We've been busy beavers all weekend trying to get everything ready in time for tonight - and we just about made it. A few things still need a bit of work to bring them up to the highest standards we expect - but so far I'm very proud of what's been achieved for this relaunch and I hope you'll all enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.
The list of updates is pretty huge, so this is going to be split into a few posts detailing what's been updated - but I'll cover the basics right now.
As you can obviously see, we've got a brand new design that I feel is our strongest ever. We look forward to going with this one for quite some time.
The forums have received a big upgrade, now running on the latest version of SMF and allowing us to do some new things with the look and feel that I hope will make using them even more enjoyable than ever before.
The Pokedex is finally back and (almost) ready for Heart Gold and Soul Silver's release in a couple of weeks. There are a few data gaps that still need fixed up, and the more advanced features including a deeper search function and a comparisons function have been held off on until I have a bit more time to make them just right - but, otherwise, our Pokedex has all you need to educate you in your Pokemon's training - and there's lots more to come for it to make it even better.
The Trainer Card Maker has gone a little visual overhaul and had a major Trainer sprite update - bringing our Custom Trainer Sprite count now to 428! There's even more on the way including new templates and new styles - but, in the meantime, an increase in the amount of Pokemon sprites to now include the Platinum and HG/SS versions - as well as their shiny forms is sure to tide many of you over.
Finally, we have the return of an old section and the launch of a new one. The Staff Showcase section returns triumphantly with a brand new interface and back-end system allowing Staff members to keep complete, easy, control over their own sections, and thus allowing them to keep you as up-to-date as possible with their work. Community is a massive part of Pokecharms - as is the creativity of our Staff - and this is an excellent way to combine the two for a very unique feature you wont find anywhere else!
Meanwhile, we have a brand new Generation V section running on the same system that you can use to keep up to date with all the latest news, information and discussions about the upcoming games.
Again, there are more detailed explanations of the updates across the board to follow in the main topic, so head there for more info.
In the meantime, I'd like to thank the staff (and some chat regulars) for making this relaunch happen - I'd never have been able to get all of this ready on my own. I hope you enjoy the fruits of our labour and that this new Pokecharms.com satisfies you even more than the last one!
