Post by Hauskaz on Mar 26, 2008 20:24:55 GMT -5
This post is first in a series of reviews I will be writing for the sake of WhatPulse. Today we will be looking at XF skins. Some of them are pretty notorious, while others are hidden gems or unworthy of mention. Let's do a rundown of every single XF skin right now.
Light Business
Dark-on-Light
Light Business is a staple of XF and the benchmark which all other skins will be compared against. Light Business is a simple get-the-job-done colour scheme with minimal saturation and colour clutter. It's very clean and easy to work with, and has been slightly treated to reduce glare. For those looking for something flashy though, Light Business is probably not going to cut it. If you want functionality and cleanliness, Light Business might be for you.
Pros
- Simple and clean
- High clarity
- Subtle glare reduction
Cons
- No alternating post colours
- Very basic
- May be too bright for some
Rating: 8/10
XP Professional
Low-Contrast Light-on-Dark
XF Professional is one of XF's older skins, although it's seen revisions over the years. The latest version dominates several shades of grey with a cheese grater-esque fixed background. Text is very easy on the eyes, although the grey link colour blends into normal text well enough that you may miss links. For those seeking a low-contrast theme, XF Professional is as low as it gets on XF.
Pros
- Easy on the eyes
- Cheese grater
Cons
- Links blend into normal text
- Greys can be depressing
- Coloured accounts look stupid and out of place
Rating: 7/10
Classic XD
Dark-on-Light
Classic XD is the colour scheme XIIIdiots Domain used before it migrated to Ice Cap and eventually Light Business. Upon inspection, it is essentially a saturated revision of Light Business. Light and heavy blues clash on the pages, creating an odd look. If title bars weren't so incredibly saturated, this theme would actually look pretty nice. Unfortunately, this is not so.
Pros
- Almost looks nice
Cons
- Solid blue title bars silk it
- May be too bright for some
Rating: 5/10
Wrapped in Black
Light-on-Dark
Wrapped in Black came into existence because XF lacked a variety of dark schemes during the time of its conception. However, I find it to be fairly unappealing. The mid-greys look too strange in contrast to the black background. For me, XF Professional is the superior grey theme, although Wrapped in Black does convey somewhat of a neat underground feeling to it.
Pros
- Underground hacker cult feel to it
- Coloured names don't look so stupid compared to XF Professional
Cons
- Looks too strange with the black background
- Conveys the feeling that any link you click will give you a virus
Rating: 6/10
Memories of NXF
Low-Contrast Dark-on-Light
NXF was an interesting experiment to see how well a suggested migration would work. The project was a complete failure, but while NXF may now be riddled with various Chinese viagara products and fraud rip-off scam spam scum lies offers, Memories of NXF exists as throwback to the short-lived high times of the forum. Unfortunately, NXF's colour scheme translates poorly to XF. Memories of NXF's varying shades of blue look washed out and generic when applied to XF. The low-contrasting page text is very pleasant to read if you have sensitive eyes and prefer dark-on-light pages, but links are the same colour as the text, disguising them into content. Memories of NXF also lacks XF's logo, making page headers appear strange. Overall, Memories of NXF is just not very good.
Pros
- XF's only low-contrasting dark-on-light theme
- Reading text is pleasant
- Board icons are big and obvious
Cons
- Has an overall washed out and generic look to it
- Links are the same colour as normal text
- No XF logo
Rating: 4/10
Ars Menardi
Low-Contrast Light-on-Dark
The Menardi skins are interesting cases to me, but probably not to anyone else. Ars Menardi was based on the idea of a green version of Jeff Minard's old site layout. The end result gives somewhat of a military vibe. I like it though. Links are blatantly obvious, frills are subtle, and text is easy to read. The only gripe I have with it is the solid yellow XF logo. It looks in place, some something about it bothers me. I like it otherwise.
Pros
- One of XF's more colourful skins
- Text is easy to read
- Links are bright and obvious
Cons
- One can get sick of it after a while
- The XF logo is odd
Rating: 8/10
Iza Menardi
Low-Contrast Light-on-Dark
Ars Menardi's military green had become tiring after a while, so a project went underway to translate it into a less-saturated and colder theme. Iza Mendardi was the result. Iza Menardi resembles XF Professional in a variety of ways, but features a blue hue to it and lacks a background image. I rather like Iza Mendardi; perhaps more than Ars. The light blue links means Iza doesn't suffer from the blending issue encountered with XF Professional. I think it's a nice skin.
Pros
- Easy text reading
- Obvious links
- Pleasant look
Cons
- May convey a cold feeling
- Red Administrators look out of place
Rating: 8/10
Light Engineering
Dark-on-Light
I think Light Engineering is a hidden gem for those who prefer basic white colour schemes. Light Engineering is essentially Light Business adapted to sport a solid orange title bar. I like it. The only gripe I have is that the link colour is perhaps a bit too light, and the thread highlight colour looks pretty lame. Flawless otherwise.
Pros
- Simple and clean
- High clarity
- Subtle glare reduction
- Orange reminds me of BeOS and looks really sexy
Cons
- No alternating post colours
- Links are a bit light
- Thread highlight colour looks pretty awful
- May be too bright for some
Rating: 8/10
Orange Glow
Light-on-Dark
Orange Glow is not actually completed, but it already shows major promise. I have personally been using Orange Glow for a good while now. The mesh of dark grey and orange works really well, and the slow integration of non-default graphics make Orange Glow one of XF's flashier skins. I really like it.
