Stardock? UI fixes?

from Stardock Forums
Don't get me wrong, all the AI and gameplay tweaks are great. But as update after update comes out with no changes to the UI (other than underlining for hyperlinks), I'm starting to feel a bit ignored.

Now I can certainly appreciate that UI changes might take longer to code and test (some of them, anyway -- I don't see how hard it can be to save the music volume setting so I don't have to change it every single time I load a saved game). If that's the case, and they're in the works, fine.

However, if Stardock feels that the UI is just fine as it is and has no plans to change it, I'd like to hear about it, since in my opinion the UI is mediocre at best and leaving it the way it is would certainly influence whether I decide to buy any future Stardock products.

So could we get a bit of clarification on this please?
311 views 16 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
There probably won't be any significant UI changes beyond what's going to be in the upcoming Expansion pack and that's not so much a UI change as a set of UI extensions (hyperlinking and such), rally points, etc.

~SDC~
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
So not even a switch of those godawful right/left things to sort categories for a drop down menu? (:(
Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Brad,

I find the UI to be acceptable as is. The only change I would recommend, would be to allow loads for TR's, Colony Ships, etc. to be typed in (vs. the current slider bar) for the benefit of those players without a mousewheel.

Thanks for all your hard work, and excellent support, on GalCiv.

~SDC~
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Can you at least make a mod (or tell us how) so that the UI skins don't change via alignment? That's probably my least favorite feature of the UI, perhaps second only to the semiarbitrary autopilot.

~SDC~
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
You don't like the good/evil skins? I love them. For my part, I wish they'd let me type in numbers for Espionage and Destabilization; the sliders don't give enough control. I haven't tried using a mousewheel on them yet, though; maybe I'll give that a shot tonight.

RR
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
Yes, please change the sort boxs to drop boxes... scrolling with the arows is just... well annoying :)
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
I finally went totally good, took all the bad options no matter what. I like the Good skin once you reach a seventy reputation the most.

Thanks for a fun game! :D

Need a WARNING label on the game though.

WARNING: Will lose hours and hours and hours of your life. We are not responsible for lost time you WILL experience while playing.
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
Personally, I find the "good" skin to be a bit too bright.

It's kind of like looking at a maximized, empty notepad window, with your monitor set to full brightness and contrast. It's a bit too bright, especially on a 19" Cathode Ray Tube monitor. (:(

If there are any intentions on reducing the intensity, it should be maximized at a 5% difference - anything larger would begin to look like the Neutral skin.
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
I like the skins, but please do change the arrows to dropdown boxes . . . arrows . . . ugh. You have to go forever to find what you're looking for.
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
--------------Start Brad Quote--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There probably won't be any significant UI changes beyond what's going to be in the upcoming Expansion pack and that's not so much a UI change as a set of UI extensions (hyperlinking and such), rally points, etc
---------------End Brad Quote---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did the man say rally points?

Praise the lord! LOL

~SDC~
Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
Entry fields for the sliders wouldn't be major.

The drop down boxes could go either way. They might be simple to code or they might be horrible.
Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top
argh! please please please have the planet list update automatically when you move the sliders.

click up. refresh refresh
click up. refresh refresh
click up. refresh refresh oops!
click down. refresh refresh. aahhh.
Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top
Um, like on the domestic economy screen you mean?
Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top
On the domestic policy screen.

Here's an example from a random saved game.

After going to the Domestic Policy screen, this is some of the information I see:

Social slider: 55%. Social spending: 185 BC. Westerfield II will finish their Neural Net in 19 turns.

Now, this is what happens when I try to adjust the sliders

** Click the up arrow one time on the social slider.

Social slider: 57%. Social spending: 185 BC. Neural Net: 19 turns.

(note that the social spending did not update even though the pct was raised to 57%)

** Click the Planet List button to refresh the screen

Social slider: 57%. Social spending: 192 BC. Neural Net: 18 turns.

(note that social spending is now corrected after refreshing and that the Neural Net time to complete was updated)

** Click the Planet List button to refresh the screen AGAIN

Social slider: 57%. Social spending: 192 BC. Neural Net: 17 turns.

(Now the Neural Net is at 17 turns?)

This is not a rare phenomenom. It happens in every game and it greatly increases the tedium required to play the game if you want to tweak your sliders.

I'm not asking for a new feature or a new field, just to have the spending amounts and planet list update correctly when I adjust the sliders.
Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top
I've come across something fairly annoying. Apparently ships move while e.g. the planet overview is visible. Then I have to decide if I want to upgrade a starbase without even seeing which starbase.

Would it be possible to delay ship movement until the galaxy map is visible in the main window?

~SDC~