Don't have the spartan be quite so centered, background could be a little brighter. Lighten up the "Home, Rules, User CP" a little so they're just a little darker than the "Forum". The Top bar with user name and Password is really blocky and stands out, while the rest has a smoother more blended flow. All for now, otherwise I like it.
For some reason I really like the "FH" in the upper right, the whole thing is really nice, but that part just really appeals to me. Would it be a button? Where would it go, the main page?
Think this was mentioned, but the sign in fields ans the whole top bar clashes with the rest of the feel. Thats the only part i don't like. Yes, change gaming to forging.
In v@ I do like the new Category headers, but I'm still a bit meh on the banner. We're ForgeHub. We're not a gaming community, we're a forging community with gaming aspects. But I guess it is the same.
I do agree to change it to "Forging community" also, the spartan seems to stand out a little too much in my opinion. I really like the welcome section, that looks very nice. It'd be pretty cool if ForgeHub adopted this as a theme, I'd use it.
My opinion on the banner haven't changed. Don't like the welcome box being on the banner either. Like the original more than the new
I love the welcome box, but I prefer the v2 version of it, with the monitor right next to it it seems to 'crowded'. Also we are not 'A Forging Community', we are 'The Forging Community'
The lighting on the monitor and the spartan appear to be coming from different directions IMO. With the monitor it does seem a bit crowded, maybe try a skin with only the monitor? Just to see how that looks.
I'd get rid of the subtext and make it "Forge Hub" instead of ForgeHub. I'd like to see more other forum elements, but overall this looks really good. Remember if this is adopted it would need the ads and shoutbox, so that's something to consider and possibly add in. I'd also like to see what it would look like on forum pages and such.