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User Interface Improvement Poll

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2018 9:28 pm
by Brain
Hello,

David asked for a poll to find out what UI improvements would be most important to the player base. The options here are what I consider minor beautification needs that should be within reach of a small maintenance budget.So please let the developer know what would be highest in your priority list.
Brain wrote: Tue Jul 10, 2018 9:53 pm With sound feedback I mean for example when you click a mouse button you hear a sound that is roughly resembling a classic typewriter hit, might also be a motivated Cherry keyboard). Some buildings open with one or another murmur sound When I open So what I hear when actively playing is 'chack' 'chack' 'chack' 'chack' 'chack' 'murmur' 'chack' 'chack' 'chack' 'murmur (beep)' 'chack' 'chack' 'chack' 'chack' 'murmur' for most of the game. It is a nuisance. These sounds need to be more ambient, more useful, or more gone.

Re: User Interface Improvement Poll

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2018 11:43 pm
by chengtsai
I am satisfied with current UI. I want better and smarter AI to enhance competition.

Re: User Interface Improvement Poll

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2018 12:49 am
by Brain
chengtsai wrote: Tue Jul 10, 2018 11:43 pm I am satisfied with current UI. I want better and smarter AI to enhance competition.
Can't argue with that, but after looking into that is a completely different can of worms.

Re: User Interface Improvement Poll

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2018 11:48 am
by David
I have moved this post to the general Suggestions forum which has more user traffic, pinned the post for more visiblity, and also left a shadow copy at the original forum.

Re: User Interface Improvement Poll

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 9:42 am
by David
Alternative Keyboard command set with WSAD and/or cursor keys used to scroll city map
S key is currently used for calling up the save game menu.

D key is currently a shortcut for opening the product detail report.

Both keys are used very frequently by most users. Removing these hot keys will lead to new user complaints. Any suggested solution to this?
More native screen resolutions supported - most common today but missing are 1366 x 768, 1440 x 900, 1600 x 900, 1536 x 864, other big screen resolutions 1600 x 1200, 2560 x 1440, and 3840 x 2160
1366x768 and 1600 x 900 are already supported in the game.

Re: User Interface Improvement Poll

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 3:19 pm
by BioBiro
David wrote: Thu Jul 12, 2018 9:42 amRemoving these hot keys will lead to new user complaints. Any suggested solution to this?
Yes, you'll have to implement rebinding the keyboard controls. The reason I suggested this...
Add two 'key-modes' that can be switched between in the Options menu - one for '90s' mode (or 'classic' mode) where the WSAD/cursor keys take you into crazy pages and stuff, and a 'modern' mode where the WSAD/cursor keys move the map around (same functionality as edge-scrolling) like people expect. Forget customizable rebindable key configurations - it's too much work.
... is because it's effectively rebinding, but without the need to add all the UI stuff to allow configurable keyboard layouts - i.e. it implements the joint-most-popular UI feature request, but with minimum-possible development time.

Re: User Interface Improvement Poll

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 4:38 pm
by David
The fact is that there are not many keys left unused for rebinding.

For instance, how would you like to replace the following keys with?

S key is currently used for calling up the save game menu.
D key is currently a shortcut for opening the product detail report.

To make this work, we have to free up 4 existing shortcut keys and swap them with WASD. The first thing to do in my opinion is to get a ranked list of existing hot keys that you guys think are least useful. Then we will see if we can comfortably remove them without causing major convenience.

I think we have to come up with a practical solution before I can recommend it to the dev team.

Re: User Interface Improvement Poll

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:02 pm
by BioBiro
David wrote: Thu Jul 12, 2018 4:38 pmFor instance, how would you like to replace the following keys with?

S key is currently used for calling up the save game menu.
D key is currently a shortcut for opening the product detail report.
You don't. Those keyboard shortcuts would not exist in an alternate keyboard binding, where WSAD/cursor keys control the map scrolling. Mouse-only, to get to those bits.

Both keys are used very frequently by most users.
Can you prove this? I'll back down if you can, but I find it difficult to believe, on the surface.

Re: User Interface Improvement Poll

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:08 pm
by David
It will be helpful if you can write explicitly on the poll that the current WASD hot keys (save game, product detail menu) will be gone when it switches to the alternative binding.

How did you usually call up the product detail menu, and the save game menu?

Re: User Interface Improvement Poll

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:21 pm
by BioBiro
David wrote: Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:08 pmIt will be helpful if you can write explicitly on the poll that the current WASD hot keys (save game, product detail menu) will be gone when it switches to the alternative binding.
If you're worried that we're going to rub some old-fashioned players up the wrong way, then that means we're on the right track, because otherwise the game won't become modernised. The old layout will always be there for them.

How did you usually call up the product detail menu, and the save game menu?
I use the toolbar thing on the far-left, and that takes me into the different bits.