Updates

Site-wide update for space efficiency

If you see issues, please clear your browser cache and try again.  This updated contained the following work:

• the site (once logged in) is now properly full-width

• the nav columns now hit the edge

• the nav columns have had their titles removed ("command center", etc) and now only show the list tltles, which saves space.

• news have changed from those little bubble things back to table view.  this saves space

• council has been re-organized into a 2-column page, so you can see more info at once.  these sections will properly collapse back into single-column view for smaller displays

• tables site-wide should be consistently styled with alternating colors

• content sections have been restyled: they now have different colors for heading/body/footer and no longer have borders

• the family "vote" page no longer lists NW and planet count for family members.  this was taking up unnecessary space

• the site "donate" footer has been removed because it was ugly.  will likely come back in some form for non-premium accounts

• narrow-displays (mobile) now have sections that span the width of the display (no more margins), which saves space

Probably some other smaller things too, but that's the meat of it.

As you can gather, this update was largely about optimizing space.  I'm not entirely satisfied with the results as it looks a little uglier in my opinion, but it should be an improvement in terms of usability.

Please note that this was intended for the most part as focused on *general* site changes that benefit all pages on the site.  In other words, there are still *specific* changes to individual pages that need to be done.  Unit/Building pages, I'm looking at you.

New Notificaiton System

• notice/status messages are now distinct.  for example, a message like "you've build x buildings" is a type of notice, whereas something like "There is a 45% Iron bonus on this planet." is a status message

• notice/status messages are now rolled up together by type, so a bunch of them in a row will take up less vertical space

This should add some visual structure/clarity to messages coming from the game.

Renew SSL Cert

If some of you experienced security-related warnings in your browsers, it should be fixed now.

Simplify/condense Nav Menus

The side navbars have been gutted pretty heavily, with many page links now relegated to sub-navs.

The gain here is twofold:

• a more sensible layout where pages are grouped together based on purpose

• much less visual noise overall: the nav is no longer overwhelming to look at

Both of these should help new players ease into the game.

The biggest downsides:

• certain pages are no longer accessible from any other page, and require clicking the proper "parent" page first

• the sub-navs take up additional space

Both of these are likely to frustrate players used to specific click patterns.

This is an interim solution that is also setting the groundwork for another update that will address both of the downsides listed above.

Fixed-placed Sidebars

The side navbars are now fixed in place for desktop users.  This should prove particularly useful on the planets page.

Replace system search with popover

The "Show Systems" feature looks better, but more importantly it now keeps your place while you're browsing the galactic map.

Re-add family system markers to map

You can now search systems by family in the new map.

Bug Fixes

False "empty aid" bug

If you couldn't send aid, you should be able to now.

Market doesn't show multiple confirmations for multiple bids

Was minor, but annoying.  You should receive more accurate confirmations on bids now.

Construction summary showing wrong coordinates

Now shows correct coordinates.

Kudos to Flash[light]ning for reporting this.

Mixed-content on home page

The homepage now loads all assets of https, which should clear up some minor security warnings from your browser.

Registration blocker

A bug was preventing people from signing up, which is terrible.  It's all good now.

Redesigned login gate

The post-login screen has been brought into the new layout.  Huzzah!

Redesigned galaxy join flow

• matches new layout

• replaced images to galaxy overview image

• now also includes race descriptions/details in the race selection step

redesigned "Join preset family" flow

This feature isn't widely used, but may be important for future rounds

Comments, Questions, Concerns

Feel free to comment directly below.