Mechamaniac Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 After two long months of secret toil, Hurin and I have something exciting to announce. . . It has been a very long time since a substantial new Macross fansite has made a debut. In that time, web technology has progressed tremendously. One of the most exciting web technologies available has given us the ability to make our fansite open source. Meaning, the fans themselves can contribute content, commentary, and even images to a well-organized, easy-to-use, aesthetically pleasing website. So, Hurin and I are proud to announce the public launch of The Macross Nexus website at: www.macrossnexus.com The 'Mission Statement' The goal of Macross Nexus is to be a source (nexus) for all things Macross. Episode synopses, mecha profiles, character profiles, images, etc. At least at first, we're concentrating on those areas where Macross World has left a gap. We don't want to replace Macross World. We want to complement it. So, whereas Macross World has always provided good information on Macross merchandise, we've chosen to concentrate on mecha, character, and episode information delivered in a modern, appealing format. The real beauty of Macross Nexus in our opinion is the fact that it doesn't require one or two people to maintain it. We have worked very hard over the last two months to put together a robust framework, that is now ready for YOU to fill out. Hurin and I will make sure the server stays up, but the rest can be entirely up to you. As of now, the Macross Nexus hopes to also complement the Macross Compendium as well. The Macross compendium is a wonderful resource. But we believe there is a place for a Macross informational fansite that is a bit more concise as well as more visually oriented. Example Submission: VF-1 Valkryie For an example of the type of content we hope to make the standard at Macross Nexus, please take a look at our mecha profile for the VF-1 Valkyrie. We believe it strikes a good balance between being informative and also visually attractive. Its our goal to provide colorful, attractive profiles without getting bogged down in mind-numbing minutia. If you want to see a text-only overview and read about what type of ejection seat the VF-1 Valkyrie has, The Macross Compendium is for you. But if you want to see a more concise profile with some nice images included, then we hope you'll find the Nexus useful. User Contributions But, as we said, the most exciting part about this new site is the ability for its users to contribute. We have provided what we feel to be an extended framework and some example entries. Users who want to contribute can Contact Us and request their username be upgraded to "author" status. Once a user is an "author", they can upload images, write profiles submissions, review episodes, rant about their favorite (or least favorite) characters, share trivia about a certain episode or mecha, etc. This site will thrive on the enthusiasm of the Macross community. If you have a favorite mecha, please submit a profile. If you really love Minmay, then maybe you should show that love by writing her profile up for the site. But what about Misa? She needs your love too! The Future Hurin and I are both very excited about what the future can hold for Macross Nexus. We envision modelers and toy customizers being able to have their own areas where they can blog about their build-ups and post their images. We hope to have a huge Macross image database that is searchable by keywords and "meta data." We are also working on some very exciting visual elements that will allow users to customize the look of the site. And, like everything else at Macross Nexus, the users will have the opportunity to design their own looks for the site. At some point, assuming people won't think we're trying to horn in on Macross World's schtick, we'd like to add toy, model, book, and other merchandise areas. We'd also like to host forums. But, again, we don't see Macross Nexus as a challenge or replacement for Macross World. Especially in its current incarnation. We hope that Macross Nexus will grow and expand, and with your help, it will. There is a lot of Macross information, images, merchandise, and discussion going on out there on the internet. However, most of it is presented using the web technology of the late 1990s. Hurin and I wanted to try to put our own interpretation on it all and give it a modern, appealing interface. Now, we hope you'll join us while we try to build a truly great Macross resource. Mechamaniac and Hurin Quote
dr_vandermeer Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 Brilliant. Wishing you guys the best with this project. And signing up now! Quote
