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AfterDawn redesign - public alpha

Discussion in 'Forum announcements' started by dRD, Feb 4, 2010.

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  1. dRD

    dRD I hate titles Staff Member

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    Our "v4" redesign project is approaching its final stages. In case you want to test it now and share your thoughts with us (and let us know of the bugs you might find..), here's the URL:

    http://www.v4.afterdawn.com/

    Please note that the "Compare products" section is still MIA - it should go online by Monday. Bear in mind that it is still an alpha - all bugs, 404s and hiccups should be reported to us.

    Thoughts?

    P.S. Site is slower than current version as it runs on one server as opposed to the load-balancer cluster we have for current site. Obviously, it'll change once the redesign goes live.
     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2010
  2. scum101

    scum101 Guest

    First impression? .. The page is HUGE .. it must be 300 lines long. I thought my forums were a bit big with too many headings but...

    51 items before getting to "more news" .. and then 50+ more topics.
    I would say most people would take that as information overload and never bother to look below the bottom of the screen, let alone scroll down for an age.

    Think it needs to be much more concise. Maybe more columns for the different news types and certainly a lot less duplication of items.. say 1 entry for klite new releases. I think I counted the last 4 minor updates listed in the general overload... software mixed with news? Right now as it stands the central column has way too much in it.. it's far too long and looks a mess. On 1280x1024 it's 16 screens long.

    Overall it looks nice, apart from my comments about the central heap of stuff... I like the dark background and the layout renders properly. The tabs seem to work properly, though the general width is a bit on the narrow side with large wasted borders. Is it set to 80%?

    As for the overall news clutter.. how about making some frames for every large company.. apple.. sony.. microsoft etc and sticking them where the borders are currently doing nothing and keeping those to maybe a maximum of 5 latest entries on the front page with the frame header linking to a full company news page.. each item link taking you to the part of that page where the story is.?

    Something to chew on anyway.. The colour scheme is certainly easier on the eyes than the current one.. in fact it's sweet XD
     
  3. dRD

    dRD I hate titles Staff Member

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    Umh, lemme guess, you have your JavaScript turned off...?
     
  4. scum101

    scum101 Guest

    admittedly it's a bit buggy.. but it is on.. iceweasel3.6 64 bit, java6 something..

    will have a look on a different browser and different java version later.. I guess it's not rendering quite right for me then? (grrrr.. java is a menace)

    afterdawn.fi was taking an age to load ;) (must remember to turn off my tracker sometimes).. a few refresh cycles changed things considerably.. still a bit long but much better.

    I like it overall .. very sleek.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 4, 2010
  5. josephb12

    josephb12 Guest

    spam edited by ddp
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 11, 2010
  6. wilonai10

    wilonai10 Guest

    thanks for your posting. I will check it and then let you know about how it went. So far everything is fine.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 18, 2010
  7. ps3lvanub

    ps3lvanub Regular member

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    I like it but the forums look a bit too typical Bulletin Board Engine-That-Nearly-Every-Site-Uses (Can't remember the name off hand). Oh yeah, If you go on a news item, then on topics, then on whatever, it brings up a 404. Going to go on the stories section on The Nexus Forums... I will notify you of more bugs if or when I find them... Have fun ;) !

    James
     
  8. ps3lvanub

    ps3lvanub Regular member

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    I also can't edit any settings or account info... When I go to create a profile it reverts back to original Afterdawn, not sure if it is meant to do that... Have a good'n

    EDIT: I love the feedback button on the side, How it doesn't clip or lag.
    EDIT2: I can only see image sigs after I have posted a thread on a thread where people have image sigs. E.g. If I click on this thread, I can see my text but not my mygamercard.net sig. After I had edited or posted however, I can see them fine until I change pages again. Hope it helps.
     
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2010
  9. wilonai10

    wilonai10 Guest

    SPAM removed
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 21, 2010
  10. borhan9

    borhan9 Active member

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    I just have to say the design may get some getting used too but i have to say i love how everything is broken down to sub catogories and like the software section. I love how we have options for drivers and programming etc...
     
  11. DXR88

    DXR88 Regular member

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    is AD going back to 90's style? theres way to much crap on one page.
    Cant find half the stuff im looking for.

    i do like the categorized selection.
     
  12. gurnard

    gurnard Regular member

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    hi :)
    i guess you've spent an awfull long time and a lot of work on the new look...but...AD is unique and has a look all it's own. the new look is like so many others on the web and a bit cluttered
     
  13. ps3lvanub

    ps3lvanub Regular member

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    Looks like all the bugs I reported have been fixed. I agree with gurnard and hope that Afterdawn v3 will be available after the redesign goes live although I understand if this can't be done (server space and all that).
     
  14. omnicore

    omnicore Member

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    I like the new forum setup in v4 it looks good.
     
  15. mike.m

    mike.m Regular member

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    V4 seems a bit slower. Site takes a while to get used to, but I like it, and looks nice too. May I suggest maybe widening the borders/boxes/lines where the text is, for example there's too much "free space" on the left on right sides. That should make it less "long" (vertically). You have to scroll down more on V4 then compared to the "old" Afterdawn.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2010
  16. dRD

    dRD I hate titles Staff Member

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