New Site Functionality and Theme Revisement

[Ryna]

The Blue-Steel theme (the site's default) has received a fairly big make-over in terms of aesthetics and functionality! Here is an overview of the changes:

Collapsible Left Blocks - Left-side blocks can now be collapsed/expanded by clicking on the title for the box (Javascript required). You can set your default preferences for which blocks should appear in the collapsed state by visiting the Left Bar Preferences (http://www.pso-world.com/user.php?op=editleftbarprefs) area under "My Account". Since some of the left blocks can be rather long, this feature will be useful for people that may not use all of them. Please note that you cannot set the default states for the "Site Navigation" and "Google Search" boxes to be collapsed.
Google Search - PSO-World is a fairly large site and sometimes it can be problematic finding information on a particular topic. Well, we now offer the option to use Google to search the site. Simply enter your search term in the block on the left side and press "Go". You will then be brought to a results page.
Improved Aesthetics - The Blue-Steel theme has also received some comestic make-overs! For example, news stories now featured rounded corners and right-aligned new topic images. Additionally, the padding between left and main columns has been increased.


Since the revised Blue-Steel theme makes extensive use of CSS, a semi-modern browser is needed to display it correctly. Older versions of IE (before 6.0) and Opera (before 9.0) may encounter some rendering errors.

If you have any problems or questions, please ask them in this thread.

List of Updated Themes:
-Blue-Steel
-Mira-Bluegray
-BlueBlack
-RedBlack

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ryna on 2007-06-24 07:40 ]</font>

[Sord]

will this treatment ever be applied to other color schemes in the furture or will it only be on Blue-Steel

[Almighty_Envy]

Is that why sometimes now i get white squares that appear on my screen temporarily?

Sometimes they disappear and sometimes they stay on until i scroll the screen down.

[Ryna]

On 2007-06-16 22:23, Sord wrote:
will this treatment ever be applied to other color schemes in the furture or will it only be on Blue-Steel


It is planned to convert other several other themes. Mira-BlueGray will probably be next. I'm not sure when it will be finished.


On 2007-06-16 22:24, Almighty_Envy wrote:
Is that why sometimes now i get white squares that appear on my screen temporarily?

Sometimes they disappear and sometimes they stay on until i scroll the screen down.


Which browser are you using?

[Almighty_Envy]

Firefox.

It never happened when I used internet explorer.

Also ive noticed its only psow that does it and not any other site =/

Its not that much of a problem its just weird

[Sord]

On 2007-06-17 04:18, Ryna wrote:
It is planned to convert other several other themes. Mira-BlueGray will probably be next. I'm not sure when it will be finished.


w007y woo hoo, that's my theme. I switched over to the other theme to test out some of the new features. I have to say, the thing I definitly like most is the ability to colapse the side panels. Having to scroll far down to something serveral times over can get annoying (even if it is a trivial thing.)

the only annoyance I had was when I scrolled over the buttons for acount settings, they would pop up a little and the whole page would drop. Once again, fairly trivial stuff. All in all can't wait till it hits Mira-BlueGray.

hmm, apparently it's not doing the pop-up thing anymore. Not sure if it was you guys or if it was just a one time thing on my browser (using IE7) either way, very nice now.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sord on 2007-06-17 12:38 ]</font>

[Ryna]

On 2007-06-17 11:46, Sord wrote:
hmm, apparently it's not doing the pop-up thing anymore. Not sure if it was you guys or if it was just a one time thing on my browser (using IE7) either way, very nice now.


I removed the image link hover-over effect.

Mira-Bluegray is almost done. It should be released in a couple of days.

[Sord]

sweet, I'll keep my eyes out for it. good work ^_^

[Weeaboolits]

Pretty nifty, I'm definately looking forward to seeing these features added to the BlueBlack theme. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Ryna]

On 2007-06-17 14:58, Ronin_Cooper wrote:
Pretty nifty, I'm definately looking forward to seeing these features added to the BlueBlack theme. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif


I'm not a big fan of the Blue-Black theme. It lacks sophistication. You'll have to offer a proper bribe if you want it converted.

[Weeaboolits]

http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_frown.gif

I like it, I prefer to have white words displayed on a dark background, and I like blue. ^_^

Also the Blue-Steel theme doesn't have strong enough contrast for my tastes.
(The text color is too similar to the bg color, I have a hard time reading on it. :/ )

As for a bribe, I could totally hook you up with this awesome sandwich:

http://www.thechung.com/blog/sandwichgood.jpg

[Ryna]

Those chips and Oreos look like they've been sitting out for a bit too long. You'll have to do better than that.

