Forums > MobyGames > interface improvements
nullnullnull (1463) on 3/8/2006 4:05 AM · Permalink · Report
MobyGames is trying to display a ton of data. Also at the same time we are trying to solicit new contributions. I believe there has to be easy and simply UI improvements we could make. I am open to suggestions.
Corn Popper (69019) on 3/8/2006 7:38 AM · Permalink · Report
a home link? to the main page? you can do that by click on the moby logo on the left
Luis Silva (13443) on 3/8/2006 8:21 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
Two things come to mind: add a contribution status link next to the notices and add a tiny sign in have/wish lists that links immediately to the game in question.
edit: three things, actually. There should be a text mode only feature game list. While looking for another possible featured game, I've noticed that, for instance, Oni was already a featured game before in 2001. If I had knew that, I would have thought of other game to suggest.
Terrence Bosky (5397) on 3/8/2006 3:32 PM · Permalink · Report
For being text-heavy, the front page is really well organized. I'm not sure how you could fix the UI without knowing how people use MobyGames.
nullnullnull (1463) on 3/8/2006 8:20 PM · Permalink · Report
Currently there are two themes. MobyGames Classic and Dark. The thing is it is such a pain to make sure each theme works with each release. We used to allow users to contribute themes. We found that no one really took the time to do it.
Joshua J. Slone (4666) on 3/9/2006 8:47 AM · Permalink · Report
Until recently I hadn't much used the MobyGames ability to keep a list of games I owned; I already have one at IGN, and Moby's database had more gaps. However, I thought it might be a good idea to add all the DS games I've gathered over the last year; the entries are relatively newer and have more things I can fill in, and I figured I'd be visiting some of them repeatedly. However, I was surprised to find that unlike almost every other place on the site, in Have lists there's no link from a game to its main summary page.
Even were that possible, though, it would still be fairly unwieldy to use the list for the purpose I was thinking rather than just always using the Quick Search:
Click on my name at the top of the screen. Click on "Manage have/want lists" Click on "Your Have List" Click on a game.
Links to Have and Want lists might fit well next to messages, notices, and prefs at the top of the page. Being able to have a link directly to "main" Have and Want list would be even better and make them instantly accessible, though even without that clicks would be saved.
Roedie (5239) on 3/9/2006 10:43 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Joshua Slone wrote--] However, I was surprised to find that unlike almost every other place on the site, in Have lists there's no link from a game to its main summary page.[/Q --end Joshua Slone wrote--]
I think Luis Silva also mentioned this a few posts earlier. I like this idea. When watching a have list it would be nice to have both a link to the general main summary and a link to your specific copy (with packaging status, purchase price etc.). Now it takes one click to get to your specific copy and then another to reach the general main summary. Maybe we could have the following lay-out for items in have lists:
<tt> Game Name (links to main summary), My Copy (links to your specific copy of the game), Willing to Trade, Comments.</tt>
[Q --start Joshua Slone wrote--] Being able to have a link directly to "main" Have and Want list would be even better and make them instantly accessible, though even without that clicks would be saved. [/Q --end Joshua Slone wrote--] I have different Have lists for different platforms so in that case a link to your main Have list would not be possible. I'd prefer a link to the info that is now under the "view have/want lists" button.
n][rvana (1823) on 3/22/2006 9:06 AM · Permalink · Report
I would LOVE to see the possibility to search for a title ONLY in your wanted/have lists. I have quite a few entries on my main have list and that would help a lot since I don't remember if I already have a title or not, but having to browse page by page is slow and time-consuming.
Another less than optimal solution to this problem would be the ability to browse our wanted/have lists directly from literals. If I want to see if I have a game that starts with "C" I would want to be able to jump directly to all the games that start with the letter C instead of trying to figure out in which page begin the games starting with C.
Thanks!
Luis Silva (13443) on 3/9/2006 8:25 PM · Permalink · Report
other thing that crossed my mind is screenshots and compilations. It doesn't make much sense that the space is displayed for them, as most of the times it is empty. I don't know if this should be submitted as a feature request, but the ability to link screenshot galleries to compilations could be useful.
