ruff_hi
Live 4ever! Or die trying
so, am I the only one that can edit it? Or can others edit it too?
Introducing CivFanatics v3.0
- Thread starter Thunderfall
- Start date
Ekmek
on steam: ekmek_e
does this mean we can rebuild the civ4wiki. that thing was useful atleast in explaining what all the xml tags mean.
I'm pretty sure only you could edit it, which would make a collaborative effort hard. Perhaps TF could change that...
See above -- since (for regular members) you can only edit your own pages, this would make a group effort hard. You could have someone in charge, though, and work out what you want on the forums and then just copy paste it (since the pages can use vB code).
You guys can start a thread in the C&C forums if you want to discuss these ideas and its potential further, since I'm sure there are many uses for it (though, ruff_hi, I'm not sure if pages for individual mods (as opposed to pages about Civ4 modding in general) will be a good idea, since there are so many of them; we'll see whether your page works as is or doesn't). I'm thinking more along the lines of introductions to modding and the whole process, rather than specific tutorials or mods/scenarios.
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2000
- Messages
- 12,499
We do plan to add a printer-friendly version shortly.
It's a good idea. I have made the following changes:
-- Logo now points to the main site.
-- The "Home" link at the left of the My Account link is changed to "Forums" and points to forum home.
-- The breadcrumb now has the main site as the root. For example:
Civilization Fanatics' Center > Forums > CIVILIZATION REVOLUTION
I plan to convert those pages over within the next couple days.
uat2d
ಠ_ಠ
i think it is great like it is now and i've not experienced any problems (Firefox)
lroumen
Warlord
I'm sure you also want feedback and not just messages saying that the main page has been completely white 
. Here goes.
I like the new content because:
- The new home page is more restful for the eyes. That's GREAT.
- Now, the general frames are not spaced to 100%, but are visualised as boxes. This is much more restful for the eyes and I think it's a good step forward. The spacing between all the boxes might be slightly decreased though, but that's personal taste.
- The large dark pink (not truly crimson) bars were too dominant in presence. They are removed in the new site, which looks better.
- The center frame had a dark grey background, the new site has a more restful grey instead.
- The news items are now separate frames, which is more clear than the old dotted line and it places more focus on the separate news items. It's much more clear this way.
I don't like the new content because:
- The menus on the left and right are too wide, probably because the textfont is too big. They protrude too far towards the center frame. In general, you do not want your menu font to be the same size as the main text font. You want it either slightly larger or slightly smaller to draw attention to either the menu or the main text. The old fontsize for the leftside menu was more clear, but maybe slightly too small. I would go for an in-between solution for font size (in-between the old and new fontsize I mean). The fontsize for the center frame is fine.
- You have two search options. One Google Search and one site-search (righthand menu). Remove either. I suggest to place the final search option in the righthand menu.
- Remove the login/register from the leftside menu and place it in the rightside menu. Rightside menu is for user-specified options and affiliates, leftsidemenu is for scrolling and information.
- When I open www.civfanatics.com I barely see ANY content until I scroll down. The top menu is just too large in height. This is probably because you based it on the forum display in order to integrate the two together. The problem is that the functionality for both the main site and the forum site are different and they should be treated different. You really need to reduce the height for the main page. I'll place some suggestions below that discuss the general top menu bit by bit.
1. The ad.
You first had the ad incorporated with the pink menu which was a GREAT solution. Now you have the ad floating at the top but you did not reduce the height of the rest. You have a big grey square with nothing in it at the moment. You may want that ad incorporated somewhere. The only real solution I can think of is to place is right next to the civfanatics logo in place of the google search, but that's etchy because you don't want to have your logo associated with the ad. I think it's indeed best left at the top if you're not going to incorporate it somewhere.
2. The site-navigation menu
It is unnecessary. All those links can be found on the left menu. No need to introduce that extra bar on the welcome page. If you do want to have that, kick the left side menu. The problem is that the left side menu is for your homepage more logical. You also do not want to only have a rightside menu and you do not want to move that rightside menu to the left. The leftside menu is also slightly more practical than the site-navigation menu when you scroll through the center frame content. I believe that the site-navigation is only practical in the forums in order to find links to return to the main site, it's not a feature for the main page if you already have a leftside menu that does the same.
3. The Logo
Don't touch the logo. The Google search should go to the rightside menu where you already have a search option. It's best placed there (with the added google functionality). The old logo had a nice grey (bust restful) texture next to it. That looks better than just grey.
4. Welcome Message
You have a long welcome message and I question its function. It is probably a left-over from the forum standard, but it has no business for the main site. People who visit the main site to read the articles do not want to log in, send screenshots, send pms or else they know that they can register to do such things. Hence, a login button for the forum users will suffice (register+login should be on the rightside menu).
