New Forum Look - Can we tone down the orange?

[mgb204]

Whlist overall I'm glad to see some updates to the forums, very quickly I've run into a problem. That is the orange colour just really dominates everything. Not joking as soon as those elements popped up on my display my eyes were uncomfortable.

I surely can't be the only one, right?

[art128]

I have to agree with mgb, the orange is a bit too aggressive on the eyes right now.

Would make a cool temporary Halloween theme though. 

[jeffryfisher]

Didn't affect me. I use "Dark Reader" for Firefox, which replaces color schemes with black and dark grey backgrounds and soft-white (light grey) text. So the only orange reaching me is through the controls and title-bars.

I like dark reader because it greatly reduces glare, especially because I can turn down my monitor's brightness when objects are illuminated and backgrounds are dark.

[AsimPika3172]

Too much orange... sound like celebrate lunar (chinese) new year 🤭🍊

[Tarkus]

A main reason for the introduction of all the orange (and the darker color scheme) is to align the site's design with the color scheme used by the NAM Team, particularly following Ramona Brie's revamp of the NAM branding.  There are plans underway to launch a more official NAM website (there's a placeholder here: https://www.sc4nam.com), and SC4D will effectively be the forums arm of the NAM site.

I did make the orange a little bit flatter earlier to try to reach a compromise.  I may look at implementing some alternate color schemes in the very near future (or possibly allow the SMF default theme as an interim alternate option for the especially orange-averse), but this is planned to remain the default.

-Alex

[Jack_wilds]

 

i for one like this shade of orange....    same as orange construction barrels and barricades...

 

[mgb204]

The slightly less bright orange is better, thanks, but I still don't think Orange on Black is a great style choice, it still catches the eye, which is distracting me as I type this. Obviously not to put a downer on the new style or anything, but I just find it inconceivable that if I'm having problems, I am alone. There is a reason why Orange is one of the colours they use for hi-vis vests and traffic cones, precisely because it's bright. Sticking it on a black background really doesn't help matters and I just think this scheme isn't neutral enough to be the default. I mean, when did you last see Orange on Black used in this fashion, there is a reason in publishing and printing that colour schemes exist. I get that the idea was to tie it to the NAM branding, but isn't it more important that first and foremost things are functional for the largest number of users.

[flann]

I have to agree with mgb, I think it is a bit hard on the eyes.  A more subdued shade of orange would be nice.

[jeffryfisher]

It can only hurt your eyes if your monitor is bright enough to do so. Try turning your monitor down until it doesn't hurt anymore -- Doing so will help with all dark-background sites/pages, not just orange.

[Eric Blair]

Yeah, it might have to do with how your monitor is set up. It looks fine to me and I like the colour scheme.

One minor point though - the orange "NAM team" blurb is a different shade of orange. That one does hurt my eyes a little bit with the new colour scheme and clashes a bit with Ramona Brie's colours.

--Eric Blair

[mgb204]

I've had my current monitors for around 8 months and I calibrated them when I set them up. In all that time, despite doing many graphics/imaging related tasks, I've never previously come across such an issue. If my eyes are fine poking through two 2k screens of data in Reader and Spreadsheets, I've gotta think the setup of my displays is not the issue.

Just because some people seem to like this colour scheme, doesn't make my comments irrelevant however. Here I am typing black text in a white box, with a black background on the left half of my screen (web browser) and the right is filled with two white Finder windows that are open. Yet my eyes can't focus on what I'm doing, because they are drawn to the contrasting Orange that is all around. I'm just saying as a design choice it isn't as neutral or as inclusive an option as it could be.

[Andreas]

It's nice to see that SC4D is developing a new, fresh design, but I tend to agree with mgb204. The contrast between the dark background and the orange buttons (with different hues of orange) is a bit strong alright, and the white background of the "quick reply" box doesn't make any sense at all. I do like the idea of adopting the NAM logo's color scheme, and the NAM surely is the most important thing that keeps SimCity 4 and the community alive, and SC4D as the home of the NAM team should get some recognition alright.

Needless to say, fine-tuning a whole new color scheme does take time, and it's always a matter of taste after all. Hopefully, the tech staff will find a more balance color scheme that suits most of the users eventually. Maybe the forum software even allows to switch the general theme automatically based on the OS settings (many operating systems now offer a light and a dark color scheme by default). This would at least fix mgb204's troubles with having MacOS finder windows with white background right next to a Safari window with dark background.

[rivit]

For me the style is somewhat separate from the physical effects of high contrast. After having cataract surgery and now sporting artificial lenses any high gradient/contrast color edge from dark to light leads to bloom, halos and ghosting. White-on-black is far more unreadable than black-on-white for me nowadays. So while the light grey text/on dark grey background above is quite readable and clear, the much larger white font of the headers on black is ghosted at its edges and hence harder to read. The flatter orange is OK, the bright NAM orange on black has fringes.

So overall its ymmv for all of us. I do think the new style is modern and sharp but I'll get used to it.

[Eric Blair]

What Andreas suggested might honestly be the best solution. I like the new colour scheme but my eyes are instead sensitive to harsh blues, which I therefore avoid. If the site had opted to go with a dark and blue scheme, I would be the one to raise this very issue.

It's not just a matter of taste, but also an accessibility issue. We had a discussion regarding accessibility and data graphs a while ago for that very reason. Some people are colour blind, others have eyes that are sensitive to certain colours. The ideal solution is to keep the colour scheme for those who like it - I find it quite soothing myself - but allow others to change it.

Rivit mentioned that he has trouble with the contrast of white-on-black after cataract surgery. I, on the other hand, have a medical condition that makes reading black-on-white painful after a while. There is no fits-all solution here.

I propose a middle ground: keep the default colour scheme as it stands now for branding purposes, and allow users to have the site match their OS settings at will, considering those are probably set up the way they prefer anyway.

-- Eric Blair

[CaptCity]

Not so much about the orange (although it is my favorite color  ), but I haven't seen the 'Like' button since the new scheme was put in place. It's probably right in front of my face, but I don't see it. I see where others have 'Liked' posts, so maybe it is blending into the new background?

Thanks

[LucarioBoricua]

How is the like functionality going? Any possibility to have it restored? I can't seem to find anywhere on the UI to like content.

[mgb204]

If I like your posts, will you believe that it's still here?

Working fine for me on both Opera (Cromium) and Safari.

[Tarkus]

The like button is still in the same spot it was, and the like features have actually been enhanced considerably (including better access to stats) since the upgrade (it was a plugin on the old forums, where as it's a built-in feature with the new ones).  It just looks a little different.



-Alex

[LucarioBoricua]

I'm very sure I'm not getting the like button. I've already tried clearing the cache of the website, and also opening the website in other browsers and devices. Something's definitely going on that shouldn't.

[Tarkus]

That's very strange . . . the permissions were set up to allow Regular Members to access it, and then it was supposed to inherit out from there.  In any case, I've explicitly permitted "likes" to all the active usergroups, so you should hopefully see it now.

-Alex