Terrence Bosky (5397) on 3/15/2006 7:43 PM · Permalink · Report
It seems like there could be an easier/more streamlined way to submit credits.
nullnullnull (1463) on 3/15/2006 8:05 PM · Permalink · Report
suggestions?
Terrence Bosky (5397) on 3/15/2006 8:34 PM · Permalink · Report
Well that part that I hate/loathe is identifying the titles. First off, it's onerous, but for some reason, I don't mind tedious, methodical tasks on my own time.
I wish there was an easier way to find the correct title rather than scrolling through that huge list, especially when you are dealing with a several positions under the same general heading and you have to start back at the top of the list.
Ben K (23952) on 3/16/2006 9:54 AM · Permalink · Report
Would it be possible to have stuff like credits, ratings systems and ad blurbs available as optional steps for adding a new game? I usually have stuff like that lined up, and it's a pain to have to submit the game, get it verified so it shows in the database, then add these components separately.
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 3/16/2006 11:37 AM · Permalink · Report
You shouldn't wait until the game is approved. On the last page of the new game wizard ("Proofread"), there is a link to the completed entry of the game you are adding (with the word "add" highlighted), it looks as if it already in the database. From there, you can just contribute whatever you like. Just don't forget to go back to the under window, click on "Proofread" again, and submit the game itself ;)
breakyboy (1625) on 3/17/2006 9:32 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Unicorn Lynx wrote--]You shouldn't wait until the game is approved. On the last page of the new game wizard ("Proofread"), there is a link to the completed entry of the game you are adding (with the word "add" highlighted), it looks as if it already in the database. From there, you can just contribute whatever you like. Just don't forget to go back to the under window, click on "Proofread" again, and submit the game itself ;) [/Q --end Unicorn Lynx wrote--]
This is kind of a back door I suppose, but an excellent one. Thanks for the tip.
Игги Друге (46653) on 4/5/2006 3:39 PM · Permalink · Report
I think the credits classicifaction system could be smarter. In other words, if the free-text field contained "programmer", the default classification would already be selected as Programming-> Programmer. As long as people don't just blindly accept the machine-generated suggestions, it would speed up submissions a lot.
Roedie (5239) on 4/6/2006 8:22 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Iggy Drougge wrote--]I think the credits classicifaction system could be smarter. In other words, if the free-text field contained "programmer", the default classification would already be selected as Programming-> Programmer. As long as people don't just blindly accept the machine-generated suggestions, it would speed up submissions a lot. [/Q --end Iggy Drougge wrote--]
Isn't this working already? I recently submiited some credits and among them was an Assistant Producer, the classification system automatically selected the role Production -> Assistant Producer for me. So I guess it's working for some less complicated jobs, but maybe not for "programmer" as there are all kinds of programmers.
Ben K (23952) on 4/6/2006 8:40 AM · Permalink · Report
Were you submitting credits for the game on a different system? I noticed that if there's already credits for one release of a game (say, PS2), and you add the credits for, say, the Xbox version, and the titles of the credit match, it will associate the credit with the previous classification used.
Игги Друге (46653) on 4/6/2006 9:43 AM · Permalink · Report
While I appreciate the thought in this system, it is not optimal. One title may mean something else in another port, especially if it's been made by another team in another country. If the system was altered, so that it was set the same as in the other ports, but still user-alterable, it would avoid misclassifications.
Corn Popper (69019) on 4/6/2006 3:05 PM · Permalink · Report
this is true, even if there are seemingly no credits on file and someone went through the process of adding credits and went through all the steps and has a submission wipped back for slight changes they sometimes leave the submission and it gets rejected... so when you com in and add credits to this game and you add the same titles and what not it is already classifed for you, so there is not system in-place to automatically match titles from a totally blank credit set
Joshua J. Slone (4666) on 3/22/2006 9:28 AM · Permalink · Report
Since the subject is up, I've long thought it would be nice to have a way to submit more at once. I type up credits in a text file before putting them on MobyGames, so when I'm moving them over it either involves re-typing or a lot of copy/pasting, both of which can be pretty tedious for a long credits list, as well as allows more room for error.