[Sord]

On 2007-02-09 12:21, Ketchup345 wrote:
There are rituals, so we can only get mods when we find a decent supply of blood and sacrifices.

Mods also prefer bananas as bribes over cookies for some reason.


why are those oreos green o_0



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sord on 2007-06-17 15:59 ]</font>

[Weeaboolits]

On 2007-06-17 15:58, Sord wrote:
why are those oreos green o_0http://www.junkfoodblog.com/uploaded_images/oreo-double-stuf-cool-mint-creme-789442.jpg



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ronin_Cooper on 2007-06-17 16:03 ]</font>

[HAYABUSA-FMW-]

New features look good. Switched over to check them out then ran back to my BlueBlack. ;o

I prefer the BlueBlack theme due to how it handles the thread/topic links with similar contrasting background colors more so than any other theme. You get to see all the borders and everything is bold, even after the change to a lighter shade to show the spoiler tags more clearly.

The other ones blend links into the colors behind them. (and may not have the borders) White text links on Royal Blue works more so than say the Green theme with Black text on Grey.

I've had those Oreos before, the artificial mint isn't that bad actually.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: HAYABUSA-FMW- on 2007-06-17 22:47 ]</font>

[Weeaboolits]

See? Haya likes BlueBlack too! You should do that one next. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_yes.gif

[Ryna]

The updated Mira-Bluegray theme has been uploaded. Post in this thread if any problems come up. Testing didn't reveal any.

It'll probably be a couple of days before I work on the next conversion. If I do work on Blue-Black next, would anyone mind if I removed the underlines from that theme's links?

[Weeaboolits]

If the underlines were removed from links, I don't think I'd realize they were links. :/

I'd, personally, much prefer it if you left the underlines in.

[RuPiKa]

The new look is great. Thanks for putting time and effort into some thing we all enjoy. Cheers to you!!!

[Sord]

bwaha, Mira-BlueGrey collapsables FTW. Since I've been using this theme for years I'll probably notice it if something seems weird or buggy. Thanks Ryna.

gah, there's no lines indicatoing the quote box anymore!

I don't mind it much, but why were the quote lines switched to black? for a moment I thought they were gone.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sord on 2007-06-19 11:30 ]</font>

[Nai_Calus]

I greatly approve of this. Sweet.

Though, am I going nuts or did the colour the topic lists for the forums is displayed as get changed? It seems a bit harder to read now. (By which I mean, the forum topics are shown on boxes of the lightest background grey used in Mira Blue-gray and the forum topic text are displayed in light grey, the combination of which is almost unreadable for me. I swear I noticed a change I wasn't sure of the night this was changed, and I guess that might have been it? The thread names turn white when hovered over with the mouse, perhaps swapping this so they're white normally and turn grey when hovered over? XD;;; )


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ian-KunX on 2007-06-19 22:03 ]</font>

[Ryna]

On 2007-06-19 10:42, Sord wrote:
gah, there's no lines indicatoing the quote box anymore!

I don't mind it much, but why were the quote lines switched to black? for a moment I thought they were gone.


The horizontal line bars should be there now.


On 2007-06-19 21:58, Ian-KunX wrote:
I greatly approve of this. Sweet.

Though, am I going nuts or did the colour the topic lists for the forums is displayed as get changed? It seems a bit harder to read now. (By which I mean, the forum topics are shown on boxes of the lightest background grey used in Mira Blue-gray and the forum topic text are displayed in light grey, the combination of which is almost unreadable for me. I swear I noticed a change I wasn't sure of the night this was changed, and I guess that might have been it? The thread names turn white when hovered over with the mouse, perhaps swapping this so they're white normally and turn grey when hovered over? XD;;; )


I looked at the old Mira-Bluegray code and this is the color the links are supposed to be. The only difference is that a couple of columns don't have the dark color anymore. I'll take a look at the color codes tonight and see if I can restore the dark-colored columns. You can see what I'm talking about here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20010628015617/www.pso-world.com/viewforum.php?forum=1
(Mira-Bluegray from 2001)

[Sord]

it looks fine to me, then again, I normally don't like really strong contrasts like the black columns with light grey text for Replies and Views in the 2001 version. The whole reason I love this theme is because the colors are much darker and faded, so it's easier on they eyes. Such as the text being gray instead of white, and the blue borders are dulled in color. Never been much of a sunny person. I may switch my sig and avatar a lot from time to time, but I almost never switch from Mira-BlueGray (and if I do it only lasts a few minutes.)

[Ryna]

Mira-Bluegray has been updated to include alternating column colors on forum pages.

