Friday Facts #352 - New website

[Dixi]

New web site design is bad, but it could be done much worse.
Old one was much better.

[Klonan]

New web site design is bad, but it could be done much worse.
Old one was much better.

Can you be more specific?

[lupinehorror]

i have had issues with sites that used really dark backgrounds since i first saw sites (which was long enough ago that i don't really want to think about it).
for instance i use the lightest theme on this very forum to save my eyes.
i like the new style site and totally get why the trademark colours have been maintained.

[Vvince]

Like the new website! The rocket on the bottom made me laugh (in a good way)!

[gravityStar]

Mobile Nokia 6.1 Chrome: after loading; scrolling up/down on the homepage consistently stutters for me. Same for the Friday Facts pages.

[Illiou]

I think the new website looks very nice overall, though there are a few things I want to give feedback on:

The blog design is a step back compared to the old design, especially in terms of typography and spacing. This may apply to other parts of the website as well, but specifically for the blog I think:

• The spacing/padding of the text block on the sides is far too low
• The line-height is too low
• The text block width is too high
• The relationship between text and images feels very off, not sure exactly why. Maybe too little spacing between them or parts of the above
• The headlines are barely visible between the text -> too small, spacing off (and the names behind it are indistinguishable)

The buttons in dropdown of the navbar just kinda float above and between the content they are displayed over, I think it needs some kind of background to make them be distinguishable from the stuff below.
Also as others have mentioned, "Merch" instead of "Game" being the first entry seem weird.

The main page feels a kinda crowded. I think many things are coming together for this, though one more obvious fix for me is the green buy buttons on the right, they are floating between the blocks and getting lost visually. They also make two columns seem like even more.

The main background image could have a bit less opacity maybe, that would make everything seem a bit less noisy.

The blue menu up top doesn't fold together very well on mobile.

The rocket on the bottom needs a higher z-index, it's lower part is not hovering/clickable (unless that's intentional) -- (very cool though )

PS: I miss the classic orange link color a bit

[raidho36]

Untitled.png (871.49 KiB) Viewed 7783 times

Really, give us some non copyright infringing vicious alien beasts! Biters and spitters look lame.

[steinio]

Untitled.png

Really, give us some non copyright infringing vicious alien beasts! Biters and spitters look lame.

Who let the trolls out, who, who?

[Cooldude2606]

The rocket on the bottom needs a higher z-index, it's lower part is not hovering/clickable (unless that's intentional) -- (very cool though )

I also noticed the issue of the lower part not being hovering/clickable.

I was disapointed that I can only use it once per page load.
As soon as I used it I wanted to see it again but found I was required to reload the page in order to do so.
Although it is really cool, on the FFF posts it can be quite slow to get to the top using it.

[MeduSalem]

I have only one complain about the new website... please make the background something dark again. Maybe with a gradient or whatever, I don't care.

Because as of now it is WAY TOO MUCH. Makes me remember all those amateur websites from the 90s.

[Pi-C]

At least on my laptop, I've an issue with the mod portal. I really can't use the search function: Any text I input into the form is almost invisible because it's white on a very light background. The strange thing is, when I made a screenshot, the background turned into a gray tone, so the search text was readable there …

EDIT: Dependencies are very hard to recognize now.

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[system]

As un-frequent user of mod portal:

It become much harder to read. Main reason is elements borders and shadows. They are now very sharp, and attracting eyesight, instead of text. Google Material design tries to remove as much decorations as possible, so content is easier to consume.

Hint: removing from css "box-shadow" from most of the elements, will make it much easier to read and navigate.

But first answer to yourself, what is more important to you? Content, or lines between content? Where users attention should be?

[azaghal]

One can really tell a lot of effort went into making the new looks. Visually it looks more appealing, and generally speaking the landing page should draw way more attention from people who are looking into getting the game.

On the other hand, I do have a couple of issues with some changes after browsing the mods and homepage side yesterday. Just keep in mind these are my personal opinion/impressions and those can vary a lot between different people (and I am aware of it myself). It is also most likely that I am looking for more flaws because of a change than I would if the pages remained the same. There will be a lot of "I" 's in the following post for that reason. I'll try to mention a couple of positive items as well.

