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20:40, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

New site design.

Posted by jase
jase
admin, 3630 posts
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Tue 2 Jul 2019
at 13:52

Re: RPoL Design Update

I've increased the max site width by a bit under 10% (1,100 increased to 1,200 pixels).  Seems good for reading threads but a little wide in other areas (this compose screen for one).  As with the new colours I'll see how it sits after a bit more use.

I've also updated the custom theme page so you can now set a width between 1,000 and 2,000 pixels.
jase
admin, 3631 posts
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Wed 3 Jul 2019
at 14:57

Re: RPoL Design Update

Have added "lightboxes" to images in game threads.  That is, if you click on an image it'll popup a full screen version of it (if it's large enough).

Unavoidably requires javascript.  If you don't have it (enabled) then it'll just open up the image instead.

If a single message has multiple images then there'll be next and back icons (> and <) to navigate through them.  Left/right arrow also does the trick.

Also did a tweak to the front GM menu.  Needs to be prettified (is that really a word?!) but should otherwise not be so horrible as it was.

A bit aimless with what I'm fixing/tweaking/making responsive at the moment, feedback is always welcome (and sometimes quite necessary!!).
nauthiz
subscriber, 607 posts
Wed 3 Jul 2019
at 17:46
  • msg #161

Re: RPoL Design Update

Bug Report: I RTJ'd a game.  The GM replied to my RTJ but didn't add me to the game yet.  From the responsive site I have no way of accessing my private messages for that game.

The Game Menu that normally would have the link to PMs has the following options

-Game Menu
-Request Access
-Mark all as Read
-Request Access
-Die Roller
-Game Map
-The Cast

Both of the "Request Access" entries take me to the initial RTJ page where I can create a new RTJ message.

---
On the Character Details page, when you add a portrait to a character, the formatting breaks slightly with the "View and Edit Description" text now overlapping the border line that extends from the character portrait area.

No Portrait
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pc42...NO_Portrait.jpg?dl=0

With Portrait
https://www.dropbox.com/s/67gk..._W_Portrait.jpg?dl=0
jase
admin, 3632 posts
Cogito, ergo procuro.
Carpe stultus!
Thu 4 Jul 2019
at 05:59

Re: RPoL Design Update

Thanks.  PM link should now be there if you've sent a request (and the banner at the top will also go).  I've tried not to change any of the underlying logic but when there's some big changes it can creep in.

Have removed all those multicoloured borders on the character profile screen, that was just for me lining things up.  Screen still needs a bit of tweaking but the red, green and blue should be gone!
nauthiz
subscriber, 608 posts
Thu 4 Jul 2019
at 10:14
  • msg #163

Re: RPoL Design Update

Tested, and looks good on both issues.

However there's still two entries for "Request Access" on the game menu.
jase
admin, 3633 posts
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Thu 4 Jul 2019
at 12:08

Re: RPoL Design Update

Whoops, missed that bit of your message.  Should only have one now (before you RTJ) and none after (replaced with "Contact the GM").

Also removed a bunch of thread management links that were there for everyone, not just GMs.  Didn't work if you clicked on them, but shouldn't have been there to begin with.
seraphmoon
member, 66 posts
I've Been Touched By
His Noodly Appendage
Thu 4 Jul 2019
at 22:15
  • msg #165

Re: RPoL Design Update

On the responsive site, “Private Messages” doesn’t show up in the This Game menu on the map, cast, or introduction pages. Using iOS; can screenshot if necessary.

ETA: Also on iOS, the post button says "Post Mesage" :)

ETA2: On the Private Messages screen under Thread Details, entires are listed as "private thread by with X replies." Again, on iOS.
This message was last edited by the user at 22:42, Thu 04 July 2019.
jase
admin, 3634 posts
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Fri 5 Jul 2019
at 03:10

Re: RPoL Design Update

Thank you!  Can you elaborate on when you're not seeing the "Private Messages" links?  I can see a bit of inconsistency between some of the screens (which I'll fix) but I'm seeing the PM link.

Is it for a game you're a GM?  Player?  Lurker?  Have a RTJ submitted or just a plain old visitor?
seraphmoon
member, 68 posts
I've Been Touched By
His Noodly Appendage
Fri 5 Jul 2019
at 21:56
  • msg #167

Re: RPoL Design Update

Had to go back and check. :)

On games I'm a player or GM of, it shows up on all screens. On games I'm not a member of, it vanishes. On the old site, it also vanishes in those games but sticks around on the bottom bar. It doesn't seem to matter whether I've got an active RTJ or not, but the one I am RTJ'd to still shows "Request Access" on the Map, Cast, and Intro pages instead of changing to "Contact the GM." Only just noticed that part. :) I'm not a lurker in any games, and there is no difference between desktop and mobile, nor is there a difference between desktop Chrome and Safari.

