HOL v3 Launch: Feedback

[malko]

^ I also cannot save when the image is on the popup (don't know of it is relevant but I am using latest firefox). Fortunately before opening it, it works

[BarryB]

Can you unlink our EAB accounts from HOL, make them 2 separate logins! If I now logout of HOL it logs me out of EAB too!

Why do I need to be automatically logged into HOL anyway?

[scifi]

My first impression is that it looks and it feels modernized, with a nice, clean-cut look, which I really like BTW, without losing the core idea of HOL's database creation. Yes, the old one has a more "8-bit" feel to it, which we all grew to love, but I think that in time we will all get used to the new version.

However, there are certain things that I don't like so far (or I haven't found a way to work around them, yet). When I go the scans' section, I cannot see anymore the actual scan, I only see a preview of it (it is so small that I cannot read any of the information on the box or the misc screenshots), more like a thumbnail. And I do not have the capability of saving it to my computer (from the pop-up window), which is a drawback for me. Now, I don't know if this is a case of security, or it's just the way it should be from now on. I believe that scans should be as much as close to the actual size to enjoy the details on them (which is something that I really, really love on retro boxes). Now, it is only a blurry thing, more like concentrated information (in one single view). I would love to have the zoom feature again in this new version.

My statistics are not accurate, since I have contributed to HOL in the past. But I guess, this is a matter of small bugs and glitches that should be straiten out in the near future, so I don't worry about that.

By using it, I may discover more bugs and I hope more useful changes.
Only time will tell... in general, it is a sincerely good effort.
I just feel that it has the potential to get better.

Update: It seems that if you right-click on the scan and choose "Open Link new tab", then the scan is again in full size, not like a preview. At least there are alternate ways to do things...

[Hanzu]

Warning! HOL v3 has no (not yet) character or word limit in Comments editor. I wrote too long comment today and it just cut one third off without warning.

I made it shorter and now it says it has 346 words. Few words more and it cuts them half. So the limit in comment is less than in editor.

Example of almost maximum length comment: https://amiga.abime.net/games/view/e...anced#comments

I recommend using two empty rows in editor. It looks only one row in comment. That will make longer comments more readable.

[Marcuz]

Just a suggestion;
the categories of search for "Theme" could use an aggregation (this was true also for the old HOL): main Theme category, and specific Theme categories that share the, well, Theme, are in no parent-child relationship between each other, but they should.

For instance,
- Fantasy
- Fantasy - Dungeon & Dragons
- Fantasy - Dwarwes
- Fantasy - Elves
etc.

If I search "Fantasy" often games that are, say, "Fantasy - whatever" do not appear in the search result, unless who typed manually the info for that game page wrote the both the tags.

Maybe it's possible to set the search engine so that when a "parent" theme is searched, it recursively adds the results for the "child" themes, without double results?

[TCD]

That's something I noticed too. Hopefully this can be implemented.

[malko]

I have to say that after having used the new HOL daily, and even if I quite like the new style, I really dislike the wasted space between the fields.
Previous version of HOL was much better in this aspect as there was no wasted space between the fields.
On mobile device I spend much of my time going up and down instead of concentrating myself on the datas.

[hexaae]

The only big complaint I have is: old IBrowse under AmigaOS 3.x won't open it anymore due to CSS :-(

I wish there was an old link to make this site and Lemon Amiga still browsable from the Amiga classic browsers... sigh

[TCD]

Originally Posted by hexaae

I wish there was an old link to make this site and Lemon Amiga still browsable from the Amiga classic browsers... sigh

You can use https://oldhol.abime.net/ (it doesn't get updates anymore though).

[hexaae]

Originally Posted by TCD

You can use https://oldhol.abime.net/ (it doesn't get updates anymore though).

Uh! Thanks... A pity it won't be up-to-date anymore though, yes

[Dunny]

I like it. It's fine. Obviously it would be nice to be able to browse in iBrowse and similar but it's not the end of the world if not.

What I would like though is for the front page list view to (optionally) use the same size thumbnails as the grid view. My eyes are not what they were and it's hard to actually see the games' screens in list view. And the grid view is for some reason really hard to concentrate on and follow.

Edit: Double barrel or a switch to show in-game rather than title screen also would be excellent, ta. In the listview, natch.

[Bren McGuire]

i have a suggestion and since this is meant to be a modern database interface it is really weird how the main search box only results hits within the game title field

if i type "team 17" all i get as results is


why cant it search in developer/publisher field or any other field really? i want if i type "archer mclean" to see a list of all games he was a part of

this was a major issue for me on the old hol, so what is stopping you now from providing these results? having to type in or search for developer in the myriad fields on the main page is a nightmare and basically works as badly as the old hol then making this new interface no more useful than the old one and the whole change feel for nothing

[NPI]

I don't think this should be a single entry:

https://amiga.abime.net/games/view/s...rien-encounter

There are more similar cases. Tho I agree an updated version should be a single entry such as Assassin

https://amiga.abime.net/games/view/a...pecial-edition

[Amigajay]

How do i view a list of games from a publisher by year? Can’t see any sorting by options or am i missing something?

[ransom1122]

Has the old hol skin been activated yet? If not is there an eta?

In the meantime I'm happy to use oldhol

[TCD]

Originally Posted by Amigajay

How do i view a list of games from a publisher by year? Can’t see any sorting by options or am i missing something?

Do you mean like this: https://amiga.abime.net/games/list/?...=487&year=1991 ?

There isn't a way to sort the results by column when in list view yet.

[Gzegzolka]

As a person who did not like visual changes of HOL I must admit some changes were necessary. I decided to browse it for longer time and I discovered some positive changes. I like that some games are now listed as one entry when they have few different regional names or few hardware versions like ecs/aga/cd32. There are some exception that I would not keep as single records like Stardust and Super Stardust or Assassin snd Assassin SE, first one is a sequel and second one is heavy changed. But that is just my point of view. I also noticed some new titles that I know were not on HOL last time.

[Amigajay]

Originally Posted by TCD

Do you mean like this: https://amiga.abime.net/games/list/?...=487&year=1991 ?

There isn't a way to sort the results by column when in list view yet.

No, i mean by viewing a full list of games by a publisher, then sorting by year, name or whatever.

By the replies i guess not, so i too will welcome the old skin back as searching is alot harder now

Edit: i agree Stardust/Super Stardust should have their own entry (and any other games put together like this i.e Pirates/Pirates Gold), this will only confuse people if games are on the same page.

[CrazyOne]

I have a litle question regarding one of the achievements (I love the concept of having them btw ).

I have created a list of 20 (23 actually) of my favorite games but the achievement didn't unlock for me.

Do I need to set the List Name for "Custom" and then write "My Favorite Games" (which I did) or should the name be "Best Games" (chosen from the dropdown list) for the achievement to unlock?

Big thank you in advance for the answer.

[The Brave Ant]

it´s been some time since the last time I visited HOL, it was a surprise the new aspect, I don´t know If I really like It now or how It was before, before It was more like...mmm...serious? anyway, keep improving, It´s good to move on.

For my taste all is too BIG, I prefer smaller letters font, and that everything doesn't look so big. think I need to get used to it, I see it on a 15.6" laptop screen.