[quote name="Aequorin" date="2026-05-20 13:27:02" ]
[quote name="@Akaittou" date="2026-05-20 13:06:22" ]
I'm yet another user whose immediate reaction to Charcoal upon toggling it on was "What part of this is low contrast?" [emoji=coatl sad size=1]
[/quote]
To help with clarity both about the theme and to help player feedback overall, we want to note that Charcoal is warmer and desaturated to have a lower [b]color[/b] contrast. It's the [b]value[/b] contrast (brightness) of the text appears to be the consistent complaint across individual replies. We're currently reviewing and discussing this feedback, and how best to proceed. Thank you! [emoji=new friend size=1]
[/quote]
Unsure what color contrast you mean, like less color differences? Charcoal doesn't read to me as low color contrast. It's black on dark grey on painfully bright cream. With a midtone of a slightly desaturated orange that doesn't pair well with the others on a large scale website.
When you zoom in the theme is fine. But when you look at the screen at a distance it is too visually stimulating. The cream is way too stark against the black. It may have been better if the background wasn't totally black
[img alt=""]https://64.media.tumblr.com/c4b9cc91d0f37d21b058982bd85ca04a/d201d251cdd2c2fa-5c/s540x810/d9c841130d768c28675519ff960be85d9a29c783.png[/img]
From a Graphic Design perspective, this is too many colors. If you made the cream text the same color (not value) of the grey/purple?? text then I feel it would be more soothing on the eyes. As for the value of said cream, it'd be less harsh if either the background was less dark or the text was desaturated.
I'm yet another user whose immediate reaction to Charcoal upon toggling it on was "What part of this is low contrast?"
To help with clarity both about the theme and to help player feedback overall, we want to note that Charcoal is warmer and desaturated to have a lower color contrast. It's the value contrast (brightness) of the text appears to be the consistent complaint across individual replies. We're currently reviewing and discussing this feedback, and how best to proceed. Thank you!
Unsure what color contrast you mean, like less color differences? Charcoal doesn't read to me as low color contrast. It's black on dark grey on painfully bright cream. With a midtone of a slightly desaturated orange that doesn't pair well with the others on a large scale website.
When you zoom in the theme is fine. But when you look at the screen at a distance it is too visually stimulating. The cream is way too stark against the black. It may have been better if the background wasn't totally black
From a Graphic Design perspective, this is too many colors. If you made the cream text the same color (not value) of the grey/purple?? text then I feel it would be more soothing on the eyes. As for the value of said cream, it'd be less harsh if either the background was less dark or the text was desaturated.
Last edited on May 20, 2026 16:39:20 by VoidandFyre
We've made two changes already today:
- Unread alerts are easier to distinguish in the alerts dropdown
- The Logout button is no longer dark gray on near black
We're discussing more changes, including altering the text color. That takes just a little more time because we want to be certain changing text colors in one spot doesn't cause contrast issues in other areas.
Feedback doesn't have to include exact color values, but I'd like to note that specific feedback is very helpful.
We've made two changes already today:
- Unread alerts are easier to distinguish in the alerts dropdown
- The Logout button is no longer dark gray on near black
We're discussing more changes, including altering the text color. That takes just a little more time because we want to be certain changing text colors in one spot doesn't cause contrast issues in other areas.
Feedback doesn't have to include exact color values, but I'd like to note that specific feedback is very helpful.
Im still hoping we actually get a Charcoal theme. An [i]actual[/i] low-contrast option that still doesn't exist :/
[img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=7&bodygene=0&breed=13&element=3&eyetype=0&gender=1&tert=144&tertgene=0&winggene=0&wings=7&auth=413cf4a1458cf41af55acaaacfba3f488745ed18&dummyext=prev.png[/img]
Im still hoping we actually get a Charcoal theme. An actual low-contrast option that still doesn't exist :/
Charcoal is okay, it's a step forward, but I still feel like we're lacking in a "true" lower-contrast dark theme.
An issue I see across the board is that a lot of elements that are cleanly separated via being different colors (especially text) on the default theme aren't in these other themes (ex. Clan on default is white with a red outline and the links are red text, and the icon is a white image with a red background; Clan on Charcoal is white, the links are white, the icon is white and its background is barely visible against the sidebar's background). Other large elements are similarly homogenized and hard to parse.
I also think the black is too dark and the text is similarly too saturated against it. To my eyes, it's functionally exactly the same as the other dark themes.
Charcoal is okay, it's a step forward, but I still feel like we're lacking in a "true" lower-contrast dark theme.
An issue I see across the board is that a lot of elements that are cleanly separated via being different colors (especially text) on the default theme aren't in these other themes (ex. Clan on default is white with a red outline and the links are red text, and the icon is a white image with a red background; Clan on Charcoal is white, the links are white, the icon is white and its background is barely visible against the sidebar's background). Other large elements are similarly homogenized and hard to parse.
