Open Beta Testing V3 Layout

[Peace14]

I've had a few glitches but it's great so far

[Thundering Training]

So far it seems to be working well but I will say that I quite miss the errors on the old version that would just pop up and you didn't have to click OK every single time. It gets a little annoying when you are trying to train. But I do love it so far!! I just didn't know If there was a way for it to disappear on its own....

[Pure_Breeding]

I've just been trying it out, and while it certainly seems pretty cool, I found that everything was kind of super squished when you went onto a paddock for your horses. I mean, there was bigger setting out underneath the actual paddock, which was pretty cool, but I'd probably prefer to see my horses how they were in the old layout.
I also found it a little difficult that you couldn't see what you had written in your horses description straight away and you had to instead click on the button. I know this isn't a big deal, but it was easier with quick glances.

But good work on what has been done!

[FantasyRanch3]

I do like the improvements and really like a lot of it! But I'm finding it really hard/annoying to train now. I personally liked it better when the training activities were written and not a picture.

I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually! Other then that I like it! Good job!

[Meanwhile]

I only play on laptops and was very excited to see the new layout, was hoping for things to be cleaned up, efficient, modern, more accessible/easy to navigate. While I do like some of the aesthetic updates, the accessibility/navigability took a big nosedive for me. Maybe it looks different on other devices, but some of the layout decisions have lost me.

Most of the font is waaaay bigger than before for me, requiring a lot of scrolling and not being able to digest/read what I'm looking at easily. The images however are way smaller, so I can't see the horses/pastures/etc. very well. I've noticed that a lot of things are spread out (some horizontally, some vertically) or just are just using the space in ways that are very confusing to me (like, what is with the weird tabs for the levels of difficulty in local shows?), while some things are super cramped and claustrophobic (such as the list of pastures).

I'm also kind of boggled over what information the site seems to be prioritizing for us, such as which tabs and menus it defaults us to when visiting farms and horses. Is it remembering the last tab we'd been on when looking at horses or something? I feel like every time I click a farm or horse, I'm shown a different tab each time, and it's never the one I want. There is sooo much extra clicking now, when there had already been a lot to begin with.

So, yeah. I'm excited about having a new layout for the site, but as it stands right now, it's taking me twice as long to do anything around my farm, and I quickly become overwhelmed with the giant font and weirdly-presented information, as well as a general sense of the layout lacking consistency in both form and function. I don't know if any of this is helpful, and I wish I was better at describing my thoughts... sorry if it's vague!

EDIT: Also, wow I don't remember having such a hard time grabbing the scrollbar of the side navigation menu, haha. I don't know if it's just skinnier and hard to click, with room on the right as well as the left of it to misclick on, or if it's because the bar seems to disappear while you're trying to click it, but it's slippery!

[BitterAppleTree]

I'd love to help beta testing, how do I turn the V3 layout on?

[Tom]

I'd love to help beta testing, how do I turn the V3 layout on?

The instructions are in the announcement post:

How do I enable the new layout?
To enable the layout simply visit the Preferences page, scroll down to the option for "My board style" and change from "smarthwo" to "smarthwo v2", then click on Save. You can switch between the layouts at anytime if you need to switch back to the old layout.

[BitterAppleTree]

Thank you, I turned it on and will be back with feedback soon! So far it's great.

[Lavenderdragon444]

~Hello all! I have been playing for a few months and I'm liking the new layout, however there is a couple things I would change- not sure if it also affects other players.

1. I think weight details should be underneath height just like the system that is currently running, as I breed/train for racing weight seems to matter a lot,
2. Training is more appealing, however there isn't the Fitness training estimate popup right underneath- I feel this is confusing to get used to.
3. I Have some problems with the fields/paddocks. The font is big enough for me to read, but the horses seem smaller and look like they have a lower bit/pixelated image (now that I really look at it, it seems to be a bit pixelated even viewing an individual horse). It's quite straining to the eyes for me (especially compared to the Icons at the top of the screen) can we keep those icons at the top of the site the same size, but size up the horses and keep them from being pixelated?)
4. why is there 2 profile images on the screen? It seems unnecessary?
5. Champion titles- can these in the names be a bit brighter? I believe it's too opaque.

~There are also some things I really like is this beta version!
1. being able to see all my fields and barns without scrolling (on laptop)! This does save me a bunch of clicking.
2. Notifications to the right side! I love it, small and out of the way but easy to find.
3. Easy to hide the main menu bar! Makes much more sense to me.
4. Genetic testing coming up? I haven't understood how to find the color of my horse at all on the current version, so I'm super excited about that.

~There are a few things I think could be added to help newer players if that would be feasible.
1. Tip dropdowns at the bottom of each tab. Don't get me wrong we do have forums, but those could be very tiring to read (I honestly avoid the forums alot, because trying to read them is such a pain/strain). Why not make a dropdown with some basic game tips about training, how different food or weights affect the horses performance, etc.. Or just add a whole another tab that has quick dropdowns with a short summary explaining said things. I know it would be a project to integrate, but I think it could help others like me to dislike the gigantic essays in the forums just to explain what I think can be a very short summary.
~Could one day we get mane and tail options? I love seeing tack on the horse but I would also love to see some diversity, it seems quite repetitive.

~For now I believe I will be using the current system as the beta is already very straining to my eyes. Thank you to those who are willing to read all of this, I tried to sum it up as best as I can. I understand this is mostly preferences it seems, but I'm hoping this information will help the aesthetic of the game and give my honest thoughts to help you guys! (I have not noticed any bugs with the beta though!)

[BitterAppleTree]

The layout is very great, here are things I like:
1. In the training tab, the new pictures for the different types of training are nice to visualize what the horses are doing. I also love how the ribbons show up.
2. The new evaluation is sounds so exciting! I've always had trouble finding what color my horses were so genetic testing will help me out a lot.
3. I like the bigger menu on the left and the animation on button presses. I also like the "Go to Sleep" button so it's easier to tell what the old moon icon meant, and the display of time, money, etc on top of the menu.
4. I did like the compact feel from the old layout, but the farm view has improved so much since it's spaced out well.

Here are bugs/glitches:
1. If you go to any horse, the image of the person next to the horse is a grey shadow.
2. If I am entering my horse into a competition and the horse was already entered, the panel with the Oops! shows up behind the confirm competion entry panel. Maybe code the confirm competion entry panel to disappear and the Oops! panel to go to the front layer when it appears. The same thing happens to the Oops! panel whenever there is an error, for example when your farm needs more space to add something.
3. This is the same thing as number 2, but just adding on. When the submitted form is invalid, I usually click the button again to submit my competition entry. After it is submitted successfully, the Oops! panel doesn't disappear.
4. Also, once the confirm competition button is pressed and the horse is entered successfully, the confirm competition panel stays instead of disappearing so I have to ex out of it. This makes competition entries a little slower.

Things that can improve:
1. The titles have different colors, and some are hard to read against the background. (For example, the master champion title is a soft green and the background is bright green). It would be more accessible to maybe add a subtle translucent black shadow around the title? The names are good though since they are solid white.
2. A note: However another option for me is to turn on high accessibility text so I guess it's fine?
3. Some buttons are a little small and I mostly do things on my phone. Maybe increase the height of some buttons (ex. Enter My Horse and Select a Horse to Enter).
4. I know that the horse display now immediately remembers the tab you were previously on, but I would like it more if it immediately switched to the Information tab.
5. It's hard to find the farm expansion button. In fact, I can't find it anywhere lol. Also I can't edit the text in my farm.

I might be back with more feedback but that's it for now, I hope it helped!