Twilight v3.0 - Preview, Changes and Updates

[Shadowwolf]

Im happy to announce that the next version of the site is just about completed and ready for the changeover on Sunday, Jan 4th. Attached are some more images as a preview and a changelog as of this moment.

+ Indication of a feature addition.
- Indication of a feature removal.
* Indication of a feature change.
# Indication of a changelog comment.


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-   www.twilightonalex.com        -
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* Design v3.0
   * Color Scheme changed to more soothing darker colors.
   * Guild Logo updated to current logo revision.
   * Menu system moved to top of all pages for more text body room.
      * Menu's more organized for easier viewing and display.
      * Menu entries renamed for easier identification.
   + Short Menu added to bottom of all pages for easy navigation. (Most commonly used links only)
   - Login box and "Who's Online" box removed.
   + Personalized welcome added to top of page with new private message alert.
   + "Logout" link added next to personalized welcome if user is currently logged in.
   + Current Date added to upper right corner of all pages.
   * Flash rotator for new article images and links updated.
      + Option to pause the rotation by clicking the display number box within the flash applet (#/#) added.
      * Navigation buttons to cycle through images updated for more streamlined and less imposing layout and look to match the look of video controls.
      + Article title link added to the bottom of all images in rotation to allow easier viewing and identity as a link.
   * Search box fixed and added to all pages
   + "Info Center" system added to main page as well as select sub sections of the site.
      # Info Center designed as a 4 tab system to easily swap and slide selected data into view saving space.
      * "Recent Forum Topics" Moved to first tab.
      + "Events / Signups" adjusted to now show a mouseover of signup stats for that event. (Thanks tons Koth)
         + Mouseover first column now shows "Approved" signup totals.
         + Mouseover second column now shows "Queued" signup totals.
      + Server status image added to right side of event signup listing.
      * "Updated Downloads" added to 3rd tab of Info Center.
      + "Most Downloaded" listed added to 3rd tab of Info Center.
      + "Latest Screenshots" added to 4th tab of Info Center displaying last 8 uploaded screenshots to the Twilight Image Gallery.
         + Images load in a Lightbox preview when clicked for easy viewing.
      * "Latest Loot" moved to 4th tab of Info Center to the right of Screenshots.
   * Lightbox Preview (Image Click Previews) fixed to now resize the image based on browser screen resolution. (No more scrolling all over to see the whole image on large resolution screenshots.)
   * Lightbox Preview images now show a small magnifying glass icon on the lower right of images that allow a zoom in view for easy identification.
   * Main page now only shows last 3 main articles in full view (down from 4) and 7 older articles below it in link only format (up from 5)
   + "Recent Blog Posts" added to lower left module section of all pages. List is dynamically updated based on all Blogs hosted on http://blogs.twilightonalex.com/ to show the last 10 posts from ALL users.
   * Shoutbox formatting fixed for better viewability.
      * Shout spacing improved.
      * Cross-browser formatting fixed.
      * Shoutbox width expanded for easier viewing.
      * Text and form layout adjusted for new design look.
   * Site background set as "fixed" to create the illusion of scrolling with the page.
   * Site background image adjusted for easier flexibility to allow changes during special events and holidays.

* Poll system simplified and moved to the lower right of main page only. (will expand functionality at a later date)

* Search system vastly improved.
   * Formatting of results improved.
   * Article searching has been fixed and improved.
   + Download searching now works from the same box.
   + FAQ searching now works from the same box.

* News Feed system improved.
   * New feeds added for WoW.

* Breadcrumb system vastly improved for easier navigation.
   * Breadcrumbs now shown on every page.

* FAQ system vastly improved for easier viewing.
   + System now supports file downloads.
   + System now supports new site design typography formats.

+ New Download System!
   * Download display formats now better match the site layout.
   * Download management and organization more admin friendly.
   * Download category layout more user friendly.
   * Download descriptions now support Lightbox image previews for images.
   * System now accurately tracks and displays versions.
   * Navigation Breadcrumbs now more accurate for easier navigation.
   * Download descriptions now searchable via the regular site search.

+ Video Hosting System Added!
   + Videos of 100MB or less can now be uploaded via the web.
   + System displays recent top 5 videos.
   + Comment system for commenting on videos.
   + Youtube style video viewing layout.
   + Embed link generated for easy blog posting.
   + Original file download for higher quality download viewing.
   

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-     forum.twilightonalex.com      -
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* Database format converted to UTF-8 for more efficiency, compatibility and speed.
* Signiture Image Generator added to Forum Tools.
* Arcade system upgraded to latest version.
   
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-  Server Changes and Improvements  -
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+ Hardware upgraded and RAID system reconfigured for maximum redundancy.
+ Firewall improved for added security and monitoring.
+ Server now supports Ajax
+ Server now supports RoR (Ruby on Rails)
+ Server now runs updated PHP and PEAR.
+ FTP Server for video upload being set up.
+ Subversion (CVS) server added for addon version control and development.

[un4]

Big thanks to Koth and Shadow for improving an already badass guild site 

[moonras]

very nice, one of the best themes i've seen in quite some time.

[Ity]

Wow thank you Shadow and Koth for this website! It will be amazing 


/Cheer 

[Shadowwolf]

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-        forum.twilightonalex.com        -
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* Database format converted to UTF-8 for more efficiency, compatibility and speed.
* Signiture Image Generator added to Forum Tools.
* Arcade system upgraded to latest version.

[kajunlady]

awsome awsome job

[Shadowwolf]

Video section is finished!

+ Video Hosting System Added!
    + Videos of 100MB or less can now be uploaded via the web.
    + System displays recent top 5 videos.
    + Comment system for commenting on videos.
    + Youtube style video viewing layout.
    + Embed link generated for easy blog posting.
    + Original file download for higher quality download viewing.