5. Threading and login
Remove the threading from the main page. You're probably not going to get more than 1 thread anyhow and you still have the side menus to go back to the previous ones. I tested it out and I found that it had no clear use. Unless you're going to incorporate a wiki or a history with previously visited pages, it won't do anything. It's a forum thing for scrolling through subforums and threads, not for scrolling through a main page. You also have a login there, but there is also a login on the leftside menu. Remove both and place them in the rightside menu.
All in all the whole is more clear and restful for the eyes which is good. I saw some errors and made some suggestions which I'm sure you'll discuss among yourselves and correct some of them. It's all part of designing. In short.
- You did switch around a few options to places where they should definately not be.
- Some things are duplicated and you should avoid those things.
- You also confuse the main homepage for a forumlayout. Please don't to that. They are separate things and require separate options. The forums require a navigation-menu to go back to the homepage. The homepage does not require that same navigation-menu when it already has one, it only requires a link to go to the forums.
- Keep menu options to the leftside menu. Handy for generic visitors and good for scrolling and finding your way around the homepage.
- Keep user-specifics (login, search) and affiliate information (and ads) to the rightside menu. Good for regular visitors.
- Keep the top menu as small and dense (but still clear) as possible. As a user you want to see content when you visit a main page, you do not only want to see a top menu.
. Here goes.I like the new content because:
- The new home page is more restful for the eyes. That's GREAT.
- Now, the general frames are not spaced to 100%, but are visualised as boxes. This is much more restful for the eyes and I think it's a good step forward. The spacing between all the boxes might be slightly decreased though, but that's personal taste.
- The large dark pink (not truly crimson) bars were too dominant in presence. They are removed in the new site, which looks better.
- The center frame had a dark grey background, the new site has a more restful grey instead.
- The news items are now separate frames, which is more clear than the old dotted line and it places more focus on the separate news items. It's much more clear this way.
I don't like the new content because:
- The menus on the left and right are too wide, probably because the textfont is too big. They protrude too far towards the center frame. In general, you do not want your menu font to be the same size as the main text font. You want it either slightly larger or slightly smaller to draw attention to either the menu or the main text. The old fontsize for the leftside menu was more clear, but maybe slightly too small. I would go for an in-between solution for font size (in-between the old and new fontsize I mean). The fontsize for the center frame is fine.
- You have two search options. One Google Search and one site-search (righthand menu). Remove either. I suggest to place the final search option in the righthand menu.
- Remove the login/register from the leftside menu and place it in the rightside menu. Rightside menu is for user-specified options and affiliates, leftsidemenu is for scrolling and information.
- When I open www.civfanatics.com I barely see ANY content until I scroll down. The top menu is just too large in height. This is probably because you based it on the forum display in order to integrate the two together. The problem is that the functionality for both the main site and the forum site are different and they should be treated different. You really need to reduce the height for the main page. I'll place some suggestions below that discuss the general top menu bit by bit.
1. The ad.
You first had the ad incorporated with the pink menu which was a GREAT solution. Now you have the ad floating at the top but you did not reduce the height of the rest. You have a big grey square with nothing in it at the moment. You may want that ad incorporated somewhere. The only real solution I can think of is to place is right next to the civfanatics logo in place of the google search, but that's etchy because you don't want to have your logo associated with the ad. I think it's indeed best left at the top if you're not going to incorporate it somewhere.
2. The site-navigation menu
It is unnecessary. All those links can be found on the left menu. No need to introduce that extra bar on the welcome page. If you do want to have that, kick the left side menu. The problem is that the left side menu is for your homepage more logical. You also do not want to only have a rightside menu and you do not want to move that rightside menu to the left. The leftside menu is also slightly more practical than the site-navigation menu when you scroll through the center frame content. I believe that the site-navigation is only practical in the forums in order to find links to return to the main site, it's not a feature for the main page if you already have a leftside menu that does the same.
3. The Logo
Don't touch the logo
. The Google search should go to the rightside menu where you already have a search option. It's best placed there (with the added google functionality). The old logo had a nice grey (bust restful) texture next to it. That looks better than just grey.4. Welcome Message
You have a long welcome message and I question its function. It is probably a left-over from the forum standard, but it has no business for the main site. People who visit the main site to read the articles do not want to log in, send screenshots, send pms or else they know that they can register to do such things. Hence, a login button for the forum users will suffice (register+login should be on the rightside menu).
5. Threading and login
Remove the threading from the main page. You're probably not going to get more than 1 thread anyhow and you still have the side menus to go back to the previous ones. I tested it out and I found that it had no clear use. Unless you're going to incorporate a wiki or a history with previously visited pages, it won't do anything. It's a forum thing for scrolling through subforums and threads, not for scrolling through a main page. You also have a login there, but there is also a login on the leftside menu. Remove both and place them in the rightside menu.
All in all the whole is more clear and restful for the eyes which is good. I saw some errors and made some suggestions which I'm sure you'll discuss among yourselves and correct some of them. It's all part of designing. In short.
