The New Forum Layout

[Lazy_generation22 110]

The forum didn't need a rebuild..To be frank it's terrible lay-out is boring,too pale.

[Maxpayne 11,112]

Visually i dont mind it, because like everything else, ill just get used to it at some point (but of course i did prefer the old layout much, much better). But i do have to say that from a technical point of view, this forum is sooo muuuch slower. It takes ages to load every page.

I understand thats its just been set up and it will need tweaking, but the fact that its this slow does not inspire confidence.

I would love for SM to actually put at least 10% of the effort they put towards visual upgrades on forum and game, to be instead put on upgrading the actual game engine, by doing that they would drastically improve the game, and attract new players, which would mean more money. Changes like ths one, on the forum, will just make the people that already play, just want to leave, both forum and game.

[Shelbourne FC 3,485]

Why was my comment not accepted by mod? would clear up a lot of QUESTIONS

[Maxpayne 11,112]

For the UserCP just click on your name bar at the top right side of the page and then click on 'My Recent Post', that kinda resembles the userCP.

but yea, the usercp as we know is now gone

[Dreamers 4,748]

Where can I find my precious UserCP?

This, 100x this. 99% of my time on the forums was using this for my many subscribed threads. Pretty piss poor to not even give anyone some warning either.

[Dreamers 4,748]

American dating system too, yuck.

[LauraAFCA 3,664]

Lol what is this?? A little heads up would've been nice, or maybe asking if anyone was actually in need of a new forum?

I don't like the look but us humans are programmed to dislike anything new so I'm sure I'll get over it

But it's slow! And I can't find anything so far.... I don't think we needed this change.

[Steven 1,553]

We've upgraded the forum from vBulletin 3.8 which was released in 2008 to VBulletin 5.1 which is the latest version and most importantly mobile friendly. So why have we upgraded the forum to a new version? Well in a nutshell the old forum was very outdated and didn't reflect the way that people now access the internet - which is via mobile.

The forum is still being updated and when it's finished it'll be similar in style to Supercell's for desktop and mobile. Issues relating to the upgrade such as threads having to be approved by mods, speed issues etc are currently being addressed. So as you can see we've still got a lot of work to do.

Thanks for your patience

[SM Tony 18,601]

I am very confused. I. It's the old forum. Where are my subscriptions from before? My UserCP is not here. It's taking me to the threads very first posts and. It the latest.

[87+ 2,415]

My eyes, my eyes, someone protect my beautiful eyes.

To be fair it looks a lot better apart from the white burning my aformentioned beautiful eyes. If this doesn't have skin's to customise it people wont want to look at it for long.

[Gozzy 10,758]

The previous version and layout works fine for me,and i often access it from mobile phone,so i have no idea why you decide to change this. Everytime you(SM staff) bother to change something,it's to change something which works perfectly fine like forum. At least give an option to use the old layout

[KYQS 15,662]

I don't think I'll be using this again at all. All those years my phone did me justice and just about suited the previous forum layout. But this is absolutely...horrendous

[Gozzy 10,758]

And even if it ends up like that Supercell forum,i still won't like it. The old layout is so much better.

[drseanfitz 3,459]

Some advance warning on this may have been a polite thing to do. ... and why am i not even authorised to view my own visitor messages?

[KopStar 6,334]

Thanks for the clarity on that. I was guessing the update had something to do with it being old software (but at the rate this loads youd never think so!) I dont think the layout is too bad. Its just the whole approve posts thing as well as a number of key features of the old forum (the whos online, subscribed threads, groups, ease of moving between threads) isnt as good on here now. hopefully with time these are all sorted out

[KopStar 6,334]

The previous version and layout works fine for me' date='and i often access it from mobile phone,so i have no idea why you decide to change this. Everytime you(SM staff) bother to change something,it's to change something which works perfectly fine like forum. At least give an option to use the old layout[/quote']

I have to agree here though. Ive never had a problem with it on my phone

[Ben C 10,791]

The issue here is once again a lack of communication between SM' customers and SM itself. I seriously doubt anyone is so set in their ways that they will be unable to adapt to this new forum layout however the way in which it has been 'updated' could have been handled better.

