truncillicus Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Hi All, http://www.duelofages.com Any comments and/or criticisms welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 This looks really bloody nice. I think you probably need some feedback from people with a slower connection than me, just to see if it works ok over a standard modem connection. AS i'm using a 1meg connection everything loaded fairly quikly, although I think you may have problems with people using slower connections. Hopefully others will post their views. Trust me, I'm an Accountant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CC Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Cool, i like it. First impression is very nice. Not at all reminiscent of OSC. Apart from the little copyright of course. :wink: I am on 1mb too, and it was ok, actually maybe a little slow loading. :shock: Checked it on dial-up, and it is very slow loading. Should have timed it really, but I didnt sorry. On a personal note, I have never liked dark websites, especially e-commerce sites. I just se dark and think dark, shady kind of place. You know the feeling you get when you see a little dark back alley shop... Well maybe you dont, but my inner feelings say dont trust it. But that, I'm sure is just me! After all, Gamespot seemto do well enough!! hehe. Great Job. Well done!! CC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 On my 56k dial up it's still loading....No not quite but, it was pretty slow to finish. Very cool look...definately not stock. A couple of things the name in the header needs a bit more contrast. And then the speed thing...se this thread:http://www.oscommerce.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=31429 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truncillicus Posted January 14, 2003 Author Share Posted January 14, 2003 Yeah, I figured it would be a slow loader on dialups and whatnot. Plan on going through and squeezing every ounce out of the graphics sitewide that I can. On the main store page I think all of the "thiumbnail" pictures are actually the larger images given smaller dimensions. Is this correct? Might actually come up with some thumbnails proper if it is. Thanks for your input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 The image I checked was 500x500 and over 70k.....waaaaaaay to big. Proper thimbnails would make a tremendous difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueline Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Very nice site. I somewhat agree with CC, but I like the light gray. It definitely lightens up the site. And I definitely like the fact that it doesn't look like a stock install. I do have to agree that it is a little slow when loading. I am on a 1.5meg connection, and the sides and footer graphics took a little bit of time. Also, kind of curious. I noticed that at the top of your page...the links all go to files that are in seperate folders. Is there any particular reason why you did that? Again, nice job. -Chris Chris Sullivan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truncillicus Posted January 14, 2003 Author Share Posted January 14, 2003 Also, kind of curious. I noticed that at the top of your page...the links all go to files that are in seperate folders. Is there any particular reason why you did that? Each of the navigational buttons represent an area of the site that will grow in time. They are in separate folders merely for organizational purposes to manage the site structure as it grows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truncillicus Posted January 14, 2003 Author Share Posted January 14, 2003 I have added thumbnails for all of the products on the default store page and optimized miscellaneous other images throughout the site. Could someone on a dialup please let me know how long the load time is on the store? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Mike, The load time is much better...about 20 seconds to load the home page with IE6 on the 56k dial up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattice Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Ehm... I might not be too popular for saying this.. but I really don't like it. :( I like the way you've molded the 'techno' look around osCommerce, no argument there... you've done a great job on the technical side. But the overall look of the dark site with the colourfull swirly product images and different text colors makes me dizzy... I find it hard to focus, hence I leave. Just doesn't look 'balanced' to me. And it is VERY slow. I am on a 1536 kbps ADSL line here and it takes like 30 seconds to load... which will cost you more in the end than a fast provider. Regards, Mattice "Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I still can't figure out what duelofages is... but maybe I am not meant to know. :-) I am on standard attbi cable and it was a little slow on the load for me (now a hardware issue, trust me :-) ). It looks dark, but nicely customized. Good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truncillicus Posted January 15, 2003 Author Share Posted January 15, 2003 Ehm... I might not be too popular for saying this.. but I really don't like it. :( I like the way you've molded the 'techno' look around osCommerce, no argument there... you've done a great job on the technical side. But the overall look of the dark site with the colourfull swirly product images and different text colors makes me dizzy... I find it hard to focus, hence I leave. Just doesn't look 'balanced' to me. I probably would have gone with something a bit lighter if I had done the design myself but if I had it would have looked like a programmer designed it. :wink: Oh well. Too dark seems to be the consensus here, I will pass it on. The swirly product images are actually the boxtops of each of the game sets. I am concerned that this produced such an unpleasant experience for you. Anyone else had the same effect? And it is VERY slow. I am on a 1536 kbps ADSL line here and it takes like 30 seconds to load... Yeah, it is slow. Spent most of the day squeezing the heck out of every image I could. Thought it would be a little speedier today. Unfortunately almost all of the site design is images. :cry: Anyone have any practical advice regarding this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truncillicus Posted January 15, 2003 Author Share Posted January 15, 2003 I still can't figure out what duelofages is... but maybe I am not meant to know. :-) To quote from the FAQ: http://www.duelofages.com/faq.html Duel of Ages (DOA) is a strategy board game. Its simplicity allows it to be a family-night game for parents with teens. But DOA also has two other strengths. One, it has a significant depth of strategy, which appeals to wargamers. Two, its characters, its art, and the world created around the game are enjoyed by role-players. Might have to pepper the site up a bit with links to the FAQ because we sure do want people to know what it is. