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Simutrans.com site - general feedback

Started by IgorEliezer, February 03, 2013, 09:26:17 PM

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IgorEliezer

Simutrans.com site

This is the topic for discussions about our simutrans.com site.

On January 29th, our community was gifted with a new site. So a new topic would be fitting.

Feel free to:

- give feedback;
- make suggestions;
- report errors (bug or bad writing);
- announce sites (fan and official ones) to be listed here.

Old topic: http://forum.simutrans.com/index.php?topic=3434.0

Spacethingy

Hey guys, I love the new "portal" feel to the website - I personally feel it gives a much better representation of the Simutrans community and news.  :thumbsup:


I've got a few problems though (they're all pretty nit-picking, so...)


/en

  • The list of features feels like broken English - it's actually not, but the lack of either punctuation or bullets makes it feel weird.
  • "Check paksets" is a little odd - as an unprepared visitor, I don't have a clue what this means - check my computer? what's a pakset? "Graphics packages" is already used on the page, why not here?

/en/overview

  • "...you have [+ a +] lot of graphics packages to choose from..."
  • "The success of your company will depend on [- a -] good planning..."
  • "Simutrans [- have -][+ has +] a lot of configurations that you can customize."

/en/download

  • "Save the file in your disk" - save "to" your "hard disk"?

/en/paksets

  • Love the new design, but the lack of descriptions is confusing for newcomers (e.g. some packs are very WIP). Also, the links don't do anything - were they supposed to link to the Sourceforge pages?

That's all for now, great work!
Life is like a Simutrans transformer:

You only get one of them, and you can't have it on a slope.

An_dz

Thanks for report.
Grammar was fixed and Check Paksets was changed to only Graphics Packages.

Paksets page was due to a bug, it's fixed now.

Features list will stay as is for now.

Spacethingy

Great thanks, the pak-set page feels very professional! That's cool how the descriptions expand to fill the column.
Life is like a Simutrans transformer:

You only get one of them, and you can't have it on a slope.

jcs3205

Under the Header:
Simutrans is an open-source software, as are some graphics paks and some objects from freeware paksets are. We receive contributions from people all around the world, ranging from ideas, translations and drawings(,) to code snippets.

Thanks for to this community of volunteers volunteer contributors(,) Simutrans evolved and became this great project full of possibilities. Notable volunteers have won an eternal place in Simutrans history by being thanked in lot of places in throughout the game.

You can become a volunteer contributor too, the community is open for your ideas

Under Code:
The Simutrans source code is maintained by a team of coders,(<=replace comma with a period) theyThis team includes the code patches they and others do write in into the main code. They ensure the code is good and(,) safe to be included(,) and that it complies with the Simutrans concept. They will probably help you a lot when coding.

If you're interested in helping the code, programmers have written documentations (<=hard to understand for newcomers, consider "guides", or "manuals") of Simutrans code explaining how some stuff works. Also, lots of new patches are discussed before implementation and you can help those codes or get helped with your code(<=poor sentance structure, consider "After reading some of these guides, consider helping out one of the many patches being discussed on the forum, or, if you are ready to start your own project, then you can find help and direction for your project on the forum as well."). All these can be found in the Development section at of the forum.

Under Paint:
Thanks to Volker Meyer for his design of Simutrans pakfile system, you can easily extend Simutrans with new vehicles, buildings, industries, roads, goods types and other game objects. It is very simple and quite satisfying to see one your (<=stay in second person speech) own creation run in Simutrans.

People use a vast number of software applications (<=remember the newcomers!) for painting, graphics editors, vector editors and 3D software are used to create objects. There are software applications designed specifically for helping create Simutrans addons, links for them can be found at the links page.

Our wiki have has lot of info explaining the creation of these"addons". Additionally, at the Simutrans Forum there are many helpful people on the Simutrans forum,(<= comma) who will answer your question on the creation of objects.

Under Translate:
Simutrans can be translated to a lot of languages. And(, and)you can help translate missing texts or suggest better translations to (than) the existing ones. Some language boards at on the forum have threads especially for translation suggestions, but if the language you want to translate don't doesn't have one, just create a new thread at that sub-board with your suggestions. But However, if none is are available(,) you can start a discussion at the Translation and Help Texts board.

New players will always need texts that help them to play and create new addons to Simutrans. That's why Simutrans have a wiki where there are a lot of articles that can be created, extended and translated. All you have to do is go to Simutrans Tikiwiki and start working(poor structure, consider "To get started, head over to the Simutrans Tikiwiki"),(<=replace comma with a period)  you You don't need to be registered to edit some pages, but for better control and receiving credits credit we recommend having an account.

