Psy 350 Report post Posted June 29, 2011 I'm going to start working on improving the (front end) website and I need some feedback from you guys on what you'd like to see. I'm planning to put things like "Latest Forum Posts" and maybe a "Poll" on the homepage as well as tidying up the look and feel of the site a bit, but I'd appreciate you guys giving me as many ideas as possible on what you'd like me to include so I can make the site as good as possible. You may want to look at my other sites such as: http://www.gta-sanandreas.com http://www.gta4.tv http://www.igrandtheftauto.com http://www.ireddead.com http://www.la-noire.tv or other gta5 fansites like: http://www.gtav.net http://www.gta5.tv http://gta5news.wordpress.com for some ideas. I wont be including everything you mention but if there's anything that I think will benefit the site that I've missed, I'll look to get it included. Cheers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Massacre 7646 Report post Posted June 29, 2011 If you do the "latest forum posts" thing, you might want to leave the Asylum out of it. Other than that, I'm a big fan of the regular iGTA layout, but I would remove the Latest Images section and use the Random Pic feature from gta4.tv. Also, the theme and color scheme from gta4.tv is the shit. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Psy 350 Report post Posted June 29, 2011 I should point out I'm referring to iGTA5.com here rather than iGrandTheftAuto.com. Any feedback for iGTA5.com is appreciated. Thanks. Random pic is definitely something I can add to iGTA5. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DuPz0r 5361 Report post Posted June 29, 2011 I think you should just make it look alot like gta4.tv as Mass suggested. It looked the most "GTA" themed out of all of your websites. Another thing i think may be a good idea is to integrate the website look into the forums. As the forums feel too separate to the website at the moment.... Just a suggestions. Also, thegtaplace.com have a really slick layout i think. I like the buttons on the header image. Dunno if that helps much. gtaunderground.com have a nice slim page, which looks quite nice too. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Massacre 7646 Report post Posted June 30, 2011 I should point out I'm referring to iGTA5.com here rather than iGrandTheftAuto.com. Any feedback for iGTA5.com is appreciated. Er, what I meant is that I am a fan of iGTA's layout, and if you plan on making extensive changes to iGTA5, then I would use that layout, with gta4.tv's brick wall theme and grey color scheme. Actually, now that I look at it more, I really like the iGTA5 background, but I still prefer gta4.tv's brick design in the center. I think replacing the blank grey part of the homepage with a brownstone design would look good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Post-traumatic amnesia 499 Report post Posted June 30, 2011 If you do the "latest forum posts" thing, you might want to leave the Asylum out of it. Other than that, I'm a big fan of the regular iGTA layout, but I would remove the Latest Images section and use the Random Pic feature from gta4.tv. Also, the theme and color scheme from gta4.tv is the shit. I support this. The random picture feature is a good idea. I think you should just make it look alot like gta4.tv as Mass suggested. It looked the most "GTA" themed out of all of your websites. Another thing i think may be a good idea is to integrate the website look into the forums. As the forums feel too separate to the website at the moment.... Just a suggestions. I think Mass only suggested the random pic feature from gta4.tv, not to make the site look like gta4.tv. I didn't like gta4.tv as much because it was so loaded with graphics and scripts. I always prefer lightweight website design over heavy website design. There are two reasons for this, one is that I like things to look tidy, the other is a performance issue. I have an old computer so it is very obvious if a website is light or heavy. igta4.tv run alot slower on my pc than igta5.com. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Massacre 7646 Report post Posted June 30, 2011 Like I said here: Er, what I meant is that I am a fan of iGTA's layout, and if you plan on making extensive changes to iGTA5, then I would use that layout, with gta4.tv's brick wall theme and grey color scheme. Actually, now that I look at it more, I really like the iGTA5 background, but I still prefer gta4.tv's brick design in the center. I think replacing the blank grey part of the homepage with a brownstone design would look good. I think the regular iGTA5 background with a brown version of gta4.tv's brick pattern and iGTA's layout would look great. But like I said, I don't know if Psy was planning on putting that much work into it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DuPz0r 5361 Report post Posted June 30, 2011 I see your point Demon. What i meant really was the colour and layout of gta4.tv I'm sure it could be done clean and low graphics a bit like igrandtheftauto.com , I guess I'm a fan of the classic layout. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Psy 350 Report post Posted June 30, 2011 I've been messing around at my end (in other words it's not live on the site), but iGTA5 does look pretty nice with the brick wall pattern from GTA4.TV. I might need to find a different brick pattern or modify it slightly so it doesn't look too much like a copy, but with that, the content boxes on the main site sort of look like posters or sort of billboards on the wall. Could be expanded so the content boxes are styled like billboards or something. I'm probably going to re-do the website header banner and the body background images anyway, so I think it'll definitely look better. Anyone able to help out with any graphics? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DuPz0r 5361 Report post Posted June 30, 2011 http://cgtextures.com/ - Plenty of free to use tiled brick images on here. It requires a free membership, but if can't be bothered, you could tell me any you want, i could get them for you... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Psy 350 Report post Posted June 30, 2011 Thanks Dup. Do all of those textures tile well? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DuPz0r 5361 Report post Posted June 30, 2011 Thanks Dup. Do all of those textures tile well? The ones that say tiled next to them do. The rest are just images i think. I could tile one for you if you find a nice one. Also, I'll help with graphics if you need me I need to re-layout my website at some point anyway, so it'll be good to get back into it! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Psy 350 Report post Posted July 2, 2011 Hey guys, I've updated the site a bit. Tweaked some of the fonts/sizes, changed the background to the GTA4.TV background (may change it to something unique when I get a chance) and restyled the main page news a bit. What does everyone think? I also added a "news date seperator" which will categorize news articles into the days they were posted. Another development I'll work on soon is to make the news on the home page display a facebook style news feed. So if we update a page on a specific day, it'll show on the home page under that day's news. Similarly, if we upload an image on a specific day, that days images will show under the news feed. Therefore by visiting the home page every day, you'll see ALL new content and images for that day. Sound good? