View Full Version : A Redesign is Coming!
Thanks to the incredible work of our own landstalkerx, Sega-16 is well on its way to a long overdue redesign. His design is clean and very sexy, and I'm sure everyone will agree that it rocks. I've already begun converting articles, and we should be ready to go in the next week or two.
I'll keep you posted as we get closer to the relaunch!
Genesis Knight
02-07-2006, 06:42 PM
Huh. I didn't even know this was going on. Landstalkerx has always had sleek and professional avatars, so I'm sure this'll to look great.
Trust me, this new design is going to turn heads.
Joe Redifer
02-07-2006, 09:39 PM
Hopefully we won't be turning them to vomit! :)
Nope, the redesign is a great and positive step for Sega-16. Hopefully now we can get accepted at Game Rankings, which will greatly increase our exposure.
Genesis Knight
02-08-2006, 11:53 AM
Aw. That's kind of sad. Now we'll be flooded with idiots (like GameFAQs). I know it's not great for the site to have a small forum, but I liked it.
Worry not, my friend. I speak softly and carry a big ban stick. Idiots will not be tolerated here.
The funny thing is, more traffic doesn't necessarily equate to forum growth. Sega-16 has really grown (we got 426 unique visitors in all of December, and have already hit that number for this month!), yet the forum's growth has been much slower.
I do intend to keep a sharp eye on things, and should traffic pick up, I shall knight some of our most dedicated members. A small yet dedicated and fair mod squad can keep a handle on even the biggest forums.
Drixxel
02-08-2006, 07:51 PM
I look forward to this shimmery new design.
Then again, maybe this is all a fiendish scheme to get our hopes up, only to have the plasma skin replaced with a crude Microsoft Paint rendition of Sonic the Hedgehog, resized and distorted numerous times to fit the skin template. Now that'd be sleek.
landstalkerx
02-08-2006, 09:56 PM
I look forward to this shimmery new design.
Then again, maybe this is all a fiendish scheme to get our hopes up, only to have the plasma skin replaced with a crude Microsoft Paint rendition of Sonic the Hedgehog, resized and distorted numerous times to fit the skin template. Now that'd be sleek.
The forum is staying the same, as far as I know. It's the main site that's being redone. I don't really know enough about PHP and VBulletin to redesign the forums
Chris Marsh
02-08-2006, 10:43 PM
This could be a cool design. Let's see how it will turn out.
Drixxel
02-08-2006, 11:05 PM
The forum is staying the same, as far as I know. It's the main site that's being redone. I don't really know enough about PHP and VBulletin to redesign the forums
Well then, I suppose that there will be no use for this crude Microsoft Paint Sonic the Hedgehog..
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/9229/sonicthebledgeblog29xm.jpg
For whatever reason I was under the impression that this was a forum overhaul. In fact, I hadn't given any thought to the website itself, but now that I have, I look forward to the changes. Thumbs up, landstalkerx.
David J.
02-08-2006, 11:42 PM
Ah... the buttons! If you did that, that's pretty good.
Drixxel
02-09-2006, 12:15 AM
Thanks. Yeah, I made that sig months ago, but real praise goes towards the developers of Sonic Spinball and their outrageously vague advice.
"The buttons..? Which buttons?! ..ALL buttons?!?"
*sickening sound of hedgehog crunch*
Genesis Knight
02-10-2006, 05:58 PM
Are you advertising the site anywhere, by the way? I haven't seen links to it in very many places at all. Is it all just word-of-mouth? (or keyboards, I guess.)
Drixxel
02-10-2006, 06:57 PM
I've got just the ad to boost traffic tenfold. Behold!
http://img432.imageshack.us/img432/8771/sonicthebledgeblog2ad7tf.jpg
Vooom...!
Lol!
I'm waiting until the new layout is up, then I plan to pimp like a mofo.
Update!
- All navigational pages have been completed. The media archive now has a separate link, as well as a handy little drop-down menu (as do the reviews and master list pages)
- All Sega CD & 32X reviews have been converted
- About 25 articles have been converted
- Genesis review conversion has begun
I'd like to relaunch on the 20th, depending on Josh's availability. We may not have all the articles and Genny reviews ready, but I'll just add them in little by little.
New Update!
- Only 25 articles remain to be converted. They should all be done by Thursday.
- 9 Genesis reviews have been converted, and I'll start again as soon as the articles are done.
- Every other part of the site, except the print ad archive, is done. The PAA will be put up little by little as I scan new ads, better organize existing ones, and get around to making pretty thumbnails.
