Aite now...theres alot of work to be done and not much time to do it. As you can see...we have a new skin. Everyone thank Busta for finding such an awesome skin. I made a few last minute changes to it, adding the side banners and stuff. Busta (im assuming) also added new pips. Those are sweet. In the next week, we will be working together to fix up everything. If you have any suggestions for us, don't hesitate to ask.

~AzA

New skin looks awesome! Great job on the banner too.

good job aza and busta, it looks great

Still got many more FF emotions to add and stuff, so be patient, they are not all done yet. :p

Nice job AZA.

Awesome awesome. I feel like posting again. But I don't have time tonight.

EDIT: Bring back the active topics link!!

Besides changing Relient A's avatar to an updated version of his old "Oscillating Fan", I've added in a few new Usergroup graphics instead of seeing more Red X's:

Admin:


Global Mod:


Section Mod:


Elite:


Member:


Banned:


Also, you will now see Cactuar's back up and running in place at the bottom of the home page to mark the Stats, birthdays, and other junk. I think there are now...3? Cactuars down there instead of mroe...yeah, you guessed it, RED X'S! :D

Nice to see something finally happen. Looks good I like it and we got our smileys back now--yay! :caitsith:

I emailed Ross a c-ton of smileys, I don't know if the email ever got through, but if you want me to email you the smileys I found BM I will to save you some time.

That's be great. I went looking for a bunch but when I uploaded half of them, some turned out as Red X's...and we all know that Red X's mean more dead Dinosaurs. We don't want that.

So yes, I'd love to have that email with the smilies as well TMC. Thanks man.

Awesome Busta...though that pink admin pip is hurting my eyes. xD

I added a forum chatroom. This one, unlike previous chatrooms, can easily be moderated. So make sure while you are logged in to stop by and chat.

nice job guys. I just waltzed in here and went WTF. AWESOME. I'll try to get posting here agan.

Okay...made some more changes after reading your opinions.

1. All the FF related forums now have a cutoff date at 60 days. This was done to allow new members to restart old topics.

2. The forum layout has been condensed. The General Gaming and Anime/Manga forums are now subforums in Ross' Club. The Gold Saucer is now a subforum in the Gnome Forum.

I will be working on new buttons next.

I like very much! i was a bit fearfull at first, cause i thought Ross' forum would be for Everything, but now that their is sub sections inside it, im liking it very much. I know its a throwback to original FFF, but perhaps you Should Rename Ross' forum, It might be a little confusing to newer members.

I like the condensed forum. It isn't as overwhelming.... but where is fast reply? I can't get it to work

it works for me.
And Active topics link is at the bottom of the main page. Luckily I bookmarked the active topics link so I can hit it on any page.

One thing I noticed is that the Elite pip seems a bit out of place. Don't get me wrong it looks good, but I think it would look better if it had some sort of cool abstract background like the others.

Here are some sample buttons I made.



If you guys like them, we can go ahead and use them. I will also be making more banners (for a randomizing banner), and new pips...beacuse Busta's admin pip is making my eyes bleed. xD

Okay, my personal summary;

The Banner: I think it is an excellent use of characters, lighting and flashy bits (and now I realise how misinterpreted those last two words could be). The words 'Final Fantasy Forum' are situated quite subtlely in the corner, I think that's great because it in it's own way stands out because of that (do I see a tint of red in the words?) Unfortunatly though, I am dissapointed that there are only characters from the latest game on there.

The Skin: Not many people that I know can use orange so effectivly and it brilliantly centralises the forums on the forum home. The different shades in the posting are perfect and you really know where you are. It's hard to find anything truelly bad... it's all about taste and preference I guess so I'm going to pick a bone with the background to the left and right and suggest that maybe more could be done... or maybe I'm neglecting the fact that trying to find problems brings out problems that aren't there.

The Emotions: I did see somewhere someone mention there would be more so I won't comment on the lack of any; I like the idea of different people interpreting what the emotions represent; sadness, happiness. I don't think you can go far wrong with emotions as alive as that.

Pips & Buttons: Again it's all about preference of the majority. The current pips are decent enough for me, I hardly take much notice so unless they are flashing everything from red to green like a horror movie in the corner of my eye I find them fine. The proposed buttons above seem well made, the orange darker at the top and lighter at the bottom seems a nice touch and the dark border at the top and bottom would make them stand out great in the different shades.

All in all I think so far and whats to come seems for me to be a great job, I look forward to more changes.

Hey guys, cool new skin.

I know I am not around here that much these days, but I, like RA, also miss the 'Active Topics' button as I used to use that all the time.

Also the inclusion of a chatroom is a great idea and one I have been wanting for years. How do I get into the chatroom?

edit: okay I found the chatroom.

just wondering, have you guys paid for this board, or are you running on the limited space-free board?

It would help if we paid for the board.

