Site Updates

[Kylin]

I'm working on a to-do list for the RPC before ARR launches. Most of this won't launch for another month or so but I'm trying to organize it all right now. If you have any suggestions for the site (forum sections, features, etc), please don't hesitate to suggest them. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to implement what's requested but I'll at least give it consideration.

 

As of now, here's what I'm working on:

 

--Updating forum to latest version.

--Updating wiki to latest version (it's presently WAAAAY behind).

--Updating gallery with fixes and the like.

--Updating classifieds section with fixes.

--Merging calendar widget on forum page with calendar widget on home page.

--Overhauling and cleanup of Directory forum section.

--Redesign of background image, logo/header area, and possible adjustments to colors (specifically the green) as a result.

--Cleanup of Archives section.

--Continue to improve user interface of wiki.

--Possible creation of a linkshell teaser site, similar to the one of the past.

[Kylin]

As some noticed, the wiki was down all day today due to my own silliness. It's back up, though it required a rollback to Sept 8th. So any edits made by Gerik and Aysun (possibly Blade) are null and void and need to be readded. Reeeeally sorry about that ><.

 

It costs me 15 bucks to get it back up as well, which now has me hesitating to try updating the version a second go. I don't want this to keep happening. The wiki version is extremely outdated (not being updated for 2 yrs) and that's why it's very difficult to update. I'm contemplating my options going forward with the wiki now. I'm considering either leaving it as is or starting a brand new upgraded wiki and then transferring all the content over to it (no easy feat).

 

If we do go the new wiki option, it'll be a bit time consuming to transfer everything over. But it'll also clean up a very congested database as well. Should we go this route, I may consider overhauling the entire appearance of the wiki while doing so. In that instance, does anyone have any suggestions as to what they want it to look like (colors, layout, etc)? Or just keep it all the same?

[Moltove]

 

 

 

Top side-banner is from FF Wikia.

The rest is from pottermore.com

 

I post these images (mainly the latter ones) because I always liked the idea of having a website with a background like that, portraying you're reading out of a book or navigating through a desk.

 

The only thing is, I just don't know how feasible that is, since one person may surf on their 42" tv (such as I), or their 14" netbook. But that's coding semantics.

[Aysun]

I, on the other hand, think you should keep it as is. Minimal images. I remember we used to have the little "book" thing going on and it was extremely cumbersome. The more professional the site looks, the better!

 

As I offered before, I'd gladly help you go through profiles and copy/paste/save the information pre-reinstall.. Just let me know.

[Kylin]

Wiki is about complete and ready for transferring stuff. It may be ready as early as tomorrow. What I plan to do is change the wiki link up in the navigation bar to the new wiki, while adding a sublink below it to the old/current wiki. In this way, people can easily access their stuff and transfer/help transfer pages over before ARR. I've installed all templates (info boxes, etc), merged the user database with the forums, and have other basic things done.

 

Image-wise, I'm going to keep the general same look as the present wiki. I don't want it to be too image heavy and people keep saying that they like the way it looks as is. I'll consider making more tweaks (new banner, tweaks to colors, etc). We've done the book thing in the past and while it looks snazzy, it was quite cumbersome. You can actually see the old site layout still here: http://www.ffxiv-roleplayers.com/old (warning: none of the links work there anymore).

 

The new wiki is mostly up-to-date now after 2 years of lagging behind. I also plan to overhaul the front page to include a lot more links. I'll make another announcement tomorrow or Monday when it's ready to go live. I'd appreciate any help in transferring pages over (all it requires is copy/pasting).

[Moltove]

Ah ok. Sorry, I wasn't sure how much of a hassle it was.

 

I'd be glad to help with the transfer tomorrow, I feel like I owe a lot to this community

[Kylin]

The navigation button for "Wiki" has been altered. The link will now lead you to the new wiki and also drop down to give an option to navigation to the old wiki. In this manner, it'll be easy to transfer information from one to the other.

 

Some important notes:

 

1. The new wiki does have a slightly different color scheme, which is still being tweaked here and there. As such, some of the text colors used in your profile may also need to be changed.

 

2. A word about transferring data: ALL lore pages need transferred (bestiary, races, religion, locations, etc). This is a prime opportunity to not only add/modify to our already extensive lore database, but to also add pictures that have been lacking for some time now.

 

In regards to transferring characters: Please only transfer characters who you've actually heard of. Characters that have vanished and/or have never been heard of by anyone are most likely creations of players who have long since quit the game. The new wiki will be a good way to cleanup characters.

