CW3 Suggestions Redux

[hoodwink]

I'd like to see it have a couple of possible locations, one of them being alongside my bottom menu. Rather than being centered, have the bottom (build?) menu slid to the left, and my economy information displayed in the newly available space on the right.

Basically CW1 style?

[4xC]

Since we are now talking about the CW3 UI, I would suggest that whatever is displayed in large form be displayed off of the map screen. That is in the sense that it is on the screen in 2. I am thinking something along the lines of the Starcraft 2 UI.

[UpperKEES]

You mean a detachable HUD?

[Shrike30]

I'd like to see it have a couple of possible locations, one of them being alongside my bottom menu. Rather than being centered, have the bottom (build?) menu slid to the left, and my economy information displayed in the newly available space on the right.

Basically CW1 style?

Yeah, like that. I'd rather only lose screen real estate to GUI on one side of the screen.

[joshuad156]

Better custom map voting or categorization options.  Also, including more of this info on the map selection screen (where you actually launch the map you downloaded).  Let me explain.

(I tried searching and reading through the hundreds of posts so far and didn't see anything regarding this.  So I'm posting here just in case it's useful.)

I love custom maps!  But one of my gripes about finding custom maps is the lack of solid information on what a particular map is like.  This was better in CW1, as maps were categorized as easy/medium/hard/expert only.  I REALLY miss this in the CW2 maps.  I like the simplicity of thumbs up/thumbs down on the CW2 custom maps, but unfortunately people who look for one kind of map (hard vs easy, puzzle vs slogfest, short vs long, etc) and find something different, very very often give the map a thumbs down.  This is often misleading.  Overall, I find that the CW2 map TU/TD rating is mildly helpful (always interested in a 100/1 rated map!), but more often than not I find highly rated maps being short and very simple to complete (which are somewhat boring for me).  I like a good, challenging (but not STUPID HARD) map that requires me to think a little to beat it.  There is nothing in the CW2 "Find Maps Online" page that helps identify these maps.  I have a much easier time on the CW1 map site due to the simple display of map difficulty.

[Chawe800]

A better map explanation and voting system is guaranteed in CW3 don't worry.

[joshuad156]

A better map explanation and voting system is guaranteed in CW3 don't worry.

As if I wasn't excited enough to play CW3 (it's looking really good), this is most excellent news!   8)

[lurkily]

Keep in mind, what we're getting is not an improvement on what went before.  What's V has described on the blog is very different.  The things that have been laid out factually is that it is fully in-game, with custom maps arranged into systems as if they were in a region of space, with a separate sector for maps that you have downloaded, which you can arrange to your liking.

How this pans out in terms of searches and organization and finding what you want is yet to be explained.  I expect that most people will consider it 'better', but there will always be holdouts.

[Hunter Seeker]

I would like to be able to change the default settings of units being built.  For example Strafer (auto launch) and Sprayer (collection field).  Different players style would prefer different default selections for these abilities.  Enabling a player to default these settings to their preference would be nice.  This could be a global setting for the player or map-specific. 

[Chawe800]

I would like to be able to change the default settings of units being built.  For example Strafer (auto launch) and Sprayer (collection field).  Different players style would prefer different default selections for these abilities.  Enabling a player to default these settings to their preference would be nice.  This could be a global setting for the player or map-specific. 

WHile that is interesting I doubt it'll be incorporated. Virgil won't code for stuff that only 10% of potential users would use. He rather focuses on the big picture stuff, the things most people playing the game would use (or at least a third)

[J]

I would like to be able to change the default settings of units being built.  For example Strafer (auto launch) and Sprayer (collection field).  Different players style would prefer different default selections for these abilities.  Enabling a player to default these settings to their preference would be nice.  This could be a global setting for the player or map-specific. 

WHile that is interesting I doubt it'll be incorporated. Virgil won't code for stuff that only 10% of potential users would use. He rather focuses on the big picture stuff, the things most people playing the game would use (or at least a third)

Only for 1% of the users will use CRPL... I would like to see an option to change defaults =)
Any extra feature will give a slightly higher rating and that means more sales.

[lurkily]

Only for 1% of the users will use CRPL... I would like to see an option to change defaults =)
Any extra feature will give a slightly higher rating and that means more sales.

CRPL is kind of different - it's a feature used by 1%, but which benefits 99%.  I'm not sure it could be used to implement things like this - from what we've been shown, CRPL seems very capable of responding to the environment, but doesn't look capable of changing the underlying assumptions of the engine. 

Feature heavy is not necessarily better, particularly for the casual crowd.  It's very easy to cause information overload in a mind that's just not interested in working for their play - they just go play something else instead of experimenting or reading instructions.  Complex UI's with too many options can hurt your ratings just as easily as neglecting important options.

[Ronini]

True. But this feature does not have to show up on the UI. It could be incorporated in a general options menu, which will surely be there (?).
But maybe I did not understand the proposal correctly. You wouldn't change these settings on a map to map basis, but set them once, right?

[J]

Of course you would only have to set them once. If someone writes "...and you're even able to customise hotkeys and defaults!" about your game I'm pretty sure more people would buy it. If people are irritated by the default setting the rating will be lower - less sales. Everything should be as intuitive as possible (except the (custom) maps :P)
Just add one line in the story missions that you could go to advanced options and change stuff there and people who don't want it can play further without spending any more more time on it.

Suggestion:
A seperate options tab for advanced users, here you can set your own defaults and choose new hotkeys. Practically everything that makes the game easier to play for you and what you'll probably only change the first week(s).

[UpperKEES]

I'd like that tab. Every map I play I have to keep prioritizing my pulse cannons to Digitalis (instead of Runners or Creeper). Being able to change that for every map would probably save me 1-2 days every year. ;)