General:

• Headers for the landing homepage and mods portal are slightly misaligned. It would feel better if Factorio logo and links remained on the same position page-wise. This is a nitpick, and I only noticed it while switching in Firefox in succession between two tabs as I was writing this post.

Mod portal, mod listings

• The page feels "heavy". Primarily the heavy/thick borders between the mods.
• In spite of heavy borders on the mod list page, the individual items still feel like they are blending-in with each- other.
• The download buttons on mod list page seem to draw more attention than the actual mod names.
• The download buttons on mod list page feel like they sit in-between/separate mods, and as if they do not belong together with the mod they are referring to. This might have to do a bit with the rather darker strip with the download/tag buttons. I have tested having this strip the same background colour as the mod entry title/summary part, and it felt more natural to me - but then the border between the mods is lost.
• While browsing through the mods, I often use the Factorio logo link to reset the currently selected tag, as well as to get back to mod portal landing page while looking at individual mod pages. I think this used to take me back to the "Recently Updated" "tab" before with ability to filter based on tags and to search for mods. Now it takes me to the "Trending" "tab". What struck me odd was that the tags were not visible on it, and that I did not get taken back to the mod portal landing page. I realise that there is a "Mod Portal" link at top, but in general I will instinctively go for the biggest logo I can click on on the page in order to go back to a landing page for the website.
• Tag buttons under mods blend in into the background and do not draw attention at all.

Mod portal, mod details page

• The page feels "heavy", but not as much as the mod listings page.
• Tag buttons under mod summary blend in with the background. Unless I know where to look for them, I will have problems finding them or even being aware they exist.
• Table with basic information on owner, source, homepage etc at top is a nice touch. I like its brevity and it helps me see basic information about the mod more easily. In particular, I like having a look at creation date, last update data, supported versions, number of downloads, since those give me a general idea on how maintained the mod might be, and how widely it is used.
• Version numbers on "Changelog" tab blend in into entries, making it harder to find changelog for specific version. Finding the version numbers more easily helps me determine if the version I am currently using has any serious issues or maybe fixes to issues I'm having at the moment.
• Download buttons on the "Downloads" tab completely draw my attention away from the versioning information. I almost need to force myself to look to the left to determine exactly what download button goes with what version.

Main page (I'll describe my experience from yesterday):

• I think I've spent 1-2 minutes yesterday trying to find exactly the link for what I wanted to download. What I was searching for was a list of releases so I could download perhaps both older and newer releases, including headless server releases, and maybe to see changelogs for them on the same page (to figure out if it's "worth" upgrading at the moment). I went for the big green download button straight away since it stands out. Once there, I realised the page has only two versions listed (0.17 and 0.18 latest). I started looking for a listing of all versions. I ended up going back to the landing page, and clicking on the "Download page" link, thinking that it would take me to a complete listing. I think I picked this habit up with some other software packages I download on semi-regular basis. Ended-up on same download page, just through a different link. (As a side-note, I also just realised there are 3 download links pointing to same page on the landing page right next to each-other. The obvious choice is the big green download button, but it made me wonder where the other two links will take me instead.) After ending-up on the same page again, I started thinking that older releases are no longer available for download. Took me a bit of time to notice the "Download older releases" button on the landing page in the end.
• On the "Download older releases" page I saw the links for 0.18.34 at the top, and the Tux logo, which was what I was interested in.I started downloading the 0.18.34, but then realised I want a headless server package too. Another source of confusion because that one was not listed in the same segment where the client downloads are. The client downloads segment drew my attention because of 4 bright green download buttons. Initial reaction was that perhaps headless server downloads are not available anymore, and that I can/should simply use same the client release for server as well. Then I started looking at what older releases are available on the page, and saw a "duplicate" entry for 0.18.34. At that point I started wondering if I started a correct download (for the client). I saw the headless Tux logo, and thought it was a CSS issue (something chopped off by mistake/misaligned). Then I hovered over that link to figure out if I should download that one instead - because I thought that maybe it is a different (client) release than the one I already started. After hovering over the link, and seeing what browser had written for me at the bottom of the page (primarily mention of word "headless", I finally realised that is the the headless server download link I was looking for. And as a side-note, I only got the headless Tux reference this very morning as well.
• The "Old version archive" page feels bulky. Instead of providing a more compact listing of all releases, it presents me with latest release at the very top. Once I go for such a page it usually means I want to find a very specific older release. The fact that I can see just the latest release (on 1920x1080 resolution) when landing there probably does not help.
• On downloads page I would prefer to see a short description alongside each download link variant for latest release. E.g. stating something like "Unpack and run" or "Installer" alongside Windows icons (I don't use Windows, so take it with a big lump of salt), "Unpack and run client" alongside Tux logo, and "Unpack and run server" alongside headless Tux logo. These are just example expressions, probably some better wording can be coined.

