F2bnp wrote:

Perhaps if we all join the forum and express our honest opinion?

The forums have been up in arms about this for over a week now. Not a peep from the owners - they simply don't believe in communication.
Someone on another forum suggested protesting directly to GameFly on Twitter and Facebook... that might stand more of a chance to turn some heads.

MrFlibble wrote:

What's your alias at MG?

Vile_r. My contributions may not be as plentiful as others', but I still have a pretty huge spreadsheet here titled "Submit to Mobygames" (with over 100 new games pending for contribution, and that's just the start of it). At present, there's just... not a huge incentive to bother anymore, I'm afraid.

You know, I searched for Quest for Glory and got this on top of my search result. And when I eventually found what I want, the covert art page loaded painfully slow.

I've been a PC gamer since 1998, and have been browsing Mobygames since 2000, but I've never heard of this 'GameFly' until this thread. Mobygames seems to be a very successful website, with lots of contributors and solid mind share that it should be able to support itself with ads. Then it is sold to some company named 'GameFly'? It reminds me of the day where Microprose/Spectrum Holobyte - both were well known companies with lots of quality products - was bought by Infrogames, whose the only product I know is Alone in the Dark.

VileRancour wrote:

The forums have been up in arms about this for over a week now. Not a peep from the owners - they simply don't believe in communication.
Someone on another forum suggested protesting directly to GameFly on Twitter and Facebook... that might stand more of a chance to turn some heads.

Well, how about we make the Facebook Group, then?

Title: Say NO to new Mobygames layout, say NO to GameFly!

Description:
Mobygames. Long ago, the website provided the most extensive database of video game information. Then, everything changed when GameFly destroyed the layout. What was previously a source of information and enjoyment for gamers had become a deserted place that is plagued by difficult navigation, slow loading times, needless Javascript, and massive loss of functionality that it is unusable. Only our combined effort could save Mobygames. Bring back the old layout!

If everyone agrees, then let's make the group. Or maybe the wording needs changes and improvements before we create the group.

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

You know, I searched for Quest for Glory and got this on top of my search result. And when I eventually found what I want, the covert art page loaded painfully slow.

That is just sick. So, they have f*cked the database. The loading of the cover art and screenshot pages is what I was really complaining about being so slow.

collector wrote:

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

You know, I searched for Quest for Glory and got this on top of my search result. And when I eventually found what I want, the covert art page loaded painfully slow.

That is just sick. So, they have f*cked the database. The loading of the cover art and screenshot pages is what I was really complaining about being so slow.

So I think it's time for action. How about we make the FB group?

yes, a FB group will surely make them see the light and suddenly talk... Seriously, I wouldn't want my name to be related to such an ubergeek group 😀
But show me the FB group of gamefly and their twitter and I'll complain loudly there 😀

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

I've been a PC gamer since 1998, and have been browsing Mobygames since 2000, but I've never heard of this 'GameFly' until this thread.

They bought out Direct2Drive a while back, and they were a rental-by-mail service before that.

Well, how about we make the Facebook Group, then?

I believe some people already have, look for the "mobygames troll forum" or similar.

collector wrote:

That is just sick. So, they have f*cked the database. The loading of the cover art and screenshot pages is what I was really complaining about being so slow.

I found Quest for Glory just fine -- the search results are abbreviated. If you click View All then everything is found, and Quest for Glory is found.

I agree the interface needs some more work, but as I wrote earlier, it sounds like they hired someone specifically to concentrate on MobyGames, and that is hopeful.

5u3 wrote:

Whoa, at first I thought they have been hijacked... With the current design the site is unuseable.

Ha, me too. I rechecked the URL a couple of times before accepting the sad truth of the matter.

MobyGamer wrote:

I found Quest for Glory just fine -- the search results are abbreviated. If you click View All then everything is found, and Quest for Glory is found.

