will be a nice added thing, make it look less plain lol, just thought of something, a maze mini game, or ninja mini game
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Post by Balsac on Oct 1, 2009 20:01:51 GMT -5
i like the ideal of a new font, im looking for one now, that would make the place look cool, maybe one in red
www.dafont.com/new.php?page=1 spider gothic looks ninjish
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kiyo
Ninja
SHI-KA-KA!!!
Posts: 26
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Post by kiyo on Oct 2, 2009 15:15:01 GMT -5
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Post by Tchalvak on Oct 3, 2009 10:21:53 GMT -5
Since NW isn't "For personal use", the "free for personal use" fonts are out of the running.
Still, a very nice font site.
Keep in mind, though that these fonts don't come with a standard Windows, Mac OSX or Linux operating system installation. As such, I'd only want to use them to create images (and only the fonts that I wouldn't have to buy, of course), they're not really appropriate for a new default font for ninjawars.
As far as themes... ...yeah, I want to create that ability. Maybe what I'll do is set up a color palette and allow people to change which colors go in there on the fly, for a while, and then use good ones that people come up with.
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kiyo
Ninja
SHI-KA-KA!!!
Posts: 26
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Post by kiyo on Oct 3, 2009 20:23:03 GMT -5
fonts>>> to bad...
colors>> sounds good
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Post by Tchalvak on Oct 15, 2009 14:01:17 GMT -5
Start of the replacement is up: test.ninjawars.net/index.php (mainly changes to the in-game, after-login page). More eye candy for the site will be coming along to the test site before long, right now what's up there after login needs a little polish, and the main page before login still needs to be overhauled.
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Post by Beagle on Oct 16, 2009 17:12:03 GMT -5
The link to the forums is missing.
Also, you've moved many useful links like the fields and the dojo to the Village, which increases the number of clicks to get to these place compared to the status quo.
I'm not sure I like that aspect of the changes, but in general it's a nice improvement.
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Post by Tchalvak on Oct 17, 2009 0:28:55 GMT -5
Actually, it's jus' down in the bottom footer now, but point taken, a bit too hidden down there.
I'm considering just separating out all the OOC type links that don't involve game content, we'll see how that goes.
Yeah, stuff is more "nested" (mainly the village stuff jus' because there were so many links to deal with there). I'm kinda thinking of doing more as well, jus' cause there's just way too much text on the page. In general, though, what we're looking at up there is just the stable baseline before javascript makes things more available.
That is also, as it turns out, just a draft. There's already a slight second redesign (with the help of a somewhat more visual designer) comin' along, to bring a logo, a cleaner visual style, and the like.
The fun part, though, is going to come when I get to the login page redesign, since the constraints there are almost all going to be broken, and that shit is gonna be fun times to look at. Also, there may be bewbs. Ninja bewbs, just to keep stuff in theme, but bewbs nonetheless.
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kiyo
Ninja
SHI-KA-KA!!!
Posts: 26
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Post by kiyo on Oct 17, 2009 8:18:00 GMT -5
I went on that test sight finally( even though i had to make a new person) i looked... complicated. i liked the idea od have a virtual image of the npc's, when i clicked "back" only the tiny chat screen went back, and forward made the chat zone look the same as the page you were on, and if you ask me, there's a little too many links leading to links that lead to the same thing. maybe you can eliminate some of the clutter by doing what www.gaiaonline.com/ did with their links. also when you click status why does it show as events? when you go under combat, why is it that it shows "enemies" but no enemies? why does your status tell you what your mail is supposed to?
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Post by Tchalvak on Oct 18, 2009 19:14:12 GMT -5
Do do do da doo.
test.ninjawars.net database is old information, so if you're relatively new, you'll probably have to sign up again to interact with that, yeah.
It is bogged down with links indeed, (that's pretty much what this whole redesign is about, simplifying the main page), I think that I'll probably go through and move some more non-essential links to sub-pages.
Chat is, yeah, going to change, so it's not going to load in the way that it does right now anyway, once it gets all fixed up. Probably will stop being an issue when the update to chat happens anyway.
Enemies: gotta add some before they'll show, but I've added a "you don't have any enemies yet" message. Well, status/events are the new separated out type of mail/message, maybe I can come up with a clearer title.
mail is now -only- personal messages (or clan invite requests), while events are automated messages that you get when you're attacked or anything like that.
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Post by Beagle on Oct 19, 2009 14:46:48 GMT -5
The number of links isn't the problem, it's the nesting, and the number of clicks that's the problem. Kiyo wasn't complaining that there were too many links but that it required too many clicks to do actions that used to take less clicks, and that there were now multiple places where some links are nested, leading to more confusion.
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Post by Tchalvak on Oct 19, 2009 15:35:57 GMT -5
Well, mail is going to have a single link next update, Village/locations links were many, enough that they don't really fit well in a smaller space, thus the one-click availability of the most timely uses, and the on-the-village-page availability of the things that aren't as continually needed (dojo, casino, shrine partial healing).
The "Ninjas" link is also duplicated just because it makes complete sense under the combat category, and since I'm using the word "ninjas" to show the count of ninjas online, there's not really too much benefit in not having it be a link. Maybe I'll remove the exteraneous linkiness and color, just to simplify a little.
So lets see, the village things are going to be the main thing that gets nested and stays nested. I'm going to try, as time goes on, to make the "village" page into something more and more like a village that you can click on different buildings of, and less like the list that it is now.
I'll probably upload my latest changes tonight or so.
One thing that I'm still working out is what to point the logo to when you click it, probably will have to be another redundancy, since I don't plan to have it say anything like "list ninjas", so it wouldn't be immediately obvious that it was available as a link as well. *shrugs*
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