It was about time I chucked it all in on FF and started again as far as design goes - I had been running much the same design for ten years, pretty much, just iterating as I went. The new design allows much more responsiveness on mobiles, as it's based on a 300 pixel wide box which is supposed to flow easily by itself.
That may not quite work with the new matchcentre (http://live.fanfooty.com.au/game/matchcentre.html?id=5101) though, as it requires a different approach. My strategy for the 4, 5 and 6 column options has been to specify the absolute position of each box and not let it flow by itself, which I now realise is also going to be necessary for the 3, 2 and 1 column views of that page to ensure you don't get big slabs of whitespace as was happening on mobiles in the Pies game. I was a bit stuffed up by two teams with 24 and 26 players tonight, as I hadn't planned for that! (There are some other display bugs for mobiles that I need to iron out as well.)
My initial thought for those pages was to try to show elements that aren't the stat tables higher up the page, but I concede now that that is the wrong idea, and the priority should be on user experience - which means featuring the stat tables side by side wherever possible. The 3-column view should be similar to the old matchscores and matchblog pages, while the 4-column view would be similar to the matchstats pages. Also, clearly the "small layout" version with the compressed stat tables side by side should be the default instead of the "large layout" with the expanded stat tables on top of each other.
Further feedback is welcome, of course. I will hopefully have something prettier by bouncedown tomorrow night.
i liked the team stats side by side as they are easier to see both at once
Yeah I prefer them side by side as well. Also not a fan of all the random slabs of white space, particularly in the small layout. Just doesn't look too good. And did you scrap the time clock thingo that tells you how far into the quarter the game is? I liked having that, especially when I'm briefly looking at the scores tab if I'm busy with other stuff.
Happy for you to trial things out during the NAB though, and understand different squad sizes can make things difficult haha. If you have any other ideas already planned, and want to post some screenshots or something here, that'd be cool :)
Great that you thought it was time for a new design!!
I used it for the Hawks vs Pies game and on a 24†monitor I had a whole bunch of white blank spaces and I needed to scroll through a lot of the tiles also.
I would much rather the two teams stats boxes side by side as they are the most important info on the page. I’m not really fussed about the ‘legend’ and ‘icons’ tiles, so I don’t think they need to be as prominent on the page.
Do you even need to display the ‘legend’ and ‘icons’?? How about just having them at the top of the page as links, if you want to look at them you click the word and it takes you to another page or it pops up.
I like the font and colour I just think everything needs to be re-arranged so you can use up all the white spaces.
I have updated the matchcentre. The 3 and 2 column views are now positioned so that there isn't any white space and you can see all 26 players on all views - albeit that is just for the large layout at this point. The 4 column view now approximates the old matchstats page, and all the 4+ views have the stat tables next to each other instead of on top.
I have also fixed the bug on mobiles - particularly iPhone - that caused the page to zoom out and display the wrong amount of columns. Hopefully the 1 column view will show up for mobiles in portrait mode, and flow correctly.
Next up is to work on the small layout view. I may not get it all done in time for tonight's game, but I have made a lot of (very slow) progress.
looks much better
Yeah like this much better. One thing though, am I completely blind or is there no way to switch back to the small layout? I clicked large to see what it looked like (really good), but the button to switch back seems to have disappeared?
Also, a tiny bit of the live game blog section gets cut off on the right hand side.
Gametime: 7.10pm AET, Feb 27, Mandurah. Forecast: Windy, 28°C max.
Match Status: Q2 15:23. Links: Blog - Stats - AFL - H-Sun TV: Foxtel.
should be at the top i think
I like the TOG.
Initial impressions... a bit overwhelming.
Visually it appears to be too much wasted screen space. Personally I hate little modular boxes where you have to scroll up and down inside just to see the content. Would be much better layout if everything flowed full height and you could scroll the whole browser window if needed.
The text in the chat area also doesn't wrap, continues out of the box and gets hidden.
Hi Monty,
I'm loving the new layout! Looks great, love the TOG and DE stats, lost it at the Muppet symbol for clangers as well :P
Here are just a couple of suggestions which I think could add to the stats page as well:
- A 'highlight' option, so that you can highlight your players (make their stat-line a different colour) that way when you look at the page, you can quickly see where your players are.
