Just went to the POV-Ray page looking for links, and it happens to have
a new design !
It looks like it's still a work in progress. I hope that there will be
new things in the "under construction pages".
First remarks:
- It certainly loads faster (javascript gone) which is better.
- I'm not too happy with the colours which are a tad dark, and with the
Poser girl, which I find too Poseresque (that hair, ahem..) and not a
good demo for the mapping abilities that should be in Povray 3.5.
What do people think ?
G.

Post a reply to this message

I certainly agree about the girl, but then if youre not a Pover maybe she'll
be an attraction!

Mick

"Gilles Tran" <tra### [at] inapginrafr> wrote in message
news:394### [at] inapginrafr...
> Just went to the POV-Ray page looking for links, and it happens to have
> a new design !
> It looks like it's still a work in progress. I hope that there will be
> new things in the "under construction pages".
> First remarks:
> - It certainly loads faster (javascript gone) which is better.
> - I'm not too happy with the colours which are a tad dark, and with the
> Poser girl, which I find too Poseresque (that hair, ahem..) and not a
> good demo for the mapping abilities that should be in Povray 3.5.
> What do people think ?
> G.
>

Post a reply to this message

Gilles Tran wrote:

> What do people think ?

It's too small on my 1280x1024. Can't the website's size be relative to
the user settings, like it was before?

Remco Poelstra

Post a reply to this message

"Gilles Tran" wrote:
> Just went to the POV-Ray page looking for links, and it happens
> to have a new design !

At last something is happening!
I mean, at last something is happening that we can see!

> It looks like it's still a work in progress. I hope that there
> will be new things in the "under construction pages".

Yes.

> First remarks:
> - It certainly loads faster (javascript gone) which is better.
> - I'm not too happy with the colours which are a tad dark,

I agree. Also, I think the background color should be a lot brighter. In my
opinion dark text on bright background always look more professional than
bright text on dark background...

> and with the Poser girl, which I find too Poseresque (that
> hair, ahem..) and not a good demo for the mapping abilities
> that should be in Povray 3.5.

I agree.

> What do people think ?

Hmm, I must admit I think the design is quite unoriginal. For example the
menu to the left could easily be made more interesting without loosing
speed, nor user-friendliness.

Also, the 3D Links Collection design is horrible (sorry)! My screen
resolution is 800x600 and I have to scroll horizontally left and right all
the time just to be able to read the text! That's one of the worst things
you can do when talking about web-design, I think. (Again, sorry!)

I'm sorry, but as the design is right now I don't think it's an improvement
compared to the old design, but then, I guess it's still under development.

Hope you don't mind me being honest!

Greetings,

Rune

--
Updated June 12: http://rsj.mobilixnet.dk
3D images, include files, stereograms, tutorials,
The POV Desktop Theme, The POV-Ray Logo Contest,
music, 350+ raytracing jokes, and much more!

Post a reply to this message

Gilles Tran wrote:

> What do people think ?

I really LIKE the Linux penguin!!

Remco

Post a reply to this message

How about replacing the girl with a POV mascot?  It could demonstrate
features of POV-Ray.  The girl is not a very good mascot for POV.
Brendan Ryan

Gilles Tran wrote:

> Just went to the POV-Ray page looking for links, and it happens to have
> a new design !
> It looks like it's still a work in progress. I hope that there will be
> new things in the "under construction pages".
> First remarks:
> - It certainly loads faster (javascript gone) which is better.
> - I'm not too happy with the colours which are a tad dark, and with the
> Poser girl, which I find too Poseresque (that hair, ahem..) and not a
> good demo for the mapping abilities that should be in Povray 3.5.
> What do people think ?
> G.

Post a reply to this message

"Remco Poelstra" wrote:
> Gilles Tran wrote:
>
> > What do people think ?
>
> It's too small on my 1280x1024.

And it's too big on my 800x600. That's much worse!

> Can't the website's size be relative to
> the user settings, like it was before?

I too think it should be so. All websites should, and luckily, most are.