[gacekssj4]

I would go something different.... lets say like this (if everything has to be separated):


Or would merge all those separate frames into one.

The main problem with new site is that its bulky. It's hard read. Everything is massive and content is not first priority. All those frames are first priority. It is frames that take all attention, not content itself.

https://mods.factorio.com/mod/Krastorio2/changelog
Look at this one. It's only one frame, it does not take all this attention and does not dominate site. Where factorio.com i being dominated by frames.

And this blue... it's out of nowhere. I would go either that yelloworange or red with links (like buttons)

[bobingabout]

Main page changes definitely make the FFF easier on the eyes, thank you so much for doing this, I've only been complaining about once a month for 3 years.

The Mod portal took a bit of getting used to, but it's not bad, an improvement all round I'd say.

As for the forums and wiki, well, I don't use the factorio skin, I use the phpBB ProSilver theme on the forums, and equivalent on the Wiki, I'm not even sure how to change the theme on the wiki, but I've noticed the forums haven't been updated yet.
In either case, I'd like to request you keep the light theme support.

[St_Vitruvius]

I like the new design.. But.. There are two things I'd like to bring up..

1. How to return to first page of the blog?
There's no "Page 1" button, as there are for no 2, 3 4, etc. Is it intentionally made, so you either have to press "back" enough times til you're back at page 1? Or are you meant to push "Blok" again in the main menu?

Screenshot of blok

Screenshot_20200628-233943.png (524.03 KiB) Viewed 7531 times

2. Mod overview looks wrong
I'm currently on my mobile, and this is how the mod website looks like.. And I cannot scroll sideways and access any other pages..

Screenshot of mods.factorio.com

Screenshot_20200628-234906.png (274.62 KiB) Viewed 7531 times

If I tilt the phone, everything resizes and I can access the page selection just fine.. But going back to vertical viewing, it once again locks in place and I can't access more than what's on the photo..

[5thHorseman]

I like the new design.. But.. There are two things I'd like to bring up..

1. How to return to first page of the blog?
There's no "Page 1" button, as there are for no 2, 3 4, etc. Is it intentionally made, so you either have to press "back" enough times til you're back at page 1? Or are you meant to push "Blok" again in the main menu?

As you seem to suspect from your second report, that's a screen-width issue. The site has the "1" button (and a "<<" button) to the left of the "2" button on a regular computer browser window that is not so horizontally challenged.

I'm not saying that they shouldn't fix it, of course. I'm just explaining it more fully

[Illiou]

[second screenshot]

I just realize how it's really weird that the searchbar background takes on the same color as headlines when you click it. And also because of the color the mod author name draws more attention than the mod title above it.

[doppelEben]

dunno if exactly this issue was reported already, if so I didnt see it sry

On mobile the ‚inbody navtabs‘ use 2 rows, both rows dont use full width, and imho it looks broke (sure, long words on buttons and stuff. but still an unusual look when most other parts/elements/ele-groups use full with and only this group of tabs doesnt

—-

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and cant login atm on modportal:

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edit: was able to log-in via steam but not with the main accountdata from factorio page? is that new?

[der-dave.com]

Hello, pls have a look at my screenshot. It will explain my bug in frame "Game modes" with Micrsofot Edge browser at 1920 x 1080 resolution best

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