Election Day is drawing closer. To help you decide which candidate you’d like you be your newest webmaster (next to me, of course), debates have taken place between candidates Cody and Power Shot on key issues such as economics, swallows laden with coconuts, skub, and cheesecake. We’re releasing this special debate over the air, through ZUCast, so those of you subscribed via iTunes should get it immediately, and the rest of you can stream the debates right from here.

Make sure to stop by ZU on November 4th and vote for the candidate you want to win! Whoever wins will be ZU’s next co-webby alongside me, so treat your vote with care. There will be a poll only on the forums, so please make sure you register to vote if you’re interested in voting.

This is the uncut interview. It’ll download in iTunes for those subscribed to the podcast. While I can’t yet guarantee it, as I’m waiting for confirmation from our podcast editor Margar, I’m hoping that she’ll be willing to cut up a ten minute version for the upcoming installment of the ZUCast.

Team Four48 is currently on track to finish the remaining two Zelda games by their 6pm EST deadline, and it looks as though they’re going to break their $2000 donation goal as well. Make sure to watch them as they do - we’ve got a live feed going as well as video feeds and a donation widget to help them out.

Yes indeed, welcome, everyone, to the brand spankin’ new Zelda Universe! It has been months in the making, with many long hours of me staring angrily at a collection of scripts, blocks of PHP, HTML, CSS, and all the other things that go into making a website these days.

I hope everyone can agree that it is all well worth the effort and the wait. There’s many things to see all around - including a media player at the bottom of this post (read for more info on a new podcast we’re releasing today!) - and there will be more to see as the rest of the week unfolds with new features and articles rolling out continuously. Click on the nice little link below to see details of what we have to show you today - and beyond!

UPDATE: We got dugg! Digg us and spread the word about the new ZU around the internets!

Welcome to the New ZU! (Or, “Nuzu,” if you say it fast enough.)

Glad you decided to keep reading - that means something on this new and shiny (sparkly?) site got you interested. For those who were around just two days ago, the most obvious change is that we have a fantastic new design. I, Jason, and the entire staff of ZU heartily thank Anton Wiklund, our incredible designer, whose site can be found here. He did more than an amazing job of making all these lovely visuals you see all around. All site coding and templating was done by yours truly (that’s me, Scott), and that’s why I decided I get to make this newspost, and not Jason. (But Jason snuck in here to edit other things in. This is one of them, so don’t be surprised if this sounds like a weird mix of Scott and Jason talking. It could be like the Fusion Dance from DBZ.)

I could ramble for a long time about what new pretty features we have scattered around, since I wrote the code for a bunch of it. Obviously, I didn’t write the whole thing, since we’re using WordPress, which is a very good base system. But if you haven’t noticed already, I suggest you wheel your mouse around that pretty header up above, see what happens and what you can click. In fact, I’d run around the entire site and click on just about everything you can find, because there’s more to the new ZU than what you can see once the page loads. A new comments system, working contact forms, lightbox galleries (oh yes, we have those, and they are pretty) - just to name a few of the new features.

I don’t think I could name them all in one shot, so I’ll trust you to run around and find out for yourself what the new ZU holds.

New Content, Better Content, and More

All the rest of the site staff has been working vigorously for literally months to redo and update all our content, specifically the Zelda information and help pages that are the backbone of ZU. The vast majority of that is completely re-done, and the rest that still has the old versions of our pages will be replaced in the next couple of weeks. All the guides have been improved considerably for readability and use. We urge you to take a look around your favorite games and see what’s new - there’s a lot to see, including three new upcoming sections - Link’s Crossbow Training, Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland, and that holy mother of games, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

In addition, we’ve redone ZU’s Timeline Theory entirely - thanks to mmmmm_PIE from the forums. He brilliantly created a timeline theory to be proud of. The theory is now more of a theory than an order set in stone - it actually discusses arguments for where Zelda games could be placed chronologically. We’ll be asking mmmmm_PIE to update the theory as the Zelda series evolves.

ZU is a big place, so don’t be alarmed if something’s missing - we’re still putting a good portion of the pieces back together. While all of the text is in place, Jason still needs to run around and put images into about a quarter of the Zelda section pages. Until he does, you may see these types of odd empty boxes scattered around (they have a red X inside in Internet Explorer):

Don’t be alarmed when you do! They will disappear once Jason (read: guy who’s writing this particular sentence) places an image on the server that corresponds with the one missing in the box. And once we fill in all the boxes, we’ll begin creating the three new upcoming sections of ZU.

Because this is all-new, we do want your feedback - and your help to build an even better ZU. So, if you find anything wrong with our game sections, or think of a way to improve a section - be it an image, rewriting a particular sentence, or expanding an entire section, PLEASE use the contact form on the Contact Us page and let us know! We are dedicated to improving all of our content regularly, so tell us anything you want to see improved, and most definitely tell us if you find information that is wrong. We’ll be constantly keeping up all the Zelda sections from this day forward.

And a BB to Match

As if all of that isn’t enough, I (read: Scott) have made a new forum style to match the new design, and it has a markedly different feel than all our earlier skins, I think. It came out quite well. Once again, the visuals are mostly thanks to Anton, although Jason made a bunch of the little icons scattered around while I was busy being angry at the templates. It has turned out quite well, I think.