Greetings,

Rune

--
Updated June 12: http://rsj.mobilixnet.dk
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Post a reply to this message

"Andrea Ryan" wrote:
> How about replacing the girl with a POV mascot?  It could
> demonstrate features of POV-Ray.  The girl is not a very
> good mascot for POV.

I agree. But on the other hand, it could get a little boring with the same
mascot always being there. I think it would be better with a motive that
changes from time to time, and that's exactly what we already have! The
picture in the middle that is. I think it's the best demonstration of the
features of POV-Ray, especially if they began using some newer and better
images.

So my opinion is that it would be better if we simply skipped the girl so
the attention would go to the nice and ever-changing image in the middle. I
also think the design would be more balanced that way.

Greetings,

Rune

--
Updated June 12: http://rsj.mobilixnet.dk
3D images, include files, stereograms, tutorials,
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Post a reply to this message

Andrea Ryan wrote:

> How about replacing the girl with a POV mascot?  It could demonstrate
> features of POV-Ray.  The girl is not a very good mascot for POV.

I agree with the mascot idea, but only if it's Shiny Pete, my own
contribution...

:)


Simon

Post a reply to this message

Rune wrote:

> Hmm, I must admit I think the design is quite unoriginal. For example the
> menu to the left could easily be made more interesting without loosing
> speed, nor user-friendliness.

The coolest layout I've seen in a very long time can be found at
http://www.scifi-art.com/

Simple, but very original, and beautiful.


Simon

Post a reply to this message

"Simon de Vet" wrote:
> Rune wrote:
>
> > Hmm, I must admit I think the design is quite unoriginal. For example
the
> > menu to the left could easily be made more interesting without loosing
> > speed, nor user-friendliness.
>
> The coolest layout I've seen in a very long time can be found at
> http://www.scifi-art.com/
>
> Simple, but very original, and beautiful.

Well, it's a bit difficult to say something about the design there, because
it's different in the different sections. That alone is by some people
considered bad design. The design simply isn't consistently enough, and the
user must get used to new ways of navigating the site all the time, because
the design change all the time. When you say you think the design is cool,
exactly which page there are you referring to?

Greetings,

Rune

--
Updated June 12: http://rsj.mobilixnet.dk
3D images, include files, stereograms, tutorials,
The POV Desktop Theme, The POV-Ray Logo Contest,
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Post a reply to this message

> > It's too small on my 1280x1024.
>
> And it's too big on my 800x600. That's much worse!

It's even too big for 1024x768!

Post a reply to this message

> > > It's too small on my 1280x1024.
> >
> > And it's too big on my 800x600. That's much worse!
> 
> It's even too big for 1024x768!
> 

Well, the site doesn't seem to be completed yet so perhaps this will
be taken care of eventually.
-- 
Phil
...coffee?...yes please! extra sugar,extra cream...Thank you.

Post a reply to this message

"Gilles Tran" <tra### [at] inapginrafr> wrote in message
news:394### [at] inapginrafr...
> Just went to the POV-Ray page looking for links, and it happens to have
> a new design !

    Well, I for one like what I see so far. I can understand the arguments
against the Poser girl, but, really, just what is the problem with her ?
    It looks to me to be a good advertisement for POV. Well I, for one, at
least, would be happy if I could get POV to output anything that looked that
good (I don't have Poser though, so I don't know just how easy something
like that would be).
    Actually, what I think would be really neat is if that image changed
regularly, each time demonstrating different aspects of POVRay - one week a
nice Poser girl showing mapping features, the next a teddybear showing the
power of media, and so on...

--
Scott Hill. (sco### [at] innocentcom)
Software Engineer.
Author of Pandora's Box (coming to a web page soon(ish)).

*Everything in this post is IMO.*

Post a reply to this message

Rune wrote:

> "Simon de Vet" wrote:
>
> > The coolest layout I've seen in a very long time can be found at
> > http://www.scifi-art.com/
> >
> > Simple, but very original, and beautiful.
>
> Well, it's a bit difficult to say something about the design there, because
> it's different in the different sections. That alone is by some people
> considered bad design. The design simply isn't consistently enough, and the
> user must get used to new ways of navigating the site all the time, because
> the design change all the time. When you say you think the design is cool,
> exactly which page there are you referring to?

