Slick's list of UI SE:5 Improvements

[Slick]

I sent this to MM. I'll keep the list running.




Hi. I think se5 shows promise but needs to have some UI improvements. I have been keeping a running list of things about the se5 UI that I think could be improved. Please consider these.







GENERAL GAME STUFF
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Allow saving custom layouts to be used across all games.

Allow turn progressing with game minimized.

Minimize mouse clicks throughout.

Allow all windows to be OK'ed with the Enter Key.

Allow all windows to be Cancelled with the Escape Key.

Allow all lists to be scrolled with the keyboard: arrows, pg up, pg down, home, end, etc.

Will migration eventually undome a planet? If so, this should create a log message so the player knows to build more facilities.

All lists/reports: remember where you were at last highlighted line entry.

Mute game sound when game is minimized or doesn't have focus.

Allow accessing Help at any screen (F1 or ?) without having to back out or close screens.



CONSTRUCTION QUEUES
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Hold, emerg build, repeat & set move to - move up one menu level so as to be accessible on main screen.

Drag & drop to reorder.

Single click vice double click to add/remove item to queue.

Allow building any level of a facility vice only latest.

Apgrading facilities should be broken down so that the player can, for example, only upgrade all spaceyards. right now it's all or nothing. In order to

upgrade only spaceyards, the player has to upgrade them one at a time.

Add the missing "usage" filter from SE:IV.

Add function to expand/contract queue for building multiple entries for purposes of not losing construction progress while being able to upgrade the items in

the queue.

Adding to a queue from a fill list should add to, not erase, the existing queue.

When reordering the queue, the list always goes back to the top after each operation. The list should stay on the highlighted entry.

Adding multiple entries should work with custom fill lists - adding the whole list multiple times.


DESIGN SCREEN
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Show sight range and level in ship statistics.

Show cloak level in ship statistics.

Allow using any level of a component instead of only latest - with the ability to compare different levels in design screen; there are many times when it is

preferable to not use the latest component.

There should be a default design type for certain vehicle sizes. For instance, mines should default to the design type of mine so that the player doesn't

have to enter this every time.

Allow pushing all buttons while "holding" a component.

Allow changing equivalent vehicle sizes without having to redesign the ship; i.e. switching between normal cruiser and crystal cruiser.


EMPIRE OPTIONS
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Add option to auto launch satellites, mines, etc. and/or allow the % launched to be set in-game for the associated minister.




EMPIRES SCREEN
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Bring back the treaty grid. Too many mouseclicks currently to get same info.



FLEET TRANSFER SCREEN
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Add formation editor to be able to edit formations with drag & drop both at the ship level and at the task force level and be able to use these formations in

other games without having to re-create them by having them in an exportable file.

Allow specifying the leader of the fleet and task force. Not being able to do so is screwing up fleet orders sometimes.

Optimize window to minimize clicks to move a ship in/out of a fleet.

Show ship damage.


HELP
----

Be able to view all levels of items (ships, facilities, components, mounts, etc)

Be able to pull up the help window on top of any other window so you don't have to back out of what you are doing to view help.



INTELLIGENCE
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Add some log messages to give some idea of what's going on during that time when you are "wearing down" the enemy's counter-intel


LOG
---
Combine all of "galactic news", "empire news" and "communications" into 1 log with more filters. too many clicks.

Be able to click on a log entry and keep it highlighted the next time the log window is opened so we can keep track of where we are.

Hotkey: "Go to location of next log entry and pop a window saying what happened" - this would allow quickly going thru the log without having to keep

returning to the log window numerous times.

Add log messages for what technology is given to other empires via treaty; as of v1.20, there are only log messages for what is received.

Make communications show up under Politics & Intel. Currently coms show up only under "All" or if specifically selected, both of which are cumbersome when

the log gets large.



LAUNCH/RECOVER SCREEN
---------------------

Need same improvement as Cargo Transfer Screen for not having to delete the "1" when specifiying amount.


MINISTERS
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The only one I've tried is the Population Transport Ship minister and it doesn't work. Are ministers working? If I understand it correctly, I turn on the

Pop Transport Ship minister under Empire Options, then turn on the individual ship minister. Are there other steps to get the ministers to work?

More details needed on some ministers such as: Empire Goals. What does this guy actually do?

We need a small in-game list of options for each minister so we can select what they do. Examples:
Planet Sat/Mine Launching - how many to keep in planet cargo?
Population Transport - minimum planet population to maintain, concentrate on undoming, concentrate on moving high population to low population, etc.




ORDERS
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Add buttons for move to top/bottom and allow drag & drop to reorder.



QUADRANT MAP
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need to be able to see more than one option selected at a time such as showing enemy systems and fleet strength simultaneously.



