I used to be indecisive now I'm just not sure...

TheMazeController
TheMazeController
edited January 2012 in General Discussion
Well I finished with my buttons.

Now I am trying to decide on layout. I am supposed to work with HurstGM on it when he gets a chance, we had a minor scheduling conflict last time and I am waiting to hear back from him so I can get this new layout up.

While I wait I thought I would gauge the temperature of the crowd since you guys were helpful when I was working on my banner.

Which Layout do you Favor?

"Option 1":http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff300/A-G-A/MockUp1-1.png - Internal navigation bar

"Option 2":http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff300/A-G-A/MockUp2-1.png - External floating nav bar

Vote and be heard!

Please disregard the sloppiness of my mock up it is just pasted together images (some buttons are missing as well). I am sure the actual layout will be elegant enough (I pray).

Also I wont have to re-size the buttons right? I just made them all huge size in gimp and figured when we place them via code we can re-size as needed?

Comments

  • GamingMegaverse
    GamingMegaverse
    Posts: 2,998
    External is my vote, but make sure you check it in all the main browsers- chrome, IE, Firefox.
    As far as the re-size, if you do it in code they will stretch/shrink- always best to get them all to the correct size in gimp- I learned that the hard way (thanks Wolfhound & Morrinn for fixing my head)
    killervp
    "A God...Rebuilt":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/a-god-rebuilt
    Duskreign's "COTM for November 2011":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/wyrmshadow/wiki_pages/112011

    Just trying to help out.

  • TheMazeController
    TheMazeController
    Posts: 115
    Fixing your head?

    Arrgh! I will start the size conversion now then. I should be all set by the time I (hopefully) hear from HurstGM.

    I was going to work on the other stuff tonight (starter kits and the like).

    Thanks!
  • Baalshamon
    Baalshamon
    Posts: 585
    External looks cleaner

    -Steve
    "Star Trek Late Night":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/star-trek-late-night
    "Duskreign's CotM December 2011":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/wyrmshadow/wikis/122011
    "CotM January 2012":http://blog.obsidianportal.com/star-trek-late-night-januarys-cotm/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=star-trek-late-night-januarys-cotm
  • magavendon
    magavendon
    Posts: 112
    I agree with the above. I prefer external.
  • KenSee
    KenSee
    Posts: 93
    Yeah, external is always gonna get my vote as well. Its cleaner and is a constant that can be there for most pages.

    Also, it said Sponsors. You have Sponsors?

    -Ken See
  • TheMazeController
    TheMazeController
    Posts: 115
    Yes I do, I am not prepared to talk all about that yet. More info will be available shortly on the whole sponsors thing. I am currently busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest trying to:

    Get the site layout up
    Work on Starter Kits for my players
    Conduct an interview that will be going up on the site
    Network with some folks about what I think will be a really interesting side result of the initial BWF effort
    Write an article that is going in a magazine coming out at the end of the month
    Recruit 6 more players - we only have 14 on the roster at the moment

    A few other things too. Most of the stuff is under wraps however. I would rather reveal it when it is ready.

    This is what happens when I have too much time on my hands. My job will start getting busy again soon tho so I really really need to knock this stuff out asap so I am free to like also be a half decent GM come the 28th. otherwise this is all for nothing anyhow. I dont want to cheat my players out of what should be a fun game to begin with.

    Somehow I believe it will all work itself out tho.

    By the time the 28th does roll around there will be some massive changes that have happened and new things happening with BWF.
  • Savannah
    Savannah
    Posts: 188
    *Definitely* option 2, if you go with it at all. In option 1, the side navigation bar takes up waaaaaay too much space, making the whole site feel cramped. Personally, I don't see the point. You've got your links in two completely separate places (up top and to the side), which makes it much harder for a reader to find where they want to go. Looking at both your mockups, my initial reaction is "Wait, where am I supposed to be looking? Why are there so many sections?" To be honest, option 1 would probably make me go to a different campaign, if I stumbled upon your campaign while looking for something fun to read (while option 2 wouldn't make me leave, it wouldn't make me excited about the campaign, either).
  • TheMazeController
    TheMazeController
    Posts: 115 edited January 2012
    Yes the sidebar does take up a lot of space. I am a little distressed by all the negative space to both sides that goes unused overall. I also dont like stock sidebars on the right personally (the left bar was an effort at trying for balance). Since I am not able to do much in terms of code work myself (unless I want to go out and learn that stuff too) I will make do with what OP provides.

