v7 Development Blog
Since launching Version 7 of TSR on January 7th we have been following user feedback closely. As we continue to improve the site and fix peoples concerns we have decided to post about the changes we make here, so that hopefully you can see for yourself how the site is evolving based on what our users are telling us.
Here you will see posts made by our developers, Johan, Per and Pommes, and by myself and Tom as we do feature changes and graphical improvements.
I'd like to start the ball rolling by outlining the biggest change we have made today, based on feedback that the download pages were too "cluttered" and the preview images were too small.
We have redesigned the use of the downloads pages, increasing the preview image size by around 50%, reducing the columns from 3 to 2 in normal view, and adding the download buttons to the browse page to reduce the 'work' involved in grabbing the content that appeals to you. The image still open in a lightbox, so if you want to see the full size view of any item, just click the preview image.
The downside to this change is that all the images need to be regenerated at this new size, and that's done when its fetched from the database for the first time. The result will be a slower website again this evening as all the images are regenerated on demand. It's a short term problem though, and worth it in the long run.
This change has added more "white space" to the page also, making it easier on the eyes! While I'm writing this the download boxes are moving from above each box to inside it, so it will improve even greater. This might take a couple of hours to replicate across the servers though.
You also have the option once you have completed your searching and filtering to turn off the side bars and view 3 columns instead of 2 for faster browsing, switching the category filter and search back with a single click. See this screen for an example (as anywhere on the new site, click the image to open a full size lightbox view). The tab to do this it on the far right above the right search column.
Just a note on the use of the category tree. It's been reported that certain types of download are hard to find, one example being tiled floors. On v7, simply click the Downloads Tab, then Sims 2. Then in the left category tree, Floors, then Tiled. You are simply 4 clicks away from 752 tiles floor patterns! I'm sure you will soon find your way around the site and appreciate the speed at which it can be used with a little bit of use.
OK, have a look at those updates and we will post with more very soon.
Enjoy!