We're ahead of schedule, and should be set for next Monday. I've received an article from Genesis Knight this week, as well as a review for Vay. Both of these, as well as the Wonder Boy and Fatal Fury 2 reviews, and Joe's article, will go up the next week.
Genesis Knight
02-15-2006, 09:35 PM
Oh...it's good to go? Me being happy now. =)
Update!
- All articles are done.
- A-D of the Genesis reviews are done. I should have the majority done by Monday, and I'll finish the others up little by little.
- The site is now on the server. I've uploaded everything, and Josh will be taking the current version offline to set up the new one.
We're almost there!
Drixxel
02-17-2006, 06:37 PM
What with this looming redesign, I'm getting all antsy-in-the-pantsy.
Heh, I'm sure everyone will like it. It's inspired from a fansite on Gunstar Heroes, and I chose it because it's streamlined and modern. All points on the site can be accessed with no more than two clicks now.
Some things have been eliminated though:
- the poll
- Update archive
- Counter
- Reviews main index page
All the master lists are now condensed to one page each.
Kikoskia
02-17-2006, 07:09 PM
Will the link change for the website?
Nope. The url will still be the same. I own that domain name, so it will always be there.
Update!
- A-R of the Genesis reviews are done. I expect all of them to be completed by Thursday.
- We should be launching tomorrow with new content! After weeks of work it's almost here!
Joe Redifer
02-21-2006, 07:31 PM
Today's the big day!.... isn't it?
Genesis Knight
02-21-2006, 09:50 PM
So it would seem, but so far I'm not getting any redesign vibes. Geocities is still with us, apparently.
Patience grasshoppers! It's coming!
Lhadatt
02-22-2006, 01:50 AM
Sim sim salabim!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ac/Jonny-quest-1980s.JPG/200px-Jonny-quest-1980s.JPG
Joe Redifer
02-22-2006, 03:06 AM
That's pretty cool and quite functional! I dunno about that odd background color, though. Doesn't seem Sega-ish. I have no idea what to recommend in that area. Maybe the Sega-16 logo could be bigger and bluer, that might help. The site isn't as skinny as I feared it would be, and that's cool. Hopefully the world won't be stuck at 800x600 for too much longer. :)
Drixxel
02-22-2006, 03:36 AM
Lookin' good. Lookin' real good.
Were I to make but one suggestion, it would be to make the background bluer and darker, much like this forum skin, but as it is, it's a very clean and professional design.
landstalkerx, you did a fine job.
Kikoskia
02-22-2006, 11:21 AM
I don't know much about art, but I know what I like. And I like that layout. :)
Well, Ken (Melf) already knows much of my thoughts on the design -- but I'll express them here publically for all to see: the redesign rocks and overall, the designer did a remarkable job.
However, having looked over the site a bit more thoroughly, I did run into a few things which in my opinion could/should be addressed. Note: These critique is not a knock against Ken or the webmaster, I am merely trying to help tighten up the look of the redesign:
Clash of colors: -- Although the redesign has more or less addressed this problems, there's still a few colors that are needlessly tossed in there. The goal of every website is to establish some consistency and balance. Sega-16's new primary colors should be hues of blue, yellow (mainly used for headers or yellow) and white for the text. Ideally, four colors should be the max.
Whether or not it was intentional -- the site has a few instances where such colors like red, purple (and I believe green as well) exist Frankly, these should be fully removed from the content end of the site. If you have text that needs to be emphasized -- work within the site's "primary colors" by sticking to variants of yellow, blue or white. Also, in the review section -- the yellow color tone should be a bit more pronounced in the specs/media bar. Currently, it's a bit weak and given its importance, it's something that you want to be more noticeable.
Given my experience in this area working with colors -- I'd be happy to assist in this area for some solid, functional colors (and yes, that includes personally modifying the html pages on the fly).
Minor coding typos -- every site has some of these (GotNext included, there's bound to be 2 or 3 areas I still haven't caught). I love the new look for the reviews, particuarly how the content/specs block were set up in GN's image. I came across one article however where the screenshots in the Sonic the Hedgehog article overlapped the border. It's my understanding that this could be do to a typo in the table coding or such that caused this to happen as I didn't notice it in any of the other reviews I glimpsed. If you're uncertain how to rectify this, it would be great to get in touch with you new webmaster.
Background color -- Someone earlier mentioned that the bg used doesn't quite seem reflect the spirit of SEGA's classic era. Although this can be interpreted in many ways, my only thoughts on this is the off-blue color looks a little wierd. If anything, I would have used the same bg color that's being used for the new Sonic vB theme. In my opinion, all the colors would stand out a bit more as they currently looked somewhat washed out. The easier you make the content easier to read, the happier your readers will be.