I know I'm not the most articulate of persons, so if screenshots would help let me know.
jase
admin, 3635 posts
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Sat 6 Jul 2019
at 10:01
  • msg #168

Re: RPoL Design Update

I've fiddled with the layout of those menu options.  You should see "Request Access" if you've never sent a PM, "Contact the GM" if you're a lurker and lastly "Private Messages" if you've ever sent a PM (or play in the game, which generally will require you to send at least one PM!).

They all should now be higher up on the list, think they were a bit low before.
jase
admin, 3636 posts
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Tue 9 Jul 2019
at 02:03
  • msg #169

Re: RPoL Design Update

Updated a bunch of tables with responsive-friendly div's yesterday and tweaked a whole stack more other layout "things".  Lack of complaints leads me to believe I didn't break anything majorly, which is always nice!  Got some more to do (ones I avoided as they were a little more complicated) which I'll get onto next unless (kicks the dead horse) there's any other feedback about major usability issues.

Edit:  Also fixed the autosuggest list for the game systems when searching for game (on the main menu), creating a game, searching Wanted - Players and editing your game details.  Moved from a javascript system to HTML5.
This message was last edited by the user at 13:54, Tue 09 July 2019.
nauthiz
subscriber, 609 posts
Wed 10 Jul 2019
at 21:45
  • msg #170

Re: RPoL Design Update

I assume this issue will be resolved if/when the responsive version of the site becomes the only version.

Currently however the site doesn't recognize the r.rpol.net domain when it comes to auto generating links in messages from URLs.
jase
admin, 3637 posts
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Sat 13 Jul 2019
at 03:55
  • msg #171

Re: RPoL Design Update

Could be due to the https.  Made a small tweak, let me know if it makes any difference.

Search results on the main menu should also be a lot better now.  Removed the old tables and created the same format as the normal game listing (with additional details as it's a search).
Imladir
member, 1 post
Sat 13 Jul 2019
at 08:18
  • msg #172

Re: RPoL Design Update

Two problems on character sheets:
- On small screens (phones & tablets), the background / page isn't enlarged when the text doesn't fit
- The display of lists (maybe only consecutive or nested lists?) is seriously messed up: https://i.imgur.com/jD8bM9y.png
Regarding the list, the problem seems to be in the generated html (too many ul tags opened, not enough closed).
This message was last edited by the user at 08:37, Sat 13 July 2019.
nauthiz
subscriber, 611 posts
Sat 13 Jul 2019
at 08:37
  • msg #173

Re: RPoL Design Update

<testing>

/help/?t=faqs&page=rubbcode  <-rpol.net

RPoL faqs (rubbcode)  <-r.rpol.net

Is it the "www"?

https://www.imgur.com

https://imgur.com/

nope!
Skald
moderator, 851 posts
Whatever it is,
I'm against it
Sat 13 Jul 2019
at 13:25

Re: RPoL Design Update

I'm also seeing a problem with characters sheet using easy tables and embedded list - to an innocent bystander it looks like it's having issues with the fourth and subsequent \n line breaks inside a list item tag [*] ... actually now I compare that with the old site, I notice that responsive doesn't seem to be inserting the dot point for the list items either.
horus
member, 805 posts
Wayfarer of the
Western Wastes
Sun 14 Jul 2019
at 00:43
  • msg #175

Re: RPoL Design Update

I'm noticing that Easy Tables tend not to render their box-lines.  The write-up I did a while back on this subject will have to be re-written almost entirely due to formatting differences between responsive and original sites.

HTML-based or HTML-wrapped tables seem to render okay, but bare Easy Tables and Grids do not render their line that I can see.
This message was last edited by the user at 00:47, Sun 14 July 2019.
jase
admin, 3638 posts
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Sun 14 Jul 2019
at 02:17

Re: RPoL Design Update

Thanks for all the feedback, it's appreciated.  Some of it is stuff I just haven't gotten to yet so I'm not surprised, but either way it gives me something to concentrate on and fix so thanks.

See if character sheets are better now.  It was applying the wrong overall style (there and probably a few other places).

The whole flow on that page for small devices isn't right, will have to tweak that.  Also note that when getting really narrow that character sheets might force a sideways scroll on the entire page.  I'll get a fix for that in too.

r.rpol.net isn't linking because of the short "r.".  Will see if I can tweak that but want to get a much better link detection in place so will take a while to fiddle.

