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Website Redesign 2014 edition
Topic Started: Thursday Sep 18 2014, 12:18 PM (1,184 Views)
The Wax
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We've had this design for a few years now and I think its time for a redesign. The site could definitely use some work. If you have any ideas feel free to post them here.

Things to do:

HTML5 compatible
Right now parts of the site are in Flash, making the site not work for portable devices and consoles. We've upgraded to the newest version of Flash which is HTML5 compatible; we just have to learn new ways of coding since Actionscript won't work in a HTML5 canvas.

Better navigation bar
Right now the site has 4 bars up top
-User settings(lnbox, sign out, etc)
-the site banner image
-forum extras(Calendar, Faq, Rules)
-main navigation(Projects, Downloads, Stream)
We'll streamline this to make it less of a mess. The forum extras section can be moved to the bottom of the site. Maybe make it stay on the bottom of the web browser at all times. We can also get rid of the calender and hompage buttons(no need to have 2 home buttons, lol). The main navigation can be merged with the banner. We can also make its less of a square and more curved like the official Sonic site's navigation bar.

New welcome animation
The welcome animation is old and could use some upgrades. We can add more things to it such as rules and make it look like its part of the site.

New universe page
The universe page will have to be completely redone. The coding for it is not compatible with HTML5 and I would like it to keep the same theme as the rest of the website. We'll work on this last since there is so much that needs to be done on it. We can also just get rid of it if needed.

Forum clean up
-Remove the "move to top button". The site isn't gigantic after all
-The default blue smilies could use some improvements. Maybe make them Sonic theme like Piggybank's smilies
-The edit,delete,reply buttons will need fit the redesign
-Maybe upgrade the sprite icons? I kinda like them but your opinion matters here too.
-Maybe move a few sections around.

Downloads
-new wallpapers
-fix resolution sizes of the wallpapers
-links to some of the SP music projects.
-new screensaver? I love the eggroll one and I can upgrade the Sonic CD if we have time.

Chat and Streaming
Right now we use Livestream as the default chatroom and streaming service. If you all want that to change let me know. I don't mind using Twitch/picarto/youtube stream/etc. As long as it works well and fits with the site.

Homepage
This part is the hardest since we need to integrate the forum's announcement pages into it. I'll have to talk to people on Skype about this part.

Background wallpaper
We can make the wallpaper look cleaner. We can make it stay in one position when you scroll so you don't see blue when your on the bottom of the page. Or we can make it scroll slower the the main site, giving it a distance look.


So feel free to post your opinions on what you want changed. I'm not sure when we'll make the changes.
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Sonicyay2
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I'm Sonicyay2
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Ooooh! This should be interesting.
So let's make...
Sonicyay2's list of ideas for this redesign!
1. I think maybe you should re implement the blogs. It sounds like an interesting idea and I'd like to see it!
More coming soon...
Edited by Sonicyay2, Thursday Sep 18 2014, 12:46 PM.
Don't you dare call me Sonicgay, OR ELSE...
I make half-decent Stickman animations. You might like them.
Oh, I also like Sonic, Mario, Powerpuff Girls, Sonic, Sonic, SpongeBob, and Sonic. Did I mention Sonic?
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The Wax
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We can get rid of Stream and Extras on the Navigation. Livestream is on every page and I can put the extra content in a section of the projects page.
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Sweet_lil_Eliza
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Excessively chatty, hypnotising, chocolate lover

Ummmm... blogs don't work for me... can you please look to it
it shows error code 31003:2310448
sweet_lil_eliza (swit-leel-eleeeezah)
> A saccharine addict girl who wants to do a lot of things but doesnt has much time for it. Likes to talk to people. Draws. Chocolates.
Check her tumblr
Check her DA
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ImPantsAtThis
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Don't worry -- I've got a plan.
Animators
I gotta say, I do like the sprite icons as they are. That said, if they need redesigning for whatever reason, I can live with it.

Getting new smilies would be cool, but you just know they're gonna get abused at some point.

I really like the idea of the background scrolling slower than the foreground. The parallax effect can look pretty slick if handled well.
Edison Trent doesn't need a quote. He has edited .ini files
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Piggybank
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Animators
Loving the ideas so far for the website renovation!

Making some more smilies and replacing the boring blue default ones would be fantastic, although figuring out how to approach it is something I'm wondering about. Getting a variety of characters and some gags from the shorts in there would be great, with the real challenge being transforming those things down to a small image size. I wish I had more time right now to devote to this, since I would love to make more smilies for the site and help with wallpapers and artwork stuff, but maybe we can figure out something.

Giving blogs a more prominent placement on the site might be nice. I personally don't use mine, but it sounds like there are people here who do use them often, so it might be something to consider.

As for the sprite icons, I like them as they are. I don't really see a reason to go about changing those. :)

I definitely agree that the welcome animation needs redone, which is something else I would love to help with if I can. In fact, I still have the materials I made for my Omochao short; that kind of setting might actually be great for a welcome video, since there would be room to bring in other characters for introducing rules and adjust the setting to feel more at home in the new site design. Plus, the puppets and settings are mostly there and in other shorts, so writing and voice acting would most likely take up the bulk of production.
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The Wax
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What type of background wallpaper would you all like?

Possible ideas:
-A simple blue checkerboard theme
-Mash up of characters(like is it now)
-Huge images of Sonic that are tinted blue with Sonic Adventure 2 lining
-Green Hill Zone
-Images of different Sonics from over the years(SatAM, Sonic Boom, Sonic Adventure style)
-Custom character theme, you select the theme(may be hard to implement, need to play with a lot of coding)
-animated blue line similar to the Sonic X page on on our Universe page.(may not work)

Feel free to give a suggestion.
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Sonicyay2
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I'm Sonicyay2
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Green Hill Zone mixed with Images of different Sonics from over the years(SatAM, Sonic Boom, Sonic Adventure style) is what I'd go with.
Don't you dare call me Sonicgay, OR ELSE...
I make half-decent Stickman animations. You might like them.
Oh, I also like Sonic, Mario, Powerpuff Girls, Sonic, Sonic, SpongeBob, and Sonic. Did I mention Sonic?
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SkruskieTheKitsune
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Do people still use this website?
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Sonicyay2
Tuesday Oct 7 2014, 03:48 PM
Green Hill Zone mixed with Images of different Sonics from over the years(SatAM, Sonic Boom, Sonic Adventure style) is what I'd go with.
That'd be cool, except a bit all over the place, dontcha think? Ahem, abitlikethecurrentlook...

What about... ah, forget it, my mother's a website designer.
Here are my contacts.

SudoMemo: http://www.sudomemo.net/user/9DD4EE701E3FE1B5@DSi
DeviantArt: http://skructured.deviantart.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOQSr4fniPeEqCcrgvRCqfg
I have Scratch, and know a lot about it, but I only really use it offline as most of my stuff is merely experimental.
Google Hangouts: Skructured Animations
Skype: Lucifer
Discord: Lucifer (hashtag) 2710
3DS Friend Code: 0533 - 7032 - 0798

I'd love to message you guys again!
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