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New Intercept window for feedback


Chris

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Just few my thoughts... Not pressing on anyone - i`ll like whatever choice you devs will make ;)

1. I like the top-down variant. Isometric one looks preatier, but do not match the current representation of air combat. But if we will have textured sprites in air combat some day - those would fit perfect :)

2. If i doesn`t matter wheather UFO is an escort or main - perhaps its better to exclude their 'roles' and leave only types/names? Might be less confusing IMO. Or does only main UFO create a crash site?

3. Ammo should be split on homming/directional if possible. Currently having no missiles negatively impacts on combat odds.

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I love the interception screen, it looks nice and it has all the information you need. Just one little thing that I'd like to propose, maybe change the title of the screen? "Interception successful" is a message that I would expect to see after I've downed or destroyed the UFOs. Wouldn't the title be more fitting if it read "Target in Sight!", or "Enemy within visual range!"? Just a thought, other than that, brilliant job!

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I love the interception screen, it looks nice and it has all the information you need. Just one little thing that I'd like to propose, maybe change the title of the screen? "Interception successful" is a message that I would expect to see after I've downed or destroyed the UFOs. Wouldn't the title be more fitting if it read "Target in Sight!", or "Enemy within visual range!"? Just a thought, other than that, brilliant job!

"Enemy in range to engage"?

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  • All fuel everywhere will need to be noted in seconds for the Combat Fuel reading to make sense.
  • In light of the lowest numbers being red, should the highest and medium numbers be green and yellow respectively? Or at least use green and no yellow?
  • Missile count should be included.
  • Since we're using absolute numbers for fuel, and for missiles if included, should gun ammo be in seconds of fire?
  • The space between the stats and craft sections is vertically inconsistent with the spaces above and below the respective sections. Does it look better or worse with consistent spacing?
  • Definitely don't show graphics for absent enemy craft, and definitely use the art rather than the top down combat graphic. The art has artistic worth, and is pleasantly colored, while the top two examples have too much red and hurt my brain.
  • The UFO squadron name could use a change. You'll need a shorter sentence, "SQUADRON-X HAS CLOSED TO COMBAT RANGE WITH UFO-SQUADRON-X."
  • The buttons at the bottom need better visibility.
  • The internal horizontal spacing of the bottom buttons is inconsistent with their vertical spacing. Their external spacing against the window's bottom edge is only slightly inconsistent with their lateral spacing with the window edge.
Edited by Bibidibop
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Fuel available in combat makes sense to be listed in seconds.

It makes less sense to do the same everywhere else.

Knowing you have 200 seconds of fuel means little unless you know how many seconds you can actually carry.

If you are going to display amount available and total amount you might as well stick to a flat percentage.

Specific missile numbers are also not required, although I do understand why you might prefer it.

For them to mean anything you would need to know how many you had available as well as how many you could possibly have.

Having detailed information on the craft loadouts would be nice but take up an awful lot of space.

A simple percentage works just as well for me.

Perhaps just the percentages visible normally with details available by clicking the craft?

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Ufo Picture:

I like the UFOs with the actual art more than the red top down view. But you could add a small Symbol to the pictures, where the UFO is showed like it will appear in combat (either somewhere in the picture or next to the UFO name).

Ammo:

If there is a small maximum of the weapon slots, i like the idea of anotherdevil to have an ammo display, that shows the ammo of each slot. Else i would prefer a button near the ammo display with further infos on click/mouseover like Merlon said.

Perhaps ammo could be showed as a number for single shot weapons like missiles and as a percentage for multi shot weapons like cannons. And if you have enough space for the informations (like in the version with an extra button to get more infos), you could add a symbol near the ammo of each weapon, that shows which weapon (or at least which weapon type like missile, cannon, laser, etc.) it is.

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I point out to you all, you armed your aircrafts and knew what armaments they carry. This UI is useful stats the aircrafts are (close to entering combat) allowing you to decide further action (break off or continue to pound the enemy).

I like top down graphical, not red.

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Remember that in Xenonauts the enemy attack in waves.