I was impressed by the opening, splash page. The rest is average, really...


Simon

Post a reply to this message

"Phil Clute" <pcl### [at] tiacnet> wrote in message
news:394C403B.9F678676@tiac.net...
| > > > It's too small on my 1280x1024.
| > >
| > > And it's too big on my 800x600. That's much worse!
| >
| > It's even too big for 1024x768!
| >
|
| Well, the site doesn't seem to be completed yet so perhaps this will
| be taken care of eventually.

Had no problems with it, and it looked okay to me.  1152X864 display here, I
didn't see any horizontal scroll bars and the browser was even windowed.  I
feel like I've been catered too  ;-)
Everyone know about changing text size with the Ctrl key and mouse wheel
(assuming you have one of those)?  That might help but I think the page width
is fixed.  Oh well.
I think more of a leather-like reddish-brown color scheme would be better
though, but I don't know how background image tiling would go over with the
creator(s).
The java is still there doing the swirl effect to display "Frosty".  I looked
at the source and apparently Netscape is being dropped in favor of Internet
Explorer due to "bugs" of some kind.  I guess style sheets are being used too.
I must have missed seeing the debut of the new look of the povray.org site by
a mere hour or two earlier today.
Thanks to whomever is authoring the web pages.

Bob

Post a reply to this message

>- I'm not too happy with the colours which are a tad dark,

i dislike the design..
although traditional and thus easy to navigate it lacks personality and
looks like one of thousands home-made homepages spread all around net.
but that is only my point of view :)
i'm not too happy with the poser girl, either, but that's just because i
happen to dislike poser anyway..
some traditionally modelled character or 3d-scanned face closeup would be
nice :)

i would prefer more collage art style of design (pieces and closeups of
famous pov-pictures etc.. with strong one-color lines)

-alt

Post a reply to this message

I'm not took keen on the site, I think that it does load faster, but the
brown is er how do you say nicely, 'out' and comic sans should have never
made past the drawing board in my opinion.  And what about frames?  Is there
still such a large audience that use non-frame-enabled browsers, as
everytime you click a link you are reloading the links - and the page could
fit seamless frames with ease as their appears to be no cross over.
Obviously though compatibility is of extreme importance - change the
background colour (lighter!) and I think people wil be far happier.

Even better why not someone finish off this POV-logo business and replace
the er not so nice one.  I mean no harm in this a lot of work has obviously
gone into the site, I just think that a good site is a part of making POV
audience (though obviously the sheer quality of the prog does er help).

Pete

www.petecracknell.co.uk

Gilles Tran <tra### [at] inapginrafr> wrote in message
news:394### [at] inapginrafr...
> Just went to the POV-Ray page looking for links, and it happens to have
> a new design !
> It looks like it's still a work in progress. I hope that there will be
> new things in the "under construction pages".
> First remarks:
> - It certainly loads faster (javascript gone) which is better.
> - I'm not too happy with the colours which are a tad dark, and with the
> Poser girl, which I find too Poseresque (that hair, ahem..) and not a
> good demo for the mapping abilities that should be in Povray 3.5.
> What do people think ?
> G.
>

Post a reply to this message

If you're running Windows (95 and over) you can press alt+tab to switch
applications easily. If you're running a Macintosh, you can do the same,
except it's command+tab.

Bruce L wrote:

>  No matter what resolution I'm running, my browser is never
> full-screen since I like to be able to easily flip back and forth.

--
Samuel Benge

E-Mail: STB### [at] aolcom

Visit my isosurface tutorial at http://members.aol.com/stbenge

Post a reply to this message

"Simon de Vet" wrote:
> > > The coolest layout I've seen in a very long time can be
> > > found at http://www.scifi-art.com/
> > >
> > > Simple, but very original, and beautiful.
> >
> I was impressed by the opening, splash page. The rest is
> average, really...

OK. I personally would anytime prefer good design on the actual pages
instead of good design on the splash page...

Greetings,

Rune

--
Updated June 12: http://rsj.mobilixnet.dk
3D images, include files, stereograms, tutorials,
The POV Desktop Theme, The POV-Ray Logo Contest,
music, 350+ raytracing jokes, and much more!