[Nai_Calus]

Sweet, thanks Ryna. That's more like I remember it and much easier on my eyes reading the topic lists. *gives bananas* <3

[Kent]

I like BlueBlack. Easily one of the better-looking themes here.

However, if all of the blue in it got switched to green, it'd look so much better...

Oh, and Mint Oreos are the best things ever invented. Ever.

[Ryna]

If I have some free time this weekend, I'll start work on converting Blue-Black. If anyone would like to see "improvements", post them in this topic.

[Ryna]

The new version of BlueBlack has been uploaded. Long-time members may notice the following changes:

-Smaller font is now used for left-box titles.
-The light blue border for news stories has been removed.

Beyond that, almost everything else should be about the same. Let me know if you have any questions or see any bugs by post in this thread.

[Kent]

I've found one bug in the BlueBlack theme...

The Quick Reply box is the same as usual, except that the text box in it, all typed text is black now... And that makes it a little difficult to see, when the background is dark blue. I vote for that sexy new silvery-grey color for the Quick Reply text (or the classic White).

[Ryna]

On 2007-06-23 12:08, Kent wrote:
I've found one bug in the BlueBlack theme...

The Quick Reply box is the same as usual, except that the text box in it, all typed text is black now... And that makes it a little difficult to see, when the background is dark blue. I vote for that sexy new silvery-grey color for the Quick Reply text (or the classic White).


It should be classic white now.

[McLaughlin]

Can we get an "alternate" Blueblack where the blue is green, like Kent suggested? I'd have to leave the default theme for "GreenBlack" if it were to come into being.

[Ryna]

On 2007-06-23 18:55, Obsidian_Knight wrote:
Can we get an "alternate" Blueblack where the blue is green, like Kent suggested? I'd have to leave the default theme for "GreenBlack" if it were to come into being.


Yeah, it is possible. The next question would be, "what shades of green should be used?"

[McLaughlin]

Hmm...*goes colour hunting*

[Kent]

Something like this, maybe?

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/4948/greenblackthemeos8.png

...Maybe not the white text, though.

Could always go for a 360 theme, though - you know, silver/white and green.

[Ryna]

The RedBlack theme has been converted. Also, the hover effect for BlueBlack has been updated to be more of a silver color.

I tried my hand at a "GreenBlack" theme, but haven't found anything that I've liked yet.

[Weeaboolits]

Yay, BlueBlack is updated! Thanks! http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Deus-Irae]

meh i switched back to my old standby: Guacamole (so easy on the eyes).

most of the themes are very obnoxious. i like some of the colors, but the way they contrast makes reading harder on the eyes than necessary.

Mira-bluegreay is very nice looking but i had a way minor nitpick that sent me back to Guacamole: i cant stand the way the info section (joined/post count/status, etc.) under a persons avatar have higlighted boxes around them.

also, i love the collapsable columns on the left, but im way anal and i want to collapse all of them. get that fixed and add it to Guacamole or get rid of the higlighted info boxes on mira-bluegrey and ill be set!

sorry to be so critical. i love my fixed "Jump To" field though!



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Deus-Irae on 2007-06-26 17:02 ]</font>

[Ryna]

On 2007-06-26 17:00, Deus-Irae wrote:
also, i love the collapsable columns on the left, but im way anal and i want to collapse all of them. get that fixed and add it to Guacamole or get rid of the higlighted info boxes on mira-bluegrey and ill be set!


The left-side boxes will be highlighted in all themes that have three or more colors.

I probably won't be working on anymore theme conversions until the weekend. I'm currently working on adding weapon pictures to the PSU Item DB and trying to come up with a decent-looking GreenBlack theme.

[Deus-Irae]

no rush at all on my account. im actually fine with the standard Guacamole. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

thanks!

[Sord]

I'd like to request a functionality, or rather being able to get to a certain one easier. As far as I can tell the only way to get to you favorites folder on here is by clicking into a forum then scrolling down to the bottom and clicking "View Favorite Topics".

Can a button be added to the sidebars or top bar (the one shown when viewing a thread.) Preferably both?

[Ryna]

On 2007-06-28 12:10, Sord wrote:
I'd like to request a functionality, or rather being able to get to a certain one easier. As far as I can tell the only way to get to you favorites folder on here is by clicking into a forum then scrolling down to the bottom and clicking "View Favorite Topics".

Can a button be added to the sidebars or top bar (the one shown when viewing a thread.) Preferably both?


I'll see what can be done with the link. The Favorites page is scheduled for an overhaul, but I'm not sure when that is going to happen.

[Sord]

sweet, thankyou