HPS

[Xaver]

Well, HPS and Graphics are like water and fire a bad :stir:, thanks to modders i can see Napoleonic and dont loose my eyes , first thing i do with HPS games is Volcano (now i find interesting a map mod) for example now i am tuning Danube front taking T-55 images from Bolt 4.0 and many images

But web isnt the games, and HPS web is well structurated not as matrix games, is very cool the game presentation but if you search one i prefer a list.

[Gasbag]

Damn fanboys ;)

Knew if I stuck a stick in the hornets nest it would stir you lot up.

As said before it wasnt a slight against the company or the games but their web site sucks IMO.

I didn't see it as a slight against the company or their games. I agree that the website isn't flashy but, like their products, it gets the job done...:)

I also use VM's artpacks. They're almost a "must have" for the PzC & MC series.

[Sgt Barker]

I find HPS's web site very informative and easy to navigate. Their priorities for the home page are spot on, and the left hand bar is at just the right level to zoom to what I want. And it all loads quickly, no muss no fuss.

Personally I despise flash-player (and its ilk) heavy sites. I'm on a company site more often than not for info, not art or entertainment. "Flashier" sites tend to obscure info rather than facilitate it.

Fan-boi, perhaps. But there it is.

[Al]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't HPS basically just a two or three-man operation? If so, then I can understand not allocating resources away from other stuff to update a functional website.

[Steel God]

I don't know if HPS is truly a 2 or 3 man show, but I'll go along with the spirit of your statement, that HPS is a small company, very small, and operates as much from a love for the hobby as they do for a profit margin.

[Bidermann]

Hps games stand head and shoulders above alot of games so keen wargames look beyond the web site and play the battles.

[vendetta]

I just wish to put my comments in on this thread. I have been playing HPS games for some time now, (never winning too often), starting with Tigers in the Snow and Panthers in the Shadows, and I have nothing but high praise for HPS and their games. They have always been very prompt about replying to questions I have had about their games. I have had one instance in which I received a damaged game, (it was damaged during transit) and I received a replacement before I even sent the damaged game back. I have nothing but high praise for HPS and their staff. I only wished that I was younger so I could do more to help a great gaming company like that and also to help the wargaming community as well. Now, if only I could win some battles. Thank you for allowing me to put my two cents in.

[medlinke]

From a graphic design standpoint I see where you're coming from. I think there are a few things they could do to make their site much easier in terms of information architecture:

1. Make the game links larger on the left and make the headers for game series more readily identifiable.

2. Remove the www. requirement from their DNS... www means world wide web. We know it's on the web. Drop it.

3. Alphabetize the series. Then within the series alphabetize the names of the games. Logical link structure is only logical to the people who decided upon it.

4. Consolidate the support section of the website with a single link. Then allow players to go to the sections for tips, patches, additional downloads, etc.

5. Instead of a search page make the search an actual search box on the homepage so it's more accessible.

6. Remove the news archive items that are older than 2 years. They aren't useful any longer.

7. Get rid of the scrolling marquee text at the top. It moves really fast, doesn't link to anything, and the information there is better presented already on the site without having to scroll down to get to it!

Those are just the top things solely about the homepage that I'd change. If anyone from HPS sees this and likes it. I am a web designer and programmer by trade as my day job and take a limited number of side clients from time to time. Just give me a contact and I'd be happy to barter your awesome games for services, show you my portfolio, and give references from past work!

Awesome products. One of the few consistent independent producers of quality games. A little rough around the edges graphic design & more importantly information architecture-wise. I don't know about their site chasing customers away, but usability in e-commerce is one of the biggest factors in whether people click the checkout button on their cart or abandon the sale!

[Gasbag]

I agree with getting rid of the scrolling marquee text. It really doesn't serve any useful purpose.

They should also clean up their Links section. Some of the links are long dead; ie. WarfareHQ.