Post a reply to this message

"Peter Cracknell" wrote:
> Even better why not someone finish off this POV-logo business
> and replace the er not so nice one.

I think it would be nice to have a POV-Ray logo on the site, but I certainly
don't think we should "finish off the POV-logo business". If there's
anything I've learned by managing the contest, it is that the process of
making/choosing a good logo takes time.

I expect the whole contest to be over in about half a year +/- a month or
two. I think finding a good logo for POV-Ray is a task where we should not
go on compromise.

Greetings,

Rune

--
Updated June 12: http://rsj.mobilixnet.dk
3D images, include files, stereograms, tutorials,
The POV Desktop Theme, The POV-Ray Logo Contest,
music, 350+ raytracing jokes, and much more!

Post a reply to this message

"Scott Hill" wrote:
>     Actually, what I think would be really neat is if that image
> changed regularly, each time demonstrating different aspects of
> POVRay - one week a nice Poser girl showing mapping features,
> the next a teddybear showing the power of media, and so on...

Err, there already *is* a ever-changing image on the front page!

Right now we have an ever-changing image in the middle, and the poser girl
to the right.

What you want is an ever-changing image in the middle, and another
ever-changing image to the right? I don't see the reason.

I'm not defending the poser girl. I personally think that the ever-changing
image in the middle is enough by itself, and that we don't need anything to
the right at all. I just wish the ever-changing image in the middle used
some newer and better images that could really show off POV-Ray's
features...

That's my opinion anyway.

Greetings,

Rune

--
Updated June 12: http://rsj.mobilixnet.dk
3D images, include files, stereograms, tutorials,
The POV Desktop Theme, The POV-Ray Logo Contest,
music, 350+ raytracing jokes, and much more!

Post a reply to this message

"vaihtoehto" wrote:
> i dislike the design..
> although traditional and thus easy to navigate it lacks
> personality and looks like one of thousands home-made
> homepages spread all around net.

I agree.

> i'm not too happy with the poser girl, either, but that's
> just because i happen to dislike poser anyway...

Me too, and because I don't think poser is "typical POV-Ray-ish".

> i would prefer more collage art style of design (pieces and
> closeups of famous pov-pictures etc.. with strong one-color
> lines)

Maybe, maybe not, I don't know. But at least *something* more original and
better than the current design!

Greetings,

Rune

--
Updated June 12: http://rsj.mobilixnet.dk
3D images, include files, stereograms, tutorials,
The POV Desktop Theme, The POV-Ray Logo Contest,
music, 350+ raytracing jokes, and much more!

Post a reply to this message

SamuelT wrote:
> 
> If you're running Windows (95 and over) you can press alt+tab to switch
> applications easily. If you're running a Macintosh, you can do the same,
> except it's command+tab.

With Linux, it's also alt-tab, by most window managers.

Remco Poelstra

Post a reply to this message

"Gilles Tran" <tra### [at] inapginrafr> wrote in message
news:394### [at] inapginrafr...
> Just went to the POV-Ray page looking for links, and it happens to have
> a new design !
> It looks like it's still a work in progress. I hope that there will be
> new things in the "under construction pages".
> First remarks:
> - It certainly loads faster (javascript gone) which is better.
> - I'm not too happy with the colours which are a tad dark, and with the

I'd rather the colours were a little too dark than too bright - the orange
background of the previous site wasn't that great IMHO.

> Poser girl, which I find too Poseresque (that hair, ahem..) and not a
> good demo for the mapping abilities that should be in Povray 3.5.

