[Serious] Tester input needed

[Cinth]

I thought I would reach out to everyone participating and see if anyone else is seeing what I'm seeing, in and about information clarity.

Now, I've a few games experience and I am finding that we are sorely lacking in some basics.  Tool tip descriptions of buildings and icons.  Event warnings and such.  Let's not forget tutorials for basic mechanics either.

So while I have had a few ideas, like event pop ups for diseases and descriptors for buildings, I'm at a loss for the obvious.

What events need pop-up warnings?  Diseases are on that short list (the only thing on it now), what else is needed?
What game play mechanics need a tutorial?  For me, it's research.  How the **** do you increase your base rates of research?  Most of the basic mechanics should get some explanation, but what else?

What other information needs more clarity or visibility?

[Mick]

Woah boy, I feel like I could list hundreds of things, but I'd say step one would be: All building descriptions written, and all icons in the top bar given a brief (emphasis on brief) sentence description of what it's for.

In past Arcen games, I felt help box descriptions tended to be too wordy, this game feels like the opposite extreme. I think it's OK to have a bit of wordiness in the right-click description box (to a point..), but I think we need a one-liner description in the tooltips for them as well. I think the 'at a glance' tooltip before you even select the buildings need a very brief "what it does" description there as well. If the main purpose is to give you 500 crops, then say +500 *crop icon* on it so I can see what it is for. I feel like I have to memorize every building before I can play the game comfortably at all.

The tooltip description at the bottom left shows more detail, but I think that can be cleaned up a little. Highlight what the build DOES more than other information about it. Rural farms give you crops. That should be the FIRST thing it says. Not the crown cost or how many turns. What it does should probably be separated a bit from the other details. Right now if I hover over farms, the fact it gives crops is the third line, it feels buried. Every building I feel like I'm hunting for the line that tells me what I actually care about. Max health? BANISH IT TO DETAILS WINDOW, BANISH IT! I'm placing a farm because I want crops, why do I care about how much health it has, it doesn't tell me what the building is for.

Add icons for things if you have them, like power consumption, social progress, etc - colors as well. The user should be able to grok everything they need about a building at a glance.

[ptarth]

Science comes from Science Labs, which comes from Lander Records Recovery. A cheap technology that is in the third column of technologies. I think it should be shifted down to a more obvious place.

Many of the tooltip and notification systems are undeveloped because the fundamental mechanics have been changing so much. Writing the tooltips and then having things change would increase the workload without any major gain. The same goes for tutorials. That being said I agree about the information density and relevancy.

[Cinth]

Many of the tooltip and notification systems are undeveloped because the fundamental mechanics have been changing so much. Writing the tooltips and then having things change would increase the workload without any major gain. The same goes for tutorials. That being said I agree about the information density and relevancy.

I agree in part, but there is still a minimum required amount of information that just makes playing so much easier.  Building descriptions, even minimalistic ones, would make life so much better right now.  There comes a point in time where we have to quit stumbling around in the dark and flip on the light (only right now the room doesn't even have a switch).

[jerith]

I agree in part, but there is still a minimum required amount of information that just makes playing so much easier.  Building descriptions, even minimalistic ones, would make life so much better right now.  There comes a point in time where we have to quit stumbling around in the dark and flip on the light (only right now the room doesn't even have a switch).

I think this stuff is becoming more important now that most of the basic mechanics have more or less stabilised and the rate of beta waves is increasing. I wouldn't be surprised to see some improvements show up this week, but I expect it to take longer than that to get through the bulk of the important work in this area.

[Cinth]

I think this stuff is becoming more important now that most of the basic mechanics have more or less stabilized and the rate of beta waves is increasing. I wouldn't be surprised to see some improvements show up this week, but I expect it to take longer than that to get through the bulk of the important work in this area.

And we need to be providing Chris with suggestions in this area.  I bring this up here so that we all can give input and he'll have something to reference.