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Author Topic: Turnarcades website - up and half done!  (Read 9110 times)

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Turnarcades

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Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« on: February 06, 2008, 06:07:50 pm »
Hi all

The Turnarcades website is now half-built and found at www.turnarcades.co.uk.
Although only half done. I'd like people to check it out, let me know what they think of the overall look and let me know what they think. I've tried to keep it visually striking but keeping the pages and info in a logical order and leaving out java  and animations to allow the fairly rich html content to load faster.

I am already planning to change the buttons as they are a little garish and hard to read, and I'm looking to trade some links with people. If you are a vendor or have a relevant site or small home operation and would like me to add you to my links and vice versa, let me know here, by pm or by mailing to craig@turnarcades.co.uk and I will sort it out.

I'm also looking for new partners and referrers for mutual benefit. If you can supply parts, artwork, or unique features, whether you are large scale or small, let me know and maybe we can work something out. In particular I am seeking a distributer who can arrange UK and European delivery at a reasonable price, and parts vendors who would trade advertising space for discounts. We are still a relatively small operation but our poularity is fast growing!

Cheers

Craig@Turnarcades

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2008, 06:16:19 pm »
The Turnarcades website is now half-built and found at www.turnarcades.co.uk.

Well done Craig..... I like your prices, I can see me actually ordering a cabinet kit at some point. I've got a couple of projects that would fit well in one of those.  Is the UK shipping cost on them good??

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2008, 06:30:04 pm »
I agree.  Well done.  You have this well thought out!

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Turnarcades

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2008, 06:30:29 pm »
Thanks Foz, our main aim has always been to keep prices lower than most. After a couple of years on ebay UK we virtually wiped out all other builders as they were doing crap JAMMA conversions or building from plans bought on licence, so cost nearly double what we were charging.

Our only current problem is the transportation arrangements. We have used a few couriers but as yet we have been unhappy with most. Customers tended to prefer to arrange their own or come and collect. We do a lot of deliveries ourself within a certain radius, which is lucky as we are in the Midlands so our range is good.

Glad you like the designs - there are loads of set cabinet designs which you will see over the next few days, and we can tailor even those set dimensions to suit your needs.

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2008, 07:03:39 pm »
I would look at a content management system if I were you. In the end it makes it a lot easier to manage your website and easily change the look of the whole site when you feel it needs updating.

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2008, 07:18:24 pm »
There's no real need as once it's up in full, it will receive only minor edits for the foreseeable. The navigation is simple and every page is unique, so I don't get lost easily when I program it anyway, but thanks for the suggestion.

When the time comes for overhaul I would probably change the lot anyway, but I can't see that yet.

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2008, 07:19:49 pm »
Looks good.

The examples page is where the real meat is, and if I were you, I'd take much better quality pictures of cabs. The current pics are kind of washed out (especially the marquees).

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #7 on: February 06, 2008, 07:35:49 pm »
Looks ok.

The links bar at the bottom needs work.
That is letting you down.

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2008, 07:36:33 pm »
Ah yes - I'll be getting a better digital camera soon, but obviously photo opportunities are limited as I have a narrow window between completion and pick-up, so they will have to wait. The marquee washout is because of the marquee light and poor lighting conditions. Even photoshop couldn't improve it!

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #9 on: February 06, 2008, 07:37:33 pm »
Which links bar exactly?

psychotech

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #10 on: February 06, 2008, 07:39:35 pm »
Well... You AXED for it ;)

The http://www.turnarcades.co.uk/02%20-%20Turnarcades%20-%20Main.htm syntax/form/whatever might NOT work with all (or even the most) popular browsers ..
- Get rid of the spaces in the URLs ..just might get you more traffic and ..lots of more money :)

The MAIN page font: Oh sweet F:ing jZs
- The main text (body) actually is in bold ..and too small.. Really, change that as soon as possible! Lose the <b> and go with a slightly bigger normal text type..
- And, on some pages the main text is in bold typeface while on others it's plain.... I'd make all the texts one or the other ?
- The font size varies quite a lot between the pages .......
- So, it's all about continuity etc. ..

