ultrashock V2

[Madness]

http://www.ultrashock.com/

i think they did a good job!

[MTsoul]

Nice design, but the site has gone from barely usable (frames) to non-usable at all (flash). Good thing is the forums are now out of frames.

[DDD]

this is probably the worse use of flash I have ever seen. For a community that is so large its kinda a shame that they totally ignore the fact that a user may be using assistive technology to browse.

Design is nice. But after that its like "Why use flash"

[Templarian]

looks pretty nice and works pretty nice. Ehh... don't understand the use of flash but its still nice and works pretty well.

[michaelalm]

Seems they have pushed their community to the bottom right corner of the site and are focusing on making money now. It's like they turned into Flashden overnight. The design is almost confusing with so much going on in a small interface and those ad banners make me want to close the window.

[gvozden]

I don;t like colors, and design isn't something speciall
I didn't like previous too

Flash start page is ok but if I click the link I get HTML page so point about flash use is true I agree

examples page is so unusable

[wes_design]

looks pretty nice and works pretty nice. Ehh... don't understand the use of flash but its still nice and works pretty well.

didn't work for me all I got was a blank screen

[simplistik]

Well IMO it definately looks better, and it's pretty usable if you ask me. I'm pretty sure that their everyone in their target market can see and browse the site pretty easily. I don't think they should've done SO much flash, the load time is intense and my Mac doesn't play well w/ it.


kinda a shame that they totally ignore the fact that a user may be using assistive technology to browse

I don't know any designers who do...

[Krilnon]

I see a bunch of error messages as the page loads; I suppose that that's why it's still in beta.
Error #2044: Unhandled ioError:. text=Error #2032: Stream Error. URL: http://www.ultrashock.com/ads/adview.php?what=zone:3&n=ae956184#0.9137640320695937
Error #2044: Unhandled ioError:. text=Error #2032: Stream Error. URL: http://www.ultrashock.com/ads/adview.php?what=zone:12&n=a3b4aa28#0.1475391057319939
Error #2044: Unhandled ioError:. text=Error #2032: Stream Error. URL: http://www.ultrashock.com/ads/adview.php?what=zone:6&n=a953eba7#0.97964420123025 77
Error: Error #1502: A script has executed for longer than the default timeout period of 15 seconds.
at mx.styles::StyleManager$/isParentSizeInvalidatingStyle()
at mx.core::UIComponent/styleChanged()
at mx.core::Container/styleChanged()
.
.
.

[Stratification]

It's not bad, kind of pastel, but yeah, the "Unhandled ioError" message popping up first thing isn't the best way to make a good impression.

[DDD]

Well IMO it definately looks better, and it's pretty usable if you ask me. I'm pretty sure that their everyone in their target market can see and browse the site pretty easily. I don't think they should've done SO much flash, the load time is intense and my Mac doesn't play well w/ it.

I don't know any designers who do...
Me either, but it would be nice to consider that likelyhood. I bet 20 to 1 that they dont consider anything outside the fact that it works and has a shiny new wrapper.

[Digitalosophy]

Meh, where did their tutorials go?

Pretty terrible as far as usability goes but their old site wasn't much better.

[Pasquale]

This is freakin' dumb. Why the heck did they not do it without flash? The design is pretty meh too.

[denizengt]

I get tonnes of unhandled errors, don't know where anything is, am moderately pissed at the fact it's turned into a slow yuppie grey portal, and do not like/understand the navigation. Ack!

What have you done Ultrashock. Bring back V1, sure it was dated, but better than this!

[prototype]

Bleh! Still livin' in the nineties as far as design. Confined to a small window...again. Looks like it was designed by a programmer. Definitely set up as a portal for their commercialism.

[DDD]

Bleh! Still livin' in the nineties as far as design. Confined to a small window...again...
There is a very tiny button to make the window size bigger. Also if you use their back button on the homepage, you lose all the content. Whack.! The have a myriad of hidden little buttons and trinkets. I dunno, I would consider this site a failure. I would drop in on US every now and again and it seemed like a fun place. But now this site seems very sterile and too commercial. Trying to push commerce on me. What ever happened to it being about the community and tutorials. What a bunch of wankers the owners are.

[DDD]

Very strange contrast in comments between here and there. On their announcement post everyone is praising the new design and usability.

[Digitalosophy]

Yea I read a few of there comments and figured they were just trying to get props on the site.

