Minor interface improvements

[David]

As discussed earlier, the focus of Cap2 add-on would be on new gameplay elements and gameplay improvements. Graphics will remain pretty much the same.

Having said that, we are trying to identify areas of the interfaces that will require only small efforts to improve.

Here is an improvement we have made to the Product Summary Report. If you have any suggestions of interface improvements that can easily be done and yet make a noticeable improvement, you may post your ideas here.

[Alan Doyle]

Likes

All information is in one place and you can instantly see what each product is and how it is doing in the marketplace.

The lefthand report listing provides quick links to other reports.

Dislikes

The silver-gray, rounded and shadowed font used for the product name looks horrible and reminds me too much of the early 1990s. The font needs changing to something sharper and more sleek.

Qty sold graph - the use of white text for the quantity sold (for example, 120,000 perfume) can be hard to see against the red graph line and yellow background.

Overall background colour - I never much liked the blue background and page frame as I thought it too cartoon-like. Can that be changed to something more sleek like a brushed aluminium or silver effect?

NPC images - although not shown in the screenshot I imagine the npc player corp CEO (etc) images are still the cartoon ones? Can these be changed to stock/public domain/royalty free photo library images of business people? I don't like how all products are real photographs and people are cartoons. This lack of continuity seriously undermines the importance of the game.

[businessteacher]

would like to see improvements on the graphs, make them more detailed etc. would also like a spreadsheet that records sales figures per product over time (this would be very useful in lesson). also perhaps the ability to export sales figure data into excel?

[JML0328]

Dave,

Are you guys open to reporting more in-depth data points? I noticed the thread's title and wasn't too sure.

If so, I'll dive into the game and come up with some suggestions for the blue tabs (corporate summary down to financial report).

[ajpiper2k]

This view is good to see how you are doing compared to the market place. But in playing the game, I have not found it useful for managing my applications because I generally work with a group of products at a time and I get a summary of this information as I'm working within each unit.

What I would like to see is a button or link to a detailed product report. This report can provide information for all the farms, factories and stores regarding a single product for the previous full month. I want to know how many units were produced, sold, in inventory and the supply vs. demand graph. This would aid me greatly in determining if it is time to close down a factory and identifying needs for expansion.

[LennyLeak]

First post, so I have to say: I LOVE THIS GAME!
It would be so sweet to have more of it

About the GUI:
I do not know what is to be considered minor improvements but here is what I find would have a huge impact on playability.
1. If you could implement more resolution options. I dont care about better graphics, but beeing able to run it in my native resolution would make a huge difference to me.
2. The ability to scroll further out. I'm not sure if this is an effect of the above, but I would love to have a better overview.
3. The ability to adjust scroll speed. At present I can only move my viewpoint with the minimap. The mouse or the keyboard controls move way to fast for me to navigate.
4. I would like if the camera did not center on the city when I exit a firm. More often than not I need the firm in center of the screen. This auto-centering is confusing and counterproductive to me.

Looking forward to the addon!
Regards,

[Sarcasticon]

David, are you still open for suggestions or did I stumble upon this forum too late?
I'd definitely like to make a few recommendations regarding the GUI, usability and layout...

[Webby64286]

David you don't really work for Enlight do you? What you're talking about here is does not make the interface better (only difference is QTY Sold Graph is now sepia toned and the shading on the right is different). Here's what would make a big impact. Fix the logic on the Auto Suppler. I should be able to set up parameters where it looks for my materials first, then by proximity, then by qualty then by price or however you want to set it up. This is by far the biggest problem with the interface. As far as minor improvements, the blue (or yellow) box when you go to build does not give a true indication of how much space it will take up, you always have to mentally add 1 space in all directions. As far as what you have above, I'd like to see a profit graph on the product detail report similar to what you have in the stores now. I manage everything from this screen except how price tweaking impacts profitabilty. I have to go to each and every store see that.

[Vampire]

Can you also Change the menu colors with something more readable and easy on the eyes ?
The current blue is ugly, old and hard to see. Something more Transparent.

[David]

You may check out the latest interface improvements at this thread: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=210