    I was thinking that the side navigation will be for general site navigation and the bar below the banner would be for players. Perhaps I should look at the option of going double row below the banner and forego a side bar entirely.

    Hrrrmn time for another mock-up perhaps.

    Thank You Savannah, you always have good feedback.

    *Edit* For some reason people think that my mock ups are screencaps of a coded page - they aren't they are images created in Gimp - I have 0 html skill I am starting from 0. I am learning as I go.
    Post edited by TheMazeController on
  • TheMazeController
    TheMazeController
    Posts: 115 edited January 2012
    Usually I avoid double posts but I think if I edit no one gets the update so sorry...

    "Option 3":http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff300/A-G-A/MockUp3.png

    And since that is actually an OP test page would anyone like to work with me on why some of the damn buttons aren't lining up properly?

    **Edit** - Fixed buttons on my own, got an assist on the placement of the front banner (different requirement from the wiki pages I've learned) last thing I need to do is work on the comments page. If anyone has a bit of free time I would like to get that knocked out so I can meet my self imposed deadline of site complete site overhaul by the 13th.

    Oh and before I forget to ask, no one has figured out how to put a custom nav bar on the calendar huh?
    Post edited by TheMazeController on
  • KenSee
    KenSee
    Posts: 93 edited January 2012
    That's pretty cool. My big problem with it is that there is no separation between buttons.

    Right now all the buttons run together and its hard to distinguish one from another. Just my 2 cents though.
    Post edited by KenSee on
  • TheMazeController
    TheMazeController
    Posts: 115
    That and more was addressed tonight...

    How now brown cow?

    "Bad Wrong Fun":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/bad-wrong-fun
  • Savannah
    Savannah
    Posts: 188
    Kinda hanging off the edge for me (see screenshot "here":http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/259/bwf.png/). I believe it also should be scrolling and it's not.

    I like the basic format, though, so I hope you can get the bugs worked out!
  • TheMazeController
    TheMazeController
    Posts: 115
    mind telling me what your resolution is?
  • Savannah
    Savannah
    Posts: 188
    ....I have no clue.
  • TheMazeController
    TheMazeController
    Posts: 115
    When I was setting it up the way it currently is with Hurst GMs help I had that problem I am on a 15 in laptop 1366 x 768 resolution - I am wondering what I need to do to ensure all resolutions can view it. is there any way you can take a full screen shot Savannah? I can try and look into re-sizing that way to fit on smaller screens.
  • Savannah
    Savannah
    Posts: 188
    hmm....with a little poking around, I'm at that resolution, too, on a laptop as well. That was most of a full screen shot; I just cut off the right side because it wasn't relevant.
  • TheMazeController
    TheMazeController
    Posts: 115
    What browser if you please?

    I am working on the fix now ... thanks so much for alerting me to this by the way.
  • Savannah
    Savannah
    Posts: 188
    Firefox 9.

    In Internet Explorer 9, the buttons aren't hanging off the edge, but they're set too low -- the last one (Calendar) is halfway off the bottom of the screen (so I don't know if it's actually the last one or not).
  • TheMazeController
    TheMazeController
    Posts: 115
    Well tweaks should have fixed your hanging off the bottom issues but I think your hanging off the left issue comes from having a 13 inch or perhaps smaller screen. I am not sure what to do about that yet.

    Anyone smarter than me have a suggestion?
  • GamingMegaverse
    GamingMegaverse
    Posts: 2,998
    Try this
    ====
    ====
    It is what I use to keep them at top and left at all times.
    killervp
    "A God...Rebuilt":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/a-god-rebuilt
    "Duskreign's First Ever COTM":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/wyrmshadow/wiki_pages/112011

    Just trying to help out.

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