StarControl Forums
Reminder: All the screenshots are WiPs. If you hate them, remember that they will change as the game develops. If you love them, remember that they will change as the game develops.
(Can we get better ship artwork in the next update? The small picture in the PDF is very pixelated.)
I remember this. It looks nice, but it's needlessly busy. Doesn't add a thing to gameplay and reduces the area you are actually 'playing' in.
^ you know at this stage of development nothing is final. Not even my MS Paint hack jobs.
You mean playing area where you press 1, 2 or 3?.. 
I for one will be using the mouse to select dialogue, not keys 
.
.Me too. Because I don't trust keys. One wrong keypress, and I've just declared war.
F8/F9 or Ctrl-L
I'll look forward to next months Hunam_ dev log. 
Personal preference really. I don't like when scenes are busier than they need to be. And I did say it looks nice.
.
Me too. Because I don't trust keys. One wrong keypress, and I've just declared war.
That's half the fun.
Now that I know that local multiplayer is a yellow feature, I would rather have local multiplayer than have a holoscreen communication gimmick. Because, really, I am only going to care about the gimmick once.
^ I doubt the holoscreen gimmick involves more than 2% of man-hours that are needed to make a solid local MP. Okay, 5%.
Time has to come from somewhere. A little from here, a little from there, and BAM! Local Multiplayer.
Time has to come from somewhere. A little from here, a little from there, and BAM! Local Multiplayer.
I'm not saying I disagree, but there's a point as which the squeaking wheel just gets kicked until it stops squeaking or gets replaced. I know that's already been said, but there's a fine line between urgent feedback and spam.
Anyone who believes that the squeaky wheel gets replaced doesn't use shopping carts at WalMart.
Besides...When have I ever submitted urgent feedback? If that is a request, then my next topic title will be...
URGENT! USE THIS FEEDBACK BY TOMORROW OR ELSE THE WORLD IS GOING TO EXPLOOOOOOOOOOOODE!
Anyone who believes that the squeaky wheel gets replaced doesn't use shopping carts at WalMart.
Besides...When have I ever submitted urgent feedback? If that is a request, then my next topic title will be...
URGENT! USE THIS FEEDBACK BY TOMORROW OR ELSE THE WORLD IS GOING TO EXPLOOOOOOOOOOOODE!
We're talking about REPUTABLE establishments.
I thought I'd chime in. I love that Hunam_ makes a lot of effort and throws around good ideas; but, personally, I'm not enamored with the hologram-in-my-cockpit concept.
I prefer a full screen of detailed alien beauty.
Agreed. Just because SC2 and SC3 had conversation interfaces doesn't make it a good design decision. I'd actually argue that this (outdated) approach of showing dialog on a skeuomorphic screen-within-a-screen idea simply clutters the frame with unnecessary distractions that don't add to the immersion of a conversation, but rather detract from it.
Graphic interface design has come a long way with improvements in resolution and general layout practices, and given the amount of work being put into character animation, I'd think Stardock would be keen to show it off with as much screen real estate and detail as possible anyways.
Having worked in design and ux for ten years, the trend has always been towards - does it show more useful information that you need right now? no? hide it.
I can't imagine the future having /more/ cluttered interface. So unless the text read outs are showing me information that gives me a tactical upside (can the computer read micro expressions in this alien race that I'm unable to see with my pitiful human eyes? am I calling up the diplomatic history on an auxiliary screen? Or am I noticing them moving their ships behind as they distract me as I talk?) - I'm assuming then it's superfluous to the task at hand, which is talking.
Given that right now I own a VR visor that let's me feel like I "am" somewhere (honestly, try roomscale vive if you haven't already) I'm pretty sure it's not far fetched to assume that we basically feel like we are there talking to them anyway.
I absolutely agree with y'all. The cleaner UI the better. I never liked busy looking screens.
But what I was about to post when the forum crapped out on me is this:
When you "collide" with another alien ship for encounter dialog screen imagine screen getting slight static over it, camera zooms out making the star system screen an image on the built-in table "LCD" in one fluid motion and you appear to be in your control/comms room in Magellan. Camera tilts up. You can see your immediate surroundings in your ship portholes/windows and 2 bits of info fill 2 bottom corners: encountered ship holo and location with available species info. ~80% of your screen gets filled with SCO dialog screen, listening and answers selection "mini-game" starts. Upon conversation end camera zooms in to table "LCD" and you're back to your star system screen.
I don't think that's an overkill. Judging it from NMS view point where there's an alien mug, background and dialog text during encounter. The level of immersion is pretty low in those scenes.
Don't get hung up on my photoshop. That's not how I imagine it to look. Here's a simpler concept.
Original:
Proposed:
I get what you are meaning, and I agree it would look pretty cool the first time I see it. After that, I don't feel it adds to the gameplay or feeling of immersion. I disagree that the ship info in SC2 was useless. One quick glance, and I know my fleet in case I feel like asking too many questions about bridge colours. I've got my fuel, and my resources as well and it's just off to one side so as not to intrude. I agree that the oscilloscope is 100% useless. Pretty sure it's just there to fill in an otherwise empty space.
My 2, 3 or 87 cents...
I know how the sausage is made. Both the literal and the figurative one. I'll still play the heck out of this one when it comes out. Probably several times if it's as deep as it should be.
Keep up the good work.
P.S. Why am I not complaining or criticising more? Because I know what "pre-production state" means. Let's talk specifics in an alpha or two.
^ By the time Alpha comes out there will be no resources to change anything. But you're right, you could comment and criticize as much as you want then.
I strongly disagree here. What I think wouldn't add as much to immersion are alien 3D models. That'd be my feature #1 to cut to free up some man/hours (too late now though). And the reason for it is that they are static (always the same animation, background, greeting etc.). Great example of redundant 3D models in a game is Civ 5 and 6. The possibility to see the system star and a planet with asteroid rings (for example) when meeting a new race will create memorable experience and it will differ from alien to alien, system to system (unless your RNG decides to fudge with you of course). It will make encounters a bit more dynamic and add eye candy to same'y dialog screens. But I digest [/Ali G]
I think generally it's easier to animate a conversation with a 3d model than trying to do it 2d and making it look reasonable, at this point.
I strongly disagree here. What I think wouldn't add as much to immersion are alien 3D models. That'd be my feature #1 to cut to free up some man/hours (too late now though). And the reason for it is that they are static (always the same animation, background, greeting etc.). Great example of redundant 3D models in a game is Civ 5 and 6. The possibility to see the system star and a planet with asteroid rings (for example) when meeting a new race will create memorable experience and it will differ from alien to alien, system to system (unless your RNG decides to fudge with you of course). It will make encounters a bit more dynamic and add eye candy to same'y dialog screens. But I digest [/Ali G]
I'm actually on board with you regarding the 3D models. Beyond that we just have to disagree.
Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