Hurin Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 (edited) Looks great!signing up too. 375528[/snapback] Thanks guys. It'll only get better if everyone contributes content. As you can see, we have episode synopses for each anime. But we need character profiles and mecha profiles. So far, the only mecha profile we have is the VF-1. In the next day or two, I'll post some templates for mecha and character profiles that people can fill in and then upload to the "Profile Drafts" area for each entry. There are already instructions for uploading images (though the front-end for this will hopefully improve when we replace the buggy WYSIWYG editor when the new one is released later this week). Finally, we're hungry for feedback! Was it easy to navigate? For example, when browsing SDF Macross episodes, was it obvious that you needed to use the menu on the right rather than click in the center pane? That's the nature of Joomla, and I'm probably just paranoid. But sometimes I worry that people won't notice the menus dynamically changing on the right and instead stare at the largely empty central pane and then assume there's nowhere else to go. Again, up to this point, Mechamaniac and I have concentrated on creating the structure of the site. This took a lot of mind-numbing clicking via a web-based back-end to the databse. But it's now largely built. We hope soon to add some nice touches. Such as, when you click on Mecha & Spacecraft, then click Zentraedi, I'd like to have a Zentraedi emblem there in the center along with a brief overview of who/what the Zentraedi are and a bit of their history, meanwhile the menu expands on the right to give you access to their mecha and spacecraft entires. It's easy to do. But we're still a bit overwhelmed with last minute stuff and bugs in Joomla. So, these nice touches are hard to get to at the moment. Perhaps we launched a bit early. But after two months of effort, we felt we had enough to share. And, of course, because the idea is that the users themselves will provide the bulk of the content, it made sense to make it public so that everyone can start contributing! Best, H Edited March 2, 2006 by Hurin Quote
kensei Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 This is great. Looks beautiful. Very nicely presented. Quote
Mechamaniac Posted March 2, 2006 Author Posted March 2, 2006 For those of you who have been there, you may have noticed a distinct lack of content. Well, that's where you guys come in!. Right now, we really need people who want to do the following: Episode synopses Character bios Mecha bios We also need some images. I'm trying to find nice scans or cleaned up screen caps of the DYRL, Dynamite 7, and Macross 7 the Movie logos. We also need any images you guys think will contribute to the site. Want to design a template for the site?. Contact us on the site, or drop me a PM and we'll give you access. Together, we can make the Nexus a GREAT site!. Thanks to everyone who has looked, and keep the comments coming!. Quote
Duke Togo Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 I love the page design. Its clean, but not to be confused with simple. Its not flashy, not looking to abuse the senses. The colors also work well together. The only thign that stands out is how hideous the VF-0 looks... Quote
Dante74 Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 Yeah, you need to learn the art of feathering... Quote
Mechamaniac Posted March 2, 2006 Author Posted March 2, 2006 Thanks Duke, and Dante. Bring your skillz to the Nexus, we need them, and we will let you play! Quote
Hurin Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 Doh! I thought I had feathered it enough. I sorta wanted to leave a little "glow" around it so it wouldn't completely submerge into the space background. I thought DT was referring to a distaste for the VF-0 design itself. H Quote
Duke Togo Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 Doh! I thought I had feathered it enough. I sorta wanted to leave a little "glow" around it so it wouldn't completely submerge into the space background. I thought DT was referring to a distaste for the VF-0 design itself.H 375647[/snapback] Not even the design as much as that particular shot/angle. And, I don't know if I am in a minority or not, but when I think "Macross", I'm not thinking about the VF-0. I figure, if you are going to put something up there, make it a Macross standard. Just my two cents. Otherwise, I really like how the page looks. Quote
Hurin Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 (edited) DT, I'm totally with you on preferring a VF-1 or even the Macross to a VF-0. That VF-0 was just easily cropped, feathered, and was of high quality. And I wanted to get the logo/banner up so I could get started on other things. I started screwing around with the SDF-1 in there, and then saw that you guys had used the same image for the new Main Menu header for MW. So, not wanting to be too cheesy, I went back to the VF-0. VF-1 or something else is coming soon, though. And there is the ability to choose your own skin, so those who like the VF-0 can have it too. Edited March 2, 2006 by Hurin Quote
Mr March Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 I'm thrilled that you've created a website. One thing the Macross community needs is more dedicated websites. I hope the direction you've chose works and I'm interested to see how the open source aspect works. Best of luck, I'm really hoping all works well for your new website. I really need to get myself a scanner so I can put my Macross fanbooks to use. Quote