- I don't know how viable it would be, and I did notice on mobile you had the options for small stats and big stats (can't seem to find that on desktop) but maybe if users could pick and choose exactly which stat lines they want to see in the table? So basically something like the one used in the AFL stats page here: http://www.afl.com.au/stats (to see what I mean, select the 'advanced stats' option and you will be able to manipulate the shown stats however you like)
I think that 2nd one would be particularly hard but hey, just some ideas :)
Keep up the great work, mate. We all appreciate it tons! :)
Could you ditch the clearances stats? They're not a scoring stat in either DT or SC so they're pretty useless.
Quote from: meow meow on March 03, 2015, 12:59:11 AM
Could you ditch the clearances stats? They're not a scoring stat in either DT or SC so they're pretty useless.
really, SC doesn't use clearances? Surprising.
Quote from: Ziplock on March 03, 2015, 02:36:26 AM
Quote from: meow meow on March 03, 2015, 12:59:11 AM
Could you ditch the clearances stats? They're not a scoring stat in either DT or SC so they're pretty useless.
really, SC doesn't use clearances? Surprising.
Yeah I looked into it a lot more this preseason and there were some surprises. I thought inside/rebound 50's scored extra too but that's not the case either. The good clearance players score well because they're usually the ones getting the initial hardball get.
What's more surprising is that a loose ball get is called a contested possession. Watch the CP count in the match centre for proof. Contested possessions should be called disputed balls ie. when neither team is in possession. CD judge the race to the loose ball to be a contest. Loose ball gets score as much as hard ball gets (+3).
Loving the new look m0nty. Only issue is that your scroll boxes only have vertical scroll bars and the characters go over the horizontal width of the box. So a word or 2 gets chopped off.
Example
Hill to Mayne, then Pavlich and finally Suban who attempts to finish off the move with a
snapped major, but his shot bounces to the left hand side. (Q2 22:49)
Bolded letters get chopped off
(tested at 1920 x 1080 resolution)
I am gradually working on improving the matchcentre. Getting rid of the whitespace was first priority, I think I've mostly fixed that now in all views except maybe 2 column.
There is a watchlist feature already which is tied in to the Exteam feature, which is not really running all that well at the moment - I need to work on that at some point but other things have priority right now.
The box width issue is known, I will get to that soon. My hope is that eventually I can get everything to a state where it won't need scroll bars. Someone suggested having the icon and chat things in pop ups to get them out of the way completely, which isn't a bad idea. I would need other stuff to fill the page though. Perhaps some social media stuff, riffing off the official hashtag - though everyone else does that to death already and I'm not sure it adds a heap of value. Some more fantasy-specific content maybe. Suggestions welcome.
I like featuring the team tables first, with the game details underneath. Shows what is important. Real scoreboards often do that - the MCG one being one of many.
The whole small/large layout thing is getting rather complicated. I may need to start over with that at some point. At the moment I'm toying with removing the button and just going with small layout for 3 column, large for 4/5/6, and a different and more compressed look for the 1 and 2 columns.
Mix-n-match columns is an advanced feature that will have to come later.
Quote from: meow meow on March 03, 2015, 12:59:11 AM
Could you ditch the clearances stats? They're not a scoring stat in either DT or SC so they're pretty useless.
SC scores use about 80 different stats with not a hell of a lot of transparency, and I am pretty sure clearances are one of them.
If there is another stat you think would be appropriate in that spot, by all means suggest one.
I have greyed out the layout buttons, and am forcing the large layout in 4/5/6 columns and the small layout in 1/2/3 columns.
Quote from: m0nty on March 06, 2015, 12:09:55 AM
Quote from: meow meow on March 03, 2015, 12:59:11 AM
Could you ditch the clearances stats? They're not a scoring stat in either DT or SC so they're pretty useless.
SC scores use about 80 different stats with not a hell of a lot of transparency, and I am pretty sure clearances are one of them.
If there is another stat you think would be appropriate in that spot, by all means suggest one.
There's a fair bit of transparency on the live stats page, which is also the official scoring page and clearances aren't a scoring play. I've compiled a list of scoring actions and it's the weighting that is somewhat difficult to decipher, but individual scoring plays are pretty straightforward. I'm not sure if any of them are worthy of their own column though.
(https://i.imgur.com/GeIcoXa.png)
i like seeing clearance starts no matter what impact they have on players scores
is there any way to get the chat box up higher? cant see the chat and the stats on the same screen?
is it just me? half way through typing into the chat box, the whole page refreshes and i lose the text?