[prototype]

"Very strange contrast in comments between here and there. On their announcement post everyone is praising the new design and usability.

That's because if you post any negative stuff about them on their site you'll get banned from the forum. I know from experience. But they will keep their sycophants (look it up) around.

[Jasninder]

ah its no fun really...like the older version better...

[mlk]

I guess the trend is to monetize sites nowadays (no need to go far, look at www.kirupa.com). I liked the old site better too, though I give'em proprs for using a quick right mouse button menu

[Si ++]

"Very strange contrast in comments between here and there. On their announcement post everyone is praising the new design and usability.

That's because if you post any negative stuff about them on their site you'll get banned from the forum. I know from experience. But they will keep their sycophants (look it up) around.
That is bollocks, and as a moderator at Ultrashock I know for a fact that is bollocks. Constructive criticism of any kind is welcome at Ultrashock. If you were banned then there was certainly a good reason for it.

Some people are having trouble adjusting to the new site because it is completely different from the last version. The UI is more complex but spend a bit of time on the site and you get used to it pretty quickly. Yes, a few things here and there could be improved, but overall I think the site works very well. The community is still what Ultrashock is all about. All of the forums are still there (the old FLA forums will return) and each member can now start their own blog quickly and easily.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and my unbiased opinion is the new Ultrashock site is top-notch. That also seems to be the opinion of a lot of big-guns ( including Adobe ) in the industry.

This thread seems to be very fanboy-ish, but I hope some of you will consider giving Ultrashock another try, I'm sure it will grow on you.

Si ++

[michaelalm]

The community is still what Ultrashock is all about. All of the forums are still there (the old FLA forums will return) and each member can now start their own blog quickly and easily.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and my unbiased opinion is the new Ultrashock site is top-notch. That also seems to be the opinion of a lot of big-guns ( including Adobe ) in the industry.

This thread seems to be very fanboy-ish, but I hope some of you will consider giving Ultrashock another try, I'm sure it will grow on you.

Si ++

I thought the site was all about the community until the new site launched and it's obvious it's all about money now. 90% of homepage is dedicated to making money. The community has been pushed to a small area in the bottom right corner. If you never visited the site before it would seem like another stock photo type site.

[lostinbeta]

Makes me think of ProPod.... which if you ask me is the use of technology just to be the use of technology (a fully flash blogging interface? why? what is wrong with text?).

[DDD]

I dont think ultrashock will grow on me at all. I personally dont like the interface one bit. I liked the past site and would frequent it and lurk about. But being over run with a car salesman style interface kinda turns me off. I tend to believe prototype on his critique of the personnel I mean the comments are night and day. And I for one loved ultra shock, not that I hate it now. It just seems it is too commerce heavy now. But I am sure you guys will be successful in whatever it is you got going on.

BTW Adobe thinks anything is cool when you use their technology in abundance. That's a no-brainer. Do you think they would think the site was cool if it was all CSS?

[Madness]

omg it won theFWA!

http://thefwa.com/

[Pasquale]

YUCK

[denizengt]

omg it won theFWA!

http://thefwa.com/

You have got to be kidding me. It's a commercial portal with no pizazz and life whatsoever!

[prototype]

"That is bollocks, and as a moderator at Ultrashock I know for a fact that is bollocks. Constructive criticism of any kind is welcome at Ultrashock. If you were banned then there was certainly a good reason for it."

There was never a reason given to me for banning me...period! I could log in but could never post again. I had to start another account, which I don't use anymore. I openly criticized US giving bombshock awards to their hosting provider as I thought it was unethical...and still do. I gave unemotional, logical reasons why I felt that way. I never "flamed" anyone. A person on the forum, who agreed with my comments, PM'd me warning that if I made negative statements against US that I would be banned. Well, sure enough!

"This thread seems to be very fanboy-ish"
Interesting that you say..."my unbiased opinion is the new Ultrashock site is top-notch. As a moderator of the site's forum you certainly can't be unbiased. I think you should read the posts on this thread and see that most people have a common thought about the site...COMMERCIALISM. The community is now an afterthought when that is how it originated back in 2000 or so. What US should have done was to start a site with all of their commercial ventures, which by the way are good products, and kept the community by itself.

