Bad design of new user interface

Bad design of new user interface

Discussion about the game and its default mods.
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dzine
Posts: 73
Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 2:13 am

Bad design of new user interface

Post by dzine »

Bad design of new user interface December 2015 release

The whole point of writing new code is to make things better not worse.

Two steps forward one step back is not a pleasant experience for any 'end user'

The end objective is to reduce the amount of brain re wiring end users have to undertake NOT increase it !


One writes computer code in order to reduce brain code



I have no idea why programmers seem to ignore 'common sense' at almost every opportunity !

JUST STOP FOR 5 Minutes and figure out what end result is required !, thats all it takes !!!

I guarantee that will be the most fruitfull 5 minutes of any coders career !



STOP : THINK : DESIGN






Old interface


You could see how long the game was running for... important information GONE

You could see what map was being played...... important information GONE

Yet again we have common sense flying out the window !





INFORMATION WAITING PLAYERS WOULD LIKE TO SEE


Room/server name

Map selected , idealy with a picture next to it ( this WAS a realy great feature )

Number of players and spectators waiting in that room

How long the players have been waiting OR playing in that room

Idealy the names of the players and spectators in that room (CODE HINT mouse over and the mini map display area to show players names)

All at a glance without 'click click click'





This took me all of 2 mins to figure out ....go suck a lemon !
Last edited by dzine on Sat Dec 26, 2015 7:03 am, edited 3 times in total.

dzine
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Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 2:13 am

Post by dzine »


xan2622
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2013 9:27 pm

Post by xan2622 »

Hello dzine.

dzine wrote: Room/server name
It's still there, on the left.
dzine wrote: Map selected , idealy with a picture next to it ( this WAS a realy great feature )
The map thumbnail/preview is still there, on the right.

dzine wrote: Number of players and spectators waiting in that room
It's still there. Spectators no, but players who joined, yes.
dzine wrote: How long the players have been waiting OR playing in that room
That's true, it seems that information is gone. But I guess, developers had no other choice than removing it because there was no more free space to display it.
EDIT : it's on the right, below the map preview.
dzine wrote: Idealy the names of the players and spectators in that room (CODE HINT : mouse over and the mini map display area to show players names)
It might be interesting. I don't know what developers think about this idea but I like it.



Here is a mockup image with a bigger UI (click for full view).
Image

penev
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2015 4:09 pm

Post by penev »

First off, you didn't even say what UI you are talking about.
Please try some "STOP : THINK : WRITE".

Second, as xanax` said, all that information is still there (including the spectators, actually).
As for the hover tooltip with player info - you should be aware by now that there could be 60 people on a server at the same time. Good luck reading that tooltip.

I didn't say anything on the first few (new) threads I read today, but the attitude is unnecessary. None of this is constructive feedback; it's all just random ranting without even giving suggestions on how to make things better.

PersianImmortal
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Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:04 am

Post by PersianImmortal »

I love this guy
Please keep posting Dzine
Image

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r34ch
Posts: 137
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2015 2:02 pm

Re: Bad design of new user interface

Post by r34ch »

When life gives you lemons.

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AoAGeneral1
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Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 6:11 pm

Post by AoAGeneral1 »

Stop/Write/Think

Indeed.

Otherwise this code might come up: http://dzine.just.got.owned.aninote.com/

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Sleipnir
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Post by Sleipnir »

The new multiplayer lobby layout was driven by UI design. Players who are looking for a server need to know four things, and these are listed in the main table: the server name, how many people are in it (including spectators), where it is, and its current state.

The amount of time that an in-progress game has been in progress is not very useful to somebody looking for a server (because they can't join these games), and neither is the current map (because maps can and usually do change several times before a game is started). These are therefore pushed to the secondary UI in order to make room to triple the number of servers that can be displayed in the list.

Acting like an ass towards the people playing and developing the game is a bad design for your suggestions. I suspect that you would have received a much more positive response if you had been civil from the start.

dzine
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Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 2:13 am

Post by dzine »

Lobby Design Rather than rip obvious flaws i thinks its far wiser to have an open debate specifically on 'Lobby design'

http://www.sleipnirstuff.com/forum/view ... 82&t=19302


I am deeply concerned that a huge amount of code time is gonna get lost on lobby design


Its sooo easy to get wrong......so hard to put right.....so easy to end up in a place where no one is happy. I think it would be very wise to 'sketch out' a semifunctional User AI and playaround with it for many months THEN share it with the userbase BEFORE even commiting it to code



A bad lobby design CAN & WILL DESTROY ALL GOOD WORK THAT HAS GONE BEFORE


With lobby design you have to 'sketch the final polished product out first'
Endless development hell + lobby design = doomed from the start.

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Sleipnir
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Post by Sleipnir »

I think it would be very wise to 'sketch out' a semifunctional User AI and playaround with it for many months THEN share it with the userbase BEFORE even commiting it to code
Your rude tone is extremely unflattering when it's clear that you don't even follow our development.

We did the sketches and discussed and iterated the design before writing any code. We put it through two months of public testing. We shared it with our userbase DURING its development, and iterated the design based on their feedback. So far all of the feedback we have received on the release design outside of your forum threads has been positive.

Please stop spamming my forum with your unhelpful and abusive posts. You have convinced most of our regular contributors that you are a troll, and this is the last time that I am giving you the benefit of the doubt. If I have to delete any more threads that you have turned into an argument then I will apply a posting restriction to your account.

PersianImmortal
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Post by PersianImmortal »

Started should probably be checked by default so new players don't think this game is dead and can see that they just need to wait a few minutes for a game to finish before they hop in.
Image

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Sleipnir
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Post by Sleipnir »

Sounds reasonable.

the-zoidberger
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Post by the-zoidberger »

Hey Guys - The new release looks great and the latest balance changes really make the game even more enjoyable. If you're ever looking for assistance with user interface design or just want to shave some hours off your next release, I'd be happy to lend a hand as a volunteer. I've got 10 years or so under my belt and would love to help down the line.

#tact is a thing

:)

Phrohdoh
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Location: Dallas, TX

Post by Phrohdoh »

the-zoidberger please feel free to join us on the #openra channel of the freenode IRC network anytime!

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