Cogmind > Ideas

Usability / Simplifying Cogmind [Item Rating/Integrity in Labels]

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JonnyCog:
Hello!  Just backed Cogmind (hello from Taiwan!) and I'm more of a 'casual' roguelike player.

I enjoy games in several genres; I've been attracted to several roguelikes, and the user interfaces normally do me in. I enjoy figuring out complex gameplay mechanics but not fighting with controls. Kudos to Kyzrati for the efforts to simplify and bring roguelikes to a wider audience!

That said, I have a major suggestion. According to the FAQ:

"Cogmind is designed to have 'dynamic depth.' At the simplest level you can jump in and spend 15 minutes shooting up robots without worrying about all the details--just attach the highest-rated parts you find.

Why not make this even simpler for players?



The most important information concerning parts are rating and integrity. It takes no time (in-game) to examine individual parts. However, each available part in the player's vicinity must be manually examined to determine this basic information.

Parts previously discovered (but not in the players immediate vicinity - currently highlighted in blue instead of gray) should retain rating information, allowing for strategic planning.  ("Hmmm, should I risk running into a patrol to go back and grab that highly-rated weapon?")

I feel making this info readily available 'at a glance' would simplify the process in many situations, especially when dozens of parts are scattered after a skirmish. In the mockup above, there are only 5 parts. Imagine 30 or more! Since the game does not penalize you in any way for checking out each component, I feel this critical info should be accessible to players from the get-go.

Thoughts?

Kyzrati:
Hey JonnyCog!

You will be happy to know that's already a feature, you just have to turn it on :P

Press Ctrl-F7, or go into the options menu and activate the "Tactical HUD," which gives you way more information about stuff! (including ratings directly in item labels like that)

That feature is off by default to avoid overwhelming new players with too much information (there really is a lot to take in even without that feature!), though there is a tutorial message that appears later on to suggest you activate it once you know what you're doing.

There are quite a few other options in that menu (and even more in /user/cogmind.cfg itself) which players can use to tailor the experience, but I set all the defaults to what I feel is most appropriate for a complete beginner.

(And thanks for the support!)

JonnyCog:

--- Quote from: Kyzrati on October 12, 2016, 07:06:28 PM ---Hey JonnyCog!

You will be happy to know that's already a feature, you just have to turn it on :P
--- End quote ---
Never has a username tag been more appropriate. ::)


--- Quote from: Kyzrati on October 12, 2016, 07:06:28 PM ---Press Ctrl-F7, or go into the options menu and activate the "Tactical HUD," which gives you way more information about stuff! (including ratings directly in item labels like that)

That feature is off by default to avoid overwhelming new players with too much information (there really is a lot to take in even without that feature!), though there is a tutorial message that appears later on to suggest you activate it once you know what you're doing.

There are quite a few other options in that menu (and even more in /user/cogmind.cfg itself) which players can use to tailor the experience, but I set all the defaults to what I feel is most appropriate for a complete beginner.

(And thanks for the support!)

--- End quote ---
Great stuff, and you're welcome!

That said, would you consider color coding part integrity as an option?

Kyzrati:
I did consider that before (you'll notice that hostile robot labels are already color coded for integrity), though in practice it's generally more important to use color for distinguishing between common items, prototypes, items outside your view, and a third more important category of parts you won't have discovered yet :).

I'll definitely look into adding item label integrity coloring as a new optional feature (though it would only work for items currently in view, not those in previously explored areas).

Kyzrati:
Item labels colored by integrity are coming to Alpha 13 :)


It's optional and off by default, though, because item autolabels done in color can be confused with robot autolabels (= slower reaction time), which is why I didn't do them by integrity in the first place. It's also off because I'm adding another feature to the standard labels, darker labels for items that are at less than 75% integrity:



--- Quote from: Kyzrati on October 12, 2016, 07:39:54 PM ---(though it would only work for items currently in view, not those in previously explored areas).

--- End quote ---
Took care of that, too, as you can see ;) (for the colored labels, they're shown a little darker if out of view)

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