Suggestions for the TAS Client

The Tarosian King · Post by **The Tarosian King** » 16 Jun 2006, 12:18

I've been playing TA since it was in beta and I love what you guys have done with TAS, but this version still has a long way to go. The formula for attracting larger crowds and keeping them is missing, so here's a few suggestions that might help.

*Firstly I think TAS needs to be a little bit more User Friendly altogether. For first time users I think there needs to be more information on how to startup and play properly. The main page of the site is kind of intimidating to someone just starting out. On top of that its very difficult for first time users to get advice because everyone treats noobs like garbage. So it would probaby be a wise idea to create a "Novice Area" on the site that talks how to create a game and play the AI until they get experienced enough etc.

*The GUI needs to be a lot more attractive. For starters how about Player Profiles? It would be nice to right click on a persons name and bring up there profile with stats on how well they play and how reliable they are to stay in a game. And maybe they can have a "Medals" section in the profile to see what medals they've earned from playing. Users could earns medals in how many games they've played, wins in a row, etc. Hell, maybe even a numerical ranking system like the one used on games.com. All of these would be much better then the current ranked based on hours played format.

* Simple things like giving users various fonts/colors can go a long way. Right now the options are too bland. It would be a lot better if users could just click a button-icon under the chat box to change things rather than to type in a command.

* Buddy lists would be great too! Of course have a status next to their name would be a definite plus.

* Speaking of Status, the "Sort by Status" option is flawed. The afk status people are intermingled with the green status people. It should probably go Top to bottom: Green, AFK, Blue. That would be much better for sorting purposes.

*EDIT* Another flaw I noticed was in the Game selection portion of the interface. All of the details can be streteched with the exception of the "Players" one. If you fiddle around with it a bit you can trick the GUI into making it larger.

* Make the GUI Drag and Drop customizable. For those fortunite enough to have Guild Wars you know what i'm talking about :). Being able to setup the Gui Client as they see fit is a big plus. Maybe some players would like to have the "player" panel at the bottom left with the "games" at the top and the text and the bottom.

*Here's and important one: Ranking system in the Online Map List! Every map should have a ranking system like 5 star and a hyperlink at the bottom users can click on to leave and view comments on that particular map. Also a "sort by:" option would be great. People could sort by Alphanum, highest ranked, lowest ranked, most comments, total size, format of gameplay (EX. 2v2 or FFA).

I could go on and on. But let's start off small and then work on to more challenging implementations.

AF · Post by AF » 16 Jun 2006, 12:20

Dont wory about that I have it all worked out.

As for the ingame GUI there's people working on that.

Comp1337 · Post by **Comp1337** » 16 Jun 2006, 13:11

AF, less hinting, more beta release!

espylaub · Post by **espylaub** » 16 Jun 2006, 13:56

In a similar vein, I refer thee to this post I made a while ago: http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5095

Thank you for your time.

altaric · Post by **altaric** » 16 Jun 2006, 18:29

*The GUI needs to be a lot more attractive. For starters how about Player Profiles? It would be nice to right click on a persons name and bring up there profile with stats on how well they play and how reliable they are to stay in a game. And maybe they can have a "Medals" section in the profile to see what medals they've earned from playing. Users could earns medals in how many games they've played, wins in a row, etc. Hell, maybe even a numerical ranking system like the one used on games.com. All of these would be much better then the current ranked based on hours played format.

sorry, this can be done in 5 minutes but the poll ended with "no, it would split the comunity"

* Buddy lists would be great too! Of course have a status next to their name would be a definite plus.

implemented

* Speaking of Status, the "Sort by Status" option is flawed. The afk status people are intermingled with the green status people. It should probably go Top to bottom: Green, AFK, Blue. That would be much better for sorting purposes.

i think this can be done

* Make the GUI Drag and Drop customizable. For those fortunite enough to have Guild Wars you know what i'm talking about :). Being able to setup the Gui Client as they see fit is a big plus. Maybe some players would like to have the "player" panel at the bottom left with the "games" at the top and the text and the bottom.

making a gui is quite hard, but making it customisable is even harder
maybe i'll try if i find an idea how to do it ..