However, multiple names can be submitted easily. Just typing them like
flipkin, Terrence Bosky, Ben Kosmina, Joshua Slone, Elvis
If characters other than comma could be denoted as further ways of separating things, it would be a pretty easy search/replace task to turn a plain text version of credits into something one could feed in one fell swoop. Then Robotrek credits would be submitted something like:
Main Programmer:Shigemi Kita|Scenario Writer:Reiko Takebayashi|Assistant Programmer:Akira Kitanohara|Graphic Director:Takahiro Ooura|Character Designer:Jyunichi Ishida, Naoko Suzuki, Hisashi Yokota, Masahiko Takai|Monster Designer:Sadao Kobayashi, Yoshimi Kaida, Kouji Yokota|Back Ground Designer:Takahiro Ooura, Hisashi Yokota|Visual Designer:Naoko Suzuki, Hisashi Yokota|Music Composer:Ayako Yoda|Sound Producer:Yuzo Koshiro|Quintet Staff:Tomoyoshi Miyazaki, Tatsuo Hashimoto, Megumi Tsurono|Enix Staff:Yukinobu Chida, Yasuyuki Sone, Keiji Honda|Enix America Staff:Tsuneo Morita, Paul Bowler, Paul Handelman, Robert L. Jerauld|Art Direction:Tooru Maki, Hideki Yamamoto, Takashi Ootsuka, Yoshihisa Saitou|Technical Support:Sadao Yahagi, Kenjiro Kano, Yoshirou Takeshita, Kazufumi Honma|Special Thanks:Tadakuni Kushiyama, Yutaka Sasaki, Naohito Suginaka, Midori Takahashi, Daisuke Ishizuka, Keisuke Matsumoto, Tsutomo Hayashi, Hirofumi Kuroda, Minoru Kakizawa, Akitaka Shigeno, Hideyeki Oikake, Shinichi Yoshida, Tomoko Miyazaki, Naoko Takahashi, Nobukazu Satou, Nobuo Saitou, Mariko Iida, Naoto Tonoki, Kouji Kuwabara, Kaoru Wakabayashi, Akira Arai|Game Designer:Reiko Takebayashi, Shigemi Kita|Director:Masaya Hashimoto|Producer:Shinji Futami, Kazunori Takado|Publisher:Yasuhiro Fukushima
It looks ugly, but it wouldn't be particularly difficult to parse into or out of.
nullnullnull (1463) on 3/31/2006 5:53 AM · Permalink · Report
So we have talked about support like a batch upload for credits. I guess Brian has tried it in the past and people never could get the format right no matter how simple he made it.
Luis Silva (13443) on 3/16/2006 1:36 PM · Permalink · Report
Also, there's a problem with contributing adblurbs. The spell-checker misses a back button, and I have to manually go back, and then press "continue" once to remove the old page from the approval cache.
Corn Popper (69019) on 3/22/2006 4:27 PM · Permalink · Report
what do you mean it misses a back button? there is one that says Go Back and there is a blurb instructing you to click the Go Back button
you'll have to show me a screen shot showing otherwise
Luis Silva (13443) on 3/22/2006 5:25 PM · Permalink · Report
Corn Popper (69019) on 3/22/2006 5:30 PM · Permalink · Report
what browser and version are you using? try it on any other browser? I know it works in IE
Luis Silva (13443) on 3/22/2006 5:45 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
I've noticed it works in IE, but no luck in FireFox 1.5.0.1 (and again, no other display-changing extentionn other than flashblock and adblock). On the other hand, submission withdrawal has two "Submit query" buttons on either browser (I've took a piccy of the problem on IE here)
Aaron A. (39) on 4/13/2006 1:31 PM · Permalink · Report
Speaking of brower dificulties, I sometimes have a problem with ads beeing... in places they shouldn't be (for instance, huge header add, in main content). I don't get most of the ads anyway though, so my HOSTS file is probably take a decent sized role in this.
Michael B (303) on 4/14/2006 1:37 PM · Permalink · Report
Can it be possible for the members to send in screenshots taken from other pages? I have allot of screenshots on my computer that I want to send in to MobyGames, but since they are taken from other pages I can't send them in. How about if we write were we took the screenshots from?
