Topic: Upgrade to SMF 2.0, New Theme.

[VANGUARD]

either you got the links mixed up with what you're saying, or I'm the one that is dyslexic.

[DarkWing]

The first link had an error, which I've fixed.  I got them in the order I wanted.

[Scyphi]

I think it needs some sort of background, whether static or scrolling. It looks kind of wierd with that shade of blue on the black foreground and background.

I know we all requested no background, but I have to admit that Matt's right, it does look a little weird without a background.

I thought of two potential fixes we could try. One of which is to add back in a background, but have it be a different, less intrusive, background that's not so...quick to grab the eye. I was thinking that maybe if we got a bigger version of the robot outlines we have in the selection bar (with the "Home," "Forum," "Reactor," etc. options) and added a fade out to the bottom, it could work as a background, but that's just a suggestion.

Another idea is that I think the reason the lack of the background seems to clash is because it's a bright and somewhat vibrant blue. Maybe if we used a darker shade, that would help. Like maybe a nice deep navy blue?

Anyway, just some suggestions for potential fixes.

[SaladBadger]

I'm fine without a background, but a soft one might be nice. One thing I don't like, though, is the spacing in the post boxes. It currently looks like this:

http://basementnet.us/ryan/currentspacing.png

Notice how there's barely any spacing between the top of the post box, and the thread title and usernames, as well as with the sig and the bottom of the post box. Perhaps a bit more spacing should be added, as it honestly looks quite weird in comparison to what we currently have. Maybe something like this

http://basementnet.us/ryan/morespacing.png

Though I would advise just a little more than that.

[-<WillyP>-]

I put the badges up, and put the background back to the way it originally was in that theme.
Added 10px margin to top of the posts.

[DarkWing]

Looking at the badges, the badge's grey borders on the right and bottom of the badges ... give the appearance of being indented (like a pressed down button) rather than a raised appearance.  Doesn't seem to fit with the overall look and feel of the site.

If the grey borders were on the left and top of the badges, they would appear raised and would match The site better, IMO.

I also find the text on the badges very hard to read.

[Scyphi]

The lettering on the badges could use a little work still. At the very least, they could stand being slightly bigger (I know the bigger the text, the bigger the image gets, and we don't want them too big, but it can't be unreadably small either). I have no qualms about the indentation of the badges though, and am actually indifferent for the moment on that.

Default background is better, but now it makes the site too blue, and really needs more black. I'm assuming it's just a temporary fix for the moment, correct?

The spacing between posts is a little annoying, but I don't know if that can really be modified too easily, and I'm sure it's something we could get used to.

Beyond that, though, everything's still looking good.

[-<WillyP>-]

New background, and changed the post separator to just a thin line: Test 2: Planet Descent

[VANGUARD]

I love Blue, I LOVE Navy Blue. But I think it's too much blue on that page.

I guess I am just used to seeing web browsers with a clean look. the background is usually white, or off white. Too see that blue and black, IMO is sort of an eye sore.


are badges normally on top or bottom of your name and avatar? I honestly don't know.

funny thing, looking at the website, it does take me back to the pd.com days when it was a black background and blue decor.

[-<WillyP>-]

Yes, that is the idea, to resemble the theme from .com, but not be a copy of it. I will also make a light colored theme, and you can choose whichever one you want to use, but default will be blue/ black.

Or maybe I should copy it, at least closer to what it was than what I have now. Wayback Machine: PlanetDescent

[VANGUARD]

I like the old Pd.com look a lot better. I think the sizing is better, there are some more colors; at least yellow and white text. a nice simple gray line to separate the topics.

[Kaiaatzl]

I like the white-on-black because black is more energy-efficient, if you think about it.

[VANGUARD]

I don't know if it matters or not. I have enough energy to run a monitor.

[Kaiaatzl]

I don't think you're getting my point.
Energy conservation -- a part of environmentalism.  Every little bit counts, you know.

[Matthew]

I'm sorry but I don't think it works that way...

Saving energy one monitor at a time