- You did switch around a few options to places where they should definately not be.
- Some things are duplicated and you should avoid those things.
- You also confuse the main homepage for a forumlayout. Please don't to that. They are separate things and require separate options. The forums require a navigation-menu to go back to the homepage. The homepage does not require that same navigation-menu when it already has one, it only requires a link to go to the forums.
- Keep menu options to the leftside menu. Handy for generic visitors and good for scrolling and finding your way around the homepage.
- Keep user-specifics (login, search) and affiliate information (and ads) to the rightside menu. Good for regular visitors.
- Keep the top menu as small and dense (but still clear) as possible. As a user you want to see content when you visit a main page, you do not only want to see a top menu.
CustodianV131
Prince
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2004
- Messages
- 353
Congratulations on the new engine! 
I like the new look not a wee bit.
If I had to wager, I'd say it's nothing but a portal mod for vbulletin. Which is not bad per se, but the mainframe entries look a lot more cluttered now and I miss unique graphic destinctions for the sections in the navbar. Also separations that follow the content logic in the navboxes would tidy things up a bit, right now it's pretty jumbled. The new style lost it's previous liveliness imho. Thus, an F from me, hoping you receive it as constructive criticism.
If I had to wager, I'd say it's nothing but a portal mod for vbulletin. Which is not bad per se, but the mainframe entries look a lot more cluttered now and I miss unique graphic destinctions for the sections in the navbar. Also separations that follow the content logic in the navboxes would tidy things up a bit, right now it's pretty jumbled. The new style lost it's previous liveliness imho. Thus, an F from me, hoping you receive it as constructive criticism.
HolyHandGrenade
Holy Pin
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2006
- Messages
- 607
As soon as I see the problem again I message you
Spoiler long quote :
Alternatively, I don't know if it's possible use an anchor at the top of the actual content, so that when you view a page, you can start reading immediately.
Also, why do some items have dots and others arrows in front of them?
I think the "Latest Civilization News" at the top can be removed, or it should have a different color. Two grey boxes on top of each other are confusing.
MAS
Deity
Looks great.
There is an other one at the bottom of the page though. Saves scrolling up.
I have an other suggestions: The other way around, from main page to the forums!
The forums are a very important part of this website, so I suggest a big and well visible link on the main page to the main forum page. I mean, an area that is closer to the size of the big CivFanatics logo.
This with the design philosophy that if you want your visitors to click a button, you need to make that button big and easy to aim with your cursor.
I think the forums are an important enough part of this site to justify a bigger link.
Though I have no suggestion on where this link should be placed, and what it should look like.
An other small issue:
When I visited the War Academy, I got a list of links to sub-directories, clicking on a sub-directory loaded new page, with more links that finally lead to the article I was looking for. This is an extra step to find an article, and an extra page that needs to be loaded.
I don't think this is an improvement. It would be easier to see an overview of all article on one page. Divided by subheadings, or represented as a directory tree, of course, as long as all links to individual articles are on one page.
I'm not suggesting that all different war academies for different civ games are joined on one page though, that would be confusing.
I agree that Latest Civilization News is a bit unnecessary and can be removed (though I personally can't do that). Menu items with an arrow indicate they have subpages (like the Civilopedia, which has subdirectories for Units, Civilizations, etc.).
I really don't think it's all that big of a deal. Before, the old war academy had a list of all the different sections without articles and then a list of the articles to follow (albeit on the same page). If you're trying to find a specific article, using the search feature for its title is probably fastest. If not, and you're just browsing, that navigation I don't think is that big of a deal. All in all, this is just the way that the CMS software works. I don't think there's any way around it short of having ALL the articles on one War Academy page (and a list like that with no organization would be very long!).
You give a lot of good or useful suggestions, but I hope you do realize that it takes time to implement them and that, even still, we may not decide to incorporate them all. We'll see...some of these are low priority -- thanks, though.
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2000
- Messages
- 12,499
I have made these changes/additions:
- Printer-friendly version: Go to the article you want to print. At the bottom right you should see a "printer-friendly version" link. Here is an example: http://www.civfanatics.com/book/export/html/49
- "Latest Civilization News" title removed from main page.
- The "Site Navigation" and "Welcome message block" should no longer show on main site.
- User Login box moved to right sidebar as lroumen suggested.
Yoda Power
✫✫✫✫✫✫✫
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2002
- Messages
- 13,869
When I'm in the Gallery, the "Forums" buttom takes me to the front page, which is pretty annoying.
lroumen
Warlord
Rome wasn't built in a day. They're just suggestions and it's up to you to decide what to do with them.
uat2d
ಠ_ಠ
Rome wasn't built in a day. They're just suggestions and it's up to you to decide what to do with them.
are you comparing Rome with CivFanatics ??
Yoda Power
✫✫✫✫✫✫✫
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2002
- Messages
- 13,869
Yeah that's an insult, CFC is much greater than Rome ever was!
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