Suggestions

I was checking out my dragons' profiles when I noticed that their backgrounds took a while to load. As a web developer I find this concerning. Can someone find a way to compress the images, such as using TinyPNG? Not only this could benefit mobile users, but also people with older and slower computers as well.

@Neonriser I think this problem might be unique to you and may be best suited for the bug report forum :D

I have not had problems with images loading for as long as I can remember

My dragons backgrounds take a while to load also. Thought it was just me.

[quote name="Decres" date="2023-01-28 07:09:34" ] @/Neonriser I think this problem might be unique to you and may be best suited for the bug report forum :D I have not had problems with images loading for as long as I can remember [/quote] I do agree with OP that the site could use some optimization, but part of it is just that... there's a lot of images on this site. It also depends on your individual machine and internet connection. This is the kind of load time I experience on my laptop, while on my iPad (which is technically a newer machine lol?) is a lot slower, even using the same browser (Firefox): [img]https://imgur.com/XMpYN2L.gif[/img]

FR is working on the back end by doing all the refactoring, and doing optimizations that way.

As an artist, compressing the files too much will also reduce the quality of the site, since it's known for it's art style. While I'm all for optimization, I think it can be handled in other areas first before effecting any of the graphics onsite.

The site has always run slow for me regardless of the computer or device I use. The slowdown got worse after dragon profiles got a revamp and scenes were introduced. It would be nice if the issue was addressed.

[quote name="Synesthesia" date="2023-01-28 16:04:31" ] FR is working on the back end by doing all the refactoring, and doing optimizations that way. As an artist, compressing the files too much will also reduce the quality of the site, since it's known for it's art style. While I'm all for optimization, I think it can be handled in other areas first before effecting any of the graphics onsite. [/quote] This person's take is basically mine. That said, I'd support a "reduced graphics mode" in Account Settings, where the site loaded smaller graphics (maybe like, just a cropped headshot/the Which Waystone image for Trading Post NPCs, no scenes on dragons, and/or smaller sizes in general). This would allow the site to be accessible to more people, who'd find the loading times otherwise unbearable! That always does good things for word of mouth and ad views. (I'd note- if this proposed mode hid scenes by default, the scenic mode button's functionality should change. Instead of showing the scene at full opacity, it should be replaced by a button which will take the user to a non-mobile version of the page where they could view both full and lowered opacity of the scene, so that scenes can still have some value even if normally invisible)

FR loads basically instantly for me - images included - so it could well be an internet speed thing.

That said, supporting people with slower internet or busier connections (lots of people in the house or on at the same time in the area) is good! A reduced graphics mode sounds like a great idea.

A reduced graphics mode would be helpful to a fair few people, so I could support that.

the site itself is not the problem, what instead is problem is that the site is quite demanding to run, and all users do not have device and/or internet connection that could handle it. the performance issues have been ironed out quite well over the years (in the early days it was not rare for the servers to be down on weekly basis, and the loading speeds to be in minutes).

basically adding graphics for any website are always a bit of a balancing act between visual quality and file size. and with images being the main selling point of flight rising, compressing them could affect very negatively on user experience.

i for example cannot stand compression artifact littered graphics, and it would make the site uncomfortable for me to use (i tested by running an image through tinypng, and the results look incredibly bad for me). in addition, i have no need for this, because the site runs just fine for me. exceptions being only when some download is hogging all bandwidth, or if there is an issue somewhere in the vast expanse of internet between me and the site's servers.

imo best solution for this would be an optional reduced graphics mode that was suggested. it could cut the graphics down to the essentials, and this way improve the loading for users who are experiencing loading issues, without taking away from users who have no need for it. and maybe even some kind of list of toggles where you can choose which graphics get hidden for you, because for different users different graphics are an important part of the site's appearance.