Starvault - Hardcore Starbound blog!

Hi folks,

I am starting a new thread about my little side project, this time without a poll for browsers (there were some misunderstandings). I am an UI Designer, and in my free time I love working on fun projects. I think that being a part of this wonderful community, it's a good oportunity to work on something related to it.

Starvault

This little project of mine is about a blog, but not that type of blog where you can find anything about something. I am planning to only show stuff from inside the game, something like "I found this..." or "10 Places to Get Awesome Loot" type of blog. No info about development or about Chucklefish. You can find these on the official website.

I will be allowing people to send off awesome screenshots and information about the gameplay, with a chance to publish them on the website, of course, giving them full credits for the content.

Also, I think I will assemble a small team over time, so I won't have to work on my own in case if this little project becomes something important for you guys!

In the meantime, you can see the first draft of the website design. I've combined nowadays design patterns such as Apple's with the awesome 8-bit feel of Starbound. The result? Take a look below (note this is a WIP, so things may change):



Check the development of the frontend: http://cosmin.im/Starvault/homepage/

Feedback

Please leave any feedback in this thread. For the people that have stuff like "We don't need another blog" to say, please take your time and wait untill you see that this will actually be something worth a visit. Anyhow, you're free to leave your opinion or feedback right in this thread.

Thank you and have a nice day!

 

This Seems Utterly Pointless. I Am Appalled. O.k. Well That Was A Bit Rude, But This Seems Really Pointless And Silly. It Does Look Nice Visually However.

 

Well thank you, but could you be nice enough to explain more? It's not that rude, but it's pointless as well since you don't tell me why are you thinking so. Thank you.

 

aw... i really like your idea, but the official forums are more than well made and complete, i don't feel like we'll ever need to post such things elsewhere
but i recommend that you create a topic for such findings as soon as the game is released! it'd be stickied in no time!

oh, on a side note: excellent layout!

 

He Did It For Me.

 

I'm pretty sure the entire point of it is to "Look Nice Visually." Also please don't capitalize every word in your post, it's kind of annoying.

Edit: Also the fact that it's a blog for Starbound.

 

Well thank you but the idea was not to make something better than the official blog. As stated in the post, I won't show dev info or stuff like that. Just awesome findings or some nice tips from me or others. Just like any other blog for a specific game. But since Starbound is nearly limitless, there will be a lot to show.

Plus, this is more like an organized archive. People will be able to look thru stuff if they're bored. A thread liek this on the forums would be nice as well, but it would get cluttered by pointless replies either. The blog will help others to stay away from people's comments, and focus on the content.

Anyway, thanks again for your input!

 

As requested, so I am here.

For those who do not tend to frequent the IRC, I put forth the notion that the gray background upon which the posts sit strikes me in two ways. Firstly, I have a personal preference for a more involved background. Something I can look at and think about, even if only to keep my brain working a little harder. Secondly, even with that preference, I find the color oddly appealing, and it does an excellent job of visually stating where post begins, and background ends.

My first compromise between these was to have the gray, hereafter referred to as the, "middle-ground," extend out horizontally in a solid fashion for a time, and then to begin becoming more transparent, revealing the star-studded background present at the very top of the page. Cosmin has informed me that he doesn't think that would fit very well with the 8-bit style that he wishes to evoke, and I can't say that I disagree.

Now begins the furthering of my suggestion for Cosmin. You could, potentially, build it such that the middle-ground is still present, but in a more limited manner. As with the fading idea, have it continue to enclose the posts for a short way, but then abruptly cut to the starred background. Alternatively, you could have that same concept, but as one scrolls down, build the background such that it gradually changes to suggest that you are descending planetward.

That's my two coppers for now. I'll return as things pick up a bit. Cheers.

~Tetrys

 

Hey Tetrys,

Thanks for the deep thoughts! Well, I did a couple of changes, and removed the full-width grey and replaced it with a less wider one, think of it as a container to the white boxes. See the screenshot below:

 

@OP:
Looking lovely. Keep it up, I can think of a few things I'd change, but that title image is lovely. Really nailed the pixels.

You do realize that Capitalizing Every Single Word Just Makes Your Posts Difficult To Read, right?

 

Thank you! Well, you're free to note down your suggestions!

 

Wow. As far as I'm concerned, that is utter perfection. I very much like the detailing on the corners too. It pulls it together quite well.

Also, I seem to have missed addressing the other major part of your post with my last comment. I would like to correct that posthaste. While I can see where The Question and Lobo are coming from with their posts, I have to disagree with the overall sentiment. These forums are an excellent medium through which a multitude of people can show what they've found, but with nearly 80,000 members, it can get a bit crowded. Taking that into account, what you're building is something of a different arena. It just seems a bit more focused; more individualistic. On top of that, it's a fun, personal project on your part and it looks as though you're going to do a beautiful job of implementing it. I fully support your project and can't wait to see it in action. Cheers.

~Tetrys

 

hoW abouT capitalizinG everY worD thiS waY?

 

Is that just a mockup, or an actual thing, because it looks great.

Also, I like the idea. Just a cool place to go and read about Starbound stuff, without having to deal with trolls.
I'm not saying I don't love the forum, but the size is going to explode, which may or may not be a good thing.

Cookies for you

 

I Apologize, My OCD Is An Inconvenience, I Understand.

 

Thanks to both of you Tetrys and WildOats!

Yes, it will be something more individualistic, no trolls and focused on stuff from the game. Like beautiful worlds, creatures and everything in-between.

 

Unless you're talking honest-to-goodness diagnosed OCD - which I doubt - you're just making excuses. It's actually harder to type like that than it is to type like a normal person, dude.

 

Believe What You Want, I Have No Wish To Argue.

 

I just thought up a few questions for you Cosmin. Looking at the header, I see, "Contribute," "Contact," and a box with an exclamation point within it. What are the intended functions of these portions of the site? I could see Contribute being either for monetary matters (One has to keep the site running somehow after all.), or a place to actually provide a potential post for the blog. The stopping point there is that Contact could also be used for offering content for posts, leaving me uncertain.

And I have no idea whatsoever about that exclamation point. ;p Cheers.

~Tetrys

 

Looks really nice and clean mate! Can't wait to see a functional version