Mr March Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 Btw, the VF-0 is perfect for your website header. It focuses on the new Macross and also differentiates your website from the norm. I vote to keep it, only clean it up a bit Quote
Dante74 Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 (edited) Put the SDF-1 up there. 375674[/snapback] Really...you should put it in there. Trust us... EDIT: If you want me to make a banner I can do that. I'll do Macross images for anyone who asks, I'm a total slurm when it comes to doing stuff like that. Edited March 2, 2006 by Dante74 Quote
Mechamaniac Posted March 2, 2006 Author Posted March 2, 2006 Bring em on, we'd love to have them. Quote
Dante74 Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 Your banner is weird, why is it made out of three pieces? I love that it's a .PNG though. Quote
Hurin Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 Your banner is weird, why is it made out of three pieces?I love that it's a .PNG though. 375701[/snapback] That's a limitation of the Joomla template. It needs it in three seperate images so that tab menus and modules can be fit over it. If it isn't done that way, all sorts of things break (and the appearance in IE and Firefox begin to diverge). It's not too big of a deal to just chop your work up into the required size once it's all done. Then the template grafts them together. Takes me a couple minutes now that I'm used to it. I'm working now on both a new logo/banner as well as a "blank" that you guys can use to do your own thing. Each element has its own Photoshop layer, so things can be removed and added at will (logo, valk, background space/clouds). Once it's done, I can chop it up appropriately if you don't want to bother doing it. Best, H Quote
Dante74 Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 Oops, I just PM'd Mechamaniac to get a PSD file of the banner. Quote
Hurin Posted March 2, 2006 Posted March 2, 2006 Oops, I just PM'd Mechamaniac to get a PSD file of the banner. 375714[/snapback] Okey-doke. Here's a ZIP file with everything anyone should need to build upon (or replace) what we've already got there for a header. There is a PSD mock-up of the banner/header included that should allow anyone with Photoshop to move or remove any of the individual elements via layers. I included a readme.txt file covering everything included and some notes on how the header works with the template. Thanks for your interest guys! H Quote
Sdf-1 Posted March 3, 2006 Posted March 3, 2006 Put the SDF-1 up there. 375674[/snapback] Me?!? Quote
Hurin Posted March 3, 2006 Posted March 3, 2006 Just updated the "kit" with a (very) slightly better layered PSD. The logo is a bit less jagged. But only very slightly so. H Quote
Graham Posted March 3, 2006 Posted March 3, 2006 Nice looking site guys. Congratulations. Do you have a link banner yet? Graham Quote
Sdf-1 Posted March 3, 2006 Posted March 3, 2006 You guys have really great ideas with the site! Quote
Mechamaniac Posted March 3, 2006 Author Posted March 3, 2006 Thanks!. And we need some great volunteers to write up character bios, mecha bios, and episode synopses. Quote
Sdf-1 Posted March 4, 2006 Posted March 4, 2006 (edited) The handy gadget is there especially the currency ticker, great touch man! 376383[/snapback] You gotta add €uro too! Ah, it was "editable" already. Edited March 4, 2006 by Sdf-1 Quote
Hurin Posted March 5, 2006 Posted March 5, 2006 Check out the new "hikaru" template. I'm quickly reaching the limits of my meager Photoshopping skills. Quote
EXO Posted March 5, 2006 Posted March 5, 2006 how about making it different and instead of having forums just have comments after every story... I've got too many forums about macross that I visit right now... And by many, I mean 2. But I can be dissuaded from the other ones if this one is more fun. Quote
Dante74 Posted March 5, 2006 Posted March 5, 2006 I've made a banner for the site guys. Could you PM me an e-mail adress to send it too so you can check it out? Quote
Mowe Posted March 5, 2006 Posted March 5, 2006 A very slick looking site. Love the mech profile stuffs, with more infos from the right people, your site could become the No.1 resouces for Macross modelers and customisers. Well done fellas. I kind of follow with what EXO says, I have enough hard time to follow the MW forum without sleep deprivation. Hope your forum could offer something slightly different. By the way, got registered in zero second. how about making it different and instead of having forums just have comments after every story... I've got too many forums about macross that I visit right now... And by many, I mean 2. But I can be dissuaded from the other ones if this one is more fun. 376756[/snapback] Quote
Mechamaniac Posted March 7, 2006 Author Posted March 7, 2006 Video Game info framework is UP. We have our first contributing author who will be working on the video game info soon. Quote
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