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Older articles
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Post subject: Stronghold-Knights
 Posted: Sep 27, 2004 - 11:42 PM
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GlueBeard |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 28, 2004 - 03:50 AM
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Pirate Critic
Joined: Aug 18, 2004
Posts: 347
Location: The Isle of GlueBeard
Status: Offline
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 28, 2004 - 02:46 PM
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| No but Im a member and its an awsome site, they custom built most of the template and everyhthing. |
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GlueBeard |
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 28, 2004 - 05:08 PM
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Pirate Critic
Joined: Aug 18, 2004
Posts: 347
Location: The Isle of GlueBeard
Status: Offline
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1. The graphic of the king at the top left corner of the front page is eye-grabbing. It is, in fact, one of the few high points of this theme.
2. The header, itself, with the exception of the king graphic, is lackluster. The www.Stronghold-Knights.com title is very legible, but the font that it is done in is unembellished and plain looking. This does nothing to boost the impact of the header area. The title is made further problematic by the fact that it sits off-center. The alternating gray and dark gray horizontal lines are insufficient to save the header. The mounted knight in the upper right corner doesn't look nearly as good as the king graphic that sits opposite it in the upper left corner. If it were not for that graphic of that king, with his semi-sneering smile, then the header would fairly boring. The circular border work around the king graphic does work well with that particular king graphic, though.
3. The left and right blocks, while not an ugly color of gray, are far too plain, and do not project the image of a stronghold or castle, which I think would suit this site far better. Conversely, on a positive note, I would rate the left and right blocks highly as far as having a clean look. This is a plus, but it is not sufficient to save the left and right blocks. The subject matter that this site is dedicated to deserves a far better vehicle with which to present the content to the site visitors than this site currently has. For whatever it is worth, I would rate the subject matter highly, since it deals with games which would probably appeal to me, were I to try them. But, the subject matter is not the focus of my analysis - the theme, itself, is.
4. The blue title bars in the left and right blocks, the ones with the gradient effect applied to them, do present a nice contrast for the gray background upon which they are set. They really stand out. Unfortunately, their impact is marred and reduced by the fact that the text inside of those title bars is aligned to the left. This impacts the title bars very negatively, because the blue gradient really draws the eye to them, and because they are not centered, they just look sort of odd. The blue title bars also go well with the blue background behind the king graphic in the upper left corner.
5. What appears to be either a ninja or an assassin, just below the king graphic at the top of the left block, looks good, but it is overpowered by the king graphic directly above it in the header. At a bare minimum, I would recommend revising this theme, if this theme is retained.
6. The off-yellow colored text that appears throughout the front page contrasts well against the gray and dark gray backgrounds upon which it is set. But, the color choice, itself, yields a rather bland impact upon the site visitor. Maybe that is a parchment color, and not an off-yellow, though I am not certain, offhand, what the actual designation should be. Either way, in spite of the contrast it provides, I would recommend changing this text color, to inject the site with a bit more vibrancy.
7. The Main Menu in the left block section is vastly overpopulated, and scores very low marks for this reason. All of those links, all 32 of them, taken collectively simply result in a feel of too much is going on at one time in that block. Most of the icon graphics beside of those links do not fit the theme.
8. The News On... block would be better served moved to the right blocks, since the left side is so heavy with links, while the right side has so few. This makes the front page look out of balance, and with the king graphic sitting atop the ninja/assassin graphic, the left side of the page looks way heavier than the right side.
9. The little flag graphics in the languages box is nothing out of the ordinary, but the colorful flags add to the aesthetics for this particular site, since the site as a semi-Medieval feel about it, due to the subject matter, and the Medieval age conjures up images of different countries warring with one another. This block looks good, and I would recommend keeping it.
10. The date and time at the top of the right block get high marks for being noticeable That said, I would recommend putting them in bold text, since they feel overpowered by the knight directly above them. My gut instinct, however, also tells me that something else would work better in that particular spot. I think that this is due to the fact that the left block counterpart is a graphic of a ninja/assassin, and the date/time block is having trouble competing with that.
11. The Castle Quotes I like very much, and it adds greatly to the feel and atmosphere of the site. You definitely want to keep this one.
