Need Comments on Redesigned Site

[Zarrock God of Evil]

[Puts on pontificating hat]

I would avoid frames at all costs. The amount of work you may save by using them is outweighed by the amount of frustration they are likely to generate among visitors. Unless your site is intended to transcend or explore the boundaries of the medium (like demian.5's <a href="http://www.demian5.com/" target="blank">When I Am King</a>, for example), don't use frames.

Should you decide to stick with frames, however, check out this article on <a href="http://www.alistapart.com/stories/frames/" target="blank">making frames more manageable and user-friendly</a>. It's from an excellent web design site called <a href="http://www.alistapart.com/" target="blank">A List Apart</a>, which also offers a lot of other useful articles.

I agree with all of Drawmack's other points as well.

The color scheme for your Dragonstar site is much easier on the eyes than the one used for Dark Realms, and looks more professional to boot. When your content consists primarily of text, making it as easy to read as possible is important -- i.e., dark text on light background, or light text on dark background. Yellow on red looks fairly cool, but won't be much fun after you've read through several screens of text.

[Takes off pontificating hat]

You've clearly put a lot of work into these sites -- as well as what's on them -- and it shows. Overall, they're both pretty good.

Nice article on frames - an interesting read. Thanks...

-Zarrock

 

[Rahkan]

These guys are right. Just for an experiment I opened up the two pages and put one on top of the other. I read the Dark Realms site for a bit and then switched to the Dragonstar site, read for a bit, and switched back. I could actually feel my eyes lock and unlock, there is no better word to describe it than that. The Dragonstar site is much easier for the eyes.

Secondly, I really like the idea of the Dark Realms. I only read the page cursorily but it sounds pretty cool. Kind of like the joy of Alternate History except easier than doing it with earth since everything is statted out and the history and background of the Forgotten Realms is much better known amongst gamers than that of any specific region of the earth (except whatever region you and your group come from of course).

 

[Zarrock God of Evil]

These guys are right. Just for an experiment I opened up the two pages and put one on top of the other. I read the Dark Realms site for a bit and then switched to the Dragonstar site, read for a bit, and switched back. I could actually feel my eyes lock and unlock, there is no better word to describe it than that. The Dragonstar site is much easier for the eyes.

Secondly, I really like the idea of the Dark Realms. I only read the page cursorily but it sounds pretty cool. Kind of like the joy of Alternate History except easier than doing it with earth since everything is statted out and the history and background of the Forgotten Realms is much better known amongst gamers than that of any specific region of the earth (except whatever region you and your group come from of course).

This seems to be a common opinion, so I'll dedicate some work to this. All the larger chunks of text material will become available as downloadable .rtf files very soon, though. The material on the site will be mainly representative after that.

Nice to hear some content feedback as well (though I know that wasn't my main enquiry in this post). It's been quite a job converting the Dark Realms to 3E since the original timelines and story arcs I developed were in the period 1995-1998 when 2E was still the only thing around. My updated timeline will be available next week if everything goes according to plan (but does it ever ;-)). It will integrate all the major events in the FRCS with the changes I made with the Dark Realms. Luckily setting my own campaigns around 1398 hasn't made this too tough a change. Actually some FRCS changes made it easier to explain or more interesting. Two examples:

- Cormyr needed to be pacified for at least a years time so they couldn't respond immediately to the Zhentilar invasions of the Dalelands. IMC, Azoun and Vangerdahast went missing, Doppelgangers abounded etc. (think BG I). The death of King Azoun and the devastation of Cormyr provided an even more profound reason for the late Cormyrean response.

- The City of Shade creates interesting new plot twists. If the Shades have the knowledge that Ceridan is the distant progeny of Karsus, The Momentary God, and that he is destined to lay him to rest - surely they could have an interest in this (and being long-term planners, sth that need not be immediately addressed).

-Zarrock

 

[Zarrock God of Evil]

Double post - doh!