11 Jun '04 09:01>
More like 1.5
As many of you will be aware, I normally make quite small incremental updates to the site. This lessens the testing burden, as most changes are quite localised, and therefore minimises any risk of bugs creeping in.
Anyway, this time around, I had a mission to update the presentation of the site (replacing the current style sheets) and editing a lot of code (primarily because some coding standards I used years ago I no longer like, so I wanted to bring it in line with my current thinking)
If that doesn't mean anything to you, don't worry. All I'm saying is I have changed a lot of stuff, some you will see, some you won't that is all under the bonnet/hood.
For the presentation changes, I was very keen to lose some of the garish design. I know it isn't to everyone's taste, and even though no regular users have complained about it, I think it needed updating. Basically, I think blue text should be for links only. This is the most obvious change - the proliferation of black text, rather than just the odd bit I had crept in over time. I know the blue text had been key to the look of the site since it launched, but I'm quite sure no one is that attached to it, right?
Also, every form on the site has been recoded - they all now look consistent, rather than the odd bag of layouts we currently have.
And some icons have changes. Most very subtly (resized), other completely. Icon legends will now click through to the site faq, if appropriate.
So, rather than just release this one day unexpectedly and take everyone by surprise, I thought I would give a little sneek preview to collect some feedback. There is nothing too ground breaking here, some more interesting than others, but here we go anyway.
(If the image appears squashed, you made need to expand your browser size to fit.)
My games.
New filters added to the columns - these two pop ups can be used individually or together, and should make locating your games a little easier.
<a href=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rnewman/rhp2shots/mygames.gif target=_imgnew1>My Games image</a>
New game
The most overhauled form of all. Now, one field is all that is used for entering your opponents name or email. An additional advanced options section pops out the 'set piece' games and the new open invite rating filter section. This leaves the form as clean and simple as is possible for first time users. All text on this page is currently provisional. (Also, note, private games have now been removed.)
<a href=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rnewman/rhp2shots/newgame.gif target=_imgnew2>New game image</a>
Open invites.
New open invite rating filters in action.
<a href=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rnewman/rhp2shots/openinvite.gif target=_imgnew3>Open invite image</a>
Board view.
Nothing too exciting here - just a cleaner board coordinate surround.
<a href=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rnewman/rhp2shots/board.gif target=_imgnew4>Board image</a>
Forums
Another large change in presentation (still under development). Let me know what you think.
<a href=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rnewman/rhp2shots/forum.gif target=_imgnew5>Forums image</a>
Something else to go in this release is the expansion of the sieges. I will be removing the normal index page for the sieges, and replacing it with a table view, and then expanding the number of boards. I will probably remove the concept of 'castles' altogether and return to 'boards.' It confuses many at the moment, and once the table view is introduced, it would have made even less sense. Again, your input is appreciated.
That's is all, thanks for reading.
-Russ
As many of you will be aware, I normally make quite small incremental updates to the site. This lessens the testing burden, as most changes are quite localised, and therefore minimises any risk of bugs creeping in.
Anyway, this time around, I had a mission to update the presentation of the site (replacing the current style sheets) and editing a lot of code (primarily because some coding standards I used years ago I no longer like, so I wanted to bring it in line with my current thinking)
If that doesn't mean anything to you, don't worry. All I'm saying is I have changed a lot of stuff, some you will see, some you won't that is all under the bonnet/hood.
For the presentation changes, I was very keen to lose some of the garish design. I know it isn't to everyone's taste, and even though no regular users have complained about it, I think it needed updating. Basically, I think blue text should be for links only. This is the most obvious change - the proliferation of black text, rather than just the odd bit I had crept in over time. I know the blue text had been key to the look of the site since it launched, but I'm quite sure no one is that attached to it, right?
Also, every form on the site has been recoded - they all now look consistent, rather than the odd bag of layouts we currently have.
And some icons have changes. Most very subtly (resized), other completely. Icon legends will now click through to the site faq, if appropriate.
So, rather than just release this one day unexpectedly and take everyone by surprise, I thought I would give a little sneek preview to collect some feedback. There is nothing too ground breaking here, some more interesting than others, but here we go anyway.
(If the image appears squashed, you made need to expand your browser size to fit.)
My games.
New filters added to the columns - these two pop ups can be used individually or together, and should make locating your games a little easier.
<a href=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rnewman/rhp2shots/mygames.gif target=_imgnew1>My Games image</a>
New game
The most overhauled form of all. Now, one field is all that is used for entering your opponents name or email. An additional advanced options section pops out the 'set piece' games and the new open invite rating filter section. This leaves the form as clean and simple as is possible for first time users. All text on this page is currently provisional. (Also, note, private games have now been removed.)
<a href=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rnewman/rhp2shots/newgame.gif target=_imgnew2>New game image</a>
Open invites.
New open invite rating filters in action.
<a href=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rnewman/rhp2shots/openinvite.gif target=_imgnew3>Open invite image</a>
Board view.
Nothing too exciting here - just a cleaner board coordinate surround.
<a href=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rnewman/rhp2shots/board.gif target=_imgnew4>Board image</a>
Forums
Another large change in presentation (still under development). Let me know what you think.
<a href=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rnewman/rhp2shots/forum.gif target=_imgnew5>Forums image</a>
Something else to go in this release is the expansion of the sieges. I will be removing the normal index page for the sieges, and replacing it with a table view, and then expanding the number of boards. I will probably remove the concept of 'castles' altogether and return to 'boards.' It confuses many at the moment, and once the table view is introduced, it would have made even less sense. Again, your input is appreciated.
That's is all, thanks for reading.
-Russ