Spring RTS Engine

When hosting a game, it is sometimes valuable to limit the number and type of units available. The limit units field is available, but in order to use it you have to type in the exact name of the particular unit type. This is annoying and makes it difficult to host a custom gametype.

I would like to request a change to the current setup. Change the "limit units" box to a two-column tab with ARM on one side and CORE on the other (or whomever, depending on the mod) The columns are vertical lists of the units available on that team, sorted either alphabetically, or by level, or by unit type (selectable by the host). Each unit has a checkbox next to it's name, and hovering over it brings up the in-game unit description in a hover-text box. Selecting the checkbox removes that unit from the game.

Once units are removed, the "Limit Units" tab lights up (perhaps flashes, or simply becomes highlighted) for players, and they can see which units have been removed from the game. This will also give players the option to quit a game if their favorite unit has been removed.

Changing the interface in this manner allows Hosts to modify the gametype they are hosting without having to laboriously type in complex and difficult to spell unit names and makes the hosting experience more user friendly for both the host and players.

Err... umm... what lobby are you using? It's already checkbox-based... 90% of what you've asked is already there.

I'm using the TAS Client lobby v 0.31 (latest version) If you open the battle screen window and select the "units" tab, you just get a big box with an "add more units" button. If you THEN select the button, you get another box, but with no way to SORT the massive pile of units you are presented with.

My suggestion removes the secondary window and puts it all in one tab.

I didn't realize that the checkboxes were there, I just got this version of the client and the last time I tried to host I had to type the names in manually. (it was a while ago. My bad for not checking it before posting.)

While I obviously suggested two things that are already done (checkboxes and the list itself) everything else in my suggestion hasn't been implemented. It's still a PITA to have to manually search through the list for an item, and the ARM and CORE units aren't in thier own columns. So ignore the parts that are duplications of implemented ideas, the rest still stands as good ideas.

Bishounen wrote:...Change the "limit units" box to a two-column tab with ARM on one side and CORE on the other (or whomever, depending on the mod)

There is a small problem with that: I have surely seen a Spring mod with more than 2 sides (TLL has 3 sides). And some OTA mods (WaS for example) had 5 different sides. So two-column mode is not enough, since AFAIK Spring has no limit on number of sides in a mod at all.

Very well then, skip the columns. There still needs to be a better way to sort units (by Level and team, in addition to alphabetical) and there HAS to be a better description of each unit. The code description column is worthless, I don't even know why it's there. Knowing something is called "armkbfxtjy" in the code isn't any good if you still have no idea what that unit is.

I'm just looking to make the game more user friendly for novice non-programmer users. Maybe a hover box with a description, or even the unit image from the game (The one displayed in the con building list) to the left of the unit name rather than the code description.

As an example of what I am talking about, let's say I want to play a game of Final Frontier. Now, I want to just have a huge fleet battle with only level 3 ships and static defenses. So I want to remove every single fighter type except level 3 ships, and con units of all levels.

If I go into the hosting interface I am presented with an alphabetical list of all available units, by name, with accompanying code names. How do I tell which ship is which without FIRST starting a regular game and manually writing down descriptions and names of every single unit in the game? It's ridiculous that end users are expected to have every unit in every mod possible memorized! All this could be fixed with a change to the interface.

Now imagine this: I open up the Unit tab on the hosting interface, and I am greeted with a list of all the units, sorted by level, ascending, with units within each level sorted alphabetically. The levels are divided with horizontal dividers and titles indicating that the next units down are of the next level. To the right of each unit name there is a small image of the unit, so even if I don't know the name of the unit I can see what it looks like. If I float my pointer on the image I get a popup box with a description of the unit, so I know what I'm about to disable. This will prevent newbies from accidentally disabling something like all the con units and preventing a move to the next level of tech.

See the difference? With our current setup I have to have a large pre-existing knowledgebase to be able to run a custom game. With my proposed setup very little knowledge is needed, which opens up the game to more people.

One more reason to say XTA FTW.

Except the XTA reorganization/rename initative was an issue in other, more important departments.

P3374H wrote:One more reason to say XTA FTW.

The Mod in use is irrelevant. I used FF as an example, but one could just as easily use XTA, AA, EE, BA, Star Wars, or ANY other mod. The problem is the same across all the mods because the issue isn't the mod. The issue is a very user-unfriendly interface that increases the learning curve for the game. Games with steep learning curves don't grow. Casual players simply don't pick up games that are difficult to learn.

Isn't the point of making this game, at least in part, to get more people playing and enjoying it? If that is so, then we should be trying to make the interface more user friendly. My suggestions are one way to do that with one part of the interface. Obviously it's just a rough outline, and could use some refinement. but the basic concept is there.

What do you programmers think? Is this a workable basic concept, do you need me to flesh it out some more, or do you think I'm off my nut? I'd appreciate any input you could give.

I said XTA FTW because it actually has a naming convention now.

I agree, that part of the interface is awkward and could use some polishing. How well's your Delphi?

Would a drag and drop interface with build menu pictures be enough? *hint hint*

iamacup has been PMing me with images suggesting he has good Delphi skills

P3374H wrote:I said XTA FTW because it actually has a naming convention now.

which sucks tbh....