PS. Nice cabs :)

Turnarcades

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #11 on: February 06, 2008, 08:18:25 pm »
I'm not looking to accomplish an 'A' in HTML grammar, so I'm not fussed about how tidy the code is. AllI'm concerned with is that it looks the way it does on screen. The differing text sizes from page to page is just down to the usage of space - some page styles might fit the text well, while others don't, so that's staying 'as is'.

Duly noted about the spaces in the URL's though - will try to correct that.

Worth saying at this point I'm not after awards for website construction and I'm a relative website novice, so to the pedants it might not be the neatest in terms of coding!

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #12 on: February 06, 2008, 09:38:45 pm »
Which links bar exactly?

This one:



I know you don't know much about websites but I think that either need to be thumbnails or down the left hand side. Looks very untidy at the mo'. Don't think I am being an ass, just my 2c.

BTW, great job on the cabs. Hope all goes well for you.

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #13 on: February 06, 2008, 09:49:47 pm »


Actually I quite like that..... The style could do with being the same on every page though... That needs to go on every page not just the front one.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #14 on: February 06, 2008, 10:15:12 pm »
The reason I went for a different home page was to throw the logo and 'must-read' info in yer face. This was so you would read the brief before clicking away at the links as some casual browsers do. Mounting them at the bottom on this first page seemed to make sense. Seems however that hasn't worked so I will be re-thinking this idea. I've never liked horizontal link bars for some reason, so would like to keep the left-side menu. I don't think the info on the first page would look right on that type of page though so I don't know, I might just keep it and just stylise the horizontal link bar a bit better.

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #15 on: February 06, 2008, 10:22:00 pm »
Constructive criticism:

You might want to tone your page down quite a bit. As it is a bussiness page, I would recommend getting rid of all animations, and changing the page to have a solid neutral coloured background, and would suggest using a colour scheme for foreground objects (such as text, buttons etc) that isnt based on using every primary and secondary colour.

Just my thoughts. When I first opened you page I thought it was some kind of myspace or geocities type page, and then only after looking at the content realised it was a bussiness page. (For a good ref, look at Ultimarc's page, although not the best to navigate it looks clean and professional)

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #16 on: February 06, 2008, 10:23:10 pm »
Which links bar exactly?

This one:


While it looks amateurish on spacies screencap, it looks even worse on my screen.   It's barely legible with all the letters smearing into each other.

Here it is at 100%


And here's a closer look:


Seriously, what letters are these:



BTW: No offense intended, I like your cabs.  Just constructive criticism.

« Last Edit: February 06, 2008, 10:28:57 pm by quarterback »
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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #17 on: February 06, 2008, 10:55:54 pm »
Hey Quarterback, how did you view it like that?
Do you have a big widescreen? I am looking at it via 15.4 widescreen laptop.

The main reason I didn't like the look because it is all bunched up, after seeing yours it looks better.

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #18 on: February 06, 2008, 11:02:58 pm »
Oh,
Try this: put the cursor on the edge of one of the links on the main page, mostly Products 1, 2 and 3. The picture shakes like its having a seizure. I tried to video it but my cameras refresh rate is too slow. Somethings not right there.

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #19 on: February 06, 2008, 11:06:03 pm »
I would look at a content management system if I were you. In the end it makes it a lot easier to manage your website and easily change the look of the whole site when you feel it needs updating.

This is very very good advice Samshaw. You should leave this version you created in frontpage and start working on a new site very soon that uses some CMS. You'll love the clean look.

Here are some examples:
http://www.nusbaumdesigns.com/examples.html

If you want, I can put you in touch with a very reasonably priced person. Since you have all the content, your 2.0 version of your site could be created very quickly.

Like quarterback said, this is just creative criticism. Your site is functional and does the job. If your happy with it, thats all that matters.
 :cheers:

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #20 on: February 07, 2008, 08:37:38 am »
When I click on any of the links I get a 404 page.  I think you may need to correct your html.  It's trying to go to for example Products 2 goes to http://www.turnarcades.co.uk/03%20-%20Turnarcades%20-%20Cabinet%20Info.htm.
DOC! YOU HAVE A TABLE OVER THERE WITH A SIGN THAT SAYS, "LASER DEATH RAY BARGAIN BIN!"

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #21 on: February 07, 2008, 08:45:14 am »
Hey Quarterback, how did you view it like that?
Do you have a big widescreen? I am looking at it via 15.4 widescreen laptop.