Are you trying to say that it is normal not to display the search result that is a 100% match to the search query at the top of the results list? And that it is normal for the user to go an extra mile, click some additional buttons like "View All", scroll down the list etc. etc. to get just what normally would be displayed immediately after the search was completed? Is that the new definition of "user friendly" now?

MobyGamer wrote:

collector wrote:

That is just sick. So, they have f*cked the database. The loading of the cover art and screenshot pages is what I was really complaining about being so slow.

I found Quest for Glory just fine -- the search results are abbreviated. If you click View All then everything is found, and Quest for Glory is found.

I agree the interface needs some more work, but as I wrote earlier, it sounds like they hired someone specifically to concentrate on MobyGames, and that is hopeful.

The old site sensibly displayed a page of possible matches for any inexact search. It may have been looking dated, but still had great functionality. Perhaps the database is not getting hosed, but the new site was not ready for prime time. It is bad enough that the suggestion that they grabbed someone from a high school class does not seem far off. At the very least, whoever did it shouldn't be too quick to put it on his resumé. It is an embarrassment.

Try searching for King's Quest V specifically. If you want, and feel hopeful, you can click on 'View All'. You'll get Keith's Quest and even Fuck Quest, but there's no King's Quest V...

Even before that, looking at the main page itself is just too painful....they really raped the site, and the owners are still keeping their mouth shut tighter than their own ..., and ignoring all the faithful contributors' pleas. Guess they are busy counting the money they got from Gamefly.. bast...

A sad state : http://www.mobygames.com/forums/dga,2/dgb,4/dgm,180722/

Holy Hell!! When did this shit happen? I used MobyGames all the time as a resource for a decade. What was wrong with the old layout, it worked too well?

A lot of sites I have frequented over the years all of a sudden mutate into a non-usable pile of ass because some fuck head developer has to justify his existence by making a change to "improve" the site. This has happened to some of the software tools we use at work. They work fine for untold years until some butt pirate in corporate or major share holder wants to give it a face lift or make it perform faster making it slow and plaguing it with undesired effects.

To quote AVGN: "What a shitload of fuck!"

At least the database is still there - for now. I remember when Yahoo Games bought out gamesdomain.co.uk and a gigantic collection of fine old retro reviews was consigned to the dustbin.

MrFlibble wrote:

MobyGamer wrote:

I found Quest for Glory just fine -- the search results are abbreviated. If you click View All then everything is found, and Quest for Glory is found.

Are you trying to say that it is normal not to display the search result that is a 100% match to the search query at the top of the results list?

Of course not, but that is a far cry from "they have f*cked the database" which is what I was disproving.

Malik wrote:

the owners are still keeping their mouth shut tighter than their own ..., and ignoring all the faithful contributors' pleas. Guess they are busy counting the money they got from Gamefly.. bast...

The owners are GameFly. The previous owners have had nothing to do with MobyGames since 2010.

Jorpho wrote:

At least the database is still there - for now.

While the database had not changed in and of itself, the blow it had taken from poor presentation and partial loss of accessibility after the redesign should not be taken lightly.

I guess the *previous* owners have already finished counting their money then.

I have had my share of issues with Mobygames. I should be an approver as I know more about my particular platforms of expertise than most. I have had submissions waiting for over a year for someone to approve them.

I didn't like how it upscaled images. I always prefer nearest neighbor scaling to scaling that gets done (looks like bilinear). The only way I could get nearest neighbor is by using Opera, and I don't like Opera.

Older, inaccurate images or jpeg images of older platforms should be replaced. Similarly, incorrect trivia should be deleted.

In tech specs, the categories should be more robust and easy to add.

The search feature needed some improvements. It seemed to have particular difficulty with Roman Numerals. There should be a checkbox for original releases only to segregate out all the compilations and shovelware.

That was before the Wordpress-inspired/insipid redesign.

One of the issues I have with the general look is that it fails to take advantage of the fact that most people use widescreen monitors currently. The sides are frequently left unused and all the information is condensed into a little box in the center of the screen. The Mobygames' design is very bad here, as everything takes up more precious vertical space.