UPDATE 3-18-11
Edit Comic - Overview
One thing that's not shown in the sample but will be included in the final page is a link beside the 'rating' section explaining what kind of content qualifies for each rating designation. Additionally, users will now be able to invite multiple assistants onto a single comic.
Edit Comic - Add Pages
UPDATE 3-11-11
Just another quick update on the progress of the upcoming site redesign. In case you may have missed it, our head of technology and the man overseeing this whole endeavor, Lawrence Leach, has begun a Tech Blog on DrunkDuck where he can provide direct periodic updates on how things are going on the programming side.
Check it out HERE: http://techblog.drunkduck.com
From now on we'll let Lawrence handle the tech updates. In the meantime, check out a couple more sample images from the new site below!
User Profile Page
http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/7020/dd2controlprofiler1v4ed.jpg
The image was a bit too long to create a proper thumbnail, so just click on the link below to be taken to a full-sized version. As you can see, we tried to incorporate all of the editing options for various portions of your profile page right onto the page itself, rather than taking the user to a separate page just to edit that one section. Additionally, "Friending" someone and making them an assistant on your comic now goes through a pending process, where the recipient can choose to accept or decline the invitation.
Advanced Search Page
The results are now arranged in an easier to read layout that doesn't rely on a mouse-over to read the info. Additionally, the number of "Likes" a comic has received is also displayed.
UPDATE 3-4-11
Time for another weekly update on our site redesign development process. We're currently working on improving the uploading process for comic pages. In order to optimize page loading efficiency, uploaded comic pages will be re-sampled to a standard .png format. Going through this step will not only help pages load faster on the site, but also give us the potential to eventually expand the site onto other platforms (like, for example, mobile devices).
Additionally, we're currently programming a new comic page template which will allow for a greater degree of customization for the new user electing to use the standard template format.
Now on to this week's sample images! These samples are all focused on the Forums section.
Forums Main Page
You'll notice that there is now a search bar at the top of the Forums section, allowing users to search threads and posts within. Addtionally, there's a small comic bubble icon next to each sub-forum, which will indicate that there have been new posts in the forum since you last visited.
Sub-Forum Main Page
In addition to the new comic bubble icon indicating new posts in the thread since you've last visited, there's also a pin icon to indicate "stickied" threads. Additionally, there's also a "go to unread" button to jump straight to the first unread post of the thread since you last visited.
Thread Page
We've added a "post history" button under each username as well as a "report" button to alert moderators of inappropriate posts. The lighter horizontal area beneath each posts is just a placeholder for that user's optional signature, should they choose to upload one (otherwise that area will not be there). We've also added numbered pagination and thread searching.
UPDATE 2-25-11
Check out some more sample images below! This week we'll take a look at the new Tutorial section of the site!
Tutorials Main Page
The Featured Tutorials will rotate on a weekly basis. Tutorials are also sortable by month/year and searchable in the search bar. Although the sample image doesn't indicate it, tutorial creators will be able to set tag words to associate with their tutorials, which will also be displayed beneath the title for each of the entries. The number of ratings a tutorial has received will also be displayed in the final version.
Tutorials Article Page
We've added a comments section to each of the tutorials, so that users can more easily provide immediate feedback on each specific tutorial. We think this will help facilitate more discussion on the various aspects of the comic and webcomic creation process.
Tutorials Creator Page
Users will be able to use all of the text augmentation features available to the forums section in creating their tutorials. Images that the creator wishes to embed into his or her tutorial can be uploaded and then inserted into the body using image tags. Users will also be able to preview their tutorial before submitting.
UPDATE 2-18-11
Just another quick update on our progress with the DrunkDuck site rebuild. The developers are currently focused on working through backend programming of the site, with some frontend work progressing nicely as well. We're still on target to open up a public beta of the new site sometime in mid-March. Sorry for the lack of specifics, but we want to be careful not to announce anything concrete until we're sure it will happen.
In the meantime, check out some more sample images below!
QuackCast Episode Page
As you can see, we've added a Comments section to each of the QuackCast entries now, which will serve as a better way to have focused discussions on a particular episode.
Featured Comics Archive
We wanted the Featured Comics Archive to be more easily accessible, so that readers on the site can quickly peruse the comics that have been personally distinguished by the admins. Which is why there's now a handy button right in the Spotlight section of the homepage. The Featured Comic Archive is now easily searchable and sortable by Month/Year.
News Article Page
We've also added a comments section to the News Article Page, to better facilitate discussion. Articles will also have a Like button, search tags, and Twitter/Facebook links.
ORIGINAL POST
Hi everyone!
So as many of you may recall, a few months ago we attempted to implement a redesigned version of the site. Unfortunately, we attempted to implement the new look (and a handful of features) on top of DrunkDuck's existing code. Some of you might recall the results were a series of technical issues that made the site unsustainable and we ultimately reverted back to the old (current) version.