Why has everyone leapt on her so much? (if you'll excuse the expression ;)
She shows how a natural looking object can be rendered by POV, and made to
look reasonably realistic.  Assuming the site is made to appeal to ~new~
visitors (we all know what POV can do, so it hardly matters what they put on
the package;) then this ability to reproduce something seen in real life
(erm, assuming they don't spend a little too long at the computer ;) would
be impressive.  Just using something like a teapot doesn't give quite the
same effect - I'm not quite sure why, but maybe it's because it's already
man-made in the first place.
ok, some people might argue that it shouldn't be there as it's obvious it
hasn't been hand-coded in POV script - but there are plenty of other images
on the site that have, and many new visitors aren't really going to be too
bothered by this - to them, it's simply an impressive image and so another
reason to get interested in POV.
I also think it adds a welcome "casual" feel - that POV isn't always used
for serious images... sure, some people might think (quite rightly) that a
women dressed somewhat sparingly in leopard-skin is a little cheesy... but
what's the problem with a bit of light-heartedness?  Showing new visitors an
accurately modelled isosurface of a complex function doesn't quite get the
"tell me more" factor going (for, erm, some people anyway).
As a final little point, the suggestion of scrapping her in place of a
spaceship (hand coded in real pov script) seems to reinforce the slightly
stereotypical view some people may have of computer modellers... ;)

Matt

Post a reply to this message

Andrea Ryan <ary### [at] global2000net> wrote:
: The girl is not a very good mascot for POV.

  Why not?

-- 
main(i,_){for(_?--i,main(i+2,"FhhQHFIJD|FQTITFN]zRFHhhTBFHhhTBFysdB"[i]
):5;i&&_>1;printf("%s",_-70?_&1?"[]":" ":(_=0,"\n")),_/=2);} /*- Warp -*/

Post a reply to this message

It looks cool.
  It's good that they have finally got rid of the frames.
  And the colors are ok to me.

-- 
main(i,_){for(_?--i,main(i+2,"FhhQHFIJD|FQTITFN]zRFHhhTBFHhhTBFysdB"[i]
):5;i&&_>1;printf("%s",_-70?_&1?"[]":" ":(_=0,"\n")),_/=2);} /*- Warp -*/

Post a reply to this message

Rune <run### [at] inamecom> wrote:
: I agree. Also, I think the background color should be a lot brighter. In my
: opinion dark text on bright background always look more professional than
: bright text on dark background...

  But it hurts your eyes more.

-- 
main(i,_){for(_?--i,main(i+2,"FhhQHFIJD|FQTITFN]zRFHhhTBFHhhTBFysdB"[i]
):5;i&&_>1;printf("%s",_-70?_&1?"[]":" ":(_=0,"\n")),_/=2);} /*- Warp -*/

Post a reply to this message

More recent examples of POV's remarkable capabilities would be a definite
improvement.  IMHO I can't understand why almost no new images have been
exhibited since the IRTC's 1998 December round.  While "First Strike at
Pearl" and "Arkansas Chickens VS. EBE's" are incredible images what of the
most recent award-winning pieces of the IRTC?

-Chris-

Rune <run### [at] inamecom> wrote in message
news:394bf3a6@news.povray.org...
>I think it would be better with a motive that
> changes from time to time, and that's exactly what we already have! The
> picture in the middle that is. I think it's the best demonstration of the
> features of POV-Ray, especially if they began using some newer and better
> images.

Post a reply to this message

I'm also at 1024x768 and it looks perfect.  Granted the site is under
construction, but I didn't have any scrolling problems and everything seems
well-proportioned on my screen.

-Chris-

Dave Blandston <gra### [at] earthlinknet> wrote in message
news:394c195b@news.povray.org...
> > > It's too small on my 1280x1024.
> >
> > And it's too big on my 800x600. That's much worse!
>
> It's even too big for 1024x768!

Post a reply to this message

Scott Hill <sco### [at] innocentcom> wrote in message
news:394c5140@news.povray.org...
>     Well, I for one like what I see so far. I can understand the arguments
> against the Poser girl, but, really, just what is the problem with her ?

Well, I suppose from the Artist's perspective the Poser girl, noticeably the
same size as the link bar, balances the page from left to right.  However,
from the editor's perspective a Poser girl wouldn't be advertising even one
fifth of POV's capabilities.

