What themes would you like to use?

[Igiss]

On the SimpleMachines website (SM is our forum engine) there are a number of various themes available for download. If you would like to, we could use some of those themes for this board. New themes will be available for user's choice.

Themes can be browsed here:
http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/

To answer questions never asked: there's no Oblivion-specific theme to download there.

[DM8954]

On a very brief search through the "Fantasy & Futuristic" category, I found the following themes worth a second look:
[Some of them don't have good enough screenshots to make an informed decision.]

• tux Red Planet - This one has a dark Oblivion portal-type feel.
• Serene Forest - Simple and generic but one that I'd consider using for myself.
• RoAR:BloodRed - This is another plain one for people who like it dark.
• RPG Gamer - I like the scroll idea here but some of the graphics are sub-par and some of the buttons are difficult to read.
• KaneKrush - There aren't very good screenshots for this one but it looks like a pretty professional Black w/ red theme.
• Dilber MC - This is hailed as the most popular theme. It's simple, it's similar to what we have now, and it comes in a variety of well designed color schemes.

I would suggest exploring the whole site yourself before making a choice/request but I figure this list can't hurt anyone's decision.

Now, Igiss, I have a question/proposal for you. How difficult would it be to make our own theme or edit one of these with a few custom graphics? I'm at work (shouldn't even be typing this) so I can't search the site for a how-to on editing these themes. Would we need to have access to a copy of the SMF software or is it more a matter of swapping out image files from the template. [Just found a couple how-to links... I'll check them out on lunch break. Creating Themes]

If we can make changes fairly easily, I'll volunteer to come up with a few options for our own personalized theme. I happen to like the one we have now, since I'm so used to it, but it could always use a more personal touch. I kinda like the idea used by theWoW-DK theme. Obviously, we can't use World of Warcraft characters on Oblivion forums... but the same idea can be used with Oblivion characters.

Maybe we can have a "contest" to come up with a Cyrodiil Forums logo or two since we have a few 'graphics people' on the site now.

[Mystical]

Well, I'd be happier just using this simple, easy-to-read theme, but I certainly am interested in the logo contest.

[DM8954]

Alright. I've been working on a few versions of the title bar. I like the possibilities so far.

I'm thinking we should keep this default layout and just have a few different color scheme options and a few different logo options. My internet at home will likely be down until the new year so between that and not being quite finished with it, I won't be able to show you what I've come up with so far.

I'll start an unofficial "contest" to get a few ideas going. I think I'll put it in the "Graphics Forum", rather than in the "Contests & Compatitions" section. That way it will be more of a brainstorming session with comments and suggestions for improving the entries, rather than setting time limits and voting for 'winners'. I'll post my stuff there when I have a chance.

Now, the only other suggestion I have would be to replace the and buttons with and respectively... except not those images exactly... just the Oblivion symbol in .gif format faded in or out to represent new posts. Small touches like this are all it takes to customize the board to make it our own without destroying what's working for us now.

I just though of a few more icon ideas. We would need to figure out replacements for all these:   I was considering "normal" (15 replies or less) is the oblivion symbol, "hot" (16 - 25 replies) is the symbol with a red glow, and "very hot" (more than 25 replies) is the symbol on fire. The main problem I see with that is the potential confusion with the main symbol change proposed above. Maybe instead of The Oblivion symbol above, we could use a Septim coin. Since it's round, it would fit in the square shape better and we could use silver for old posts and gold for new posts. There are a lot of options... it's just a matter of working them out and making the changes.

Unfortunately, the use of the Oblivion symbol is a bit game specific to TES4. One of the best features about the naming of this site, discussed in another thread, is that Cyrodiil, as the "heart of the Empire", can be a fair representation of potentially any TES game; past, present, and future. Even though you can never visit Cyrodiil in TES3, Cyrodiil is still the capital province.

In any case we can discuss further ideas in the new thread: Cyrodiil Forums - Logo and Themes

[pooshoe]

Fantasy and future arcane magic looks nice