That's all for now. Just my two cents. Again, great job!
winona
02-22-2006, 03:15 PM
I like it alot. Its a first for a site re-design.
Point of notice. Some reviews seems to be dead? Prolly already mentioned. But if not...
Minor coding typos -- every site has some of these (GotNext included, there's bound to be 2 or 3 areas I still haven't caught). I love the new look for the reviews, particuarly how the content/specs block were set up in GN's image. I came across one article however where the screenshots in the Sonic the Hedgehog article overlapped the border. It's my understanding that this could be do to a typo in the table coding or such that caused this to happen as I didn't notice it in any of the other reviews I glimpsed. If you're uncertain how to rectify this, it would be great to get in touch with you new webmaster.
I noticed this too. Where you using Firefox? I think it's a compatibility issue, but I'm not sure (they look fine in IE). I've already spoken to landstalkerx about it, and hopefully it will be resolved in the next few days.
Point of notice. Some reviews seems to be dead? Prolly already mentioned. But if not...
The reviews that aren't linked still need to be converted. They should all be done by the end of the week. I didn't remove them because I wanted it to show that we still have reviews for those games.
Thanks for the kudos everyone, and please keep the comments coming! I'm taking all of them into account and will be discussing which ones are feasible and best implemented with both landstalkerx and bahn.
Long live Sega-16!
I noticed this too. Where you using Firefox? I think it's a compatibility issue, but I'm not sure (they look fine in IE). I've already spoken to landstalkerx about it, and hopefully it will be resolved in the next few days.
Yup. I view everything in Firefox and only use IE on rare instances or troubleshooting. :)
Although, I still don't understand how that particular article has an appearance flaw when you have similar articles featuring the same number of images. It looks perfect on IE, as you said, though.
As for compatibility issues -- it's not uncommon that a webpage will look differently on IE, Firefox, Opera, etc. This is why webmasters now commonly create style sheets to accomodate the various browsers typically used by web users. However, I imagine landstalker won't be going through the trouble of that, especially with the aid of a database.
p.s. Now that you have vB, now you can take advantage of some of the cooler hacks out there. I'll have to visit vb.org to see what's available (i.e. keeping posts from a user made within the last 5 minutes or so together -- it's the hack that I had installed on TNL and GotNext)
Features like that will ultimately tighten up the forum's functionality and offer some added convenience for your users. I'll check into it this week, coordinate with Josh and get back to you.
Demonic Weasel
02-22-2006, 05:06 PM
Pretty nice redesign all things considered. Although... I miss having Max on the front page.
Pretty nice redesign all things considered. Although... I miss having Max on the front page.
Oh -- one other thing, Ken.
Your timestamp should probably use this format:
MM/DD/YYYY -- Current time w/timezone
i.e. 02/21/2006 -- 4:07 p.m. EST
I think that will look better than how it's currently displayed. Not only will this actually acknowledge the date correctly (right now, the date is posted in a time format -- not a good idea), but it will let your readers from different time zones know exactly when the new update was made. Remember, it's all about added convenience and ease-of-use for the readers.
Just a recommendation...
Genesis Knight
02-23-2006, 02:33 PM
I'm no expert, so my opinion isn't worth very much (and it's quite short), but here it is anyway.
Sega-16 owns more than ever now.
Oh -- one other thing, Ken.
Your timestamp should probably use this format:
MM/DD/YYYY -- Current time w/timezone
i.e. 02/21/2006 -- 4:07 p.m. EST
I think that will look better than how it's currently displayed. Not only will this actually acknowledge the date correctly (right now, the date is posted in a time format -- not a good idea), but it will let your readers from different time zones know exactly when the new update was made. Remember, it's all about added convenience and ease-of-use for the readers.
Just a recommendation...
Agreed and changed! :)
All reviews are done! As of now, everything is back online except for the Print Ad Archive, which I will be slowly reorganizing and restoring. This is only a minor thing, as all other content is finally done. Next week we go back to our regular update schedule of Reviews on Monday and Thursday, and features on Tuesday and Friday.
Our entire print ad collection is now online, which means that Sega-16 is 100% fully functional again!
Expect more ads as I scan my huge backlog of Sega Visions and Mega Play magazines, as well as all our usual content.
Melf: Log online -- urgent that I speak to you (unless you want to miss out on some sweet coverage opportunities).