-Chris-

Post a reply to this message

"Chris S." <chr### [at] bluelectrodecom> wrote in message
news:394cfe27$1@news.povray.org...
| Scott Hill <sco### [at] innocentcom> wrote in message
| news:394c5140@news.povray.org...
| >     Well, I for one like what I see so far. I can understand the arguments
| > against the Poser girl, but, really, just what is the problem with her ?
|
| Well, I suppose from the Artist's perspective the Poser girl, noticeably the
| same size as the link bar, balances the page from left to right.  However,
| from the editor's perspective a Poser girl wouldn't be advertising even one
| fifth of POV's capabilities.

But she might have blobs under that bikini top, so maybe 2/5...
She makes me think of what a mild-mannered career woman might look like on
that new game show: http://polydb.union.rpi.edu/article/35063/cbs.html  so it
seems rather humorous to me.

Bob

Post a reply to this message

To big, too small.. I don't know. Maybe the menu text is too small compared to
the heading?

I don't like the colours either. The link collection is rather unappealing and
the link text don't stand out very much.

sig
--
ICQ 74734588

Post a reply to this message

The girl was made with an external program (Poser) and does not demonstrate
any unique features of POV-Ray as far as I can see.
Brendan Ryan

Warp wrote:

> Andrea Ryan <ary### [at] global2000net> wrote:
> : The girl is not a very good mascot for POV.
>
>   Why not?
>
> --
> main(i,_){for(_?--i,main(i+2,"FhhQHFIJD|FQTITFN]zRFHhhTBFHhhTBFysdB"[i]
> ):5;i&&_>1;printf("%s",_-70?_&1?"[]":" ":(_=0,"\n")),_/=2);} /*- Warp -*/

Post a reply to this message

It's better to have a good design for both since the splash page is the
first one people see unless they get an URL to an specific page.
Brendan Ryan

> OK. I personally would anytime prefer good design on the actual pages
> instead of good design on the splash page...

Post a reply to this message

"Chris S." wrote:
> I'm also at 1024x768 and it looks perfect. Granted the site is
> under construction, but I didn't have any scrolling problems
> and everything seems well-proportioned on my screen.

I have found out why it is too big on my 800x600 resolution.

It is not because the width is fixed. It is because the link pages that has
under sections has the under sections placed in two columns, which means
that the box containing the under sections become too wide. That causes the
rest of the page to be too wide too. The link pages with no under sections
or with one column of under sections only (because there's a few only) looks
just fine.

Placing the under sections in one column only would fix the problem.

Greetings,

Rune

--
Updated June 12: http://rsj.mobilixnet.dk
3D images, include files, stereograms, tutorials,
The POV Desktop Theme, The POV-Ray Logo Contest,
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Post a reply to this message

"Andrea Ryan" wrote:
> It's better to have a good design for both since the splash page is the
> first one people see unless they get an URL to an specific page.
> Brendan Ryan

My definition of a splash page is a special page that contains no useful
contents. I would call the first page at http://www.scifi-art.com/ for a
splash page, but I wouldn't call the first page at http://www.povray.org for
a splash page.

I don't think that websites need splash pages, and I think it's good that
povray.org doesn't have one (using my own definition of "splash page").

My own website has a splash page, but it's only because it is needed in
order for the structure of my site to work. I would remove it if I could...

Greetings,

Rune

--
Updated June 12: http://rsj.mobilixnet.dk
3D images, include files, stereograms, tutorials,
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Post a reply to this message

"Brendan Ryan" wrote:
> The girl was made with an external program (Poser) and
> does not demonstrate any unique features of POV-Ray as
> far as I can see.

"Serge LAROCQUE" wrote:
> Was it rendered with POV-Ray?

I'm sure it was, but the point is that it doesn't show any *unique* features
of POV-Ray. That is, it doesn't give the visitor a reason to use POV-Ray
instead of any other 3D program. That girl could probably be made with any
3D program, and it doesn't show the real strengths of POV-Ray, I think.

Greetings,

Rune

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"Chris S." wrote:
> More recent examples of POV's remarkable capabilities would
> be a definite improvement.

I agree, but I guess the webmaster has not had the time to make these
updates yet.

Greetings,

Rune

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So you think that an object made of spheres, cylinders and boxes is more
appealing than an organic model?
  So what, if it's made with another program? I think many people using other
3D software uses models made with other software as well.
  The point is to show the rendering quality, not the modelling quality,
since povray is a renderer, not a modeller.

