My first site review :)
Simfully Yours
Okay, first impression--there's a sound file imbedded into the splash page. This is really annoying, as it slows down a lot of computers that are older or running on a slower internet connection. Also, it messed with my Macy Gray CD playing in the background. It's not a major thing, but it would cause me to bookmark the news page instead of the splash page.
The main/news page is set up coherantly, with links and pictures on one side, and the news on the other. The dolphin theme of the front page is carried through the site, which is nice, because nothing bugs me more than design mixing :) The links to the various sections of the site are lined up along the top, with drop-down menus--this is neat, and a good place for them, but I would suggest having some links that are just text on all pages as well, either on the side or at the bottom of the page, again because of speed. Not everyone has the speed/technology for fancy features like that, even if they do look good. Also, it's bothersome to have to scroll to the top of the page every time I want to go somewhere new. I have the speed, however, so I click on the About Us link, which has some staff bios.
Moving on, I check out the objects section, room by room (that kind of organization is always nice). I click on Bathroom and get a 404 message, but I try it again on the main page and it works. The fish bathroom that Lisa had mentioned in her email to me is in fact quite cute--it has a neat stained glass look. All the bathrooms here are very colourful and similar in style, but it's nice to have matching sets for the bathroom, as the game didn't come with many. There's a nicely done NY Rangers bedroom that isn't plastered with a bunch of pictures like so many Sim kids' rooms are, but still works well as a theme. The glass windows in the building section are very nice, and would work well in a bathroom (or in a funky club made for House Party, maybe?). I like the pine door quite a bit as well. The decorative objects aren't really to my taste, as many of them appear to be the kind that are made from a picture from a magazine or something, and I find that objects of that sort often look out of place in the game. For those that like a lot of variety in their kitchens, there are several recolours of the expensive appliances in the kitchen section. My impressions of the lighting section are similar to my impressions of the decor section--not my style--and I feel the same about the Odds and Ends section. The swans and ducks for ponds in the outdoor section are a cute idea, and I really like the birthday-themed catering table as well. It's a great idea, and something that I'm surprised that Maxis didn't think up--kids need parties too! The paintings are a bit too frilly for my tastes, but well made, and they don't look like they were made with the Maxis art studio, which is a blessing, whether they were or not. Finally, there are a few rugs--again, not my personal taste, but still well made.
The walls and floor sets are organized in a similar manner, which I again enjoy. It's nice to not have to look through pages of stuff looking for a particular style of wall. The quality of the walls vary--some look very detailed, some are rather blurry, or look as if they're too small for the picture used to make them originally. This could just be a feature of the screenshots, but since they're the same size as the walls in the game I'm not sure. The walls are again not my personal style, but are worth checking out if you like a traditional/country style of decorating, or are looking for a bunch of kids' walls--this site has a bunch of them, all well done. The floors suffer the same quality spottiness as the walls, and many of the hardwood ones don't look quite right, but they do have a lot of colour variety. It seems to be one of the site's fortes. There are some really nice tile floors though--I particularily like Blush Stone, White Sand, and Ariba Style (which would be very nice on the patio of a Mexican style home).
I don't download houses (making them myself is half the fun of the game!), so I don't usually check out the house section of a site, but I go in the name of research :) The link takes me to another site--well, it tries to, but I get backslashed again. I try it from the main page, but I get the same message. There's a little message board for requests, which is a considerate idea and probably saves the webmasters having to read a lot of email, and a guestbook for comments. There's also a link section, but it's pretty small.
All in all, I give this site 2.5 stars out of 5. I would have given a 3, but the 404 messages knocked it down--those are very annoying for a viewer, and many will leave without trying the other pages to see if the links work there. Also, I'm not a fan of the items made from pictures, for the reasons stated above, and because I think that's a quality issue it also brought the score down. Many of the objects are not to my taste, but are probably to the taste of others, so it's worth checking out. Simfully Yours has a few great items, many good ones, and a lot of potential.
Pros: consistent design, some really great objects, plenty of potential
Cons: 404 messages, spotty quality of floors/walls, use of objects made from pictures, no main text-based link bar
* * 1/2