Quote from: SydneyRox on March 06, 2015, 07:25:29 PM
is there any way to get the chat box up higher? cant see the chat and the stats on the same screen?
i really doubt that's possible there isnt any room left at the top after the stats
Quote from: kilbluff1985 on March 06, 2015, 08:49:23 PM
Quote from: SydneyRox on March 06, 2015, 07:25:29 PM
is there any way to get the chat box up higher? cant see the chat and the stats on the same screen?
i really doubt that's possible there isnt any room left at the top after the stats
even swapping the chat and the team stats would be ok?
Quote from: SydneyRox on March 06, 2015, 08:53:17 PM
Quote from: kilbluff1985 on March 06, 2015, 08:49:23 PM
Quote from: SydneyRox on March 06, 2015, 07:25:29 PM
is there any way to get the chat box up higher? cant see the chat and the stats on the same screen?
i really doubt that's possible there isnt any room left at the top after the stats
even swapping the chat and the team stats would be ok?
you mean putting both stats under the chat box?
then you still couldn't see them at the same time
i dont read chat box so not fussed
Quote from: kilbluff1985 on March 06, 2015, 08:56:29 PM
Quote from: SydneyRox on March 06, 2015, 08:53:17 PM
Quote from: kilbluff1985 on March 06, 2015, 08:49:23 PM
Quote from: SydneyRox on March 06, 2015, 07:25:29 PM
is there any way to get the chat box up higher? cant see the chat and the stats on the same screen?
i really doubt that's possible there isnt any room left at the top after the stats
even swapping the chat and the team stats would be ok?
you mean putting both stats under the chat box?
then you still couldn't see them at the same time
i dont read chat box so not fussed
in my screen the small team stats in 'column 3' could go down where the chat is now
try zooming out a bit i did and got this happening
(http://i60.tinypic.com/qxs9d1.jpg)
Quote from: SydneyRox on March 06, 2015, 07:31:18 PM
is it just me? half way through typing into the chat box, the whole page refreshes and i lose the text?
Me too!
Quote from: GoldDigger on March 06, 2015, 09:30:18 PM
Quote from: SydneyRox on March 06, 2015, 07:31:18 PM
is it just me? half way through typing into the chat box, the whole page refreshes and i lose the text?
Me too!
Me too here and not one of my posts in chat went through either
Yeah, I am also getting that problem with losing focus on the chat box. I will work on it during the week, that one is likely to be something that will take a long time to track down.
So fellas there will be no more yellow box like last year? It's changed to the little ones up the top?
But don't mind it, not sure if I've got the wrong setting or something but I'd like to see stats as well as points when on the mobile!
Just a small thing but I liked when you could hover over a players name at it would show their price/average
Quote from: m0nty on March 07, 2015, 07:46:29 PM
Yeah, I am also getting that problem with losing focus on the chat box. I will work on it during the week, that one is likely to be something that will take a long time to track down.
Thats probably an ajax issue (with refreshing outputted data). It definitely is frustrating.
Quote from: DaveElNacho on March 09, 2015, 11:21:55 AM
Just a small thing but I liked when you could hover over a players name at it would show their price/average
Yeah, that was cool!
Quote from: GoldDigger on March 21, 2015, 08:29:53 PM
Quote from: DaveElNacho on March 09, 2015, 11:21:55 AM
Just a small thing but I liked when you could hover over a players name at it would show their price/average
Yeah, that was cool!
That was great Agree - Is it possible tohave reinstituted m0nty. Really missed it the last couple of weeks.
Was messing around with a concept...
Less white spaces, more compact.
(http://i59.tinypic.com/30auvmf.png)
now your talking
cic!
That wouldn't work because you need to have space for the half-page ad.
But it would work for an ad-free version, and looks great! More on that in a little while...
Quote from: Draga on March 22, 2015, 10:50:27 PM
Was messing around with a concept...
Less white spaces, more compact.
(http://i59.tinypic.com/30auvmf.png)
Update, playing around with something similar...
(http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CBe4eQPUwAE4POx.jpg)
Yeah looks great Monty. Better than the setup during the NAB cup.
yeah looks great m0nty
so is the matchcentre still free?
Yes, but that particular version of it is ad-free and behind the Premium paywall. It also doesn't have the five-minute page refresh.