"The community is still what Ultrashock is all about."
As you would inference...BOLLOCKS! If that is the case then explain why when you open the site (1024x768 res) all you see is the content US is pushing? The community is the third tab at the top and recent posts are below the fold. As a web designer I know that you always put the most "important" content above the fold. Your statements bear out the fact that YOU are the fanboy.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion"
Well at least not on Ultrashock.

I'm done. Out.

[Digitalosophy]

That is bollocks, and as a moderator at Ultrashock I know for a fact that is bollocks. Constructive criticism of any kind is welcome at Ultrashock. If you were banned then there was certainly a good reason for it.

Some people are having trouble adjusting to the new site because it is completely different from the last version. The UI is more complex but spend a bit of time on the site and you get used to it pretty quickly. Yes, a few things here and there could be improved, but overall I think the site works very well. The community is still what Ultrashock is all about. All of the forums are still there (the old FLA forums will return) and each member can now start their own blog quickly and easily.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and my unbiased opinion is the new Ultrashock site is top-notch. That also seems to be the opinion of a lot of big-guns ( including Adobe ) in the industry.

This thread seems to be very fanboy-ish, but I hope some of you will consider giving Ultrashock another try, I'm sure it will grow on you.

Si ++

The tutorials on Ultrashock taught me all about components which was awesome. However recently I was looking for an answer on the Alert Component and I could no longer find the tutorial on Ultrashock anymore.

Isn't the main point of a resource site to have an easy to use flow of the site? I spent 15 minutes searching and said screw this. Not sure what's fanboyish about that.

I have always found that site a pain in the *** to use. In fact I think it would be much bigger if it were easier to use.

[DDD]

I do think it is deserving of a FWA in a weird way. It is using flash in a unique fashion. A bit of a negative and positive there. But eh...

[anik]

Why not seeing the new assets section as a good thing ? you can find original photos with great quality for 1 dollar, great vector and sound, the community is still there and its way better (function wise) that it was before, i dont see other flash/design/coding communities with blogs, or with the features Ultrashock has.

I know its not easy to adapt to other communities, i use Ultrashock and iam used to it, i might feel uncomfortable here since iam used to the way Ultrashock works, it wasnt easy for me to adapt to some of the new stuff in the new version, but once i got used to it its much better.

Iam just saying, dont let the things you dont like give you a bad opinion about the whole site, and if you only care about the forums, let me tell you they are much better in this new version :)

Ive learn a lot from Kirupa, it has great tutorials, but i also see lots of things that could be improved, or that i dont like, but that doesnt make me have a bad impression of the site, its easier to see the things you dont like and point that out than seeing what you do like and what is good.

[Loyx]

I'm a registered user of ultrashock as well. And I think that the new design is cold and boring... I prefer the kirupa layout, its more clean, brigth and usable.

[hybrid101]

i'm not liking it at all, and a FWA for that?:|

[Pasquale]

they should all play hopscotch on the end of this:
http://blog.salsburygallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/cliff-for-blog.jpg

[FlawlessDog]

Geeze, I thought it kindof rocked.
Great example use of swfAddress, and I like the right-click nav :)
I think the point for a site like that is to indeed push the envelope a bit,
and it seems that they have. Shows what can be done, if ‘ya got a mind to.
Sweet site, and I am glad it won.

[haam]

i think the ultrashock guys have always done everything in flash just to have it done in flash in the spirit of "pushing the flash envelope" - but here the design is dated and UI is obviously non-user-friendly.

i've never been impressed with ultrashock's design

[Digitalosophy]

for the record. i am still looking for their tutorials. could someone please post a link or tell me it's not there anymore lol.

[Pasquale]

oh wow, the geniouses moved stuff around, so the links from SEs are all dead : http://www.ultrashock.com/ff.htm?http://ultrashock.com/tutorials/flashmx2004/as2-01.php
the 404 doesn't even have links to it..

[briguy33]

had such high hopes for Ultrashock :(

[Andy92]

They have a great site!

[Digitalosophy]

oh wow, the geniouses moved stuff around, so the links from SEs are all dead : http://www.ultrashock.com/ff.htm?http://ultrashock.com/tutorials/flashmx2004/as2-01.php
the 404 doesn't even have links to it..

I noticed that as well.

[mattop]

omg... you're right... they did do a good job! I just signed up for this site, and it's awesome! I can't wait though until they release some more flash files, and other people start making some.


http://www.ultrashock.com/

i think they did a good job!