Part 2:
Ship Design Screen, main: SE4 has buttons for switching between ships/units, enemy ships/units and show obselete. SE5 makes you click through a sub-menu or right click on the colum header to do that. SE5's Ship Detail screen has all the details of SE4s in fewer pages, except it does not show component levels. SE5's Upgrade/Copy buttons don't always copy the ship name. Upgrade will sometimes add a number (12345) or a Roman Numeral (I, II) to the end of the name, but this isn't consistant. More importantly, if you try to change the ship's name, the name is completely erased.
Advantage: Slightly SE4. Improvements: Show component levels as small numbers in the component boxes, as in SE4, allow changing the ship strategy from the design details box, remove the Filter button and move the buttons in that menu back to the main menu..there is room. When the player clicks "set name", input the current name into the box so the player can change it rather than having to re-type the entire thing.
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note: this next section is JUST ABOUT THE UI. The merits of the new ship design system are off-topic.
Ship Design, Designing: SE5 has a screen to select ship size, SE4 has a pop-up screen. If you want to change size in SE4, you select a new hull. Doing the same in SE5 clears all components from the ship. In SE4 you can select a name from a drop-down box or click in the box and type one; in SE5 you have a button elsewhere on the screen to click, bringing up a screen with the same function. SE4 allows you to add new design types and delete old ones; SE5 does not.
SE4 displays to-hit, defensive bonuses. SE5 displays strategy, crew, ordinance, and allows you to set the strategy here. SE5 has an "Autocomplete" feature and a "clear design" button. SE4 allows you to filter comps with a button; SE5 has that and a right-click menu. SE5 has tonnage remaining on a different display than speed, cargo space, etc. SE5 displays total hull structure.
To add multiple components in SE4, you click multiple times. To do the same in SE5, you shift-click on slots. You can't switch between decks while "holding" a component in SE5. SE4's component list displays 9 comps at a time, and can only be scrolled by clicking. SE5's displays 8 at a time, and and be scrolled by clicking or the scroll bar. To use a mount in SE4, you click Comp Enh, then the mount type. To use one in SE5 you click the mount type.
SE5 displays component levels only in the component list, not on the ship. SE5's component detail screen is scrollable; SE4's is not. SE4 allows you to use obselete components; SE5 does not.
Advantage: Nil. Improvements: SHOW TO-HIT EFFECTS. They could fit quite easily into the display between tonnage used and total cost. Allow clicking on the name to change it. Swap the locations of the Hull Structure and Tonnage Used displays. Impliment custom Design Types and allow deleting of design types. Show component levels on the ship itself.
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General Interface Issue: The use of the keyboard is not consistant. Sometimes Enter closes a window, sometimes ESC does, sometimes you can use the arrow keys to move a list sometimes you can't.
Advantage: Nil, SE4 had the same problem. Improvement: Allow the use of the keyboard in ALL windows. A good example of one that doesn't allow it is the ship design screen- ESC and ENTER work, but you can't scroll the ship list with the arrow keys or pageup/down. Filter Components allows the use of ESC but not ENTER; stuff like that.