GameBanshee Forums

Exactly what the title suggests . I'm working through a lot of issues with the renovation (you just can't be 100% prepared in a test environment...), and would appreciate it if some of you could post here when you come across any errors or layout problems. Please be specific about what page you were browsing when the problem occurred, and include a screenshot if possible.

The only exception to this are our game-specific subsites. They'll still be using the old layout for awhile, so the login area within the header has been disabled on the affected pages and there may be some problems as a result. At the moment, though, I'm really only concerned about the homepage, RPG database, articles, polls, comment system, and forums.

Thanks for your help!

Some issues i have (found):
-The poll seems to accept new votes every time i visit the page.
-You can't sort/filter games in RPG Database by recommendation.
-RPG Database only has mobile phone entry for Baldur's gate.
-I think it would be useful if the GameBanshee banner at the top would have been linked to the main page.

Nicely done renovation though. I like the new layout with news in the main middle column.

Thanks for the input. I'll add the poll problem to my list of issues that need to be addressed and will see what I can do on the header link. By recommendation, I assume you mean that there's no way to view just those games that are in the hall of fame?

Apparently my database import doesn't like duplicate game names, which is why it just brought in the first of two Baldur's Gate entries (one mobile, one PC). The same issue affects Neverwinter Nights (three versions) and a few other games. I'll probably just have to add parentheses to some of the titles to keep them unique.

It is a nice renovation, I have a couple of things to ask.
Why did you change the forum banner banshee, she was fancy , this now seems kinda displaced with eyes and alike, old banner was a lot better (if only for me). Could you code that when hovering over recent posts in the main page you see a longer overview, anyways I will edit this post if I find anything else.

P.S. I also miss the header banner returning to the main page.

Er, I also notice the time in the top right corner of the forums seems to be missing. Is that intentional?

While not being logged in and visiting the forums on a 1280x800 widescreen notebook and using any browser, there is a four or so pixel spacing between header_bg.png and the section of the website below it. Upon logging in, it disappears.

Keep up the styling!

"Logout" Link / Private Messages (visual/layout)

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Logout Link
=======================================================

The "Logout" link, in Resolution 1440 x 900 (Win Vista), appears out of place.

It kinda lies on the line between the golden bit ("Welcome Lady Sophia..."), and the darker area below it. It looks out of place. Like it is supposed to be lined up somewhere else, but the computer is putting it there due to lack of space or something. I think it is supposed to be more to the right, as there is a notable space/area to the right of the "Private Messages" bit.

Tried other Res. for comparison.
All of them had the same problem. The Log-out link appears to be misplaced. I don't know if that is intentional or not, but it doesn't look pleasing to the eye.

=======================================================
Private Messages (text)
=======================================================
Also, along the same lines, the "Private Messages" text, is not aligned properly (on all res', 600x800 through to 1440 x 900). The "g" gets cut off at the bottom.

I've tried manually adjusting the screen zoom using the mouse wheel, but i still get the same problem, so i don't think it is my resolution.


~ Lady Sophia

P.S.
I have to agree with the above post about the Banshee Logo. The old one looked better. I appologise if that sounds harsh. I realise the effort you must have put into making a new logo/banner, but IMHO the old one was better.

P.s.

I like the updated menu's and the updated colour scheme. Gives the website a new more modern look.

~Lady Sophia

Lady Sophia wrote:The "Logout" link, in Resolution 1440 x 900 (Win Vista), appears out of place.

Generally speaking, in web design the resolution or operating system are not as relevant as the web browser used. I've checked the Log Out and Private Messages links in Firefox 3.0x Opera 10.0 and Internet Explorer 8.x and they seem to align well.
What browser are You using?

Edit:
And I see that the poll is fixed. Good job.

So far, I haven't noticed any problems, at least not on Firefox anyway.

I do have to agree with the sentiments on the "Banshee" though.... I liked the old one better... she had a more graceful, natural look and feel that just worked..

I'm doing my best to work through the issues as they're brought to my attention. If they're not posted here, though, I might not know about them - so please keep the comments coming .

dragon wench wrote:I do have to agree with the sentiments on the "Banshee" though.... I liked the old one better... she had a more graceful, natural look and feel that just worked..