Yeah, I'm looking at it with a 22" monitor.

Quote
The main reason I didn't like the look because it is all bunched up, after seeing yours it looks better.

And I think you're correct about it being squished onto two lines, but I just also think the font that I'm seeing is way too bolded and mushed as well.
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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #22 on: February 07, 2008, 08:52:54 am »
When I click on any of the links I get a 404 page.  I think you may need to correct your html.  It's trying to go to for example Products 2 goes to http://www.turnarcades.co.uk/03%20-%20Turnarcades%20-%20Cabinet%20Info.htm.
Same here.

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #23 on: February 07, 2008, 08:58:58 am »
As a bussiness website I think your way off track here. It looks like a user homepage rather than a bussiness website. As you want to create consumer confidence in your company I think you should rethink the layout and colour scheme. My £0.02
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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #24 on: February 07, 2008, 10:37:46 am »
I know the situation you are in here, trying to do everything by yourself to save cash resources to use elsewhere. I'm UK-based in a similar boat, but not direct competition.

But, I have to agree with the comments on here. I don't want to belittle your efforts here, so I'll just list a few first impressions...

The marquee... That has to go.
Navigation links - Difficult to read.
Text - There's a whole mix of colours and sizes which hurt the head.
Background - Makes it look muddy

I also agree that you have some great cabs for sale at very good prices... if I find the room I could also see myself buying from you. Your products would look much better on a website fitting to them. Maybe take up someone's offer on here of linking you with a web-designer... mine has gone travelling for a few months so I won't suggest him.

Best of luck. If I see some common ground I'll drop you a mail.

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #25 on: February 07, 2008, 12:17:37 pm »
As a bussiness website I think your way off track here. It looks like a user homepage rather than a bussiness website. As you want to create consumer confidence in your company I think you should rethink the layout and colour scheme. My £0.02

Similar thoughts as well... I think you would benefit by only showcasing "finished" products, with synthetic backgrounds (not the room/garage stuff) and keep the focus on the cabs... you have a nice offering ...so keep the viewer focused on that.  :cheers:
Happy Gaming!

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #26 on: February 07, 2008, 12:28:04 pm »
or at least pay a professional photographer for a 'money shot' of each model(master/mini/bartop/etc)...then have snapshots that you take of projects that are variations of each model...

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #27 on: February 07, 2008, 01:55:07 pm »
Some interesting comments I will take on board.

I understand what people are saying about consumer confidence and professionalism but there's some things beyond reach at the moment. At the moment we are a relatively small scale operation. I know people refer to 'backyarders' like it's some kind of cheapskate thing, but that's exactly what we are. We operate from two small garden workshops and the main point of what we do is custom work.

This means that we do not knock out cabinets by the dozen, and so photo opportunities are few and far between. As for the look of professionalism, I am still considering a website overhaul for future purposes, but this will suffice for now. Right now we are targeting the middle-budget gamer who is not prepared to part with double the cash for a machine that does the same job. This group of people also tend to like a few more options and more of a personal sale than the factory jobs. So far this has been successful enough even without a website.

Eventually we are going to have to reach out to the average consuner but for now I'm just trying to give a focal point for our work for that same demographic.

Thanks for everyone's input and not being too hard on me - I know how some of you love that soap box!

Glad you like the cabinets anyway and keep checking in for further updates.

Craig

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #28 on: February 07, 2008, 02:15:07 pm »
Craig,

I am also in the business of building machines.
I also work from home.
That doesn't stop me from cranking some high class machines as guys on here will vouch for.

Customers never need to see your workshop/shed but they do see your website. When/if you start marketing your business your website we be your most important asset.
Like Fixedpigs said, get some nice pics of your machines and photoshop/paint all the stuff out behind it. I know there are only 3 sunny days a year in the UK so when they roll around, use them! LOL.

Example:

I built this for a friend:



That pic was taken in his house.
I took the next shot lying on the floor, tweaked up the camera settings and 'shopped the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- out around it and added some fake light.



Much better.

Oh, another tip. If you are talking to a customer face to face, make small talk and ask what they do for a job. When you find a website designer who is wanting a machine, hey presto! You are about to do a deal. That is what I did anyway, lol.

Keep truckin' dude.






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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #29 on: February 07, 2008, 10:16:53 pm »
Nice work with PS. Unfortunately I won't be doing much lying down and taking photos as I'm disabled!

