More Interesting Backdrop Suggestion

hutty

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Mar 30, 2014
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I'm liking the new website so far (especially from a functionality standpoint) , but I can't help but feel that we lost something when we converted everything to a flat style.

So, tonight I made some mockups of something that might make the site feel better.

The general gist, is replace the background gradient with a static image of a map.
Also getting rid of that red square in the upper left. (note that I don't have a good selection of fonts on my computer, so logo I wouldn't consider final)

In the examples below I took some images from our featured maps section and tossed them through gimp's focal blur plugin. (Not all map screenshots look that good as backdrops, only about 10% of them have interesting content on the edges)

I'm assuming this would be the kind of thing that is swapped out every month or so (like a sub-reddit banner)

The homepage is still a more chaotic then I would prefer, but I think that this is a step in the right direction.


iKp4uIH.jpg


XgwSmYT.jpg


j6T6C0s.jpg


jVbSXRr.jpg


MmcIarL.jpg
 

Kube

Not the correct way to make lasagna
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Aug 31, 2014
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That looks quite incredible. For reference, how specifically did you edit the images?

And ooh, this is getting me thinking about event/contest-themed banners.

Edit: Also, it would probably make sense to disable this on mobile. Am I thinking about this too much?
 
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Bunbun

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May 18, 2014
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What kind of maps do you think would be suitable for this?
BTW excellent job there!
 

hutty

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Mar 30, 2014
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@KubeKing The only edit I made I made to the backdrops themselves were these settings in the gimp focus blur plugin
t7swQFO.png


Although I did add some drop shadow to the site border as well as tweak the header a bit.

@Cox Any map is suitable, but the best screenshots are ones that have detail along the edges with a darker sky.
 

worMatty

Repacking Evangelist
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Jul 22, 2014
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Nice work, hutty.

Given that the web site is quite cluttered and noisy, perhaps it would be best to stick with screenshots that are quite simple and clean, for use with this backdrop. Perhaps darkened a little bit.
 

tyler

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Sep 11, 2013
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Should be in the black & white style that the images in the ingame menu have.
I tried this in various tones (variations on sepia etc) and couldn't make any that I liked. In this case, I think normal screenshots with just a bit of blur is best.
 

hutty

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Mar 30, 2014
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I also did try tossing it through various filters before I settled on a focal blur.
I kinda wanted to go for a similar effect to this hud's backdrop, but I couldn't get it looking right.

That and the map maker might be annoyed if their super colorful map looked all dreary on the backdrop.
1271496_203345169874437_1894273012_o.jpg
 

tyler

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Sep 11, 2013
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If we pick screenshots carefully and do just one map at a time, we can still have a variety of backgrounds that match a consistent color palette. There's nothing wrong with going from the dark tones of one map to the light ones of another as long as the screenshots aren't mixed together.
 

Idolon

they/them
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Feb 7, 2008
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fuCfQVA.png

bjAGhLA.png

velwLm8.png

Quick edit done in Photoshop CC (Color Lookup > Abstract > Gold-Crimson, Saturation -50, Contrast -30 (use legacy)). Could use a little fine tuning to fit the existing site colors.
 

tyler

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Sep 11, 2013
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It looks good, but do a map like Anthem (very dark) and one like Sunshine (very bright). Hard to get them to match well.