Riamus (8480) on 4/14/2006 1:57 PM · Permalink · Report
Those would be copyrighted screenshots and without written permission from the site(s) they are copied from, we cannot include them on this site regardless if we put where they were from.
Beyond that, MobyGames doesn't want to be a copycat of other sites. That is one reason why we ask that even the reviews you write are only posted on this site and not on other sites. MobyGames wants to be the best and most unique of all gaming sites. And it does a good job at being just that. :)
Luis Silva (13443) on 4/15/2006 1:04 AM · Permalink · Report
This is a bit of a non-issue for me, but adding sound cards for DOS games is a complete nightmare. Most games' tech info only include "Sound Blaster compatible" as sound card information. I really don't know which ones are SBc, shouldn't there be a button to tick all cards that fit?
Shoddyan (15006) on 4/15/2006 9:38 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Luis Silva wrote--]This is a bit of a non-issue for me, but adding sound cards for DOS games is a complete nightmare. Most games' tech info only include "Sound Blaster compatible" as sound card information. I really don't know which ones are SBc, shouldn't there be a button to tick all cards that fit? [/Q --end Luis Silva wrote--]
If the game itself only lists "Sound Blaster", then that's the only soundcard that's actually "compatible". And that's all you'll have to check. Having said that, sometimes the list on the outside of the box of what's supported is a lot smaller than the list of supported cards in the setup/install program for the game. So if you find upon running the game that it actually offers support for additional soundcards, you can contribute those as well.
In any case, Mobygames supports a bunch of sound card attributes under Tech Info (aka Technical Specs) when submitting information. Among them, Adlib and Adlib Gold, Roland MT-32, Disney Sound Source, Gravis Soundcards.... and many more. The only thing that determines whether these options show up or not when adding a game is the release date. There won't be any special support for a soundcard manufactured in 1992 if the game itself was released in 1990.
chirinea (47507) on 4/27/2006 1:58 AM · Permalink · Report
There should be an "edit" button for contribution items already submitted. I know it would make harder for approvers to track changes made after they're on their checking work, but you could at least reject items after submitted.
I'm asking for this feature because sometimes I discover an error in my submission just after I've sent it. Then I have to send a correction, but I really don't feel comfortable about earning points for those corrections.
Corn Popper (69019) on 4/27/2006 2:41 AM · Permalink · Report
yeah we have that as a submission in to edit your items that are still pending
Corn Popper (69019) on 4/27/2006 6:39 AM · Permalink · Report
you can actually go back and change your tech info now, but I prefer you don't do this as it makes for a mess on the backend
Matt Neuteboom (976) on 4/29/2006 4:48 PM · Permalink · Report
This is a very big issue for me here. Please give the chance to give my own score for my games instead of making it an average! I can't stand not being able to give the star scores my own average, and in reality one low score can bring the entire score down. It would be nice to have an "overall" category for MobyScore so that way I really can give an average score.
And also, on a review submission page, instead of making the subject lines "What did you like/did not like about this game" and "How would you describe this game to others", just put what gets put there. Write "The Good/Bad" and "The Bottom Line". The other way gets confusing for newbie MobyGamers. I see a lot of reviews where people write little or nothing in the good/bad area and write an entire speech on gameplay in the "how would you describe this game to others" section.
Those ae my two requests. give me an overall score for MobyScore, and change the wording around for the Review Submission page. It really would mean a lot to me if we fixed this, its been bugging me a lot lately, especially the overall score one.
Shoddyan (15006) on 5/7/2006 10:18 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start DarkDante wrote--] Actually we have to go to FAQ => Emails Answered - 2 What are Moby Tags and how do I use them? => Moby Tags [/Q --end DarkDante wrote--]
That is a little buried. There is a FAQ reorganization underway, however it's fairly indeterminate at the moment.
I agree that your suggestion on making this info easier to find is a good one, and will pass it along as a feature ticket internally.
tarmo888 (5258) on 5/9/2006 3:11 AM · Permalink · Report
very little improvement:
when you Contribute Screenshots, there is a 'Save' button after already uploaded screenshots, with a single 'Save' button we have to scroll to the end of the page to upload another screenshot, what if we could have a same 'Save' button before already uploaded screenshots too?