It would King...but right now it doesnt seem worth it tbh. We ran this board before with the free one, and changing it now would seem kinda pointess. Besides, I dont think any of us could really afford it right now.

^my thoughts exactly.

Nice buttons AzA the only problem I have with them is that they have no Final Fantasy characters on them and that's just something I'd like to see on the buttons no matter how small the picture is. Like your buttons with the pictures we have on the buttons now would be perfect...maybe change the blue behind each character to orange or something more fitting though.

I also propose that we use these:



for the random banner in addition to the current one. They are renditions of the past FFF banners only done in an orange hue to fit the skin a little better as we all know the past one with Auron and Cloud was blue. As for the one with Paine we can either use the orange one or the original, whatever everyone prefers.

I agree with TMC, i mean im not an elite YET, but I will be. And the pips should match the others. I mean the members looks cooler than the elite.

I like the idea, TMC, but I think the first one might be a little too orange. I'm not sure that particular shade will blend in. Great idea though... keep the old, but use it like new.

This new skin is chunky monkey from funky town.

It's cool.

Glad to see the kitten is trying to get back on it's feet, up and at 'em FFF.

Go team FFF!

Okay, I havn't been on for about a month. Wow this place now looks awsome. I'm loving the new skin and the new banner.

On the subject of the rotating banners are you going to do one based on each of the FF's? and maybe a compalation one? Just a thought (I can help if you wish).

The buttons look good, as do the pips. AND SMILEYS ARE BACK:caitsith: I think we should have a "Red X" smiley for nostalgic purposes.

btw I'm 21 2day

well then, happy birthday xD

And I think the elite should have a pip more like the other ones as well.

Hey Palglo, wassup, havn't seen you on in forever!
how you doin. but yes, the elite should be like all the others.

AND I WANT TO BE A SENIOR MEMBER :'(
I qualify dont I? over 500 posts and almost two years of acivity.

Asking is not going to help, I think. They'll let you be elite when they think you can be. And almost two years...no, closer to a year and a half.

Back in the day when I talked to Ross about the Veteran Member idea he came up with the requirement of 500 posts and/or 6 months of activity. Of course there are other factors that come into play such as dedication and quality posts. For example someone who’s been here for say a year and may also have 500+ posts but has a habit of posting short one liners in every topic probably wouldn’t be given the rank. When I originally thought of the idea it was as a way to honor those members who have been around for a while and also as a way to let the newer members know who they can go to if they have any questions when a staff member isn’t on. Ideally an Elite Member is suposed to be a sort of role model who sets a good example for the other members by following the rules and making quality posts. I stand by Ross’s decision on dedication to the site and quality posts as the Elite Member rank is something to be earned and honored, not something to be handed out freely once you’ve meet the bare minimums.

I’m not saying that you don’t deserve to be an Elite Member, Kingtard I’m just explaining the rank and the intent of it. Just so you know there is nothing special you gain from being an Elite Member, you don’t get more PM storage or access to some hidden forum or special treatment just because you’ve been around the block a few times. Like I said it is just a little image that shows who has been around the forum for a while and who has been dedicated to it. If you ask me anyone who has remained somewhat active during the past year or so when things started to go tits up here and stuck by the forum through the good and the bad deserves to be honored for it. I may have come up with the idea for the rank, but regardless I’m not a staff member and really have no say in who deserves to be an Elite and who does not. I will however say that the Elite Member ranking is similar to a staff member’s, in that it is something that is given, not something that you ask for. Don’t call them, they’ll call you. The rank should be a surprise privilege, not something that is craved by the lust for status.

I know, but it'd be cool if I became a senior member. But for real, I really dont care.
I was just trying to stay on topic...heh.

Newly added is a member legend at the bottom of every screen. If you highlight over the usergroup, a brief description appears above in text. Yes, I know the text gets a bit shakey too when you hover over it; not sure how to fix that yet.

Last of all, look under the "Who's Online" list. I added in a feature to show the names of all members who have visited the site today. STALKER SUPREME!

hahaha i loveee the shakeyness ive played with it now for a good 10mins good job busta!

I may have accidentally killed that...

I like it good job busta

I added some sexy new colors...and changed the names of some others. xD

We now have:

Azarath Violet
Busta Blue
KD Green
Sexy Ross Pink

Also, I added a special present for the Elites.

Colours are cool! nice changes :pupu: and present? :)

Check the main page carefully. xD

Lol now you've got me intruiged, There's my day gone now, its time for some serious searching (im blind, dont laugh at me!)

Thanks for the present AzA, it's very cool (RAWR!)

I'm also loving Sexy Ross Pink... so, so, so pretty!

Eitz: wow this colour matches my sig, awesome!

Moooooomba! Busta needs to add an awesome Moomba smiley...or 12...

And SG and Vespi have the same amount of posts...

And this post is off topic...Im out of it today...yeah...been stayin awake on Full Throttles...good stuff...goooood stuff...hehe...blue...