Review Central-gaming.net Review again please? Updates and stuff have been done

[-Sky- 0]

Hey Trap. I've been working very hard on my site (central-gaming) for almost since I got the hosting with Trap. I'd appreciate it if you could inspect it again for me, tell me what's missing, what you'd like to see on there as a good gaming website. :lol:The forum is getting improved every single day. I come on, and do some updates to the skin, install modifications, scripts etc to make it nice and better for gamers to join and review. Mostly the only game we are concentrating on is GTA IV as it is a big game of Grand Theft Auto series.If you'd like to see a game in our Games Lounge then you may request it to be added. Very easy to do, we also have a Guests forum. :DPlease get back to me. -Sky

[kobra500 1]

It's good however one HUGE problem. the font does not stand out from the background which for me means I do not want to read the content, this problem will need to be fixed asap for your design to be complete

[joeblogg 0]

overall it is very good. the forum is also great. on another post you mentioned you wanted to change your site to gta forums or something. don't do that. also on the homepage, it seems a bit messy and the page is very very long. why don't you make more links in a navigation bar so you don't need a page 468 miles long! but yeah good job on the site. the effort you have put in is very noticible.

[rvalkass 5]

The main problem is that the body text doesn't stand out from the background. In fact, it looks like you've specifically picked a colour that will make it hard to read! I would recommend removing the patterned background, and replacing it with a solid colour or gradient. Then, choose a text colour that contrasts well and is easy to read. Remember that dark text on a light background is generally easier on the eyes than bright text on a dark background.

Scrolling down the page, I see that the text colour seems to change randomly. This gives the page a very discordant look. Use the same text colour for all the body text on the page, and follow the advice above about making it easier to read. Neither the grey or the light blue colour are particularly easy to read; only the dark blue colour really shows up against that patterned background.

Also, your news from Feb 25, 2005 is unlikely to be relevant now. Limit your main page to maybe a maximum of 10 news items, depending on how often you update the news. Move the others to an archive, so that people can read them if necessary, but aren't confronted with them all at once on your index page.

The colours picked for the forum work much better. The light grey background with dark text is much easier to read, and makes the text in different colours stand out much more. My only suggestion would be giving this text a background or border or something to make it stand out:

Welcome to Central-Gaming!Most of the forum features are disabled for Guests. Registering will enable you to join in with the contribution, and the community of gaming.
( Log In | Register )

[-Sky- 0]

Thank you all who reviewed my site, and gave comments and how to improve the design on the homepage. I shall start now as I am already in my cPanel. I just need to think of a background to put on. I don't know if a white background color will be OK. I'll post back tonight with any changes to it.Thanks,-Sky

[rvalkass 5]

I just need to think of a background to put on. I don't know if a white background color will be OK.

If picking suitable colours is a problem then try using a colour scheme generator (linked below). Give them a base colour and they will come up with other colours which work well with it. This is often the best way to find a suitable set of colours to use. However, once you've got your palette of colours, stick to them! Only use other colours where really necessary (i.e. red for an error). This will help to give your site a complete and coherent look.

 

WellStyled Colour Scheme Generator 2

ColorSchemer

Adobe Kuler

[Ruben 0]

Wow, very elegant. The forum is amazing. Perfectly blended with great organization. The only improvement would be to make a nicer menu bar on the homepage, a nice rollover image would be cool too. Over all: great site! Keep of the amazing work.

[jlhaslip 4]

that Header is quite "heavy" for dial-up users. It was even quite slow loading on my DSL connection.
At 157Kb, I would see about getting the file size reduced to speed up the loading and take a load off the Server.

Use the analyser found here to see the problem spots.

[-Sky- 0]

Thanks for the wonderful comments people. I have improved it yet again a little to suit the site. I will continue to do improvements along the way, although my best big aim is to get some more active great members who like gaming discussions etc! :lol:Sorry for my little inactivity for the past half of this and last month as I have been very busy working hard improving my site. I think as you may have noticed I am good at development and/of publishing websites, improvements to them. I always use HTML/XHTML for templates such as homepages for my websites. Donations are appreciated by members of Central-Gaming and are rewarded into a new usergroup with more options then regular members. I don't like to push members to donate though, they can IF they want to. Although donations are kept for modifications, and IPB Licensing needs etc. ^_^Thank you all so much for reviewing my website, I greatly appreciate your kind comments and tips on how to improve my work also.-Sky

[xls 0]

I think the forums are great and that there are plenty of boards etc. that are perfect for a gaming discussion forum.The only things I will pick up on is the main page. The menu under the header is too plain. A bit bland. It needs to stand out a bit more and grab some attention.Also, on the main page, your announcements block is at the bottom of the page. That would be something that I would put at the top, just because I want to make sure my members and visitors see it. Other than that, very good job. Keep up the work.

[-Sky- 0]

The Central-Gaming Announcement at the bottom is old. I will update the page when new news comes up. I'm looking for a mod for IPB 2.3x that puts news straight on the homepage when posted on the forum automatically.-Sky

[Ash-Bash 0]

The Central-Gaming now has now been improved after some great suggestions we have had from here and other forums, Thanks for every one contributing. We are now quite active and have many post's and members - Ash

[-Sky- 0]

On the new improvements of Central-Gaming I have been working on both the forum and the home page at the same time and is giving me alot of stress lately. With all the coding I have to do (myself) the HTML, PHP, SQL, making a few mods for our forum (IP.Board 2.3) it is quite stressing. I don't really like to have to do PHP as it does make my brain hurt with all the code, and if I do something wrong it gives an error. >.< But above all still when stressed I have not given up on this project. This project is to MAKE Central-Gaming live much longer then it has done as of now!

 

I need to find some friends (possibly some on here) to also help me do this and to make it work. We need to update our keywords for SEO, those I am not an expert at and I would really appreciate some support on some of the things I am trying to accomplish. But I promise to every member on this forum who has actually commented on my review topics two things.

 

ONE: I will NEVER give up trying and lose my hope.

TWO: I will keep trying and trying until I get success of this project.

 

I have nearly finished our new forum skin (witch we used on my old forum {The GTA Sector} witch is no longer alive due to hosting issues. My friend who let me actually buy the hosting package that was actually ?20 for the Elite Package for less then ?10. I was aloud to buy it for just ?2 per month! Doesn't that sound like a nice friend? Yes, but his ISP banned him from running his hosting service or something that he told me.

 

But I think it is actually time to start on the improvement of Central-Gaming.net!

 

If I could get some support and/or help with this project It will be greatly and deeply appreciated!

 

Thank you so much.

Sky.

[TheDisturbedOne 1]

I think this website looks ok, but there are some minor things you can do to make it look a lot better.
The background behind Lo-Fi Version should be changed to a grey color. it would go with the rest of your forum, as nothing else is blue.
Change the image for:
http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/
and
http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/
It is just one of those things that you forget to do with a style, replacing images that you only see once or twice. Both are blue, and don't go with the grey.

Hide unused forums until they need to be used. As a guest, seeing 3 or 4 forums with no posts makes the place seem emptier then it really is. Make those forums admin only, or even member only.

I think other then those minor things, the site looks GREAT. The most important thing to remember with gaming forums is to not give up, since there are tons of gaming forum, it may take a while to get many members, but they will eventually come.

[-Sky- 0]

Thanks dude! I will try get these done, although I am a little behind schedule right now. It'll take me a little some time to complete. What most concerns me is that gaming forums mostly have a website. The main site is what we need in general for the entire of Central-Gaming.net. I am in need of volunteers to help me with it. :DIf any members will offer to volunteer for this project assignment it will be greatfully appreciated.Thanks.