Post by The Warzone on Oct 24, 2015 17:25:07 GMT
Sept 11, 2015 20:47:35 GMT @mixedinterests said:
Hello @dragonor,I'm just a friendly reviewer and I've had an eye on your forum to critique. Now I have some time to go through your site. Before I do, I'd like to give you an overview of my steps. I will start with a first impression to give you an idea of what impressions the new guest encounters first. Then I will go through your layout and touch on some of your content. Hopefully I can touch on what you ask for, but I don't think there will be a problem there. After all this, I will wrap up with a short overall summary of my impression on your forum. Ready? Let's go!
First Impressions:
Obviously a war-based site from the forum banner. Beyond that, there is not much to tell from a first glance. So let's look deeper.
Forum Banner:
I really like your choice of the banner images. It completely accomplishes the task of setting the theme for your site. I would recommend, however, to include a sort of subtitle beneath your forum title. Perhaps it could say "A Warzone RPG" just to clarify that this isn't a discussion forum about another game or anything like that.
Color Scheme:
Actually, I think you could do better. Sure the turquoise on white looks nice with the contrast but it doesn't really fit. I would suggest you try playing with the browns and reds in the banner throughout your color scheme. Don't make it exactly the same but make it so it feels more like a continuation. This could also go for the background color. You almost have a match to the dust of the banner but it would look nicer in a tan rather than a grey.
Not really a part of your color scheme but I want to tell you anyway. I really like the icons you've used. The only three icons I am not keen on are those that belong with the Roleplay Setup, OOC, and General Roleplay boards. They just don't seem to match the purpose of their respective boards (or they feel too default compared to the rest). What if you used the Roleplay Setup icon for the OOC board and maybe found an itinerary icon or something for the Setup board? Then for the General Roleplay, what if you used a helmet or something to signify the war of the roleplay?
I'm not sure actually. Just throwing ideas out there.
Layout & Boards:
I like your use of sidebars alongside the main boards. Using it for important links is a good way to make your site more easily navigated.
Your boards are nicely organized into their respective categories and having only three categories is great for a newer site to handle.
Command Centre:
While I wanted to put this in the layout subsection of my review, I split it away since you had specifically asked for this.
Honestly, I don't like seeing a category with no boards in it. This makes the forum have an under-construction type of atmosphere. I think it would be best if you made the whole thing non-viewable to guests. Potential members would know about the private faction boards once they joined and really if they don't join for the general idea of the RP, why would they? If you wanted, you could make mention of the private faction boards somewhere in the General categories. Maybe the Roleplay Rules and Material board would be the best place. Somewhere where you already have information about the forum itself.
Nevermind. I see you've already made mention of these private boards in the rules. That would be enough, I think.
Rules:
I like to read over forum rules for clarity and to have an idea of the staff and the community you are trying to create.
First off, finding your rules was easy with the sidebar link. Thank you.
It was a little strange to see someone other than the admin starting a rules thread. Maybe you need to have some sort of note in your sidebar as to who the staff are?
In general, your rules seem fair and for the most part understandable. The only question I had while reading them was whether I, as a member, would be controlling one individual character or a platoon of troops. In that case, why would the alternate forum account be used? I guess I really didn't understand the thought behind that.
I would recommend you sum your forum rules up in a list so it is more easily digestible.
Guest Understanding:
Reading your "Simple Explanation" does help a bit. However, you may also wish to include some sort of explanation of what the RotR cannon/original is for those who don't know it (like me). An idea of the source could help someone understand your RPG-forum more easily.
Another point you should probably be clear on is your timing. Some potential members may not have the time to be online once every three days or so, especially with schools starting up again. You should be straight forward with this that way potential members know what they are getting into. Once this is decided, you should have it in your rules.
Overall:
So since I think I touched on each of the three points you brought forward, I'll stop here so you can process this easily.
In general, I feel your forum has a strong base. You may just need to be a little clearer about your source and time requirements. Also a tweak in your color scheme would make it all the more appealing to new members.
Good luck and all the best!
P.S. I think your world map would do really well with a color legend.
