Post by Greymuzzles on Nov 9, 2014 0:54:05 GMT 1
First off, I want to thank all of you for your patience these last two weeks. I know we were only meant to be closed from the 24th October to the 1st November, but as mentioned in my last email update quite a lot of the tasks on my to-do list proved far more time-consuming than expected, and life decided to get in the way as much as it could. Unfortunately, there is still work to be done on some parts of the site, but most of it has now been completed, and those parts that are left are more extras than anything else (with the exception of one or two, which should be completed in the next couple of days).
Second, I’d like to welcome everyone back to Felis silvestris, and officially announce ‘version two’ of the site. Things have been quiet here of late, as you all know, and the launch of this new layout (and the corresponding tidy-round) is meant as a sort of ‘fresh start’ – without the loss of extant roleplay and character threads. It’s hoped that this layout will help us stand out and attract a few new members to get us going again - but it’s also meant to give you guys a few extras to play around with.
Here’s hoping you like the results!
What’s been done?
New Layout
The home page and sub-boards have been re-designed in an effort to make things look neater, and important information a little easier to find. In most cases information threads have been replaced with custom pages, and those that remain as ordinary threads have been attached to hyperlinked banners that should keep them from getting lost. In addition, our main menu and key links tab have had overhauls, and been turned into alternate ‘quick-navigations’ for the site. In effect, there are now three different ways of reaching your destination: through the key links tab, through the board banners, or through the drop-down navigation of the menu bar.New Skin
We’ve had the Smoky Blues skin up for far too long now, so some replacement colours have been rolled out to give us a bit of a change. Whispers: Touch of Green is now our default skin, and can be switched to by changing the ‘Forum Theme’ option in your profile settings. Alternately, you can continue using its predecessors; it’s entirely up to you. New Graphics
Board, spotlight, and tab images have been replaced in an effort to reduce the clash-factor for those members who might wish to use non-default skins. Additionally, the clan tab’s information has been switched from blocks of text to hyperlinked images of our high ranking cats, and our broken open affiliate banners have been fixed. New features
A gallery has been added for any FS-related creative works that have been produced in the past, and might be produced in the future. It’s pretty bare at the moment, but with luck it’ll begin to fill up some as time goes on.A clan relationships chart has been added to our map page, in the interests of providing a visual account of what out clans think of one another.
Clan hubs have finally been launched! This feature has been in the works for a very long time, and though Stoneclan, Treeclan, and Waterclan’s mentorship, bloodline, and death & retirement records are still incomplete (because time-consuming), all of the core information is now present. These pages provide a detailed account of each clan’s key traits, inter-and-intra-clan relationships, territories, customs, and hunting specialities / branches, and are also equipped with complete NPC lists. In future, they will also be home to clan-specific maps and developments, and, in the case of Stoneclan, Treeclan, and Waterclan, up-to-date mentorship, bloodline, and death & retirement records (Mudclan’s already having been completed).
If you’re viewing this as a Guest, please note that you will only be able to access the Guest version of the Clan Hubs, and that these are equipped only with short summaries of each clan. Most of the details mentioned above are member-only.
New and Updated Information Threads
Our high position and rare hunting speciality thread has been updated and re-posted, and will, in future, periodically provide members with the opportunity to reserve additional limited positions. Our available mentors thread has been tidied up. It is hoped that a few apprentice slots might be added to the limited positions reservations in the near future, so if you haven’t already, please remember to post with any would-be-mentors when you can.
Our rules have been given a tidy-through, and ‘pre-made cat’ rules introduced. These are expected to come into play very soon, so be sure to give them a look over when you get the chance!
The staff and member ranks, background, treaties, notable cats, warrior code, ceremonies, herb list, FAQ, and useful links threads are now custom pages, and have been linked to within FS101 (on the boards and in the main menu)
What’s to come?
Ashstar
Once his profile has been complete, Ashstar, leader of Treeclan, will become FS’ first pre-made character. He’s to play an important (and hopefully interesting) role in the plot, and will be available for adoption just as soon as his profile is posted. Plot Updates
Activity allowing, our plot will be prodded forwards and begin to offer something more substantial / interesting than what we have now. Stay tuned!Member’s Contributions
This page is currently accessible in the Members dropdown menu / Members Corner boards, but is yet to be completed. Once finished, it will record the various ways in which FS’ members have contributed to the site, so that we remember everyone’s efforts going into the future.New Tutorials
Again, this page is currently accessible within FS101, but requires replacement videos. It should be completed within the next few days.Bloodline, Mentorship, and Death & Retirement Records
These will be completed in due course, but are low-ish priority until features such as tutorials have been attended to.Elder’s Records
Placeholders for this feature can be found on the boards and in the main menu, though the pages themselves are currently inaccessible. In future, these will provide a detailed account of our in-character history, and, like the Clan Hubs, will be member-only features (summaries of key information being made available within guest-friendly areas of the site).Herb and Clan Maps
Still in progress, albeit moving along far slower than anyone’d like.