Is is perfectly possible that you may have large amounts of intercepts running simultaneously with large amounts of craft.

It may then be difficult to keep track of which of your (maybe) 30 interceptors are currently out, which are in the current squadron and which squadron just reached its target.

Unless you happen to equip every one of them identically you will be unlikely to be able to keep track of weapon types by memory alone.

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Also could have 'intercepted contact'? might roll off the tongue better...

or better yet combine them! "intertact" or "concepted"! No maybe not =p

UFO in range? Intercepted UFO? Can see his scaley skin? "One Ugly M*th@rfu7k3R?" (would need to get will smith to voice that one though)

ok I'll stop being silly

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Red topdown view with a button that lets you see the concept art view, with multiple angles!

hmm posting right after AD makes my post seem less serious then it is... should i remove the exclamation mark or something to make it more intone with what I want to say?

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Red icon would be more adequate to provide information at the interception start. It's what you are going to see in mission.

Please give a ammunition count and if possible weapon name or type. It's a bad thing if you engage with avalanche and tough you had sidewinders, same goes for Cannon, plasma and the like.

I could live with a DPS number and the amount of second remaining before the ammo is spend.

The artistic looking one could be used when the UFO is downed to show what we will see in the mission. Get us a idea of what we will see in the ground combat mission.

Edited by plucx
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I Like the Artwork, buy I also liked the Idea of having Sprites in the Combat Screen at Some point and could / should be used instead so they represent correctly in combat. Some one Said that here. Another Point that was mentioned was about multiple crafts in flight (Up to 30!?) , well lets say there are 5 ufo crafts out there, so there would need to be 5 windows. And not everyone who plays this will have a 25 inch widescreen, some will still have 17 and 19 inch screens. So Window Size will need to be balance between size of the window and ability to read all the information. I know most of the time there may only be 1-2 windows open at a time, but if each window includes so much info in it, it will become unmanageable.

Just My opinion. If I play xenonauts like I played Xcom, I will be arming all of the same type of craft the same way just for ease of tracking them. Besides, once we all have plasma cannons, why would you use anything else? :eek:

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I Like the Artwork, buy I also liked the Idea of having Sprites in the Combat Screen at Some point and could / should be used instead so they represent correctly in combat. Some one Said that here.

No idea what you are saying here...

Another Point that was mentioned was about multiple crafts in flight (Up to 30!?) , well lets say there are 5 ufo crafts out there, so there would need to be 5 windows. And not everyone who plays this will have a 25 inch widescreen, some will still have 17 and 19 inch screens. So Window Size will need to be balance between size of the window and ability to read all the information. I know most of the time there may only be 1-2 windows open at a time, but if each window includes so much info in it, it will become unmanageable.
UFOs come in waves, but you will never have to do more than one air combat at the same time. You will do one, and then if another interceptor is in range then you do the next, etc.
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I like the window, but I dislike the tilted UFO design in the latest update. Maybe if you tone down the red in the top-down thing ever so slightly to a less harsh red, it would suit better. The top-down is the most representative and it's somehow more delightful to look at the silhuetes and be able to immediately recognize them rather than look at things and go "huh".

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No idea what you are saying here...
At some point, someone mentioned the Idea that on the Actual Combat screen, instead of having the Red Icons for the ships, have the top down detailed one like you posted in that one picture above. So the Picture shown in the intercept window would be the same was what was on the combat screen.

As for the Second Part - About the Multiple Air combats, I was referring to having multiple intercept windows open at once, while you had your whole fleet out trying to stop those waves of ships ( Something I have not seen yet since I cant seem to get through the first month with any interceptors left) Just a What if Situation when you have multiple ships able to have combat at the same time. I Assume this image is what pops up before starting the combats, so I would think Multiples would be on screen at once at some time. I know the Original one had that happen, which made me crazy at times. (It was a Fun Crazy)

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I prefer the top down. The other detail shot is nice, but I think it takes away from the feel of the UI. The whole setting of the game is Cold War era so having less detail just seems more realistic to me. Having a detailed picture just seems out of place.

I love the artwork though. Nice to see some varieties of craft other than corvette.

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