My suggestion for improvement would be that in future SM informs their customers and this community of major changes to key services they offer with advance notice. My guess is that this was a planned update that would have taken time to arrange, not something last minute.

The reason for this suggestion is that the forums are driven by the community. This community is mainly comprised of SM users who want to engage more with the SM brand and are likely to long term, be more invested in your products. I know personally as a dedicated customer and frequent forum user a little more communication about why you are changing, when you are changing and how those changes benefit me as a consumer would have been greatly appreciated. By not having this regular correspondence with us about these changes appear drastic and so naturally people who are adverse to a system that worked for them question why on earth it would be changed.

Essentially communication is the foundation of a good relationship, lack of communication causes unrest.

For what it's worth the forum was outdated before; I agree that a new system was needed in the long run and that when fully up and running this version will more than likely improve on the old one.

However, aesthetically, the colour scheme is incredibly bland and boring. I get that you are trying to create brand recognition with the blue badge and blue banners on the forum now, but a lot of us use the forum to connect with the multiplayer aspect, which we associate with green. So a greener, more colourful background would be my preference seeing as realistically most forum users who are members tend to be multiplayer users too.

[ruggermad 16,245]

I have to agree here though. Ive never had a problem with it on my phone

Likewise. I've never had any problems with using it on my phone

You wouldn't think this is new software; it's so slow. And then just gives up altogether.

Unless the CP returns in some format or another and the speed picks up, people will just leave. It's a shame that the forum community is near dead anyway, this just might be the final nail in the coffin.

Must say I've not been a fan of the last two major updates to both game and forum. I agree with Ben, communication has always been questionable around these updates. Some sort of meeting/chat with frequent/long term users to gain a brief understanding of what people actually want might have gone a long way.

[danitz 4,774]

The issue here is once again a lack of communication between SM' customers and SM itself. I seriously doubt anyone is so set in their ways that they will be unable to adapt to this new forum layout however the way in which it has been 'updated' could have been handled better. My suggestion for improvement would be that in future SM informs their customers and this community of major changes to key services they offer with advance notice. My guess is that this was a planned update that would have taken time to arrange' date=' not something last minute. The reason for this suggestion is that the forums are driven by the community. This community is mainly comprised of SM users who want to engage more with the SM brand and are likely to long term, be more invested in your products. I know personally as a dedicated customer and frequent forum user a little more communication about why you are changing, when you are changing and how those changes benefit me as a consumer would have been greatly appreciated. By not having this regular correspondence with us about these changes appear drastic and so naturally people who are adverse to a system that worked for them question why on earth it would be changed. Essentially communication is the foundation of a good relationship, lack of communication causes unrest. For what it's worth the forum was outdated before; I agree that a new system was needed in the long run and that when fully up and running this version will more than likely improve on the old one. However, aesthetically, the colour scheme is incredibly bland and boring. I get that you are trying to create brand recognition with the blue badge and blue banners on the forum now, but a lot of us use the forum to connect with the multiplayer aspect, which we associate with green. So a greener, more colourful background would be my preference seeing as realistically most forum users who are members tend to be multiplayer users too.[/quote']

amen¡¡¡ Agreement 100%

[Ste G 1,845]

It's taking me to the threads very first posts and. It the latest.

That's what is bothering me most atm, takes an age just to actually find a topic I want and then having to locate the first page too..

Awful layout, hate it, definitely not going to bother with these forums unless there are some drastic changes asap. Am I really having to dismiss a notification for every single time someone posts on a thread I'm subbed to..

[Wave_Dweller 67]

This new layout is utterly horrendous.

I check the forums for player discussions every day, I doubt this will be the case anymore. Please SM, change it back! :_(

[123_ABC 9,305]

What the hell SM? I swear the old version was absolutely fine to be honest. Is there anyway to go back to the old layout? I know some forums allow you to select layouts.

[Like_A_Boas 8,954]

What the hell SM? I swear the old version was absolutely fine to be honest. Is there anyway to go back to the old layout? I know some forums allow you to select layouts.

Don't think so. I'm not sure we're finished on the final design yet. Fingers crossed it's a lot better than this.

[Alurcard 4,067]

Yeah not overly keen on this format myself. Its a little over complicated for a start.

[Vendetta 11,856]

For godness sake.

This new layout make Ben's essay even more unbearable now.