Say What You Do, And Do What You Say

from GalCiv4 Forums

Another one of those pesky math issues that is still in version 0.95.

The first screen snapshot shows that my G.C.S. Spotter ship has 116 hit points and is eligible for an upgrade.  The second screen snapshot shows that the Crew Quarters upgrade should increase the hit points of the ship by 20% so, if I apply this upgrade to my G.C.S. Spotter ship, the resulting hit points should by about 139 (116 * 1.2).  However, the third screen snapshot shows that, after applying the Crew Quarters upgrade, the hit points of my G.C.S. Spotter ship only increased to 126, an increase of only 8.6%.

You have a lot of this kind of math issue throughout the game and I finally thought it was time to document one.  I suggest you look at every math calculation and compare it to what the text promises and get them in sync.  This applies to ship upgrades, planet improvements, and research technologies.

Oh, and by the way, completing the mission for Khenpo Adar of the Burran still shows Durantium in the third reward option but, when you hover of that button, shows the reward is 0.2 Helios Ore (see the fourth screen snapshot below).  This just looks sloppy and should be fixed before the final release version.

galactic civilizations iv
13,807 views 7 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv4 Forums Top

I pretty sure the % increase to hit points is only applied to the base hit points.  Really should say that with one of those nested info boxes they use}:)

 

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Reply #3 from GalCiv4 Forums Top

Quoting scifi1950, reply 1

I pretty sure the % increase to hit points is only applied to the base hit points.  Really should say that with one of those nested info boxes they use}:)

 

When a player is trying to decide which upgrade to apply to a ship, they need to know what the effect of the upgrade will be.  Given the screen snapshots in my example, how would a player know how many hit points they will get?  The only available numbers are the current hit points (116) and the promised increase (20%).

Perhaps, instead of promising a 20% increase without showing what the base number to which the 20% will be applied, the text for the Crew Quarters popup should show the number of hit points that will be added if the player chooses that option.

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Reply #4 from GalCiv4 Forums Top

By the way, as shown in the screen snapshot below, Dustman Cole of the Odair Conclave has a similar problem where the button says Antimatter, but the hover text says Arnor Spice.

 

Reply #5 from GalCiv4 Forums Top

The offer from Isis Oddwater of the Lantern is consistent, with the button offering Harmony Crystals and the hover text also showing an offer of 0.2 Harmony Crystals per month.

Reply #6 from GalCiv4 Forums Top

Quoting PaulLach, reply 3


Quoting scifi1950,
reply 1

I pretty sure the % increase to hit points is only applied to the base hit points.  Really should say that with one of those nested info boxes they use}:)

 



When a player is trying to decide which upgrade to apply to a ship, they need to know what the effect of the upgrade will be.  Given the screen snapshots in my example, how would a player know how many hit points they will get?  The only available numbers are the current hit points (116) and the promised increase (20%).

Perhaps, instead of promising a 20% increase without showing what the base number to which the 20% will be applied, the text for the Crew Quarters popup should show the number of hit points that will be added if the player chooses that option.

 

Which actually begs a more central question to the math (as the US would say)/maths (as everyone sensible would say) in GalCiv games in general: Do players really care about the % an improvement is going to give you over just being given the simple kind of text: "You have 5 hitpoints. You do this and you will have 6. Or you could click the icon next to this one and go to 4 but improve your Laser by 1."?

In other words, do away with the "Here's the calculation doing clicking that icon is going to apply to the thing this act is designed to have an effect on." line and just show the Before and After numbers.

I realise working out the math/maths is a large part of the fun for a lot of people but I'd counter that for a lot of people, like me, we just wanna see the Drengin BURN!! so just tell me the result of my action, I don't really care how any multiplier/Additive/Percentage works.

Reply #7 from GalCiv4 Forums Top

Quoting mrblondini, reply 6

Which actually begs a more central question to the math (as the US would say)/maths (as everyone sensible would say) in GalCiv games in general: Do players really care about the % an improvement is going to give you over just being given the simple kind of text: "You have 5 hitpoints. You do this and you will have 6. Or you could click the icon next to this one and go to 4 but improve your Laser by 1."?

This isn't even a question, but let's be honest with ourselves, developers will not do it. Gaming companies sell new factions or features like ship builders, faction customizers, and battle viewers. QOL things are only built if they are not too complicated (expensive) to develop*. However, as long as the modding capabilities are good enough and the community is robust enough, modders will fill in the blanks. Look at Civ VI. Their base game was fun but QOL left a lot to be desired. Mods like Better Trade Screen, Detailed Map Tacks, and Extended Policy Cards improve the game by 1-2 points on a 10-scale.

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* or too important not to develop, e.g., non-modal Event dialogs, which we have been promised in a future update.