The bulk of this layout is done through the old-skool HTML4 (via NotePad and more recently HTML-Kit), and incorporates the use of cascading style sheets (every page has an original internal sheet, but they are not used-instead they are all linked to an external sheet).
The "main" design was done originally as one whole background design through PhotoShop7 and more recently, PhotoShop CS3. We at RMRC.net got bored of tinkering
and troubleshooting with some buggy effects,
so we created a background with essentially "two" images. The top/main background image (the "site banner" if you will, and the less elaborate yet similar design
that repeats for the background). A really awesome site to get yourself creating a solid template is:
AnimeArk
We suggest checking it out if you are interested in making more
visually enhanced sites but are not quite sure how/where to start.
On a side note: This site was made through css using a hybrid of liquid and fixed float columns. I have noticed most sites (as aesthetically pleasing as they are) tend to use tables as the main structure. This is not a bad thing, however, tables seem to be over burdening at times, and so RMRC.net chose to go more liquid in design. You will find no table scheme here, only a hybrid of floats columns.