19 User Interface Problems

[Scott Barrie]

quote:

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Originally posted by Taqwus:
Interface thread. Must... post...

* A 'find system by name' option would be nice if there isn't one (I don't recall there being one).

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Right click on the system map, then select "Goto System".

[DirectorTsaarx]

quote:

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Originally posted by AlphaKodiak:
A minor point, since I agree with the rest of your post, but Acid Globules and Enveloping Acid Globules are both Weapon Family 29, and Plasma Charges and Hyper Plasma Bolts are both Weapon Family 26 in the standard components.txt file.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Jubala:
Eh, no, they are not. I just checked to make sure. Acid Globules are in family 2033, Enveloping Acid Globules are in family 2034, Plasma Charge are in family 2028 and Hyper-Plasma Bolt are in family 2029.

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Well, you're both right; remember that weapons have TWO family designations. A component family and a weapon family. I think the component family determines whether a component is upgraded when the "Upgrade" button on the ship design screen is used. I think the weapon family is used in the AI design files to determine if a particular weapon is used on a given ship design.

In other words, the acid globule and enveloping acid globule are in the same weapon family, and therefore the AI can use the same design entry to design ships with either weapon; but they're in different component families, so a human player can't just "Upgrade" a design with acid globules and get enveloping acid globules.

[Jubala]

quote:

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Originally posted by Alpha Kodiak:
A minor point, since I agree with the rest of your post, but Acid Globules and Enveloping Acid Globules are both Weapon Family 29, and Plasma Charges and Hyper Plasma Bolts are both Weapon Family 26 in the standard components.txt file.

Man, Malfador is fast at responding to user requests!

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Eh, no, they are not. I just checked to make sure. Acid Globules are in family 2033, Enveloping Acid Globules are in family 2034, Plasma Charge are in family 2028 and Hyper-Plasma Bolt are in family 2029.

[capnq]

quote:

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17. When you "Recover Units Remotely" from the sector you're in, it doesn't include the "Move to" command. This is problematic if you want a ship to move somewhere, and then return to its original sector and recover units remotely there.

I don't see what the problem is here. To do what you describe, all you have to do is give the ship the Move order, then the Recover Units order, specifying the appropriate location for each. You can give a ship several consecutive orders, and they'll be done in the order given.

Of course that can be done, but you shouldn't have to. Hence the nitpick. If you click Move To at position X, and then Recover Units at position Y, why should the game assume you want to recover units from position X?

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I meant Recover Units Remotely, not (Launch/)Recover Units. Launch/Recover Units assumes your current location by definition; I would think that's because the command is used far more often than the Remotely Versions, at least in non-simultaneous games.


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Cap'n Q

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the
human mind to correlate all of its contents. We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was
not meant that we should go far. -- HP Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu"

[Scott Barrie]

quote:

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Originally posted by capnq:
I meant Recover Units Remotely, not (Launch/)Recover Units. Launch/Recover Units assumes your current location by definition; I would think that's because the command is used far more often than the Remotely Versions, at least in non-simultaneous games.

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"Recover Units Remotely" is what I said in point 17, and "Recover Units Remotely" is what I meant.
If you start with a ship at position Y, click "Move To" at position X, and then "Recover Units Remotely" at position Y, why should the game assume you want to recover units from position X? Compare this with "Load Cargo", which used to have the exact same problem before it was fixed in an early patch.

[capnq]

quote:

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If you start with a ship at position Y, click "Move To" at position X, and then "Recover Units Remotely" at position Y, why should the game assume you want to recover units from position X?

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< shrug > I've never seen the behavior you describe.

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Cap'n Q

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the
human mind to correlate all of its contents. We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was
not meant that we should go far. -- HP Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu"

[Garet]

It would be nice if one could change the colony type in the main window. Perhaps via a pulldown menu or some such. It would cut out a few steps.

[AndonSage]

Lots of good suggestions, I'd just like to point out the three that are most important to me (like I count for anything <G> ):

>> 7. There's an option to show Resupply Depots, Space Ports and Shipyards (R,S,Y) on the sector map, but no way to show other important facilities like Ship/Fleet Training Facilities, System Computers, Urban Pacification Centers or racial trait facilities. <<

>> * As a convenience, click-drag to reorder ship components in the design window, or some .txt file that specifies order. For instance, when upgrading a normal design to an MC design, there's no way to put the master computer at the beginning (where I like to see control stuff) without removing/re-adding all components. More importantly, this allows adding in shield depleters BEFORE normal weapons once you get them, without popping the whole stack, et al. <<

>> * The 'only one needed per system' message does not take into account facilities in build queues. Arguably, it should (or a separate message should ("You have already arranged to build one in this system"). <<

To me, those above three items would save a lot of time. Currently, I use the comments section from the galactic map, but it's cumbersome to keep having to click on that to check what system facilities I've built.

[dogscoff]

Expanding upon an earlier suggestion...

Make a priority list and use it to go straight to the most important object when right clicking on a sector with multiple objects. To clarify this with an example:

Say I have a colonised planet with a sat group in orbit around it. When I left click on that sector in the system map I am given a choice of whether to view the planet or the satllites- fair enough. The thing is, 99 times out of 100 I will want to view the planet, and not care about the sats. It's a pain having to make that extra click just because there happen to be other objects in the sector. How about if I had the option to *right* click on a sector to go directly to the most important object (in this case the planet?)

A priority list could be used to decide which of the objects is displayed by the right-click.
Here is an example list - if it was in a text file it could be edited according to the player's preferences. Highest priority first:
Own colonised planets, own colonised moons, own ships/ fleets, enemy colonised planet, enemy colonised moon, enemy ships/ fleets, stars, own units, enemy units, uncolonised planets, uncolonised moons, asteroids, warp points, storms.


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"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
"I think so Brain but, if you replace the P with an O, my name would be Oinky, wouldn't it?"

[JenMax]

Regarding the filters on the planet display, it occured to me that one way to increase the usefulness of the sort and "display/hide" screen would be to offer many options at the top. AND allow a buttom to enable a progressive screening affect ffrom left to right. Thus, a player could click "breathable", and in next column, click "not colonized" (which would show the non-colonized "breathable" world FROM the planets in the first column, etc...

This would allo players to select a specific set of planets by a variety of criteria. What do you think?