Impending Site Redesigns

[admin2]

Hi folks -

We're getting ready to start some major redesigns on all of our Puzzle Baron sites - the first redesign was launched this evening at DropQuotes.com. I'll be giving it a week or two for user feedback and to work out any kinks, and more than likely Cryptograms.org will be the next site to get the new templates.

If you're curious about all the new features the redesign will have (several of which were first recommended by users of this site!) you may want to check out my latest blog post at:

http://puzzlebaron.com/blog/2011/03/25/major-site-redesigns/

Cheers!

Stephen

PS: Bonsai will be glad to hear he no longer needs to manage his "Wall of Titans," as the redesign will have an automatically updated list of "New Record Times" available on all pages. (See DropQuotes.com for an example.)

[pootie49]

Sounds Interesting

Hope it works out well!

Will there be downtime for the new changes?

And bansai will see his name on all the pages everyday forever and ever, LOL.

Good Luck Admin.

Can we add avatars to the gallery?

[bansaisequoia]

Wall of Titans

Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
Stephen, that would be just great if you could implement this. I spend a lot of time downloading torrents, hence my computer gets infected with the occasional unremovable virus. There have been a few times when I've had to go into safe mode and try to let the "Wall of Titans" escape into my flash drive. After that, I've had to do an entire system wipeout and destroy all the remaining files in my hard drive. Fortunately, I'm anal retentive and keep two or more backups of most of my files. However, since the "Wall of Titans" changes several times per day, it's not really possible to keep an up-to-the-minute backup, which would endure even in the event of a complete wipeout of my files by virus. There are over 30,000 entries on the Wall, which I started 18 months ago. That means I've seen the Baron, the Banner and the Biplane an average of 54 times per day. It would be a great relief if I could tear down the Wall.

[pootie49]

Does that mean....

Bansai,

Does that mean the Wall of Titans isnt a wall where other players
break your records ...its a wall where you break other players records?

so when you say "so and so" for example, has placed their 500th brick
in the wall it really means you broke the five hundredth record that they held?

Im just curious.

Not that it will matter when the new site changes implement but more of
a sort of "explain" please thing.

[admin2]

The new redesign will involve maybe 20 minutes of downtime while the actual migration takes place, and I'll give ample warning ahead of time when that is about to happen. It will probably take about a week or two for me to make all the necessary template changes on a test server first, so the upgrade may not happen until mid April or thereabouts.

Re: avatars, you will still be able to upload your own avatars as always. The gallery is just a way for folks who are less tech-savvy to be able to browse some options and select one. (Avatars you upload yourself will not be added to the gallery for others to choose.)

[imported_Lurker]

Pootie, you didn't know that was what the Wall was? That's why LiveLoveLaugh was always asking for bricks back when she broke one of bansai's records.

The wall also includes bansai breaking his own records. It's every time he sees the plane.

[smoochie222]

Woo Hoo

Looks like it's going to be awesome!

[admin2]

It looks like I'll be able to make the transition to the new design faster than I thought. About 90% of the work is currently done now on a development server - I'll finish the rest up tomorrow or the next day, and will shoot to launch the redesign to the live site sometime on or soon after April 1st. This way it won't interfere with the very last days/hours of the March competition.

I'll make an announcement on the 1st to let you know the exact time of the transition. The site will probably have about 10-15 minutes of "screwy time" while I'm moving files over, so competitive players will want to log out while that is taking place.

[imported_Lurker]

Thanks for the heads-up!

Despite all your warnings, some people will still think it's an April Fool's joke.

Still, we're all looking forward to the updated design. It seems to be working well over at DropQuotes, although I'm still working on the scrolling down part. Hope that doesn't become an issue here.

[admin2]

Vertical scrolling may be required for some of the longer puzzles in the new redesign, especially for those with smaller browser resolutions. But I've added a new function to the redesign today which I hope will help alleviate that - there will be a red arrow icon on the top of every puzzle page, if you prefer not to have to scroll you will be able to simply click the red arrow and the puzzle will automatically center itself vertically in your window.

I'll have to retroactively insert a similar function into the new Drop Quotes site, too. :-)

[pootie49]

Hi

Thanks admin I have noticed you do have to scroll on Drop Quotes.
And when did you increase the avatar size allowance here?
Thank YOU so much for that.

Keep up the good work

ADMIN CAN WE GET A SNEAK PEAK AT THE NEW FORMAT???
BEFORE FRIDAY. I KNOW DROP QUOTES IS SIMILAR BUT IT
WOULD BE NICE TO SEE WHAT OUR SITE LOOKS LIKE???