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DuPz0r 5361 Report post Posted July 2, 2011 It's looking better. But here are some negative points i think could be changed: - Fonts. The banner, buttons, navigation hyper-links, and the main text all have different fonts by the look of it. Maybe you should think about having one unified font for the lot with an exception for the banner. - Background image. The background image on either side of the main body look a bit out of place now, as the brick wall is quite busy looking. Maybe have the background a solid but desaturated colour so it doesn't fight with the brick tile for attention? - Banner. I know you said you were thinking of changing it, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. Yeah the banner is one of the most important aspects as it's the first thing most people look at when they load up your website. So definitely work out a nice looking banner which will instantly say "This is GTA". You most likely already know all this, but sometimes it's nice to hear it from someone else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Post-traumatic amnesia 499 Report post Posted July 2, 2011 I agree with Dup. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Massacre 7646 Report post Posted July 2, 2011 I would suggest finding a good worn paper-looking lining to put around the text boxes, so they look like posters. And for the background, maybe you could photoshop the shit out of a GTA IV screenshot (or just a picture of a New York street) so the brick pattern looks like it's actually a building. Maybe extend the brick pattern to the edge of the page on one side so it's not an incredibly narrow building. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DuPz0r 5361 Report post Posted July 3, 2011 That's not a bad idea Mass! If done well it'd look real gritty and fit the GTA theme really well. I feel a mock-up itching to come out! something like this? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Psy 350 Report post Posted July 3, 2011 It's looking better. But here are some negative points i think could be changed: - Fonts. The banner, buttons, navigation hyper-links, and the main text all have different fonts by the look of it. Maybe you should think about having one unified font for the lot with an exception for the banner. All fonts are now Verdana apart from the header logo. - Background image. The background image on either side of the main body look a bit out of place now, as the brick wall is quite busy looking. Maybe have the background a solid but desaturated colour so it doesn't fight with the brick tile for attention? Changed the background to plain black. May use a grunge-style pattern ifI can find one which goes alongside the bricks. - Banner. I know you said you were thinking of changing it, but I thought I'd mention it anyway. Yeah the banner is one of the most important aspects as it's the first thing most people look at when they load up your website. So definitely work out a nice looking banner which will instantly say "This is GTA". I need someone to come up with a better banner. I'm sure we could make one based on some of the fake screens we have so far. You most likely already know all this, but sometimes it's nice to hear it from someone else. In addition, I added the Random Image section to the left navigation menu which makes the page more interesting on each load. Also added a Google+ button to the home page and to content pages so people can "+" the page as well as tweet is or like it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DuPz0r 5361 Report post Posted July 3, 2011 I personally feel that the pricedown font gives the website a GTA authenticity, therefore I used it on this banner. What do you think of it? I just found a bunch of different ENB series pictures of GTAIV and just mashed them together for now, i was going for more the layout rather than the actual imagery atm. Oh and the Buttons are in Verdana too Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Psy 350 Report post Posted July 3, 2011 Haha looks decent. Could do with a bit more work. The images don't really appear to blend together very well. Also I prefer going for different fonts on the banner (for the links anyway). And pricedown is decent but it looks a bit plain. Good start though and that's something similar to what I'm looking for. I knocked this up in 15 mins or so using the fake screens "we" made on the site. Not too happy with it, but it's an idea; I've changed the gradient on the left nav from red to blue (gta-sanandreas.com nostalgia anyone?). I NEED a good banner. Ideally with some blended screenshots and a blue tint over the top. Here's the San Andreas one for some inspiration. The banner doesn't have to be perfectly square, it can be shaped to something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Massacre 7646 Report post Posted July 3, 2011 That's not a bad idea Mass! If done well it'd look real gritty and fit the GTA theme really well. I feel a mock-up itching to come out! something like this? That's awesome. Also, if the site used that layout, the moon should be clickable, with the size changing when you click it. Old school Easter eggs ftw. I need to learn how to do this shit so I can make myself useful. Might try my hand at making a banner, actually. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Psy 350 Report post Posted July 3, 2011 It's much harder to use graphical designs than it is to keep them simple. Full graphic websites usually are a fixed size and don't let you scroll down. That's gonna cause problems with different screen resolutions too. People on 1024x768 wont even see the moon or anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Massacre 7646 Report post Posted July 4, 2011 Fuck. Well, I was bound to run out of working ideas eventually. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DuPz0r 5361 Report post Posted July 4, 2011 Ok i had a go at another banner after reading your last post Psy. Any improvements on this one? I actually layered it over the home page whilst making it to see how i could develop it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Post-traumatic amnesia 499 Report post Posted July 4, 2011 ^ I think the above looks bad, both the image and the font, but especially the font. But I loved this you made: I personally feel that the pricedown font gives the website a GTA authenticity, therefore I used it on this banner. What do you think of it? I just found a bunch of different ENB series pictures of GTAIV and just mashed them together for now, i was going for more the layout rather than the actual imagery atm. Oh and the Buttons are in Verdana too I think this is a good start, but the right side image don't blend in so well. Maybe people and cars should be given more space? And I really like the "igta5.com" fonts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