12. There are too many stories displayed at once in the center block section. I would recommend chopping this number at least in half. If this were done, especially, in conjunction with using larger graphics in the stories, then I think that the visual impact upon the site visitor would be far greater than what the stories currently enjoy.
13. The white text used in the center blocks rates far higher than the parchment/off-yellow text color.
14. At the bottom of the left and right blocks, there are two blocks. The left block one says Stronghold Knights, and the right block one has a small graphic of a knight holding an axe. I would recommend that the left one be redone as a graphic with a more decorative font used for Stronghold Knights, and I would recommend a better looking graphic for the right one, since that one I have to strain to discern what it is. The title of Stronghold Knights conjures up a strong image, and I feel that by revising these two areas, the impact upon the site visitor would, in turn, be stronger. Good concept, poor implementation, where these two blocks are concerned.
15. The footer area is large, and yet, virtually wasted. I do take note of the smeared blood and of the noticeable crack. However, the blood and crack are not repeated elsewhere on the front page, and as a result, they both seem out of place and rather alone. The end result is a footer which takes up a lot of space to do absolutely nothing. Far better use of this area could be made than presently is. The blood and crack are, again, good concepts, but the way in which they have been implemented I would rate as being very poorly done. And, yes, I am aware of the crack in the graphic at the lower part of the right block section, but it is simply too little, too late to save itself from the eye of scrutiny.
16. The border work of the right and left blocks is crisp and clean. But, the left and right block areas I can easily envision as being towers of a castle, which would fit the subject matter perfectly, but a castle is not what I see at present, only nice border work that would suit another theme better.
17. Near the top of the center block section, there are graphics of 4 different men's heads. These pictures, along with the king and ninja/assassin graphic, add character to the site, and imbue it with persona. I rate all of these head shots highly, and they, collectively, are the single best thing about this theme.
18. The welcome message of Welcome to Stronghold Knights! You have arrived! has nice contrast against its background, and is very visible and grabs the site visitor's attention. I would, however, recommend a larger font size for this welcome message.
19. There are 5 small graphics above the head shots of the men. While they seem to fit the subject matter, they are too small in size, and one has to strain to discern what some of them are. In their present form, they add little, if anything, to the site's look and feel. They turn stronghold into weakhold, from an aesthetics point of view.
20. The forum messages displayed in the center block I lean in favor of, because the titles of the forum postings are colorful, in some instances, and add to the overall feel of the site. If they could be displayed in a more visually impressive manner, then that would add considerably to their score in my book.
21. The list of forum categories in the right block I have mixed feelings on. On one hand, it seems to duplicate, somewhat, the function provided by having forum messages displayed in the center block. On the other hand, this block lists the forum categories, rather than individual messages, as is the case in the center block. I am sort of in the middle on this one. They might fit better in a horizontal row running somewhere near the top, below the king graphic.
22. Beneath the pictures of the 4 men's heads in the center block, there is a brief summary of what the site is about. I like this, though it seems to eventually just run on to the forum message titles below it. These two items should be kept distinct, I think.
23. All in all, with all things on the front page considered, I would recommend replacing the theme. Short of replacement, I would recommend extensive revision. The king graphic is impressive. By and large, the rest of the theme is not. It has a clean look and feel about it, but from the standpoint of aesthetics, instead of seeing a stronghold, what I see is a fairly plain theme that has the name Stronghold Knights. The subject matter presents the perfect material to work with, but this has apparently been lost upon the theme's designer. Get rid of the plain gray background and transform the site into an actual castle. Instead of grand and glorious stonework, we are treated to plain Jane. The subject matter is impressive and exciting. It is a shame and regrettable, though, that the theme does not rise to the occasion. Maybe that's why that king is sneering when he smiles. |
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Post subject:
Posted: Nov 23, 2004 - 06:52 PM
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| You are aware that members can choose from about 6 different themes on that site? |
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GlueBeard |
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Post subject:
Posted: Nov 25, 2004 - 05:16 AM
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Pirate Critic
Joined: Aug 18, 2004
Posts: 347
Location: The Isle of GlueBeard
Status: Offline
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