Once I'm happy with the way things are running, I'll see about replacing the current logo in the header with the classic banshee. It wouldn't be that difficult to do, it's just a matter of finding time and making sure it looks right given the amount of space that's been allotted to the logo.

...with regards to the reply about my browser...

I've just run the website on Firefox and on IE8.

I've narrowed down the problem.

IE8
Home Page (Gamebanshee.com) = Logout/Private Messages Layout looks great
Forums = Logout/Private Messages are **different**. The layout changes, the alignments are broke

Firefox
Home Page (Gamebanshee.com) = Logout/Private Messages Layout looks great
Forums = Logout/Private Messages are **different**. The layout changes, but the alignments fine


I think the problem lies on the Forum aspect of the site. I don't know if your in the middle of updating things, if so, no worries, but the Homepage and the Forum pages have totally different layouts (with regards to logout/private messages). I prefer the Homepage layout. It looks the nicest, and is not prone to problems with IE8.


Edit:
I've found further layout issues. This time on the "Community Blogs" area of the site. Same problem; Logout/Private Message is out of alignment. The rest of the site is fine. (tested on both IE8 and Firefox).

The site is kind of ugly now but is still navigable so it's fine with me. The logo being a link back to the homepage would be nice. My only real problem is the fact that the logo is bigger and takes up more unnecessary room.

The log out is still fiddly for me. Occasionally, I get redirected to Gamebanshee's home page. Other times I get the old "Return to the page you were viewing"/"Return to forums index".

BuckGB wrote:I'm doing my best to work through the issues as they're brought to my attention. If they're not posted here, though, I might not know about them - so please keep the comments coming .



Once I'm happy with the way things are running, I'll see about replacing the current logo in the header with the classic banshee. It wouldn't be that difficult to do, it's just a matter of finding time and making sure it looks right given the amount of space that's been allotted to the logo.

Planning to give the logo link soon? It's pretty annoying having to open that scroll and choose homepage every time.

One thing I just noticed: on the main page, under "Latest Posts", it lists posts that aren't available to the main forums, like the Moderator's forum. The top post, the "Not moderator of my forums anymore?" or some such. We can't read the whole thing, since a message comes up saying I don't have permission to see it. I imagine this kind of thing would want to be hidden?

In general, I don't mind the redesign, though I must admit I really miss the News forum, as I used the forum to browse the news and see the comments. Its a little more difficult to do that now, and since recently commented news no longer gets "bumped", I'm not sure that the new format encourages discussion. That's just my personal opinion though, based on how I used the forums.

Nightmare wrote:In general, I don't mind the redesign, though I must admit I really miss the News forum, as I used the forum to browse the news and see the comments. Its a little more difficult to do that now, and since recently commented news no longer gets "bumped", I'm not sure that the new format encourages discussion. That's just my personal opinion though, based on how I used the forums.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

One thing I just noticed: on the main page, under "Latest Posts", it lists posts that aren't available to the main forums, like the Moderator's forum.

I haven't seen that before. Funny how different stuff appears on different computers.

Isn't the news comments section coming back after the redesign is finished?

endboss wrote:Isn't the news comments section coming back after the redesign is finished?

If I make it available again, it will be for reference only (no new posts allowed). All of that content would be duplicates anyway since all of the previous news and comments have been imported into the new design. It's just wasn't possible for me to switch over to Joomla and still have vBulletin recording all the news and handling comments.

There is the news archive page if you want a listing of all the latest news, and then there's the "Latest Viewer Comments" section on the homepage. What I might end up doing is creating a full page summary of all the latest comments, but that's going to have to wait until I get through other pending issues.

endboss wrote:Isn't the news comments section coming back after the redesign is finished?

The way I see it, the whole front page is now news section with comments available by single click (which I prefer to previous arrangement).

It would be nice though (and more helping and tidy for Latest Viewer Comments section), if default comment's Subject contained the title of news/poll being commented upon (else I'll have to teach myself some discipline q: ).