You are not hallucinating.... it is actually happening. I didn't really think I would ever get around to it either because I knew it would pretty much eat up all my spare time for a few months but what do you know, I got inspired and motivated a while back. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, so I figured a little sneak peek would be in order. Hit the jump to find out more about what's in store for the new version.

As the version number implies this isn't just a small update to the current version but a complete visual and code overhaul. I still very much enjoy the current layout (probably why it has remained online this long), but it obviously has been showing its age for a while now. It is still optimzed for the now obsolete 800px monitor resolution, more graphics heavy than is common these days, table based layout code, outdated html/css, a disaster on mobile devices, etc...

Aside from a new visual presentation, all of the above shortcomings have been addressed in the new version along with some new planned features of course.

• New wider design (1024 optimized, any wider is just annoying to read imo)
  
• Complete recode of the site content pages and forum templates
  
• Much leaner code using xhtml/css3 (IE8 does not support css3, so upgrade! The rest and majority (analytics show 90%+) of you using Firefox, Chrome or Safari will be fine unless you have a very old version)
  
• The themes/skins will be back (some will come online after the relaunch, aiming to have 3 live at launch)
  
• Support for mobile devices via handheld-only css
  
• Inline image galleries for quicker viewing
  
• Return of the tournament calendar (planned for after relaunch)
  
• Twitter & Facebook intergration (share buttons and forum profile additions)
  
• Submit a tip feature (requested by our main editor, Di_)
  
• News forum topics will be order by topic date instead of reply date (as they appear on the front page)
  

One of the things I really wanted to have in the new version was the ability to have both light and dark themes. The skin idea is something that came along late in the 4.0 dev cycle and because of that all skins had to be light background based. This is no longer the case in 5.0, as a matter of fact some of the old themes will be get a 'dark resurrection' .

Back when 4.0 was launched we had tournament announcements on the front page, this didn't prove to be that popular at the time and was replaced with the video releases. But the tournament scene is much bigger now and such a feature proves to be well liked now on as seen on Shoryuken.

I could go for a while in more detail for the web monkeys out there, but here are a few content screens to wet your appetite without giving away to full design. These are from the remake of the 'Bloodline Rebellion' theme.

Home Page News


Inline Gallery


Forum Home


Forum Profile


Post View


Search Results


Topic List


I don't have a set date in mind, but based on the current progress I am hoping to launch sometime in June.

Upgraded resolution? Hell yes.

Can't wait.

I like it, good user interface and layout, Facebook and twitter integration much needed too.



AZ

Mass respect for this, I know some pople who will be mad happy for the mobile friendly layout (Hai SWB *waves*)

And I really love the Tekken Pimp user title lol. Excellent!

Peace

Looks awesome man, and the new features are very interesting.

Any chance we can also get the new smilies I drew with this version of TZ?

This is looking very promising!

I would love the return of Yoshimitsu/Manji theme
(Sorry, couldn't help )

Optimized for handheld devices & a tournament calender?? excellent! Proud to be a supporter

good stuff, can't wait until it's released!

Awesome!

Excellent work Sensei Zaibatsu! Many of these will come in handy.


I would like to add a "+1" on the additional smilies by Black Priest idea. =)

Indeed.. Good User Interface.. and the picture panel etc..
Tekken Zaibatsu 5.0.. Cant wait..

BTW.. Anything about Zaibatsu mail..?? That seems quite old too.. no offense..

Honestly, I would prefer to completely phase that out, but I know some people still use it. It being a 3rd party service I have very little to no control over it. On 5.0 there will no longer be an email login, just a link to the everyone.net mail login page.

Aside from the @tekken.cc as address I really don't see why anybody would still want to use this when you have gmail, hotmail, yahoo, etc...

A question for the frequent mobile users, would you prefer a completely stripped down version (black/white/grey) or something that still has a little color and design to it?

So far I have only done a few quick tests with a barebones style sheet to see if content collapses properly so it will display okay on a variety of screen sizes.

Awesome work @ Castel

+1 (though I never saw it the first time I'd like to )

It would make me happy if the font was a little bigger to make it easier to read combos n stuff, please. Great work!

Fuck yeah.

I browse with an xperia x10 sometimes and that usually doesn't have an issue with intensive websites (other then flash) including the current TZ. As long as it's formatted to fit into the screen it should be fine.