Here we are! After a few weeks worth of work, SMWorks proudly presents the most massive update ever given to the website, period! Full Redesign!Since starting the site in 2014, SMWorks has been using the same theme the entire time - an old one, called 'Clean Lines'. It's a great theme, looks good and functions well, but it was definitely time for something fresh. So, after a little experimenting and back and forth, I've chosen a brand new theme that gives the site a much cleaner and brighter look. Unite 2 proved to be the perfect solution. The biggest and best change with this new theme is the fact it's an actually updated theme that gives me Sections! Sections are really crucial for doing up the new site. You'll notice new scrolling effects on some pages and just how modern the site feels thanks to that handy tool in the build bar. Absolutely fantastic. So, in total, how much was and wasn't changed? Almost everything was changed in some way. The pages that received the least attention were the Blog & Misc, Licensing, and Support pages. All they required were some touchups. Everything else was rebuilt practically from scratch. Locomotives, Routes, Home, etc - starting fresh with most of them resulted in a great new look I'm very pleased with! The benefits of how all these pages were setup is also just how easy it'll be to add new items. Previously, adding a new item to the locomotive section in particular was an awful task of trying to perfectly line things up - no more! It doesn't just look good, but it also is far more functional than ever before. As well as updating pages with the new theme, thumbnails and headers for most pages have either been updated or remade entirely to better fit. Lots of new images and even old, never-before-seen images were dragged out of folders I forgot I had in order to fill up some of the pages. Of course, the colour scheme here has changed pretty drastically too - from black to white! There's just so much that was changed, all I can say is go check it all out! New Releases!This is the part everybody's been waiting for... While there are no new locomotives to speak of, we have FOUR (4) routes/modules now available for download! For routes, the Silver Lines V2, Silver Lines Electric, and Silver Lines Midwest are now all available for download! For modules, the Silver Lines Steam module is now available for download - the largest module yet! Silver Lines V2 is a complete rebuild of the original Silver Lines route, which was very briefly available for a few years here as a limited time download. The new route is much shorter than its original base, but it's much better detailed and looks better in every which way. It has a few operable industries, as well. Check it out under Routes! Silver Lines Electric & Silver Lines Midwest are both some of the oldest routes I have and, as previously discussed in a post here, it would take years to complete both of them. So, I've decided to release them as-is. What does this mean? Well, there is a lot of blank space and incomplete scenery all over the routes, varying in designs as they each were worked on for four years with different design styles in mind at different stages of progress. Nonetheless, because I'm fully aware they won't be finished any time in the near future, I present them to you. Check them out under Routes! Also added in this update is a Silver Lines Building Pack under Scenery - a required dependency for all the routes mentioned above! The V2 route also has a very small pack with a handful of extra dependencies that will be of use for that route. Finally, the various MILW & SLRR SD9/SD7 packs have all been updated for full TANE compatibility - no more errors! Milwaukee Road - Harlowton to Butte: Where is it?Not here, that's for sure. I still have plans to build that route, but it's being put the side entirely for the time being. There are more important things to take care of before starting a 200-some mile route of a long dead railroad. As well, I do lack a fair amount of required resources (both documentation and photos), not to mention I don't even have a DEM. Short answer: If the project continues, it'll be added under Routes. ChangelogDo people read changelogs? I know I do, so if you're interested, this is everything that has been changed in this update!
The FutureNo idea what's coming next. As it stands, I've released about everything I'm allowed to, so, we'll have to see where Trainz goes and me with it. It could be radio silence for a year, I could release something in two weeks. Who knows? That's It!I think I've said everything that needs to be said here. As always, if you have any questions / comments / concerns, feel free to contact me or write a comment here.
See you next release! Cheers, SM
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Hello, my name is SM, and this is where I write.
This little blogspace is where my thoughts go - whether it's talking about a photography trip or a DJ mix, this is where it all ends up. SMWorks isn't free to run! Consider sending a little support our way if you can.
Categories
All
|