-- 
main(i,_){for(_?--i,main(i+2,"FhhQHFIJD|FQTITFN]zRFHhhTBFHhhTBFysdB"[i]
):5;i&&_>1;printf("%s",_-70?_&1?"[]":" ":(_=0,"\n")),_/=2);} /*- Warp -*/

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In article <394dc49c@news.povray.org> , "Rune" <run### [at] inamecom> 
wrote:

> My definition of a splash page is a special page that contains no useful
> contents. I would call the first page at http://www.scifi-art.com/ for a
> splash page

This is contrary to what any usability expert will tell you.  People want to
know where they are and what the site is about.  The main page of any site
is the most essential and apparently very important for the success of a
site.
If you want to know about how web design should be to work best, check out
<www.useit.com>.


      Thorsten


PS: Please keep in mind that the POV-Team - unlike large companies - does
not have the money or time to employ a whole department of usability experts
and web designers to create a "perfect" site.  Everything, including POV-Ray
itself, has some spots that need to be polished, and in this sense a web
site is not much different from software.  You can be sure the team will do
the best, as our spare time permits.
Sometimes only or mostly negative feedback can be very frustrating, so maybe
pointing out what you _like_  about the site would help improve it as well.

This is just a personal note, I do not speak for the POV-Team.

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The desgin has great potential (except for the colors - try blueish),
however - I myself was offended by the picture of the girl. please put
something less...you know on the front page.

Gilles Tran wrote:
> 
> Just went to the POV-Ray page looking for links, and it happens to have
> a new design !
> It looks like it's still a work in progress. I hope that there will be
> new things in the "under construction pages".
> First remarks:
> - It certainly loads faster (javascript gone) which is better.
> - I'm not too happy with the colours which are a tad dark, and with the
> Poser girl, which I find too Poseresque (that hair, ahem..) and not a
> good demo for the mapping abilities that should be in Povray 3.5.
> What do people think ?
> G.

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Rune wrote in message <394bf00c@news.povray.org>...

>Also, the 3D Links Collection design is horrible (sorry)! My screen
>resolution is 800x600 and I have to scroll horizontally left and right all
>the time just to be able to read the text! That's one of the worst things
>you can do when talking about web-design, I think. (Again, sorry!)


I noticed. My screen is set to 1024*768 and I'm still having to scroll.
Wgat resolution was the site designed for???

Gail
********************************************************************
* gsh### [at] monotixcoza              * Reality.dat not found         *
* http://www.rucus.ru.ac.za/~gail/ * Attempting to reboot universe *
********************************************************************
* The best way to accelerate Windows NT is at 9.8 m/s^2      *
********************************************************************

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Gilles Tran wrote:
> 
> Just went to the POV-Ray page looking for links, and it happens to
> have a new design !
> What do people think ?

"Nice, but when does 3.5 come out?"

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Rune wrote:

> I'm sure it was, but the point is that it doesn't show any *unique* features
> of POV-Ray. That is, it doesn't give the visitor a reason to use POV-Ray
> instead of any other 3D program. That girl could probably be made with any
> 3D program, and it doesn't show the real strengths of POV-Ray, I think.

Being a long-time Poser user, I really don't object at having a Poser model
(rendered in Pov-Ray) in the front page. Having a realistic-looking human form
on the front page is certainly a big step ahead from the usual CSG fare. It
actually shows off one BIG strength of POV-Ray, and a quite undervalued one,
which is its ability to render meshes from other programmes.

With uv-mapping and with the help of vertex management utilities like those made
by Warp and Chris Colefax, there's a huge potential in using meshes in Povray.
Note that the (previous ?) Hall of Fame shows at least two images of objects
made with 3DStudio and rendered in Povray and AFAIK nobody ever complained about
this.

My only (little) problem is that Posette here is a little too basic, and looks
more like a standard posing example for Poser than a true creation, so that
there could be room for improvement (but there may be more to know about her,
who knows ?).

G.

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I would like to see your eve there instead :).

Fabian.