My workshop guys are good with tools but lame artisticly, so in the few minutes I get to look at a finished cabinet before shipping it out, I have to try and get a decent snap but it's not easy in the confined space they are stored in. Hopefully when my new workshop is finished and I fit the diffused lighting that should sort the problem.

Out of interest, how long did it take to build that Spacies replica? I've got a friend asking but I'm not going to do it if it takes up all of our time! Mates eh?

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #30 on: February 07, 2008, 10:43:27 pm »
The website is fine but your prices are very high.  Prohibitive in the current economy.  Three years ago maybe but a cabinet for the same price as a PS3 is a tad high.

I would lose the many options and just sell them flat pack like Ikea.  Get a cabinet maker to run you a bunch at a discount.

Something tells me that big is not so good in UK homes as space (it is for us up North) is premium.

I would just go for the Cabaret and a much smaller Bartop.

Other than that good work and good luck.   :cheers:
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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #31 on: February 07, 2008, 10:55:01 pm »
Did a view of your source HTML, and modded it a TINY bit in Notepad. Basically, changed the colors to more nuetral, and got rid of the links changing to italics when moused over (which would cause the table they were in to change size)

This is basically the idea I was talking about. Much cleaner and a bit more professional looking.

This is a snapshot of my desktop with the slightly altered HTML.




Click here for a version that isnt so scaled down:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m105/protoplatapus/turnarcade.jpg
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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #32 on: February 07, 2008, 10:55:16 pm »
I also think you should replace the navigation table at the bottom with an image map.

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #33 on: February 08, 2008, 01:53:19 am »
Did a view of your source HTML, and modded it a TINY bit in Notepad. Basically, changed the colors to more nuetral, and got rid of the links changing to italics when moused over (which would cause the table they were in to change size)

This is basically the idea I was talking about. Much cleaner and a bit more professional looking.

This is a snapshot of my desktop with the slightly altered HTML.





I see you did a search for Yahtzee's Zero Punctuation reviews in there. I love that guy. Anyone who's a huge fan of Psychonauts is ok in my book.

On topic. I hate to say this Craig, but that website does not instill confidence. While it's definitely not fair, I do judge a business on the professionalism of their website. Whenever I'm looking for a local business, I always check their website. If it's really unprofessional, I move on. This site looks like it belongs on GeoCities man.

I'd highly suggest you look into toning it down a lot. Find a color scheme and stick to it. Use a consistent font size and style. Take a look at mameroom.com. You guys have a very similar business, but their website is much more professional looking. I'm sure they paid a pretty penny for it, and that has to be made up by charging higher prices, but I'm sure they get more business from having a really nice website than they would if it was really bad. The DreamArcades website isn't great, but it gets the job done with a very clean and consistent design (apart from the way too busy banner). ST's site at surface-tension.net is really excellent. He has a high end product, and the website reflects that.

I highly recommend you check out Ben Hunt's website: Web Design From Scratch. There's a lot of good info there to help get you started. Also please look at WebPagesThatSuck.com to get an idea of what not to do.

I don't intend to be harsh, but there's a reason that Dell and Apple don't have garish backgrounds and colors on their sites. Amazon.com is the most successful online retail vendor, part of that reason is given the millions of products on their site, it's still relatively easy to navigate and read. Take a few minutes to look at successful business websites and see if you can find things that they do well, that help you find what you're looking for and try to emulate (don't directly copy) them. I'd definitely get in touch with ST's designer if possible. That guy (or gal) did a really good job.
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johnperkins21

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #34 on: February 08, 2008, 01:54:39 am »
I also think you should replace the navigation table at the bottom with an image map.

Noooooooooooo! Don't do it. Horrible, horrible idea. Never, ever, ever use an image map for navigation. Ever!
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protokatie

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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #35 on: February 08, 2008, 02:03:45 am »
Quote
I see you did a search for Yahtzee's Zero Punctuation reviews in there. I love that guy. Anyone who's a huge fan of Psychonauts is ok in my book.

Unlike Fozzy the bear (who I turned on to Yahtzee) I have yet to bookmark him (even tho I was there during the "Yahtzee takes on the world" web comic, years back).