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 Have you added the Gzip? Made a tremendous difference on my site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truncillicus Posted January 15, 2003 Author Share Posted January 15, 2003 Have you added the Gzip? Made a tremendous difference on my site. Actually I was just looking into that today! My understanding is that this is accomplished by using the function ob_gzhandler() as a callback function for ob_start(). Unfortunately for this to work PHP must be compiled with "--with-zlib" and my hosting provider apparently did not. :cry: Is this fairly common on most "nix" hosts? This is my first real working experience with non Microsoft based hosts. Anyway, is there another way of accomplishing this I am unaware of? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 I have had similar results using my HTML editor's "compress HTML" function. It removes all of the neccessary white space that slows down parsing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badjuju Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 Great site - I would like to know how your designed it. One suggestion - on the payment information page where customers enter their credit card numbers, no SSL. I know this has nothing to do with osCommerce, but your customers will appreciate the extra security. Excellent job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belladonna Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 A futuristic style ... a bit on the dark side (but that goes with the territory) ... nicely incorporated in the site. Either people like it or they don't ... which has everything to do with the chosen colorscheme. I like it ... but that's just me. The only thing that bothered me is the quality of the <store> image in the top right corner. The edges are jagged ... not really blending in with the rest of the site. Take care, Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougB Posted January 18, 2003 Share Posted January 18, 2003 Like everyone (except Mattice) I like your site, I however want to know how you got your product catalog listing looking like you have, ie image on the left with text on the right one product per line and with a thin border around the row??? Also I found it hard to get to this page and the only way I found was to click on the Featured product and on the resulting product_info page use the breadcrumb trail at the top to go to Catalog. :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truncillicus Posted January 18, 2003 Author Share Posted January 18, 2003 I however want to know how you got your product catalog listing looking like you have, ie image on the left with text on the right one product per line and with a thin border around the row??? I actually replaced the default.php with "/catalog/products_new.php" which has a similar layout to what you see on my main store. Using this as a starting point I then modified it to suit my needs. As to the thin border around the row, it is simply a matter of styling each of the table cells with the following: TD.main3 { background-color: #000000; border-style: solid; border-color: #7b9ebd; border-width: 1px; } Also I found it hard to get to this page and the only way I found was to click on the Featured product and on the resulting product_info page use the breadcrumb trail at the top to go to Catalog. :? In the main navigation at the top of each page is a neon green button labeled "store" I had hoped that this would be enough to grab people's attention. :) Thanks for the compliment on the site. It seem as though most seem to like it but those who don't seem to dislike it a great deal. But I guess that "goes with the territory" as Richard has suggested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truncillicus Posted January 18, 2003 Author Share Posted January 18, 2003 I would like to know how your designed it. I did not do the graphic design myself we found him on Elance.com. One suggestion - on the payment information page where customers enter their credit card numbers, no SSL. I know this has nothing to do with osCommerce, but your customers will appreciate the extra security. Yes, you are correct. My boss is supposed to be adding SSL to our hosting package and then I will turn it on. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asim0s Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 well been a non php coder just a simple man browsing the forums you are site is the best one i saw till know excellent work with the header and the footer (loved that techno look) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 I was also wondered exactly what the game is. I've got a couple of boys who play the Star Trek, Star Wars, and other "customizable card games" and thought they might be interested in the game. Another, younger, son is really into HeroClix and might be interested, too. Then I saw your link to the FAQ but can't for the life of me, find the link on your site. Course maybe I'm just blind... Seems like this link sould be positioned prominently in the menus. And you mentioned a "green button"... I don't see that either... The site looks very nice. Like many others, I tend to avoid dark sites but it seems to work for yours. In fact, I can't quite imagine it with a white or light background. Perhaps a dark red or green... Will show the site to the kids and see what they think. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truncillicus Posted January 23, 2003 Author Share Posted January 23, 2003 Then I saw your link to the FAQ but can't for the life of me, find the link on your site. The link to the FAQ is on the homepage "Want more information on the game? -> Duel of Ages FAQ" And yes, I have been thinking I need to do something to make this more prominent. Thanks! And you mentioned a "green button"... I don't see that either... I am refering to the buttons at the top of the page in the header that is common to all the pages. Will show the site to the kids and see what they think. Jim Great! I would be very interested in getting a kids view on the site. Although I fancy myself to be a kid-at-heart i'm sure i'm fooling no one but myself. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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