Gilles Tran a écrit :
> 
> Rune wrote:
> 
> > I'm sure it was, but the point is that it doesn't show any *unique* features
> > of POV-Ray. That is, it doesn't give the visitor a reason to use POV-Ray
> > instead of any other 3D program. That girl could probably be made with any
> > 3D program, and it doesn't show the real strengths of POV-Ray, I think.
> 
> Being a long-time Poser user, I really don't object at having a Poser model
> (rendered in Pov-Ray) in the front page. Having a realistic-looking human form
> on the front page is certainly a big step ahead from the usual CSG fare. It
> actually shows off one BIG strength of POV-Ray, and a quite undervalued one,
> which is its ability to render meshes from other programmes.
> 
> With uv-mapping and with the help of vertex management utilities like those made
> by Warp and Chris Colefax, there's a huge potential in using meshes in Povray.
> Note that the (previous ?) Hall of Fame shows at least two images of objects
> made with 3DStudio and rendered in Povray and AFAIK nobody ever complained about
> this.
> 
> My only (little) problem is that Posette here is a little too basic, and looks
> more like a standard posing example for Poser than a true creation, so that
> there could be room for improvement (but there may be more to know about her,
> who knows ?).
> 
> G.

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> Rune wrote:

> Also, the 3D Links Collection design is horrible (sorry)!

The colors are horrible.. I liked the past links-colors much better.
I run in resoultion 1280x1024 and the page shows very nice, the navigation
buttons are a bit small for me. But the again, the old buttons were very big
in 800x600.
I generally like the design, even though not so very much are changed.
What's the different between POV-Ray links and 3D link collection?
I also think the page logos should've been made in POV, but they're pretty
nice, even thought they don't match 100% in the color scheme with rest of
the page.

To be positive, as Thorsten said, I must say the new design are much, much
better than the previous.
I like the bright text on dark background.

--
Peter
http://hertel.no/bigone

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Rune wrote:

>Also, the 3D Links Collection design is horrible (sorry)! My screen
>resolution is 800x600 and I have to scroll horizontally left and right
>all the time just to be able to read the text!


Well it has chaged twice since you posted and it improved both times. 
Another improvement for me would be not using italics in the description 
for better readabilty. Also the background seems to be darker now.

Oh, there is a typo in the Competition button: Competitionl

I like it.

Ingo

-- 
Photography: http://members.home.nl/ingoogni/
Pov-Ray    : http://members.home.nl/seed7/

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ingo wrote:

>Well it has chaged twice since you posted 

 Ehm once..

> Also the background seems to be darker now.

 It's not.

mmm, time for a new monitor I think :(

Ingo

-- 
Photography: http://members.home.nl/ingoogni/
Pov-Ray    : http://members.home.nl/seed7/

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"Thorsten Froehlich" wrote:
> "Rune" wrote:
>
> > My definition of a splash page is a special page that contains
> > no useful contents. I would call the first page at
> > http://www.scifi-art.com/ for a splash page
>
> This is contrary to what any usability expert will tell you.
> People want to know where they are and what the site is about.

You misunderstood me! I was talking about what I think a splash page *is*,
not how I think it *should be*.

I think the first page at http://www.scifi-art.com is a typical splash page,
that is, with no useful info, and I don't like that.

I wouldn't say that the first page at http://www.povray.org is a splash
page, because it is just like the other pages in design, and it contains
useful info too. I think that is good.

I hope this was more clear.

> Sometimes only or mostly negative feedback can be very
> frustrating, so maybe pointing out what you _like_  about
> the site would help improve it as well.

Thanks for reminding me!

Basically, I think the basic layout with the menu to the left and how the
text and headers are placed is fine.

What I don't like is mostly the colors chosen for the site, and the
unoriginal menu to the left. I would think that this is things that could be
improved rather easily. That is just judging from my own experience with web
design.

I also think in the links section the boxes with the under sections should
be placed in one column only, so it will fit in the width independent of the
screen resolutions.

I hope you will find this feedback more constructive! :-)

Greetings,

Rune.

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Updated June 12: http://rsj.mobilixnet.dk
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The POV Desktop Theme, The POV-Ray Logo Contest,
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