Also, I COULD make a simple (HTML only) web site for our guy here for free, one that could easily be modified and wouldnt look like a myspace page. I am limited in my HTML, but I do understand that a good web site is more about how it conveys its information, and not about how flashy and neat it looks.
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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #36 on: February 08, 2008, 02:20:36 am »
Quote
I see you did a search for Yahtzee's Zero Punctuation reviews in there. I love that guy. Anyone who's a huge fan of Psychonauts is ok in my book.

Unlike Fozzy the bear (who I turned on to Yahtzee) I have yet to bookmark him (even tho I was there during the "Yahtzee takes on the world" web comic, years back).

Also, I COULD make a simple (HTML only) web site for our guy here for free, one that could easily be modified and wouldnt look like a myspace page. I am limited in my HTML, but I do understand that a good web site is more about how it conveys its information, and not about how flashy and neat it looks.

I offered up my services pro bono as well, and gave him links to some sample sites I've done. I'm nowhere near a designer either, but like you I understand that a simple, easy to navigate site is much more important than flashy graphics. My guess is he wants to do it himself, which I commend. But it looks like there's too much of his style in the site. It reminds of all those designed to sell shows on TV, where designers go into someone's house and say "this style may be great for you, but when you're trying to sell your house you need to appeal to as many people as possible." The same thing applies here. This is not a personal site, it's a business site and should look like one if he wants his customers to take him seriously.

I hate to sound like I'm being a dick, but I really believe that people underestimate the value of a quality website. I know I'm not the only person who goes to a website and immediately clicks the back button when it looks like a Myspace page.
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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #37 on: February 08, 2008, 02:36:09 am »
Quote
I hate to sound like I'm being a dick, but I really believe that people underestimate the value of a quality website. I know I'm not the only person who goes to a website and immediately clicks the back button when it looks like a Myspace page.

Neither of us are being ---Deutsche Frankfurters---, we both want to see him succeed and we both want to help. Maybe now that there are two "pro bono" (ugh why does that make me think of something wrong) people willing to help him, he will change his mind and let one of us do so.

Additional note: I could just make a version of his site with a slightly different URL, and have all the links for ordering (IE his email) go to his site... Not like I would be profiting off of it, but he might... (Until they hit his page(s) that is)

*sighs* you are right tho, you cant fault someone for doing something themselves. In the end, that is how we all get things done....
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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #38 on: February 08, 2008, 04:27:25 am »
Your main url should go to http://www.turnarcades.co.uk/TurnarcadesMain.htm and should have a picture of a machine on it. The first page you have now looks like a personal website. You might also want to decide if you are a we or a me, as your website is inconsistent about that.

All the pictures under cabinet info should go, they do more harm than good. Pictures of unfinished cabinets sitting out in your backyard or in your computer room totally breaks the company illusion that you are otherwise trying to create here.

Also, this has nothing to do with the website, but why do all your control panels have 8 admin buttons on the front of the panel where the user will invariably bump into them. That is a design flaw my friend and a huge one at that. I like the rest of your main design otherwise, it is very atari. Also, I know you are probably doing this to reduce costs, but the monitors on most of your machines are too small. A 21" computer monitor is the same size as a 19" arcade monitor.

I would also suggest getting rid of those renderings of "the cocktail" "the king" and "the supreme". It makes it really obvious that you have never actually built those machines and no one wants to order the first one.

Also, for "The king" I suggest closely examining pictures of american 4 player cabinets, as yours closely resembles a Defender cabinet with a homemade frankenpanel grafted on. Pay close attention to the design of the control panel itself and how it interacts with the rest of the machine. I would also REALLY suggest that you don't sell a 4 players cabinet without a 25" monitor in it.

The supreme. Why does this have a widescreen display? No arcade games did, and thus everything will be wrong, 100 percent of games will be wrong.  On the plus side the control panel looks pretty much spot-on. May want to examine some american showcase cabinets for the rear section though, as your design looks more complex than needed and is sort of funny looking.
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Re: Turnarcades website - up and half done!
« Reply #39 on: February 08, 2008, 06:04:08 am »
The website is fine but your prices are very high.

Sorry!!! Are you and I looking at the same web site!!! His prices are very good. Have you priced a sheet of MDF in B&Q lately?? by the time you add the time taken to cut and rout it the price is quite low.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
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