ffxionline has been ruined :( goodbye

[grunion]

edit - my initial post was too critical. i just find this new layout to be harder to use. there's a lot of stuff on the pages that makes it harder to find what i'm looking for. you can't please everyone tho so maybe most ppl like the new design *shrug*

here's an example of what i mean http://www.joe.to/images/0507/2.png you have to scroll down 1.5 screens before you get to the stuff you want to see (the new posts). that's kind of a hassle.

it's obvious people put a LOT of work into the site, with all the new dynamic graphics and widgets and mods and plugins and stuff. but all i really wanted was a place to quickly get and give info. maybe you could make a "lite" template with nothing but the forums + posts for those of us that don't want all the cool new features?

anyway ive been using this site since 2003, and i've gotten a lot of great info here so i'm not giving up on FFXIonline

[Xtek]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

It could be cleaned up a little... but it's easy once you get used to it.

-Xtek

[PiNG]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

I'm reopening this thread so see what's going on, get some feed back, I'm trying my best to make everything easy. What's there? is this the only guy complaining?

[Manatra]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

The text is quite hard to read honestly, white background + lightish blue text = bad... Ranks up there with dark text on a dark background >.>

As for the layout, it's interesting, but I do find it is a tad overcomplicated. The simplicity of the previous version is what made it so good. Yes, there was some rough point that obviously the new version can smooth out, but in it's current state the simplicity doesn't seem to be there right now. Hard to describe right now for me >_<

All in all, the upgrade was needed, but there does need to be some tweaking to bring some simplicity back that the old site had, whilst still taking advantage of the new features that the upgrade brought.

[lionx]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

Maybe reopen the poll?

The site is fine. It may be slow at certain times but its not really that horrible. I like it. More polished and refined..and i feel i have more to do when i am bored unlike just looking at a few forums over and over.

I think the simplicity of the forum might be better to just put as regular forum style. With the list of forums to go instead of all the icons.

[Abriael]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

I Think it's fine, kinda miss the character informations (job and levels) under the avatar, but after all one can still put them in the signature...

[Kagerou]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

Its definetly hard to navigate at first. Took me like 5min to figure out how to get to the forums XD. Dunno why u would make such a big deal out of it though.


and Ping, how could u hate hamsters!?

[lionx]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

Actually i think PiNG said he is working on those on the Things to do Thread..the levels and etc. O-o

[Anaki]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

since this is a "site is hard"post. where do i find the forums <.< >.> i can only find the search function

[swiften]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

I like the site, its my favorite ffxi related site. Too bad not many from my server visit it.
Maybe have a simple interface version. maybe ffxionline.com (Classic) for the traditionalists.

[sudo]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

I think we don't really need the background dragon thing inside every post.

[grunion]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

i'm sure i was overreacting - it wasn't "ruined" sorry. i just got frustrated that i couldn't find the stuff i wanted to find. i'm sure i'll figure it out.

the best thing you could do for me would be to add a simplified page that has links to each forum like the old index page had, i.e. no add-ons, just a list of the forums

sorry if i was too harsh in my initial post

[lionx]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

Try putting it in list style instead of a table for Jobs and Crafts..and for off-topic too since it might be confusing O-o

[divisortheory]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

I had to hunt for about 10 minutes when I brought up the main front page just to find the forums.

My suggestions.

- Move the Real Word Date & Time thing to the right. I'm pretty sure not many people use that, and those that do don't use it that often. The left side should be reserved for things that people use the most, since that is where they look first.
- On the same note, move the Vana'Navi thing somewhere, as well as the FFXI Live Cam.
- Banner advertisements and User CP thing should be moved. No reason I need that huge User CP box just for a link I can click. User CP should be more like the shape of the Real Word Date & Time box. almost square, definitely not long and rectangular. lots of wasted space.
- Search Forum box should definitely be near the top.
- Today's Birthdays can probably be removed completely.
- Recent Threads should be near the top.
- Make the horizontal bar at the top that has My Settings, Forums, Store and RPG etc vertical instead of horizontal. It should be the top-left most item on the website.

Basically, general rule of thumb is that the more times a link from the main page is clicked, the closer it should be to the top left corner of the front page.


On the forum screen.
All I want is a list of forums. The Large Icon View (e.g. Site News, News on Square-Enix, News on FFXI, Crafting and Synthesis, Race & Job Type Q & A, etc) is confusing. That's just not how forum lists are generally displayed. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Vertical list with small indentation for sub forums is fine, easily understandable. The entire forum list for the whole website should probably fit on a single page. If you must use icons next to the forum names, make them small icons. 16x16 or something.

If I have to select my server in my profile, other server forums shouldn't even be visible to me.

[Caspian]

Re: ffxionline has been ruined goodbye

I think I mentioned this on some other thread here:
Yes, it takes a little bit to get used to, but I'm really starting to like it. For those who havent noticed, theres a window at the bottom of the page that says "Forum Jump" Its just a list of all the different forums you can go to and immediately takes you to the list of threads for that forum.
Once you figure out how to get around here, its actually simpler than the last one.

EDIT: The forum jump window is not on the front page, but seems to be on most others. I guess my biggest suggestion would be to put it on all pages.

If I have to select my server in my profile, other server forums shouldn't even be visible to me.

Why? I can understand why you shouldnt be able to post on them, but there's no harm in being able to read them.