Pros
- Sexy
- Clear links
- Custom images
Cons
- Unfinished
Rating: 9/10
Part II will encompass XF's newer AFA immigrants. Kwn Smadingway might have already given reviews for these skins, but I will be offering my own opinion on them. Chances are high that they won't be different though.
Light Business
Dark-on-Light
Light Business is a staple of XF and the benchmark which all other skins will be compared against. Light Business is a simple get-the-job-done colour scheme with minimal saturation and colour clutter. It's very clean and easy to work with, and has been slightly treated to reduce glare. For those looking for something flashy though, Light Business is probably not going to cut it. If you want functionality and cleanliness, Light Business might be for you.
Pros
- Simple and clean
- High clarity
- Subtle glare reduction
Cons
- No alternating post colours
- Very basic
- May be too bright for some
Rating: 8/10
XP Professional
Low-Contrast Light-on-Dark
XF Professional is one of XF's older skins, although it's seen revisions over the years. The latest version dominates several shades of grey with a cheese grater-esque fixed background. Text is very easy on the eyes, although the grey link colour blends into normal text well enough that you may miss links. For those seeking a low-contrast theme, XF Professional is as low as it gets on XF.
Pros
- Easy on the eyes
- Cheese grater
Cons
- Links blend into normal text
- Greys can be depressing
- Coloured accounts look stupid and out of place
Rating: 7/10
Classic XD
Dark-on-Light
Classic XD is the colour scheme XIIIdiots Domain used before it migrated to Ice Cap and eventually Light Business. Upon inspection, it is essentially a saturated revision of Light Business. Light and heavy blues clash on the pages, creating an odd look. If title bars weren't so incredibly saturated, this theme would actually look pretty nice. Unfortunately, this is not so.
Pros
- Almost looks nice
Cons
- Solid blue title bars silk it
- May be too bright for some
Rating: 5/10
Wrapped in Black
Light-on-Dark
Wrapped in Black came into existence because XF lacked a variety of dark schemes during the time of its conception. However, I find it to be fairly unappealing. The mid-greys look too strange in contrast to the black background. For me, XF Professional is the superior grey theme, although Wrapped in Black does convey somewhat of a neat underground feeling to it.
Pros
- Underground hacker cult feel to it
- Coloured names don't look so stupid compared to XF Professional
Cons
- Looks too strange with the black background
- Conveys the feeling that any link you click will give you a virus
Rating: 6/10
Memories of NXF
Low-Contrast Dark-on-Light
NXF was an interesting experiment to see how well a suggested migration would work. The project was a complete failure, but while NXF may now be riddled with various Chinese viagara products and fraud rip-off scam spam scum lies offers, Memories of NXF exists as throwback to the short-lived high times of the forum. Unfortunately, NXF's colour scheme translates poorly to XF. Memories of NXF's varying shades of blue look washed out and generic when applied to XF. The low-contrasting page text is very pleasant to read if you have sensitive eyes and prefer dark-on-light pages, but links are the same colour as the text, disguising them into content. Memories of NXF also lacks XF's logo, making page headers appear strange. Overall, Memories of NXF is just not very good.
Pros
- XF's only low-contrasting dark-on-light theme
- Reading text is pleasant
- Board icons are big and obvious
Cons
- Has an overall washed out and generic look to it
- Links are the same colour as normal text
- No XF logo
Rating: 4/10
Ars Menardi
Low-Contrast Light-on-Dark
The Menardi skins are interesting cases to me, but probably not to anyone else. Ars Menardi was based on the idea of a green version of Jeff Minard's old site layout. The end result gives somewhat of a military vibe. I like it though. Links are blatantly obvious, frills are subtle, and text is easy to read. The only gripe I have with it is the solid yellow XF logo. It looks in place, some something about it bothers me. I like it otherwise.
Pros
- One of XF's more colourful skins
- Text is easy to read
- Links are bright and obvious
Cons
- One can get sick of it after a while
- The XF logo is odd
Rating: 8/10
Iza Menardi
Low-Contrast Light-on-Dark
Ars Menardi's military green had become tiring after a while, so a project went underway to translate it into a less-saturated and colder theme. Iza Mendardi was the result. Iza Menardi resembles XF Professional in a variety of ways, but features a blue hue to it and lacks a background image. I rather like Iza Mendardi; perhaps more than Ars. The light blue links means Iza doesn't suffer from the blending issue encountered with XF Professional. I think it's a nice skin.
Pros
- Easy text reading
- Obvious links
- Pleasant look
Cons
- May convey a cold feeling
- Red Administrators look out of place
Rating: 8/10
Light Engineering
Dark-on-Light
I think Light Engineering is a hidden gem for those who prefer basic white colour schemes. Light Engineering is essentially Light Business adapted to sport a solid orange title bar. I like it. The only gripe I have is that the link colour is perhaps a bit too light, and the thread highlight colour looks pretty lame. Flawless otherwise.
Pros
- Simple and clean
- High clarity
- Subtle glare reduction
- Orange reminds me of BeOS and looks really sexy
Cons
- No alternating post colours
- Links are a bit light
- Thread highlight colour looks pretty awful
- May be too bright for some
Rating: 8/10
Orange Glow
Light-on-Dark
Orange Glow is not actually completed, but it already shows major promise. I have personally been using Orange Glow for a good while now. The mesh of dark grey and orange works really well, and the slow integration of non-default graphics make Orange Glow one of XF's flashier skins. I really like it.
Pros
- Sexy
- Clear links
- Custom images
Cons
- Unfinished
Rating: 9/10
Part II will encompass XF's newer AFA immigrants. Kwn Smadingway might have already given reviews for these skins, but I will be offering my own opinion on them. Chances are high that they won't be different though.
