Tip of the day Lua Widget - post text submissions here

[YokoZar]

It would be nice if we could compile some of the non-obvious parts of BA into some form of documentation easily accessible to users. Complete Annihilation attempts this with text on the loading screens, however it occurred to me that it would be even better to do it during the time before game start when everyone is waiting around and drawing dicks on the map.

That way, if you know it all, you can disable the widget, and if you don't you can keep clicking through them and not be bored.


So, post here your ideas for quick tips. They can include anything from bits of trivia (the amphib lab produces 1 metal) to bits of strategy (massing flash tanks and scouts is often a good idea even late in the game) to genuine explanations of nonobvious things (the juno fires like a nuke, costs x energy per rocket, and can destroy all radar/radar jammers/mines in its area)

[TheFatController]

I hate CA's help widget it would have to be off by default I think

[Beherith]

Ditto, hates it as well.

[YHCIR]

Maybe some ghosted-buildings for tips on how to start base/eco on certain maps?
e.g. if they start on DSD, show them ghosted mex, 3 solar, lab, llt etc.
Some adviser widget that has a progress bar that looks at metal income + currently stored metal and beeps when they have enough for T2 lab? Or just a red-to-green scale showing when it's better to go T2.

Some coloured outlines on icons (and different coloured highlight on units) to show the difference between T1, T2, kbots, vehicles etc?

Colour code offensive/support units?

Tooltips on units?

[el_matarife]

"Did you know Junos can destroy minefields?"
"Did you know spies self destruct stuns nearby units for 45 seconds?"
"Did you know the commander isn't radar invisible when cloaked?"

It would be neat if these could randomly show up on start screens, but I don't believe that's Lua accessible. Maybe make it randomly put one of these tips on the console every ~10 or ~15 seconds during the pregame?

[Pxtl]

I'd rather see super-deluxe sized tooltip text on the build menus for "unit help", and a way to request similar information about an existing unit, rather than the "you just built X, here's a laundry-list of info about X".

That is, rather than the quick-and-dirty tooltip, I'd rather see a big pop-up paragraph along the bottom of the screen giving detailed info. When I'm looking a the build-list hovering over units, that's when I don't mind stuff blocking the gameplay, because I'm not looking at the gameplay screen.

The CA approach is ass-backwards, because it shows the unit help AFTER the unit is built, and thus when I want to USE it, which is exactly when I don't want a giant blob of text blocking my gameplay.

I'd just include everything you could possibly want to know about the unit.

Like the Guardian tooltip should include information about high trajectory vs low trajectory, anti-naval bonus, and the existence of a better version at L2, and a number describing the unit's firepower (DPS).

The quick description blurb you have right now should be only the first line of the unit's description.

Start screens are a good place to put this info, but it's a random, shotgun-approach to the information.

When a guy is playing on Comet Catcher, 90% of the action is going to be Instigators/Flashes. If he's core, he doesn't need a tip explaining how the the corvettes consume energy when firing, he needs a tooltip explaining how his Instigators do more damage at point-blank range.

[TheFatController]

Like the Guardian tooltip should include information about high trajectory vs low trajectory, anti-naval bonus, and the existence of a better version at L2, and a number describing the unit's firepower (DPS).
...
When a guy is playing on Comet Catcher, 90% of the action is going to be Instigators/Flashes. If he's core, he doesn't need a tip explaining how the the corvettes consume energy when firing, he needs a tooltip explaining how his Instigators do more damage at point-blank range.

This sounds like a good approach, could do something like this possibly as a lolui component or independant widget.

[YokoZar]

Like the Guardian tooltip should include information about high trajectory vs low trajectory, anti-naval bonus, and the existence of a better version at L2, and a number describing the unit's firepower (DPS).
...
When a guy is playing on Comet Catcher, 90% of the action is going to be Instigators/Flashes. If he's core, he doesn't need a tip explaining how the the corvettes consume energy when firing, he needs a tooltip explaining how his Instigators do more damage at point-blank range.

This sounds like a good approach, could do something like this possibly as a lolui component or independant widget.

Most of the tooltips I was thinking of could be integrated here anyway, although we will need redundant ones (eg multiple explanations of stealth for every stealth unit).

I like this idea better.