New Matrix Forum

[IainMcNeil]

Message Updated
HI all - welcome to the new forum! It is live but we are resolving a performance issue that is making it slow so please be patient on that one.

If you are having other problems with the new forum please follow these instructions.

If you cannot login
• Reset your password at https://samelogin2020.slitherine.com/reset-password
• If this does not help please contact support@matrixgames.com with your username.

If you can login but you cannot see a forum you used to be able see, or you are unable to post to a forum
• Contact support@matrixgames.com with your username and the forum you are trying to access.

If you want the forum to utilize the entire width of your screen
• Login to the forum
• Once logged in click on your username in the top right.
• Select the User Control Panel
• Select the Board Preferences Tab
• On board style change from “matrixgames” to matrixgames-wide”
• Click Submit

Thanks and enjoy the new forum!


Original Message
Hi all,

we have been talking for a long time about it but we finally have something ready for you to test. The new Matrix Forum is available at:
https://forum.matrixgames.com/index.php

At the moment you can login and view posts but in order to keep the old and the new forum synchronised you cannot post in the new forum. Please post your feedback in this thread to let us know what you like, don't like, any bugs or suggest improvements.

Remember you cannot post in the new forum, only here. That is not a bug!

The new forum synchs every 5 mins or so, so you will notice a delay between messages posted to the old forum appearing in the new forum. This also is not a bug.

As it is built on completely new tech there are going to be things that behave differently so keep an open mind. We have tried to make it as as familiar as possible to existing users but you may have to change how you do certain things but the overall experience should be greatly improved and it is based on currently supported technology that will be regularly upgraded. The old system has to go so its just a matter of which new system replaces it!

Please give it a try if you get a chance and let us know your thoughts, we really appreciate any feedback!

The Matrix Games Team

[EwaldvonKleist]

Looks good, what new features does it have? Its great that the forum gets an update.
Personally I would love to see copy/paste image insert, bigger pm storage, tagging of other users and a better search function.

My pms haven't synchronized yet.

[RangerJoe]

Are you combining the Slitherine and Matrix games? If so, that is not a bad idea.

I see a lot of black space on both sides of the page which is not necessarily a bad thing on the index but when I go to an AAR the black space is still there and it can make the text in the pictures unreadable. I am sure that if people cropped their pictures that would make the text larger but until that is done as well as looking at older threads, that can be a problem. Also, the post numbers are not showing for the individual posts which makes it harder to refer to a specific post.

Here is an AAR thread from WITP:AE:

https://forum.matrixgames.com/viewtopic ... 5&t=364459

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe
Are you combining the Slitherine and Matrix games? If so, that is not a bad idea.

No, but they'll be running on the same software/server now.

Regards,

- Erik

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe
Are you combining the Slitherine and Matrix games? If so, that is not a bad idea.

No, but they'll be running on the same software/server now.

Regards,

- Erik

Thank you. It is easier to keep track of things instead of going to a different website.

[IainMcNeil]

Now both sites are running on the same software and server merging them is an option though its not something we plan to do, as each site has its own community and character. We will work to avoid duplication of forums though - a game will either be on Slitherine or Matrix but not both and the lead will be the community that best fits the game, so the more mainstream or branded strategy games on Slitherine and deeper more hard core games on Matrix.

[Nomad]

I had to sign in with my combined user name.

[HansBolter]

Looks absolutely horrible.

And by the way.....AE doesn't in any easy shape or form qualify as a New Release.

[IainMcNeil]

Just to be clear feedback is welcome but you need to be constructive. If you don't like it you have to be specific about what you don't like. Unconstructive feedback will be ignored and deleted.

[Para87]

Is there an option for changing the searing white background back to the light grey as it is here?

[mainsworthy]

i have bad eyes, the new forum font looks small and hard to read, a setting to enlarge would be good, i dont know if there is one from looking. i hope the feedback is welcome, if it has matrix games on it its great!

[pzgndr]

"Search this forum..." +1, nice improvement.

A user preference for wide-screen display would be nice.

[Nomad]

The search function seems to work much, much better.

I hope there are user profile options available later. These should allow us to specify viewing width and such.

As stated above I could not sign in as Nomad, I had to sign in as nomad_slith. I do not know if that can be fixed later.

[Panjack]

On the one hand, the more narrow width of the forum (on non-mobile devices) makes individual postings easier to read. On the other hand, because the forum is narrower, readers will have to scroll down more to read posts. I'm split on which is better.

I like that more space appears between lines of text (that is, greater "leading"). This definitely makes it easier to read postings.

Suggestion: reduce the space between lines in quoted text to reduce the space it takes within a posting. The narrower margins + more space between text --> postings become longer and too little appears on the screen.

Suggestion: Add a "reply" option to individual postings. In the new forum, you can refer to a posting only by "quoting" it. This will produce too much quoting of postings, which will make postings unnecessarily long. (Yes, someone undoubtedly can cut out the quoted part, but this is a step that shouldn't have to be taken.)

[z1812]

I would prefer the "window" to be larger and fill the screen the way the existing site does. The smallness, with the black fill on the sides, makes it feel quite cold. Not a look that invites "lounging".

Since you are changing the site, why not increase the size of the default forum text. Many people with less than perfect eyesight would appreciate that.

I just looked at the proposed new design again. It does not feel inviting.

[Erik Rutins]

Have you all tried using Control-Scroll Wheel to zoom in on the new forum? It's currently using a layout that's friendly to mobile devices. I'll see if we can do something to also have an alternate layout for desktop PCs that's more like our current one, but right now you can make it larger and fit the screen fully by zooming in a bit.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: IainMcNeil

Just to be clear feedback is welcome but you need to be constructive. If you don't like it you have to be specific about what you don't like. Unconstructive feedback will be ignored and deleted.

What was unspecified about 'looks horrible'?

Your response to criticism is exactly the kind of corporate effort to stifle criticism that is making interaction with your company a real pain.

This has been an ongoing trend on this site since Matrix sold out to Slitherine.

[Nomad]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

Have you all tried using Control-Scroll Wheel to zoom in on the new forum? It's currently using a layout that's friendly to mobile devices. I'll see if we can do something to also have an alternate layout for desktop PCs that's more like our current one, but right now you can make it larger and fit the screen fully by zooming in a bit.

The Control-Scroll wheel does a good job of zooming in. Also it seems the forum remembers your zoom in amount. I would like some way of changing the background colors, but it is not a deal breaker. The layout is working fine and the much enhanced search is fantastic.

Like all updates to any software, it will probably take a bit to get used to the new and understand how things work.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

ORIGINAL: IainMcNeil

Just to be clear feedback is welcome but you need to be constructive. If you don't like it you have to be specific about what you don't like. Unconstructive feedback will be ignored and deleted.

What was unspecified about 'looks horrible'?

Your response to criticism is exactly the kind of corporate effort to stifle criticism that is making interaction with your company a real pain.

This has been an ongoing trend on this site since Matrix sold out to Slitherine.

Please be specific so they can change it such as the post about too much black space and increasing the text size.

[Rebel Yell]

The search is good.

I'm with Hans on the appearance. It's washed out and there's no reason at all for it not to be sized across the page like here and every other forum I've ever frequented.

You should never have to Ctrl+scroll, but it doesn't solve the problem anyway, just makes it look like it was written on a deflated balloon, then blown up.

Looking forward to 21st century functionality, but it needs an aesthetic makeover.