RESEARCH
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Allow accessing help from in-screen or some method of determinging how researching another level will improve that area to determine if it is worth it.

Ideally, we would be able to see all researched levels so far and a comparison of how components, facilities, etc. are getting better with each level.

Add buttons to research by increments of level.

Eliminate wasted research points (unable to research to exactly next level; if it is the last level, points are lost)

As the game progresses, research changes each turn (new facilities, population, happiness, etc.) so again the actual amount of research per % gets larger so

the players setup gets messed up and can lead to lost research points.


STRATEGIC COMBAT
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Increase the size of the window so that the size of the map overview can be increased. Right now it is too small for all the screen space available.


SYSTEM MAP
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Show a symbol on colonizable planets that a treaty prevents colonization. Also the AI needs to know this! Currently the Colonization Minister will try to

colonize planets that can't be colonized due to treaties.

Planets should automatically always have the latest sensor range and level technology available to the empire.

Orders pane on bottom right should be expanded to include all buttons with no submenus. Too cumbersome to use.

There has to be a better way to show the flags and planet/ship info without blocking the view. The current mods to reduce the size are not adequate.

Perhaps they should be transparent or maybe just show up when mouse moved over them. I'm not sure what the right answer is here, but this needs improvement.

Allow right-clicking on race portrait to see race details including treaty status like SE:IV.


SYSTEMS REPORT
--------------

Be able to see all system-wide attributes with 1 entry per system


TREATIES
--------

Be able to save treaty specifications by name for re-use and make these available to all games on same machine.



VIEW ORDERS
-----------

Allow drag & drop to reorder existing orders

Add "move to top/bottom"

[bearclaw]

Planet Construction:
While looking at a planetary build queue, have a next/previous button to change planets without leaving the build queue window a la SE3 (I really missed that one in SEIV).

[Atrocities]

Good list.

[Tim_Ward]

The Quadrant map should bring back the SEIII or SEIV system of colour coding by empire presense. And, more likely to be actually implimented this side of the next game, the little lines that come out of systems to show unexplored warppoints should be made longer so you can actually see them from stars without expanding the window.

[se5a]

Planets should automatically always have the latest sensor range and level technology available to the empire.

I disagree strongly on this one.
if you want something like that mod it into all the facilities.

otherwise it looks like a good list.
other things to include:

News log:
Combat should be far less information with the se4 type arrangement have the bair minumim of information: total tonnage start, total tonnage end for both empires, maybe have the ship sizes and number ie:
empire 1
dreadnaughts - 1
destroyers - 7
frigates - 24
fighters - 53
total tonage start = XXXX
total tonage end = xxx

and have a "details" and the "replay" button to get a breakdown on it.

SJ has a mockup somewhere, maybe he'll post it.

[Slick]

se5a: If any planet, with no facilities, can build a satellite with the latest sensor tech and launch it and suddenly get the benefit of the sensor tech, it totally makes sense that they would already be using this tech from the planet surface. Why would you disagree strongly? It is just a burden on the player to keep building better sats and launching them to get the same effect.

[Kana]

I say if you want a planet to have a good sensor array, then it should build the appropriate facility to give you that sensor advantage...

[President_Elect_Shang]

Actually I think it can be done. What is the exact effect you want. Depending on what you are looking for this could be tied into a facility and hidden so the player never sees it. I recall we talked about this once before but what you had described has slipped my mind.

[Suicide Junkie]

Planets should automatically always have the latest sensor range and level technology available to the empire.

I'm with SE5a on this one.

What we SHOULD have, is a ColonyAbilities.txt or something, which lets us list exactly what abilities we want a "naked" colony to have.
Build rates, repair abilities, even storage amount modifiers. The ability to build units should be optional... maybe you want to require a military base before troops can be trained there. Maybe you want the ability to build ships to appear for free on planets with over 100m people (SE3 style)
Sensors, stealth and even planetary shields...
%Population% should be available to use, as well as GetEmpireTechLevel.

[Slick]

Kana: that's my point, you don't need any facilities to do this, the empire already has the technology as proven by the ability to build satellites with the tech.

SJ: Why? I can see no logical reason a planet wouldn't use a technology from the surface. We know that the sensors penetrate atmospheres due to seeing other empires' colonies from space. We certainly wouldn't want to give this ability to only atmosphere=none.

To me, this is just an example of a cumbersome aspect of the game. It takes almost no construction time to build a satellite with the latest tech plus another turn to launch it so these are not issues. In SE:V, with the ability to reorganize construction queues, you won't lose construction if you immediately build one of these and put it at the top of the queue, so that's not the problem either. What it does cost the player is having to do this on each planet that he desires this capability. At least his front line planets, more likely more than that. Think of all those mouse clicks - not very fun.