*Here's and important one: Ranking system in the Online Map List! Every map should have a ranking system like 5 star and a hyperlink at the bottom users can click on to leave and view comments on that particular map. Also a "sort by:" option would be great. People could sort by Alphanum, highest ranked, lowest ranked, most comments, total size, format of gameplay (EX. 2v2 or FFA).

wrote down, i'll think about it ...

http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewt ... b4b1afbed5

Aun · Post by **Aun** » 16 Jun 2006, 19:17

The Tarosian King wrote:*Here's and important one: Ranking system in the Online Map List! Every map should have a ranking system like 5 star and a hyperlink at the bottom users can click on to leave and view comments on that particular map. Also a "sort by:" option would be great. People could sort by Alphanum, highest ranked, lowest ranked, most comments, total size, format of gameplay (EX. 2v2 or FFA).

I don't like the ranking idea, thought the rest would probably require some changes to File Universe.

A ranking system would probably mean that new maps would never be played because they're never seen, while the old favourites would stay at the top.

Tobi · Post by **Tobi** » 16 Jun 2006, 19:53

New maps are seen on the forum. At least I try to somewhat remember it when I see a good one on the forum and then I host a game on it once I play spring.

AF · Post by AF » 16 Jun 2006, 20:21

espylaub, I've a solution to that and I've alreaddy got it working sorta ^^

altaric · Post by **altaric** » 16 Jun 2006, 20:33

to be honest, i don't read forums ^^ only the dev one
sometimes i read others .. but it's rare

The Tarosian King · Post by **The Tarosian King** » 17 Jun 2006, 01:50

I'd like to thank you all for checking out a few of my suggestions.

Altaric, even though you guys apparently voted on this idea before I have a hard time understanding how it would split the community. If anything it would weed out the bad seeds, which there is probably more of in TAS anyhow which is probably why there was more votes against it ;p. Especially due to reliability stats in profiles. It seems impossible to actually play a game from start to finish without someone dropping or leaving. Also being able to earn additional medals makes playing TAS online much more rewarding, it would give users goals to strive for. Giving people some incentive to actually finish games and do really well I think would help improve the community more so then pull it apart. I strongly suggest reconsidering.

"* Buddy lists would be great too! Of course have a status next to their name would be a definite plus.
implemented "

Um, where? The Notifications Manager isn't really a buddy list if thats what your refering to.

I know making the GUI costomizeable would probably take a lot of reworking. I think it would be a really nice feature but certainly not one to prioritize. If you could find a way to go about it great if not, it's not a big concern.

Again, thanks for replying back with your thoughts. If any of these actually get implemented i'll definatly offer some more suggestions. You guys are doing a great job and with some extra effort I think you'll really see it pay off very soon. There are those out there who actually appreciate the work you put forth.

*PS: Great Job on 0.25/0.72! The subtle details in the client and in game are great! it looks much more professional i think.
-IIVIIRRIIVII

LOrDo · Post by **LOrDo** » 17 Jun 2006, 02:03

I think the buddy list is in Altacilent, Altarics optional cilent with alot more stuff in it.

The Tarosian King · Post by **The Tarosian King** » 17 Jun 2006, 02:18

*EDIT* Link does not work, googled it but can't find the proper zip anywhere. Could someone please host it? Also, is it compatible with the new version of TAS?

altaric · Post by **altaric** » 17 Jun 2006, 10:03

my link doesn't work ?
http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=3429

what my buddy list does, is put your buddies on top of the list (and foes on bottom)

for a customizable lobby, what can be done is a background box with other windows in it, which you can move

espylaub · Post by **espylaub** » 17 Jun 2006, 10:41

AF wrote:espylaub, I've a solution to that and I've alreaddy got it working sorta ^^

Yay! :D Details?

Post by **Betalord** » 17 Jun 2006, 10:57

Map grading and buddy list is next thing I am planning to do, it has been requested in some other threads as well. Regarding the medals, it has been discussed in other threads too, but that won't happen until we have an official ladder running.
I'm in the middle of exam period though, will get back to working on lobby once I'm finished with the exams.

AF · Post by AF » 17 Jun 2006, 17:21

espylaub, thats top secret

Spring RTS Engine

Suggestions for the TAS Client

Suggestions for the TAS Client

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