 

3. Login information is still identical to your forum login info.

 

4. Please report any bugs/missing features.

[Kylin]

New update for the wiki! Adding new pages has been simplified drastically. An option has been added to simply add a page to the category you're currently in. For example: If you wish to add a new holiday to the wiki, you may simply navigate to the "Holidays" category and add the new page by simply typing the name of the page and then "submit." See picture below. Please note that the old method of adding pages (via searching, clicking red link, and manually adding categories) is still possible as well. But this new method is a huge step forward for the wiki illiterate :ugeek:

 

 

EDIT: Prior to the launch of ARR, I hope to have some smaller updates to the wiki to make it even easier to use. Particularly, I'm hoping to edit the wiki editor further (you'll notice it has changed recently already) to include basic BBcodes and colorizing features similar to the forums.

 

As another mini announcement, the "Bazaar" has been added to the navigation link and removed from the list of forums.

[Kylin]

Added spoiler tag capabilities to the wiki. Please note at this time, there is no spoiler button in the wiki editor window. You have to use the code manually for now since it'll take me some time to add the button properly. Simply surround your text with this code: text here

[Moltove]

New update for the wiki! Adding new pages has been simplified drastically. An option has been added to simply add a page to the category you're currently in. For example: If you wish to add a new holiday to the wiki, you may simply navigate to the "Holidays" category and add the new page by simply typing the name of the page and then "submit." See picture below. Please note that the old method of adding pages (via searching, clicking red link, and manually adding categories) is still possible as well. But this new method is a huge step forward for the wiki illiterate :ugeek:

 

...

 

EDIT: Prior to the launch of ARR, I hope to have some smaller updates to the wiki to make it even easier to use. Particularly, I'm hoping to edit the wiki editor further (you'll notice it has changed recently already) to include basic BBcodes and colorizing features similar to the forums.

 

As another mini announcement, the "Bazaar" has been added to the navigation link and removed from the list of forums.

 

Success!

[Kylin]

Another update to the wiki. Most regular BBCodes will now work on it! That means a lot of the forum codes used here are now compatible with the wiki. Codes such as:

 

[b]Bold text[/b]
[u]Underline[/u]
[color=#800000]Colored text[/color]
[color=Red]Colored text[/color]

 

 

 

While these kinds of codes were accomplished beforehand, they required a lot more complicated codes. For instance, to color text required this type of coding originally:

 

Insert text here

 

So now, editing wiki pages should be a bit simpler ^^. You can type your formatting on most forums and simply copy it over to the wiki. Please note that not all BBCodes are supported at this time (such as the regular forum image tag for example). But coloring and formatting text should be much easier now. Regular wiki formatting is still usable as well. Still looking into ways to redo the actual editor itself in the future.

[Kylin]

Sorry for the double post but forgot to mention more about the wiki editor I'm looking into. If you love/hate it, please let me know now. Here's a fully functional demo of the editor I'm looking into. Feel free to play around with it and let me know what you think. Also note that some of those buttons will be completely removed if this editor is used (such as "print, save, new page" and a couple other unneeded buttons).

 

http://ckeditor.com/demo

[Kylin]

Wiki editor has been changed from this:

 

[spoil][/spoil]

 

To this:

 

[spoil][/spoil]

 

Please take note of the red square I made in the 2nd picture. You must log in and click that once before the new editor will load for you. After that, it should auto-load for all future editing purposes. You can switch back to the old editor by clicking it again. The old editor is the super old one since the slightly newer one wasn't compatible with this new editor.

 

Also note that the new editor has limited options for some styles. For example, only Red and Blue Titles are an option under the Styles menu in order to save room. However, by clicking "Source" or by returning to the old editor, you can easily change the color through manual input to just about any color in existence ^^.

 

Hope this update makes it even easier for the coding challenged to make their wiki pages! The new editor allows you to view your changes in real time without having to preview changes as well!

[Kylin]

Just a quick update: the forum update is finally underway! I finally have a vision and have slowly started working on it. So I wouldn't imagine the wait to be too much longer now.

 

Please note that the update will be graphical in nature only. Features and whatnot will not be affected or added to in the slightest. The entire banner area is being overhauled (excluding the navigation bar where the buttons are). The green scattered throughout the forums will be replaced with a more subtle color. The background parchment will be changed if all goes well with my current plan. And the overall background image (with the paladin and sylph) will be changed, though I still need a volunteer to design something for that (I have no real requirements aside from something FFXIVish, unique, and impressive looking). I actually was thinking of finding a way to incorporate our artists into making something but wasn't sure how feasible that would be given numerous factors.

 

It may not seem like much, but it'll give a nice refreshing look for A Realm Reborn.