17 January 2009

FAS Website Tour

The FAS Team has updated their website in conjunction with their latest news update. Much has changed from its previous design that was its standard for more than six years.

Home Page

The home page's layout has undergone the most change. The links to the pages such as weapons and maps is now at the top. On the right side of the screen are items such as picture of the "time", the latest media release, a key feature list, the latest FAS video, quote of the "time" and way at the bottom, community pages.

While the community page is at the bottom, it is only the way to contact the FAS Team to get your FAS related website on the main page. It is unclear were the community pages will actually be listed. Hopefully, they won't be so far down the page that a passer-by won't notice them.

This right bar is present for every page but the weapon's page. There is a lot of information on this bar, mostly due to the "Key Features" list which seems big enough for its own page up at the top.

The right side of the page are all the news post which haven't changed format wise.

Team Page

The FAS Team page has undergone little change. All the team members are there, with the option of contacting the FAS Team at the top if interested in helping with the mod.

FAQ Page

The FAQ page has undergone no change in terms of content.

About Page

The About Page has undergone no change in terms of content.

Downloads Page

The Downloads page teases you with a simple quote "When it's done..."

Media Page

The Media page has undergone some formatting changes. The top part of the page shows many in game screen shots of ps_snowstorm, tc_rubble, sd_mine and tc_iwojima. Below the in game screen shots are weapon renders of the weapons featured in previous FAS weapon showcases.

The Media Page is missing many of the older FAS videos, as well as many of the older screen shots making the page seem very sparse. Having many pages within the media page allowing people to see more screen shots and the progress of FAS would have been interesting. Yet this lack of content an be explained by the FAS team only wanting to showing the best of their work.

The Media Page would also benefit from a custom right panel display similar to that of the weapons page allowing you to easily skip to in game screen shots, weapon renders, videos, ext. In addition, links to older screen shots in a separate gallery would allow people to view how FAS has progressed without cluttering the media page with outdated screen shots.

Weapons Page

It is important to note that this page is still under development and many weapons that will be included at the final release do not yet have descriptions.

The weapons page is back in action after being down for five months. The format of the weapons page is the only one that is different from the other pages, featuring the weapons list on the left and the weapon's picture and description on the right. The weapon descirptions include the credit cost, magazine size, ammo used and any secondary features the weapon may include. Also included is a picture of the weapon in game, as well as a descritpion of how it preforms in game which range from the practical to the poetic.

Some of the more interesting things about this page is the re-introduction of the bayonet to the AK47 and no mention of a bipod feature for the M249. The G36C mentions it as an alternative of the AK74, but that weapon is no longer listed (probably because the description hasn't changed to reflect the new weapon list). The planed bayonet and scope for the SSG550 are no longer present on the model or mentioned in the descirption. The M79 now list 5 grenades in reserve and the only supressed weapon listed is the 92FS.

Many weapons that were previously listed for FAS are no longer included. The weapons scrapped from the current weapon list are the Desert Eagle, Colt Anaconda, MP7, Uzi, the Jackhammer, AKS-74U, RPK 74 and M60GMP.

However many weapons have been added which include the Glock 20, OTS-33, Vollmer, M14, M249, M60E3, SR25, M1 Smoke Grenade, M84 Flashbang, and a machete.

Maps Page

Like the weapons page, the maps page is still incomplete.

The map page list many of FAS's Maps, including a screen shot, a short descirption, credits and the game mode. Show currently are tc_iwojima, tc_rubble, sd_durandal, tc_mine and ps_snowstorm as well as three new maps that have not yet been announced which are ps_sand by undertone and ps_crossfire and ps_ghetto by Shinobi.

Not listed are tc_asylum, ps_forest, ps_juarez.


The Maps Page, like the weapons page, would also benefit from a custom right side navigation panal to allow people to skip to specific maps so people won't have to scroll down the entire page once more maps are listed.

Overall, the website upgrade is just that, an upgrade. The addition of more media, more maps, and more weapons and the addition of custom navigation panels on the media and maps page would make it perfect.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

There are quite a few things incorrect in your post.

The weapon list that will be featured in FAS is on the right hand side of the weapons page. Just because it doesnt have a picture or description does not mean it wont be included.

Secondly, on the media page, there are screenshots from:
IwoJima, Rubble, Snowstorm, and Mine. Asylum has been removed.

Grunt said...

I pointed that out and compared it to the old weapon list, noting what has been changed from the previous to the current weapon list. If you notice, I didn't point out weapons that weren't on the list but had no description, only weapons that have be removed/added from the old weapon list.

Unknown said...

Ah, I see. Also, I noticed every time you mention my name, you spell it "DsyPatch" when it is "DysPatch"

Normally, I wouldn't care, but in every news post you have spelled it DsyPatch, so I figure I would help you stop the trend.