We've done it, folks. I'm proud to announce that SMWC2 is officially, and finally, out of beta. Today marks the beginning of a new era for SMW Central.
What is SMWC2?
For you, SMWC2 is a modern redesign of the entire website. SMWC2 remains faithful to the classic look of SMW Central, while greatly improving the overall user experience. Internally, SMWC2 is a complete overhaul of SMW Central's codebase that makes it much easier for us to improve the website and keep it working smoothly.
Alongside the redesign, SMWC2 introduces many new features, with more on the horizon. Among the most notable additions, you'll find support for mobile devices, a language selector, and new sections.
Interested in learning more? We've created a special page with all of the details!
A brief history
The idea for SMWC2 appeared almost 10 years ago and was pioneered by our old owner, Kieran Menor, working alongside long-time admins p4plus2 and Ersanio. The new design first appeared in 2014, courtesy of wye, who has supported SMWC2, provided invaluable feedback, and iterated on the original design ever since.
Originally, SMWC2 was intended to be a full rewrite of SMW Central. Such an effort eventually turned out to be unwieldy and the project was abandoned for several years.
After I joined SMW Central's development in 2018, I revisited SMWC2 and began to investigate how we might bring it to fruition. When the ownership of SMW Central passed to Noivern in 2019, I started making substantial updates to the website's internals that would not only make it easier to maintain as technologies rapidly evolved, but also open up the possibility of switching to the new design.
It was during this period that the current interpretation of "SMWC2" emerged - SMWC2 as a combination of internal refactoring and a modernized design.
Later in 2019, SMWC2 entered its Private Beta stage, during which it was partially available to our staff. In 2021, we transitioned to an Open Beta, during which access to the new features of SMWC2 became open to everyone. The people who applied for this beta are our highly valued Beta Testers, whose feedback helped advance the project even further.
Finally, the Public Beta stage began earlier this year and made SMWC2 accessible to truly everyone. Now, SMWC2 is finally stable enough to replace the outdated legacy theme.
What about the old design?
Do you prefer a more retro aesthetic? If so, we've got you covered - SMWC2 comes with a scheme called "2006 Nostalgia" which closely emulates the default scheme from the old design.
However, the old design itself will no longer be accessible, for multiple reasons. Its code is difficult to work with, requiring a lot of effort to produce results that are subpar compared to what SMWC2 allows us to do. As such, we simply lack the resources to support "old" and "modern" versions of SMW Central. Indeed, the old design has been largely unmaintained since the start of SMWC2's Open Beta, with few issues being fixed and all new pages, such as Tweaks and Online Tools, exclusively using SMWC2.
This also means that the old schemes cannot be used anymore. Just like the old design itself, many of them were partially broken and received little support. Meanwhile, SMWC2's new scheming system is far better documented, more powerful, and allows anyone to create new schemes on GitHub.
We know that several old schemes were well-appreciated, and this is where you come in! If anyone wants to volunteer to help port an old scheme to SMWC2, please get in touch with me. Though the old schemes aren't accessible anymore, their code will be preserved and shared with people who want to help convert them. And, don't forget - if you contribute a scheme, you'll get a shiny trophy for your profile!
We're also in the process of preparing a "museum" of old schemes. More on that later, but rest assured, the retro era of SMW Central will not remain forgotten!
What now?
There's nothing more to say, really! All that's left for you is to explore SMWC2 and enjoy its new features.
Once again, I would like to thank Kieran Menor, wye, p4plus2, Ersanio, our admins and staff, and our Beta Testers for the continued support during these years. SMW Central has made me who I am today and it's been an honor working with you all to improve it.
Well, off you go! Welcome to SMWC2!