Themes/Skins

[Buster's Uncle]

...I can't believe I hadn't been in the SMAX theme since Draz changed the folder name on the server.  Why didn't anyone tell me the logo's been AWOL for over a week?

[Buster's Uncle]

...I've thought of something clever...

[Buster's Uncle]

Remember the old Firaxis AC site that we rescued?

I've always been fond of that look, as anyone familiar with my custom factions page may have guessed.

[Vidsek]

...I can't believe I hadn't been in the SMAX theme since Draz changed the folder name on the server.  Why didn't anyone tell me the logo's been AWOL for over a week?

  Would that be related to my post Aug 21?:

  I'm trying the SMAX one atm, and find it works well and is readable with only one glitch:
on the forum pages,  between the top line of HOME | FORUM | etc and the strip with my avatar and the search box, all the stuff is shifted waay to the right and mostly clear off the screen.
I'm looking at it in Firefox, and haven't tried a different browser.  It's not a problem for me, but I figured you might like to know just to raise your stress level.  You do like stress, don't you?  Um, hmm, I thought so.

  I'm still using the SMAC one atm, any others I should try and admire now?

[Buster's Uncle]

Let's see if I can't get this new thing ready in the next hour or so, first...

[Buster's Uncle]

It's ready.  Have a look at the SMAX theme...

[Vidsek]

   I do believe at first glance it's a lovely as the SMAC one.  Yet green 

   Ok.  Now.  How do I get SMAC and SMAX to strobe back and forth every few seconds?

  Your idea of a two color green and blue theme still has merit.  More "eye catching", but not too gaudy, and might give some options to differentiate sectors of the site, or items on each page by color.
  Naturally, I'd love to be the one picking the colors, since I love doing that and you're already overworked, but I doubt I have the knowledge or time to be any real help.  Sorry...

  I'm just guessing here, but I suspect it might also be reasonably usable by red-green colorblind folks (they can't see red, but can see both blue and green).  That would have to be confirmed by someone who actually is, of course).  There are icons and such with yellow, orange, and red color scattered all through the site, so a true RG blind friendly theme would be another project.  [The optional color pallet in SMAC reminded me of this, as well as a RG blind friend of mine.]

  For the fairly rare blue-green colorblind folks out there....I'm pretty much clueless.  And would love to not be....

  Overall: We've got a pretty decent looking site here, and with all the buttons and links working should be a friendly and pleasant home for SMACers, and a draw for new folks too.

  Now to get the in-game GUI just as nice, eh?

[Buster's Uncle]

Okay, this is what I've been working on:


...I think having a fake CFC Modern theme is funny.  -So I named it FakeCFC...

I'd be happier if I could track down the spacing between the windowbg elements in the root index and get it looking like the subforum-level displays, but I'm pretty doggon happy.  It may not be art, being deliberately derivative, but there's some craftsmanship there.  It's actually tighter at the top than the default, despite the logo being half again taller.  That's Santiago holding an energy sword in place of the Viking.

[Buster's Uncle]

Also, I made a thumb for Redsy this morning:



Redsy still needs a lot of work - and it's mostly stuff way over my tech paygrade, and no one's paying me.

[Buster's Uncle]

I'm going nuts on the SMAX.

I've renamed it Firaxis Old School and am doing the whole thing in gold, white and black - there's a possibility of a little blue and maroon because of the Firaxis logo.

SMAC is to go back to being SMACX, and I'll swap in about half green when I get to that.

...Incidentally, I'm working on a redesign of the look of the Front Page based on FOS - but I don't know how to do some of what I want to, or if it's doable.  But a little art project's a project, anyway...

[Lord Avalon]

SMAC is to go back to being SMACX, and I'll swap in about half green when I get to that.

BOOOOO!!! 


If so, I'll go back to default.

[Buster's Uncle]

First comment on the themes project and, after weeks of constant hard work, it's a complaint.    No refunds, man.




I really thought it looked better with a blue and green mix.  The split themes are sorta oppressively monotonous to my eye, seriously.  Have you seen it like that?

Fortunately I kept a 'thumbnail' of that stage...

[Vidsek]

  The separate blue is less monotonous than the green, but I'm still looking forward to a mix of the two colors.

  I assume it's possible to retain the current ones while still adding your new modified versions for community trial and comments, thus avoiding angering Lords?  (Peons shouldn't be a concern, as they cannot do anger.  They're only allowed 'surly' and 'disgruntled')

  In the 'thumbnail' you show in your last post, the shade of blue used for forum catagory titles (eg. The Theory of Everything, Modding, etc.) seems a bit too dark and slightly hard to see against the background.  I like the brighter shade used in the top banner for "By SMACers, For SMACers" , it stands out clearly.
  Until I get some cataract surgery done (hopefully soon), good contrast, better visibility is a huge help in actually seeing the text well enough to read it.

  Disclaimer: I am a fan of bright, mostly primary and secondary colors and detest pastels and drab shades.  Not everyone is of course, but that's why you're giving folks choices.

[Buster's Uncle]

[shrugs] Shades not exactly alike is more subtle and appealing that all the exact same eye-hurtingly bright hue, in my book.  However, of course I'll make sure that one comes out brighter for you this time.  Too, keep in mind that those lose a non-trivial degree of sharpness in the reduction from 1345 pixels width to 800 for display and filesize reasons.  It stood out more on the page with the crisp edges.  My quibble about that shade is that it's a touch too purpley.


Incidentally, I've set the Front Page to default to the Firaxis Old School theme - our preservation of the official pages got us linked on Wikipedia, and I think it's gonna look way cool when I'm done with it, besides.  But the Front Page uses a texture block from menu_gfx.png (that's used in some tabs, so I'd hate to just make it black) as background, which looks sorta bland and horrid at the same time.



Also, the header image (which I just worked into the theme as the logo) is nowhere to be found, which destroys the whole aesthetic/nostalgia point.  This is the crap everyone, including the lurkers, sees right now, and it's important that it impress.



Basically, I'd like to make the Front Page look like this:



-Much more presentable, I daresay.  -Or, at the very least, conforming to my vision.

I'm consulting Draz about whether this is technically feasible...

[Dio]

[shrugs] Shades not exactly alike is more subtle and appealing that all the exact same eye-hurtingly bright hue, in my book.  However, of course I'll make sure that one comes out brighter for you this time.  Too, keep in mind that those lose a non-trivial degree of sharpness in the reduction from 1345 pixels width to 800 for display and filesize reasons.  It stood out more on the page with the crisp edges.  My quibble about that shade is that it's a touch too purpley.


Incidentally, I've set the Front Page to default to the Firaxis Old School theme - our preservation of the official pages got us linked on Wikipedia, and I think it's gonna look way cool when I'm done with it, besides.  But the Front Page uses a texture block from menu_gfx.png (that's used in some tabs, so I'd hate to just make it black) as background, which looks sorta bland and horrid at the same time.



Also, the header image (which I just worked into the theme as the logo) is nowhere to be found, which destroys the whole aesthetic/nostalgia point.  This is the crap everyone, including the lurkers, sees right now, and it's important that it impress.



Basically, I'd like to make the Front Page look like this:



-Much more presentable, I daresay.  -Or, at the very least, conforming to my vision.

I'm consulting Draz about whether this is technically feasible...

We must all conform to BUncle's vision of this forum .