[UI] FE - Main User Interface
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Streamlineing gamer's task to intake information is crucial for an engaging gameplay too. Let's see what we can do to streamline the main UI screen.
Have you ever found the following happened to you in many different TBS games?
1. Too much mouse clicks and mouse movement to play, esp bad with many cities
2. You saw the thing need your attention after you click end-turn, but before you start your turn. You've hard time finding it back after the turn starts.
3. There are so many units in the main screen, it is hard to check out all of them. I need to click on them, move the mouse down to see their detailed stat.
Then, repeat this again and again.
4. There are the 'next city', 'next hero' shortcut key, but you never know which one is the 'next'. The next one is usually not the next one what you care about.
The main screen just jerks around.
The list goes on and on...
From the above screenshoot, and the description below, hopefully FE will get the most reasonable layout in terms of no hassle user experience.
1. List of Circles
"You can also see the mouse over for the cave bear which reports on his moves, attack, defense and hit points. If the player wants more
information then that you can click on the bear and see more detail."
This is good, but it can be doing better. Here is my suggestion, hope that will work well. Right now we have highligted the Guadian Statue
(** I've used a different screenhot in this post, Guadian Statue is Imperium instead in this post), if I want to check out what are point of interest
in the screen, I need not to move my mouse to hunt around for the bear; nor do I need to screen the whole pretty (but cluttered) screen for the cave bear.
The cave bear 'circle' should also be placed next to the huge Guardian Statue 'circle', slightly above the character 'G'. It look similar to the 'circle'
above the 'H' in the second screenshot.
Therefore you've a belt of circles around this left bottom area that display friendly/neutral/enemy unit. There should also be a left & right arrow
to scroll thourogh this list of circles. Using keyboard key left & right arrow to scroll too. When scrolling, the map shows the same area, it will
not put the focused unit to center.
2. Pinned bar for City/Circles/quests and other interests
Any unit/city/quest/circles, friend or foe, can be pinned by gamer if needed. It will stay there until it is unpinned. Cities/Quests/Champions/Soverign
are automatically pinned, until gamer remove the pin later. (Think and copy Windows 7 taskbar) There is an up & down arrow adhere to the top/bottom
of the list to scroll, especially useful if the pinned list got too long. Use up & down keyboard key to scroll the list. And the Map will redraw & center
on the pinned item in focus, showing its surrounding.
This bar/ribbon can contain unlimited number of points of interest. Even if there are too many items and being hiddened at the top-left, pressing
the up/down button will always get them back.
Just like now, it will be categorized by Cities/Units/Quests. Right to these wordings, there is button allow us to sort the Cities/Units/Quests,
maybe by population. We can add more
3. Attention light/indication, to see what was changed in previous turn.
In most TBS games, we need to sit through the other players' turns to see what was happening. I want that changed, by the use of Attention
indicator and the Pinned bar.
When I click END TURN, my next turn happens immediately (while AI doing stuff in background). The central map does not move around at all
. It stay where it is. If there is some enemy moving around in this particlar area I see it, but not at anywhere else. When I click END TURN, I focus
at what I see here only.
HOWEVER, after my new turn starts, a "!" mark will be shown next to each units/cities that detected there are changes around them, within their
line of sight. First time I cycle thorough the "!" will replay the animation of what they see after I end turn. But it is only the first time that you see the
animation. And you choose when you see it, and exactly where it is in the minimap.
4. News section
Inevitably, things happen outside what I've pinned after I end turn. Let me call this things news. This include enemy units, or spells casted in
the area within your non-pinned unit's line of sight. These news will become an unpinned item on the Pinned bar. If gamer choose it ignore them,
so be it, it will be gone next turn.
Side topic
5. I don't see there is waypoint movement system in the main post. Pls implement waypoint (google map like) to streamline movement.
Automove after End turn is pressed. If it is with direct contact with enemy, the fight starts at the 'tactical combat' phase when next turn start.
All combats start at the beginning of next turn.
In short, I can use only the keyboard key 'enter' to end turn, then up/down arrow to see things that I care about.
Use left/right button to browse whatever exist around that area.
I really wish this kind of smooth play. I no longer want to feel 'lost' playing huge maps.
".
I tried Dwiggs though (who didn't??) 
when I think about WOM or FE I think the world is full of good ideas and has a nice look but I only wish the game will have a better UI because I get annoyed sometimes in how bad some things work.
.