A few notes:
-I understand if you disagree with some of the sentence structure comments. They may have been technically correct, but they were not fluent
-Maybe others have ideas for better prepositions, but these were the ones I would use.
-If we want to attract newcomers to Simutrans we need to make sure that we define technical words by either using the text above  e.g. these "addons" (A newcomer might think,"Oh okay an addon is one of these art things they are talking about"), or change the words e.g. "documentations" to "guides".

mEGa

Hi,
Undoubtedly, pretty graphic theme  !
I certainly discovered a little bug in this page :
http://www.simutrans.com/en/develop#paint

=> the link which named "link pages" id defined like this :
http://localhost/simutrans/en/links#tools

And if I replace "localhost/simutrans" by "www.simutrans.com", I have the  right page.
Current projects in progress : improvements of few designed french paks

IgorEliezer

#6
Topic split. I've just created a new topic for the simutrans.com site. This one you're reading.

Posts made before the new site release date are here: http://forum.simutrans.com/index.php?topic=3434.msg109652#msg109652

Let's keep the stuff organized for the good of community. 8)

An_dz

Thanks mEGa, I found the same on download page.
Thanks jcs3205, the sentences are better.

Your fixes and suggestions included.

IgorEliezer

#8
In Download: http://www.simutrans.com/en/download

Nightly Builds
For consistency, remove the down-arrow from the button since it's not a download link.

Older Versions
Links don't work, and there's an "invisible" link pointing to the help page.


In Overview: http://www.simutrans.com/en/overview

The 1st paragraph is too short, in my opinion. This should be a 3-line paragraph summarizing the whole text/game for lazy people that don't want to read "long" texts. I suggest:
QuoteSimutrans is an open-source transportation simulation game available for Windows, Mac, Linux and BeOS. Your goal is to establish a successful transport company and (to?) build necessary infrastructure to transport passengers, mail and goods by land, air and water, between cities, factories and touristic attractions.

I'm afraid that my suggestion needs to be reviewed... if someone has a better wording than this, feel to free to propose.

General
Resources page is not included in the top-menu. The only way to get there is through About page, as far as I know. I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to include a link in the menu.

MCollett

Blue is suggested additions and replacements, red is to be deleted or replaced.
/en/overview:
Vehicles Aand Cargos

The success of your company will depend on a good planning, and we give you the tools for it. Simutrans can have buses, trucks, trains, trams, ships, airplanes, monorails, maglevs and any other vehicle that goes through air, land or water. Choose them wisely and transport the immense variety of cargo each pakset have has to offer, from passengers and mail to raw materials and consumer products.

Dynamic Aand Intelligent

Cargo Have has Destinations

Simutrans citizens and products don't simply jump in your vehicles and go to wherever you send them. They actually have their individual destinations,: people want to check out attractions, go shopping, or visit friends. Products too have their destinations, factories have contracts with each other and they won't sell or buy from anyone else. If you don't give them the possibility to go where they want, they simply don't use your transport company.

Complete Tthe Chain

Transporting products not only gives you money, but makes the economy roll. As you transport the products between factories, they start producing and selling. Every factory receiving the needed products materials it needs starts producing the new ones goods, letting you connect more and more factories across the region.

Influencing Cities

Your transportation affects the growing of the cities city growth. Every unit of anything you transport will affect the nearby cities, making them grow and prosper. Sometimes cities will create new attractions and places of interest, which surely attract a lot of more passengers for it. Or maybe your service may attract new industries, that give you even more opportunities. But not all everything you do leads to good things, as cities grows more cars are on the roads, and you will end up trying to deal with the traffic. What you do shapes the future.

Control Aand Customize

Configure All or Nothing

Simutrans haves a lot of configurations that you can customize. But iIf you're not a customization freak, don't worry, generally with a few options Simutrans will already fits your play style. But if you are a customization freak, you'll enjoy all the options and ways to change the game.

Build Your World

When you create a new game, don't expect it to be a fixed world. You can shape the world onto suit your needs, add new roads, factories, houses, and buildings, higherraise and lower the terrain, create rivers, lakes, and seas, or beautify the world spreading by planting trees.

Create Your World

If you think a building could be added, or a new type of road should be available, or want to create a totally different graphic set, you can. Simutrans lets you create objects with ease, just draw something and set its parameters and you have a new object to be used on in Simutrans.

How You Play

Multiplayer

Bothered Tired of playing lonelyalone? Simutrans lets you play multiplayer. You can join a public server and compete and collaborate with people around the world, or you can create a private server and play with your friends or even play through a LAN network.

Hardcore or Casual?

You can challenge yourself onin a normal game, trying to make your company successful and rich. Or you can just relax and have some fun playing with no hurry nor money, just for your enjoyment and the satisfaction of transporting everything.