Obviously
02-27-2006, 05:50 PM
I really enjoy the new layout. It looks a lot cleaner and more professional.
David J.
02-27-2006, 06:27 PM
Very slick, indeed. Thumbs up!
Lookin' good. Lookin' real good.
Were I to make but one suggestion, it would be to make the background bluer and darker, much like this forum skin, but as it is, it's a very clean and professional design.
landstalkerx, you did a fine job.
Yes, myself and several others have mentioned this. Hopefully Ken and Landstalker will follow up with some added tweaks.
The featured images are naturally a great touch, but I think that a bit more care should be spent on setting up the composition and quality of the images used.
For example, the Vay and Genesis images currently displayed in my opinion could have been a lot better -- especially the Vay image, which looks a tad blurry and such. To me, the webmaster should never settle for second best, especially an exceptional SEGA enthusiast site such as SEGA-16.
I think the inclusion of a less duller font would also add a significant spark to that region since the intentions are for visitors to take notice at a cursory glance.
If you like, I'd be happy to assist you either with creating or locating eye-catching images that are both clean and presentable. Regardless, this is still a fine looking site.
Obviously
02-28-2006, 10:48 AM
I thought that about the images as well but it didn't bother me. besides the blurry Vay picture I noticed a lot of JPEG artifacts around the words "Latest Article" and "Latest Review" at least on my laptop monitor. I don't know if they're less noticeable on a non-LCD screen or not.
I thought that about the images as well but it didn't bother me. besides the blurry Vay picture I noticed a lot of JPEG artifacts around the words "Latest Article" and "Latest Review" at least on my laptop monitor. I don't know if they're less noticeable on a non-LCD screen or not.
By artifacts, are you referring to blemishes/imperfections within the images? If so, then that's just due to the filter (or lack thereof) applied to the text, which has been something I've noticed on many of the graphics incorporated on SEGA-16 during its first year. And yeah, I too can look over the image quality -- but it's bound to irk me on ocassion. :)
If you're referring to something else -- then, I am not quite sure what you mean.
In any case -- Ken (and hopefully Steven as well) should know that I only want the best for SEGA-16. It's an excellent site and I'd like to see it get better as time goes on. :D
p.s. Melf -- I was planning to make a banner for SEGA-16 to feature on GN, and experienced a small problem. Upon retrieving the font from that site you provided me -- the designer apparently altered the character for the number "6". It's no longer got that slick little angle to it, it sort of look like a "G" now. Heh, I'll show you tonight or you can check out that site personally and can see for yourself...
This creates somewhat of a problem now that the 6 font looks different from the banners and such I designed for you. It's a minor thing and chances are you problably wont' care -- but since I am somewhat of a perfectionist and like to keep things consistent -- this discovery made me annoyed. LOL.
Does Steve happen to have the original .TTF?
landstalkerx
02-28-2006, 08:58 PM
Which font is it that your looking for. I've got both the Sega font and the Sonic font, if it's one of those.
As for darkening up the background, it wouldn't be hard to do, but it's Ken's decision to make, whether it should be darker or not.
Which font is it that your looking for. I've got both the Sega font and the Sonic font, if it's one of those.
As for darkening up the background, it wouldn't be hard to do, but it's Ken's decision to make, whether it should be darker or not.
Hey, man! :)
I am looking for the font used for "SEGA-16". The version I have, called NiseSEGA.ttf was apparently modified a bit by the font designer. The most significant changes allows users to access the special characters located atop of each number on the keyboard and for whatever reason -- the number 6 was slightly modified.
Can you email it to chris@got-next.com or send it via PM? Thanks.
As for the native background color -- I'd definitely go with darkening the background a bit as it will make the text stand our more. The current tone is a bit pale.
Darker like the color in the plasma skin? I'd be down with that.
Darker like the color in the plasma skin? I'd be down with that.
Thanks to Steve, I've obtained the font and Sega-16's banner is now proudly pimped on GotNext (http://www.got-next.com).
(Tonight, I'll edit the font so that the 6 looks just like the original design.) :)
danielscheil
03-08-2006, 12:55 PM
i was a long time not here... great ! it's getting better and better !
it's for me the best mega drive and genesis page worldwide !
Thanks for all your reviews and faq's
Chris Marsh
03-09-2006, 08:32 PM
The redesign is pretty good. The new design is weird at first, but I got used to how it looks.
Obviously
03-10-2006, 01:32 PM
If you're referring to something else -- then, I am not quite sure what you mean.
Yeah, that's what I meant.
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