However, we didn't give up on our plans to improve the site. We still firmly believe in giving the users and the community more features, an improved interface, an updated look and an overall better experience on the site.
So with that in mind, we began to rebuild DrunkDuck from scratch, using a much-improved codebase. Specifically, the new site is being built in the Python programming language, using the Django web framework. At this point, we're well into development of the new site, and we're currently estimating being able to open a public beta to sometime in March.
We will try to do a weekly news post between now and the release of the beta to update the community on the progress that's being made on the new site. Those of you who followed the old forum thread we started a few months back when the redesign was first attempted may remember that we had posted sample screenshots of sections of the new site. Many of those designs have been modified somewhat since then, and we plan to share new sample images of our new look with each of these postings.
Check out the samples below!
Homepage
Personal Quack Inbox
Favorites Control Panel
This post will be updated each week with additional images. We'll also try and answer any questions community members have as best we can!
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Comic Talk and General Discussion *
There's a NEW DrunkDuck on the way, with a bunch of improvements!
You know, I'm really happy that Wowio is taking the time to do this, and I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I hate that I have to mention this again: the colours are HORRIBLE.
Seriously, the toning down of the background green is not enough - the colours need to be totally redone. Even if it were pleasing to the eyes, (which is most definitely isn't, I'm sorry to the designer) there are several places where it borders on illegible. For instance, under the drunkduck logo: white on lime green is not legible. Just about everywhere else on the homepage, light blue on light yellow is not legible.
I'm a young whippersnapper with better than average eyesight and I find reading it difficult on my eyes! And when I showed the beta version to my dad last time, he said right away that he found it hard to read.
Once again, it is AWESOME that you guys are doing this! Thank you so much! But the colours do not work - whoever designed that needs to just cut their losses and start over with the colour scheme.
On the plus side, the changes to the user control panel look really good.
Cool. I think the blue text needs to be darker, but other than that it's looking pretty good. Are you also going to be revamping the code for the templates and the controls? Oh and is the forum going to be upgraded as well?
Yes, the entire site is going to be redone, including templates, controls, and forums. We'll have images of that stuff in later updates!
how long is this going to take and how much more down time are we anticipating, here? not tryin to be a wet blanket, but my numbers are still suffering from the last time.
Hoping to have the beta out sometime in March. The new site will be housed on a different server, so we'll be able to have both versions of the site running at the same time, although there may be some down time when we transition completely to the new version. Not sure how much that will be though. There'll be a better estimate of that as we get closer to launch.
Everytime I respond to these beta update things everyone thinks I am being a jerk, but I'm just trying to be honest.
My ONLY concern with the site update is that it wont screw up my comic.
Last time it was revamped it made my comic layout not work, and I am really worried about the same thing happening again.
I just want to be able to update my comic and have people come to read it and all I can think here is that this is going to disrupt my comic in some way.
Everytime I respond to these beta update things everyone thinks I am being a jerk, but I'm just trying to be honest.Omg whata jerk
My ONLY concern with the site update is that it wont screw up my comic.
Last time it was revamped it made my comic layout not work, and I am really worried about the same thing happening again.
I just want to be able to update my comic and have people come to read it and all I can think here is that this is going to disrupt my comic in some way.
I feel pretty much the same way as Hark. I don't care about you people adding a bunch of bells and whistles that I'm not ever going to use; I just want a site that works. Aside from a little slowness here and there, the site has always seemed to work fine for me, and the only time it doesn't work is when you all are messing with stuff.
And I'm not a Luddite, by the way. I understand the need for incremental improvements and keeping up with current technology, all that jazz. But I don't see anything necessary about the latest planned overhaul and, assuming that it does eventually work, it's not going to alter the Drunk Duck experience in any meaningful way. It all just feels like you want to change the site solely for the sake of changing it.
*sigh* Sorry if I sound a bit shrill. I've done programming and I know you've put a ton of work into the new site; I just don't see the point of it. I do hope the new version works. The only guarantee I suppose is that there will be more downtime and more frustration, but at least if it works there will be less of it.
@ El Cid
Part of the point of updating sites like this is as you've noted: To keep up with current trends and technology. But there's a good reason for doing that:
It helps a site stay relevant and attractive to more users, especially new ones. In order to survive a website needs to always have new users coming in to offset the old users who leave naturally over time . And on balance it's healther to be growing than shrinking. :)
You know, I'm really happy that Wowio is taking the time to do this, and I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I hate that I have to mention this again: the colours are HORRIBLE.
Hippie, the fact that both you and your dad have that reaction and the strength of your reaction leads me to wonder if it might actually be a thing with your screen colour settings.
I know that sounds strange, but it doesn't take very much at all to make a site or comic page that looks perfect on one screen to look absolutely revolting on another.
It could be as simple as having the colour temperature set to the default "cool" setting on your monitor, or just slightly more green in the custom setting…?
