Over the last few months - with the kind support of this community - I have been able to build exceptional functionality into a site which provides an arena for a strategic simulation game of WWII, with members from more than 40 countries.
The snitz shell is integrated with the game site, and serves not only as a forum, but also as headquarters for all functions of the game competition. For full access you can log on under user: snitz / pass: snitz.
Thank you for your comments, both kinds! I know it takes effort to find the features that matter, and you seem to have found them.
I do take the criticism serious, and want to follow up on it.
1. MP3 tune on opening page of game site: I discarded it a few months ago, on the concern of slowing the loading time. Then I heard comments by members that they missed the familiar tune when visiting, and I put it back. Now I don't know what to do! On the one hand it takes a while to load the first time on a dial up, on the other it is almost instant on broadband, which many use these days. And once it is stored, even on dial-up it's ok. I am sure the loading was your concern, is there a way out?
2. Page transitions: I didn't put them in as a feature for their own effect, but rather to disguise the loading delays of many pages. When I saw it on another site I thought this was much better than the random piecemeal loading that was a consequence of many of my pages being populated by the db. Maybe I should just speed up the transition a bit, or use varying transition effects?
Wow! Nice design. I really like it. The only thing is that the red links at the bottom are kinda hard to read in my browser. But other than that it is a superior design.
I like it, but the marquees at the top of the page are annoying. Also, I had to maximize (or resize) my browser to get rid of a horizontal scroll bar, which I believe is due to the marquees. Other than that it looks really nice.
I too feel that it makes it look a bit too crowded. Trouble is, that it serves a real informational purpose for the members. The very top marquee will be there only a short time, until the tournament is filled. Then I'll have the battle reports only running. BTW, they are all fed by the db. Thanks for looking!
About the MP3 ; no, the loadingtime was not my concern...I just don't think that particular song really goes with the rest of the site, ánd I don't like it when any website makes sound....I guess I am oldfashioned But, if your members like it, stick to it!!!!
I think it is partly because it is smaller and partly because the red links are too bright. They really stand out on that table background and look kinda..well..fuzzy.
Actually, Marcel, I feel similar about sound on websites.
The tune itself is very appropriate though, being the company song of the historically famous "Panzergruppe Kleist".
So, if the loading slowdown is not an objection, I should probably leave it? I considered rotating tunes, but then thought that the familiarity with the same welcome sound may be comforting to the club members...
I think it is partly because it is smaller and partly because the red links are too bright. They really stand out on that table background and look kinda..well..fuzzy.
I see. So, going brighter on the red may not improve the visibility then, but it may help if I increased the font size for the bottom links (which I left unchanged from the original Snitz code)?
A solution to the MP3 problem may be to have the site load silently, then have a button/link with which your users can activate the music if they like it. This could be linked to a cookie, so that return visitors who previously enabled it, it will auto-play.
A solution to the MP3 problem may be to have the site load silently, then have a button/link with which your users can activate the music if they like it. This could be linked to a cookie, so that return visitors who previously enabled it, it will auto-play.
Yes, that is something I considered as well, and do use for this page: Mens' Quarters But how do I link the button to a cookie?
Use: response.cookies("music") = "1" to set the cookie value when they enable the music. response.cookies("music").expires = Date + 30 to set the cookie to last 30 days. Then use: myvariable = request.cookies("music") if myvariable = "1" then ['play the music'] when the site loads, to see if visitor has enabled the music on a previous visit.
You might like to set the cookie again if the visitor switches off the music with: response.cookies("music") = "0"
Topic Locked
Posted - 08 January 2004 : 01:21:12