For the first day of launch, we are disabling all other forum skins so that everybody has a chance to see and use the new Temple skin. The other four skins with be re-enabled on the 26th so that those who do not (for some reason) enjoy the new theme may switch to their personal preference.

Credit Where Credit is Due

Before I finish up, I (read: Jason) would like to thank those involved in this revamp. It was a ten month process that couldn’t have happened without the following incredible people…

• Anton Wiklund, our designer sent from the heavens (and your donations) to make this amazing layout.
• Scott Smallback, the man who brought this amazing layout to life. Also fueled by donations.
• EA, who bugfixed a bunch of the new site voluntarily. Thanks to him, you can enjoy polls and more.
• Hylie, Son of Mido, BigGoronSword, GDwarf, HastinaFleeginLish, insaney, Kitsune, Rew, Daphnes, Galedeep, Cody and Shigeru - these guys proofread and/or rewrote ZU’s information and content so you could enjoy it more. Amazing work, guys; I’m humbled to have you and people like you on ZU’s team.
• Asia Alfasi and the Podcast Staff for meeting their first real deadline with a minicast (more below) today!
• Everybody who donated to Zelda Universe, because YOU guys made this whole revamp possible!

One more thing…

We’ve got more than just new content, a shiny new forum, new images and a layout for you today - we’re actually dragging this out longer. We’d like to make this fun for all of us, so we’re going to have an update a day.

Today, we’re ecstatic to bring you something straight from the ZUBC: a “minicast”, a short podcast they graciously agreed to put together for the launch. Have a listen… with ZU’s brand new, shiny, chromy Podcast System. At the bottom of this post, notice the flash media player embedded. Use it to hear the new podcast without downloading it - or subscribe via iTunes with the link on the sidebar to the right.

There’s more to come. We’ve lined up great updates back to back. We have new article segments from your favorite authors coming later on, and an interview with Official Nintendo Magazine coming tomorrow.

It’s going to be a wonderful week, and it’s my (our) pleasure to finally set free the brand spankin’ new ZU.

~ Scott Smallback and Jason Rappaport

• TALKING POINT: Chat about the recent forum upgrade!
• Selah’s Beneath the ZU Spotlight
• Newbie impressions! a chat with dynamic newbie Notsil (funny pics in the scrapbook?)
• Cody’s rant! (Yeah, another one!)
• TALKING POINT - emoticons and how well DO they convey emotion? Fan of Prof Scholar or SCIENCE?! =O
• “The Power Shot Review-Slash-Storytime Adventure Quest Extravaganza.”
• LIAH INTERVIEW!
• The Casual Gamer
• Theorizing chat between Hombre and Erimgard
• BBD’s Fireside Chat
• TALKING POINT : e-relationships! with Shigeru and DekuQueen
• NEWS! SO MUCH NEWS!
• Musical Highlight
• aaaaand… feedback!

So what are you waiting for? Subscribe via iTunes by clicking the giant ZUCast logo above or stream it live, right here. Or download the MP3. Whatever you’d rather do. For those already subscribed via iTunes, it should begin to update within an hour of the podcast’s release.

We listened to all sorts of comments all of you have been gracious enough to give last time in response to the first cast; and we hope you thoroughly enjoy what we have for you now! The ZUBC is proud to present, to you, the 2nd ZU Community Podcast!

What’s in this one? Why…

• Beneath the ZU Spotlight
• Making the chatroom more accessible?
• Inner workings of the Internet:Serious Business by BBD!
• Cody’s Rant
• Of LOoOoOoOng nicknames ‘n nicks in general
• Playing with Sayings by Future
• … Interview .. with .. the Man. . THE LEgend .. THE LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARS!
• The Casual Gamer by Hombre de Mundo
• Brawl this, Brawl that- what the hECk?
• Do you hear that? .. a Zelda rumour?
• ZU’s got talent!! - a musical feature; this cast: Grass :>
• ZU COMMUNITY NEWS WITH ROSCOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEE RHODES!
• How to survive a ZU meetup
• and finally: Your Feedback!
  Not to mention, within, we’ve got scattered around the podcast, propaganda statements from the leaders of the three most prominent fanclubs around: Cody, Power Shot and Kitsoonay’s fanclubs! So, listen out for them! =D

• An intro with music sung by yours truly…
• …a very important eulogy for our late forum member, Duke of Clubs, to whom this podcast is dedicated to, by member Altamira…
• …coverage of the recent ZU Awards…
• …a sinister plot to take over said awards, both devious AND mischievous…
• …a special rant from our newest staffer, Cody…
• …coverage of ZU’s Revamp project/Donation Drive…
• …an interview with our favorite, most lovable webmaster Scott…
• …status of ZU community meetups, hosted by forum veteran Anime_Queen…
• …a segment by member Hombre de Mundo about Nintendo’s targeting of the “casual gamer”…
• …and some good old-fashioned community news.

Well, what are you waiting for? We’ve worked hard. So sit down, relax, and listen.