I also think the black is too dark and the text is similarly too saturated against it. To my eyes, it's functionally exactly the same as the other dark themes.
I really appreciate Charcoal! It makes the website easier on my eyes.
While I miss the Which Waystone's prominent place on the right of my desktop screen, I really, really appreciate the UI changes making the website far more usable on mobile; definitely very worth it.
I really appreciate Charcoal! It makes the website easier on my eyes.
While I miss the Which Waystone's prominent place on the right of my desktop screen, I really, really appreciate the UI changes making the website far more usable on mobile; definitely very worth it.
I'm a little confused about the idea that the colors are lower-contrast, as they are still higher in both shade and hue contrast than the default theme.
In fact, while it isn't a comprehensive UI pitch, I actually think it looks rather nice to just swap the default forum background and text colors, like so:
Text F5F3ED (current lighter Default forum bg) and bg 181818 (current lighter Charcoal forum bg) 111111 (current text color). Colorpicked from screenshots so they may not be exact, but regardless the near-white on dark gray is easier on my eyes than something more yellow on total black.
I'm a little confused about the idea that the colors are lower-contrast, as they are still higher in both shade and hue contrast than the default theme.
In fact, while it isn't a comprehensive UI pitch, I actually think it looks rather nice to just swap the default forum background and text colors, like so:
Text F5F3ED (current lighter Default forum bg) and bg 181818 (current lighter Charcoal forum bg) 111111 (current text color). Colorpicked from screenshots so they may not be exact, but regardless the near-white on dark gray is easier on my eyes than something more yellow on total black.
The new Charcoal theme is very eye straining. I too am shocked to see that it's supposed to be low contrast. The Slate theme reads to my eyes as more low contrast than Charcoal (and that's still not enough for me). Bright cream on near-black is not good.
It's not really an issue for me though, ever since the gradients were fixed on Default.
I feel like Tumblr's low-contrast classic theme is one really good example of a low contrast theme. Light gray text on low saturation blue main content, with a darker and slightly more saturated shade of blue as the background. It doesn't necessarily need to be blue either. I'm sure various shades of gray, green, purple, maroon, etc. would work too.
Edit: Solarized Dark (for editors and terminals) is another example that I really like.
The new Charcoal theme is very eye straining. I too am shocked to see that it's supposed to be low contrast. The Slate theme reads to my eyes as more low contrast than Charcoal (and that's still not enough for me). Bright cream on near-black is not good.
It's not really an issue for me though, ever since the gradients were fixed on Default.
I feel like Tumblr's low-contrast classic theme is one really good example of a low contrast theme. Light gray text on low saturation blue main content, with a darker and slightly more saturated shade of blue as the background. It doesn't necessarily need to be blue either. I'm sure various shades of gray, green, purple, maroon, etc. would work too.
Edit: Solarized Dark (for editors and terminals) is another example that I really like.
just chiming in to say i like charcoal - i really enjoyed the character that the dark theme has and prefer it over slate, but dark's background feels a little clashy sometimes. personally i'd like to see a theme that splits the difference between charcoal's neutrality and dark's colour identity. i also agree with a couple of other users that in charcoal, the cream is too much against the black and some nuances that help with readability are missing (the sidebar header outlines, element bg gradients). thanks for all the hard work
ETA: i like how the red bar below the site banner looks in charcoal over dark, as well - it's easier on my eyes for sure!
just chiming in to say i like charcoal - i really enjoyed the character that the dark theme has and prefer it over slate, but dark's background feels a little clashy sometimes. personally i'd like to see a theme that splits the difference between charcoal's neutrality and dark's colour identity. i also agree with a couple of other users that in charcoal, the cream is too much against the black and some nuances that help with readability are missing (the sidebar header outlines, element bg gradients). thanks for all the hard work
ETA: i like how the red bar below the site banner looks in charcoal over dark, as well - it's easier on my eyes for sure!
A shattered sword found on the field of battle during Warrior's Way. (Warrior's Way Currency Item.)
✧
Ashen Lightning Glass
Minerals & Ores
When lightning hits sand, the result is a new trinket. (Special thanks to brain4puzzles!)
✹
cerb she/he/it
i had to turn charcoal off sadly. i NEED to be able to tell the difference between locked and unlocked items in my hoard, which was impossible to do with the charcoal theme. if you can come up with a fix for this that'd be awesome and make it a lot more functional and usable!
i had to turn charcoal off sadly. i NEED to be able to tell the difference between locked and unlocked items in my hoard, which was impossible to do with the charcoal theme. if you can come up with a fix for this that'd be awesome and make it a lot more functional and usable!
they/them
FR+3
I like Charcoal, but I wish we could get a warm version of Slate. I liked Slate a lot and my main issue with it was being cool instead of warm.
- Do you want to hear what I said again? Hoot hoot!
Braigwen
disabled, unstable condition;