Believe me- I have 8 different LCD screens at my home alone, and getting colours to look consistent on all of them is a pain in the arse. T_T
What seems perfectly normal on one will look horrible and greyish blue on another, or too pinkish on yet another… not to mention contrast, brightness, darkness, and saturation settings. And when you get used to the setting on another one, the colour on the first that you thought was normal now looks wrong instead :)
Hippie, the fact that both you and your dad have that reaction and the strength of your reaction leads me to wonder if it might actually be a thing with your screen colour settings.
I know that sounds strange, but it doesn't take very much at all to make a site or comic page that looks perfect on one screen to look absolutely revolting on another.
It could be as simple as having the colour temperature set to the default "cool" setting on your monitor, or just slightly more green in the custom setting…?
Ozone, the strength of my reaction is really due to my frustration - a lot of us brought forward concerns about the colour scheme the first time a redesign was brought forward, and the only thing that was done was that the background colour was slightly darkened.
I'm just having a lot of trouble understanding why they've been so reluctant to change the colouring, or even to address our remarks on it. Being ignored is something that I very much dislike.
I recalibrated my screen settings and looked at the page again on my ipod and my dad's computer, and I'm still seeing the same issue. Sorry. :\ I don't think my screen settings have anything to do with light blue on light yellow being hard to read.
My question remains this-
My site has a customer layout.
Will the customer layout still work fine or will it get all screwed up like it did last time they tried to do an update?
Last time the colours stopped working on the text (making it black on a black background), the text was the wrong font etc.
Should I be bracing myself for a repeat of this?
I'm just having a lot of trouble understanding why they've been so reluctant to change the colouring, or even to address our remarks on it. Being ignored is something that I very much dislike.Mainly because more people like it than dislike it.
It's green, yellow, and blue as opposed to what we have now which is nasty grey, and various shades of nasty dark blues. It's ugh-lee, and our current front page is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy… And we've been stuck with that thing for… what? 3 years, 4 years now? o_O
I'm hungry for a change to something nicer. :(
The only thing good about the current look is that orange in the sidebar and the black text in the forums. -_-
Aaaanyway, there'll be a long beta where we can see the colours and everything else in action.
font etc.
Should I be bracing myself for a repeat of this?
OK Hark- Did you read the stuff about the Beta?
What is going to happen this time if everything works out is that the new system will run as a beta while this site is still running at the same time- that way you can see if your comic pages are working right or not on the new site and if they aren't you can report the issues and they can be dealt with- All the while your comic is still 100% accessible and unchanged on the current site where it is now. :)
Things are being done this way precisely to avoid the situations you describe.
That's what this thread is about. Messing things up for people is the LAST thing we want, believe me! But the site can't stay in this buggy old, decrepit state for forever. As things stand now, many, many bugs are around still and not being addressed, mainly because it's so complicated that fixing or changing little things take far more time and money than it's worth and generally causes other problems in the process.
And as things move on that trend is only likley to increase unless we do a complete overhaul from the ground up.
http://kuler.adobe.com/
Seriously, would it kill some web designers to use this site?
EDIT: I linked the the new theme preview to a friend and he brought up a good point. At first he mistook it for being a special Easter template, because "there is so much pastel."
All I'll say is, the colours on the Quackcast and Facevbook banners to the right are spot on - practically the same colour scheme but at the right level of intensity. On the proposed layouts the lime green bars are not quite harmonising - I think they're messing up the colour balance slightly. Sorry to nit pick.
Just considering the home page,
The color scheme is fine with me if they would adopt a darker blue for text, particularly for the smaller font sizes. The baby blue on light yellow is hard to read.
But the layout is great! For example, an edit button on the home page. And is it true there'd only be the three blocks for ads? That's tolerable.
I'm just having a lot of trouble understanding why they've been so reluctant to change the colouring, or even to address our remarks on it. Being ignored is something that I very much dislike.Mainly because more people like it than dislike it.
Erm, I think you may be remembering that wrong because you like it.
I just went back and looked at the original thread the first time the redesign was proposed - before the green background was toned down the negative response was at least 4x more than the positive response(which was mostly "I like it even though it is a bit bright" ) . After the green was toned down there were far fewer responses about it, but it was about half and half.
Not at all overwhelmingly positive.
I am totally with you on the current site design: it's poopy. But I think the new one is even more impractical than it is now.
Edit: I should clarify here that the only thing I'm referring to is the colour scheme. I think the rest of the redesign looks very functional.
srhdt: Seriously - even if you guys are adamantly opposed to changing the colour scheme for whatever reason, it would be really nice to have a response as to WHY. Or at the very, very least a "No, we're absolutely not going to change that." Out of all the things people have been begging you guys to fix, the colours seem like a relatively easy change.
Every time a site has a re-design of some kind, large numbers of people initially seem to hate the crap out of it and complain about how ugly it looks and how stupid the changes are. A few months later and everyone is fine with it and accepting that its better. Just something I've noticed. The reaction here does seem a lot more positive than what happened with sites like Newgrounds and Facebook.
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