I rather like the new, more realistic portraits, although I agree that the Missionary looks a bit odd.
As for the argument regarding personality, the Firebrand looks very similar to the more cartoony old portrait, at least in my opinion, so I don’t really see a change in personality. As for the Missionary, I think people are forgetting that we never actually got one for her, the portrait she had was a stock one used in many other storylets, which may be the reason why the new one looks a bit odd in comparison with the one we associate with her
edited by The Soft-Hearted Revolutionary on 2/9/2018
For sure! For all that I said the new art strikes a different (and if you’ve become used to it, unexpected) tone to the old art, it’s entirely fitting and really cool that the new spouses get unique art.
He doesn’t look a thing like his old portrait. The only thing that’s similar is his outfit.
I feel like the topic really has shifted significantly from the original discussion about the coming website redesign.
Sorry.
pouts in the corner :P
[quote=Kukapetal]Ugh, NO. No more realistic portraits! They freaking BUTCHERED the Firebrand, and I don’t want to see all the rest of my favorite characters lose all their personalities and become bland portraits of "some guy."
I can’t even imagine how annoyed the missionary’s fans must be. She looks like a prostitute with a bad hangover.[/quote]
Yes, this!
Though missionary art actually looks a bit like someone I know who might take offence at that description;) But your point stands - it’s just so jarring with the older stuff.
Some of the portraits (the various accomplices, SMH, costermonger, the Jovial contrarian, etc.) have so much character in just a few clever lines. It’s not quite Kate Beaton levels of cleverness with the eyes & the lips expressing so much, but it’s in that ballpark.
The new, ‘detailed’ ones are just horrid, and very out of place.
By all means update the resolution for modern displays, that needs doing, but please keep the old FL style, it’s really good.
You’re right.
But any reasonable website design can be tweaked to personal preference with some custom CSS + scripting & extensions, and it really does need modernising, especially for mobile browser.
Pictures/art, I can’t do, and am at the mercy of Failbetter there!
I don’t much like the redesign, at least from that tiny screenshot. Too many circles. Not enough right angles. The popup box on the right reminds me too much of awful sites like wikia.
Whenever something describes its UI design as "modern" it usually translates to "awful misappropriation of minimalism." That doesn’t seem to fully be the case here, at least. We still have text for buttons and the like, which is a big step up from all those programs using icons with unclear meaning.
edited by Kaijyuu on 2/9/2018
I promise I didn’t mean it to end up so.
Really the only thing I find jarring about the main body design itself is the new floating tabs. Please bring back the old style. Pretty much everything else about it (circular icons aside, which is another problem not exclusive to it) looks almost the same as the parchment-y style we’re used to, but the floating tabs make too much of a difference. Way too much.
[quote=Barse]
I also agree with wanting to retain the candle, "welcome" messages, etc. - maybe I’m just a curmudgeon who’s resistant to change, but I really like the current site layout despite its ever-so-slightly dated feel.[/quote]
I’m inclined to agree. The current site has a lot of character, and I’d be disappointed to see it go, beyond my attachment to familiarity. I was never a fan of the app’s design, which was a big reason I never used it much after the beta ended, even though the site is inconvenient on a mobile browser. It just never felt like it fit the setting. Really, I think the current site is aesthetically fine as-is; the only design change needed is a mobile version of the site.
- Separating inventory and qualities would definitely be a welcome change. It takes so long to load at this point… Search bars for both, like that one browser extension, would also be excellent.
- I never use the five card lodgings anymore, but thank you. Seriously, why has the fifth card been awkward for so long? It’s not difficult to fix.
- Is the banner art from the app? It looks exactly like the current art, just less detailed. Which is especially weird with the trend towards increased detail and realism.
- Discard buttons on cards seems really cumbersome. Easier to misclick and discard a card when you meant to use it, especially on mobile. (Say goodbye to your Moods…)
- The candles are such an integral part of how I picture FL. I can understand removing them for a mobile site, but in general? That makes no sense. Is it server-intensive somehow?
- Round icons just look strange. It works okay for some of the art, but other pieces just have details cut off. The door image does not look good as a circle, for example. Round icons also looks much stranger for the unlocks.
I don’t really object to the new tab design, though. The change is strange but it doesn’t distract from the rest of the layout, which is the only issue I might have. Putting the travel button off to the side is also convenient. (Though speaking of convenient, it’s so inconvenient to have to back out of storylets before using items now. Is that really the only solution? Because it’s really not user-friendly.)
What was that a solution for, do you know? I noticed the change at one point and wondered why they did it.
What was that a solution for, do you know? I noticed the change at one point and wondered why they did it.[/quote]
Feedback thread says there was some way to repeat one-time storylets. I hope they find a better solution to the problem, because this one is terrible.
I think it replaced the message that said something along the lines of "you are in a storylet now – do you really want to do that? Finish the storylet first."
I think it replaced the message that said something along the lines of "you are in a storylet now – do you really want to do that? Finish the storylet first."[/quote]
Did they "replace" it? I get nothing. First time i thought my browser crashed, before i realized they just got rid of the warning message.
Obviously I’m sure there’ll be tweaks, but I like the overall look of the proposed redesign a lot. It’s very easy on the eyes. Dark all over, and the only light patches are where active gameplay is taking place. My eyes get tired with too many distractions.
Ha-ha-bloody-ha. Seems to happen to interestingly high number of people, in real life ;)
edited by CatLady on 2/13/2018
It will feel strange without the candles and the greeting. Other than that, Ι assume we will get used to a new style. I am not sure we needed it, of course. I would rather get some minor tweaks such as the ability to protect cards from being discarded, or a fifth costume slot, or the ability to change clothes in the front page instead of the myself tab… Of course, an overall site redesign might be the chance to provide some of this stuff easily.
There are no candles, only delirious friends.
Get the greeting back! I’ve descended so at least someone in this world would call me delicious. Don’t take that last little joy from me! :)
Now, seriously. It was always a challenge to separate mind inertia and honest and true evaluation of a new idea. So I do not know, which part is talking in me right now. But I TRULY believe that using more modern, round/curve shaped design would remove the "old" atmosphere from the game.
I’s London. It’s 1896. It’s Victorian. It’s totally UNMODERN with gaslamps, salons, criminal vows and coal steamers.
So making it more modern seems… Controversial?
I understand that FBG made the decision long ago, and my comment won’t probably change much. But please, try not to make it overly-modern.
BTW, candles helped atmosphere a lot too… Maybe they still can be incorporated (i.e. as perimeter for round action meter).
On the bright side - totally liked how new layout fits into smartphone screen. And having 5 opportunity cards in the row is definitely a long awaited fix.
edited by SirKwint on 2/13/2018