Cafe
Posts: 121
Joined: 9/9/2010
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OK, well I bit the bullet, adding CMANO to my list of naval wargames. I know devs like to get first impressions - I am sure they had plenty during the beta tests, but here's mine from my first quick run through. Note that I have only skimmed the manual and dived right into the first tutorial I can see, the Basic Training: Air Ops 1983.
Now something to understand before I get started is that I have been aching for a new modern naval warfare game since H3/ANW...as I am sure most of you have. CE2000 sorta spruced up the classic Harpoon, but was mired in old UI tech. I develop training sims in various 3D engines and while my comments are critical, I hope they will be taken constructively. If they have already been covered by others, so be it...or if there are things I should have RTFM about feel free to correct my stupidity. The point is - this is my first impression :) On a meta-note, I am loving this game and where it could potentially lead.
1. The Play Game and Scenario Editor buttons on the Start Menu (caps on title bar!) eat into the pic, looks ugly - made me want to resize the window, but no joy. Maybe resize window wider or alter the button text to say [New] [Load] [Create New] [Edit Existing] or use icons or embed the buttons into the pic with art/hotspots - much like the EXE start window you see from Matrix?
2. Really like the Load Scenario panel, including the scenario info with difficulty and complexity bars. Only thing that could make it better (especially once the scenario list grows!} is an extra tab with search and parameter filter options like: Show scenarios Date > 1980 + Date < 2000; Search for all scenarios with "USSR" or "string" as one (playable option) side; Show all scenarios with < 25% difficulty; Show all scenarios with >50% Complexity; etc... I haven't peeked at how scenarios are defined yet, but basically allow the user to enter search, wildcard and value ranges on all the params included in scenario information. If I am being really nitpicky, keep the button sizes the same size i.e.([Load Selected] is wider than [Cancel]). Also, while there is a horizontal scroll bar on the tabbed selection box,the ability to resize it horizontally would be great - for that matter, even the window itself (need to keep minimum width for scenario description text box).
3. On the Select a side (caps on "Side" on title bar please!) window, I found the [Select side] button confusing. Instead of "Available Sides:" as the label for the side drop down, perhaps use "Select Side:" and then for the [Select side] button use [OK]. Also found the [Cancel (return to main menu)] a little wordy - maybe just [Cancel]? Which would take you back to the Load Scenario panel rather than the Start Menu?
4. Realism Settings - for some reason (and I am not as sharp as I want to be) I found this very confusing. Is this asking me an OR question on gun control or an AND question (My Prefs vs Scenario defaults)? If its AND, how can I be selecting both my refs and the scenario designers defaults? Do my prefs override the defaults if I select both? Surely a radio button would be more appropriate here? Why the apply or discard and start buttons? Maybe just a [Start] and [Cancel] button? Cancel takes you back to Select a Side panel.
5 Main game window.
- Remove "Command v1.x (Build yyy)" in Title Bar - its in the About
- On selecting Map Settings | Relief Layer ...nothing changed. had to zoom in/out to see the new layer
- Please allow the user the option to switch off the black cursor tool tip panel (or move it to a status bar location)
- Instead of the continuous black tooltip panel - pop up data block tooltips for the objects (installations/air/sea/sub/etc... when hovering)- or put it on the status bar?
- Perhaps move the Time/Camera Alt strip onto the button bar (far right). Also the white on black is hard to read when the rest of the interface is black on white..esp. when hunting for time in the middle of the text strip - maybe break it out a little more?
- The right hand Unit Status Panel looks cramped on the RHS. Give it a few more pixels to center the controls on the panel (by default - of course you can manually adjust this with the panel divide control)
- Disable (grey out) pop down panels that have no information (e.g. select the NAS Fallon base and "Unit Fuel" has no information on it...so disable the control (if you can!)
- have a simple map option (like the Harpoon classic) in a couple of color schemes (or mono!) to really focus on game objects
6. Air Ops panel
- No need for [+] in all columns, just first, simiarly when expanded, no need for [-] in all columns
- Why not a checkbox next to aircraft for selection rather than relying on Win CTRL/SHFT selection scheme? - not consistent with mission editor approach to A/C selection which is elegant
- Make the columns selectable for alphanumeric sort (within A/C type)
- use regular buttons for the Launch/Arm button cluster and put them to the right instead of the left along with a [Cancel] button
7. Path Setting
- Use a double-click to exit path creation maybe? F3 or Esc works, but a double-click would be faster
- once a path is set, if the A/C unit/group is assigned a mission, give the user a pop-up option to cancel mission assignment or continue after manual path is complete or cancel manual path (and continue mission)
Well that's as far as I got with it more or less, besides it is getting late.
The overall layout is great, the land and sea elevations a welcome "relief" and a boon for mission planning, although there are times when a simpler pallet may be desirable (some saveable view configurations and a quick way to select/cycle them would be cool!).
I have only browsed the database, but what I saw should warm any scenario developer's heart. I am not normally attracted to scenario creation, but the description in the manual has me intrigued enough to want to give it a go.
Congrats to Matrix for publishing and Warfare Sims for developing what is set to become the new standard in modern naval warfare sims!
Cafe
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Be nice.
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