Best wishes,
Matthew

MCollett

\en\history
AsLike most games, Simutrans started small, as with the dream of one man. This man was Hansjörg Malthaner, also known as Hajo, thatwho started Simutrans as an hobby project onin 1997, to learn C++ object oriented programming. Since then, Simutrans grewhas grown from the simple program of one man, to a great project with its own life and community of supporters and contributors. In 2004 Hansjörg decided to retire from the main development, and since that time the development was onhas been in the hands of the Simutrans community.

Each project, or part of the game, has its own coordinator. Thanks to the efforts of people who try to help the community, development continues in a friendly atmosphere of cooperation and respect.


Best wishes,
Matthew

An_dz

@MCollet (Matthew)
Thanks a lot! Lot of errors we overlooked because of the hurry to publish it.

@Igor
I'm fixing downloads page, lot of changes are needed.

Thanks for the better text.

Resources are a little hidden just as most of other sites do. It's more suited for web developers.

IgorEliezer

Quote from: An_dz on February 20, 2013, 12:27:22 AM
Resources are a little hidden just as most of other sites do. It's more suited for web developers.
:thumbsup:

An_dz


IgorEliezer

#14
In Links:

"Lot of links for brother sites" should be either "Lots of links to brother sites" or "A lot of links to brother sites".

Don't forget to add Simutrans Scenarios. :D

sdog

"brother sites" sounds a bit strange to me*, "related sites" sounds more neutral.

*not a native english speaker

Ters

I think English tend to use "sister" rather than "brother", but I support sdog's suggestion of "related sites". A proper sister site should maybe also have the same owner, which isn't the case here. At best, they share a flat.

kierongreen

None of related, brother or sister site sound great to be honest (although sister is the best). I'd just use other simutrans sites myself.

IgorEliezer

#18
The front page lost the integration with the forum.

pwhk

I wonder if anyone has reported this, or if not, why no one noticed this...

All links in the top navigation of http://www.simutrans.com/en/ seems broken, and their URL are all localhost/simutrans/en/.... (...)

IgorEliezer

Confirmed. :<

Most of us get in the forum directly, not through the portal. This may be why nobody has reported yet.

An_dz

Fixed, uploaded the wrong file last night. :(

IgorEliezer

Thank you. :)

Another thing: If I try to choose a Mac version here (http://www.simutrans.com/en/download/mac), the site brings me the "Choose your Operating System" page instead of the download for the chosen Mac version.

An_dz

It's normal here, it asks me to choose between Intel and PPC.


Isaac Eiland-Hall


An_dz

Fixed. And at least it was working when using a Mac.


IgorEliezer

Download link for MakeObj is broken: when I click on "Download MakeObj" button, it opens the default download page in a new window. It's kinda loopy. ;)

An_dz

Easy fix, the variable was wrong because of the changes for simutranslator.

IgorEliezer

Uh? Is it already in Simutranslator? I didn't know.

An_dz

Yes, I posted in Translations and Help Texts.

Someone is already translating to Spanish and Catalan.

IgorEliezer

#32
Nice!

May I suggest a thing for the site?

The "latest forum posts" box shows the latest 3 posts of the forum, okay, but sometimes 2 or even 3 of them came from the same topic. What if only the most recent one is displayed, thus leaving room for other active topics?

Another thing that would be nice: display the board where the post is from along with the time, for example:

QuoteRe: Simutrans.com site - general feedback
19:50 May 2 in Web & Wiki

The purpose is to show the main subjects that are discussed in the forums. It would  be an indirect way to expose the boards to the public, specially the development ones.

An_dz

Quote from: IgorEliezer on May 03, 2013, 12:50:16 AM
The "latest forum posts" box shows the latest 3 posts of the forum, okay, but sometimes 2 or even 3 of them came from the same topic. What if only the most recent one is displayed, thus leaving room for other active topics?
That's a good idea, I may try to implement it.

Quote from: IgorEliezer on May 03, 2013, 12:50:16 AM
Another thing that would be nice: display the board where the post is from along with the time
No, because this is not included in the feed. Isaac must change the feed to include this info so I can get it.

prissi

It would be great, if there is a direct link from the development page to the sourceforge group. At least I used this a lot on the old page. (I can still go relatively fast via the logon at sf and vie my profile.) But I think it would be good to link to this a little better.

Then could something be done about this graphical issue in the attachment?

And finally, could the empty space left be use to duplicate the drop down menu from the top? (For instance show the three shortcuts in Contribute: Code, Paint, Translate at top left of the main text?) NB: Should Contribute rather be named development? That is what it is called in few other open source sites at least.