Easy tables/grids I haven't paid any attention to yet so will have to give some love to them.
Skald
moderator, 852 posts
Whatever it is,
I'm against it
Mon 15 Jul 2019
at 05:13
  • msg #177

Re: RPoL Design Update

That fixed it, thank ye kindly. On respsonsive site the character sheet text inside easy table is now showing/flowing correctly, and dot points are back in play.   :>

While looking around I found another character's sheet (in one of my games) which is very wide which is overlapping with the the right hand sidebar menu, but I'm not sure what can be done about that as I don't think we can call that a coding problem - either live with it or set a maximum character sheet width ?
jase
admin, 3639 posts
Cogito, ergo procuro.
Carpe stultus!
Mon 15 Jul 2019
at 09:38

Re: RPoL Design Update

I'll be popping in a horizontal scrollbar for when it's really wide.  Does it here already I think, if a message inside a thread is too large (or a table within a message) then it'll make that scroll rather than mess the entire page.

I think that's what I did anyway.  (c;

I'm current changing a bit with the flow, getting rid of left floats and replacing them with inline blocks (for those in the know) which improves some of the layout and the logic behind it.  I would use "flexbox" but 95% browser support is too low and I can do it with inline blocks and some floats fine, it's just easier with flexbox.

That's a long winded way of saying I'm adjusting a bit of stuff so have taken a small step backward, once I get that sorted then I can proceed with other fixes.
horus
member, 809 posts
Wayfarer of the
Western Wastes
Tue 16 Jul 2019
at 07:12
  • msg #179

Re: RPoL Design Update

jase:
Easy tables/grids I haven't paid any attention to yet so will have to give some love to them.


Please let us know when to check again... I checked just now and bare Easy Tables and Grids are still not rendering lines.  I figure you may not have gotten to this yet, or my browser (a Chrome derivative) is to blame.

Thanks,
D
Imladir
member, 2 posts
Tue 16 Jul 2019
at 07:25
  • msg #180

Re: RPoL Design Update

It's just borders. And it's much better to not have borders by default, that way it's possible to align things in a page without it being obvious it's a table. There's probably an option somewhere to define the border style.
horus
member, 810 posts
Wayfarer of the
Western Wastes
Tue 16 Jul 2019
at 15:28
  • msg #181

Re: RPoL Design Update

In reply to Imladir (msg # 180):

Not here to argue, but:

They may be "just borders", but those borders are part and parcel of how Easy Tables and (especially) Easy Grids are supposed to work.  I know of no way to turn off the borders except using the responsive site, and I'm pretty sure that's not by design, hence my interest, and my reports.

There are numerous character sheets and other documents in Heaven - Gaming Resources that depend on this functionality.
Imladir
member, 3 posts
Tue 16 Jul 2019
at 15:38
  • msg #182

Re: RPoL Design Update

But it's not the HTML default. And the default should be to have nothing, but allow the addition of stuff. Like by default, your text is just plain regular text. But if you want, you can bold it, color it, enlarge it, etc.

It's the same for a table: by default, it should only put stuff in cells. Everything at the top of the cell, with the text left aligned, the cells just as big as their content, etc. But if you want, you can center things, resize the cells, have some span multiple columns or rows...or have borders. Which is exactly the case for the tables on wikis for examples.

The fact that on the main site you have borders by default is the problem, not the other way around. It may come from the fact that it's not easy to define what the border is supposed to be, so a choice had to be made between border or no border. And maybe it's a choice that will have to be made again. And there are arguments to go both ways.
horus
member, 811 posts
Wayfarer of the
Western Wastes
Tue 16 Jul 2019
at 15:59
  • msg #183

Re: RPoL Design Update

Imladir:
But it's not the HTML default. And the default should be to have nothing, but allow the addition of stuff. Like by default, your text is just plain regular text. But if you want, you can bold it, color it, enlarge it, etc.


HTML-based tables should work the way they always have.  Easy Tables and Grids are a technology unique to RPoL.  Two different things.

quote:
It's the same for a table: by default, it should only put stuff in cells. ...


Not really.  The whole point of Easy Tables was to make it easier to make tables without having to learn HTML.  As I said before, anything you can do in HTML elsewhere you should still be able to do here.

The standard in use, by the way, is XHTML 1.0.

quote:
The fact that on the main site you have borders by default is the problem, not the other way around. ...


I would respectfully submit the above assertion to jase for evaluation.  We disagree.
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