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Erik Rutins -> RE: Refund Possible? (4/14/2010 4:12:45 PM)
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ORIGINAL: Fishman Not generally offered with games, no, although applications frequently offer a money-back guarantee for any dissatisfaction with the product. You would think that the policy would be offered more frequently for digital downloads than non, since you don't have to deal with a physical product return and restocking. Still, not really a complaint, just a point of note.
Understood. Actually, it's typical for digital download stores to offer _no_ refund because there's no way to really "return" a digital download.
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If your monitor is of enormous size, yes. For those of us who use regular monitors that can actually fit on desks rather than giant plasma screens that hang from walls, that we can pick up, without the use of a forklift, not so much.
Ok, sorry about that. This works on both my test systems, but the lowest resolution I have is 1440x900.
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Yes, but you also have "Developer Tunnel Vision". Developers very easily get a tunnel-visioned view of how the game should be played. I know this because I have developed things, only to have users try to do things in a completely strange manner that I had never even thought of doing, because of developer tunnel vision. You get set in this "one true way" of playing the game, and then you encounter someone else, who has an entirely different approach to playing and manipulating the game's data and interface.
Sure, I understand how that happens. With that said, if the way that I use works very well (for me) and is the "intended" way to get the most out of the game I think I should share it with others, no?
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Exactly! Because you are the developer, and you made this expansion planner to do that.
I'm not the actual developer (that's Elliot), but I did work with him throughout development so the game definitely reflects his vision, my vision and the vision of the testers. We did try to accomodate different play styles with the screens and menus, but pre-release pretty much everyone agreed that the Expansion Planner was a serious time saver.
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You haven't seriously considered that someone might visually spot a resource by chance or following something, and want to do something to it: You're used to manipulating the world from the expansion planner: That's your tool of choice. The idea that someone may do otherwise is utterly alien to your thinking, but yet, here it is: That is clearly what the user is doing and this is why he finds it frustrating.
But we did - I mean if you see a planet right on your screen, you can right click on it and order something to happen (build a mine, build a colony ship).
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And this is a fine textbook example of developer tunnel vision. You've gotten this particular scheme down so pat that you haven't considered that others might not do things precisely this way, and indeed, they can't, because they don't have the hardware you do. For instance, you use the Select Button. I can see how for you, this works great. But not everyone has a huge monitor like you! The expansion planner entirely blocks that window, and WE CAN'T SEE IT! And the map in the expansion planner? Our monitors aren't as huge as yours. That map is tiny and everything looks like a little dot, where most features of "where the hell is that" cannot be precisely identified.
Guilty as charged on the Select button, but the rest still applies. The map size is the same for me as for you though, the sub-screens don't scale with resolution. I just look to see where the dot is so that I can confirm it's not in some other empire's territory or so far from mine that I won't be able to defend it. For the intended purpose, it works fine.
Also, as noted above, although I have a preferred style we are not blind to other styles. I think the interface can support they style you mention through the right click context menus.
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It is possible to do this, and indeed, it seems the expansion planner is your pet tool. It's a good tool. But it's not perfect. For one, it's hideously slow and cluttered if the list of potential objects is huge. And was that planet I just saw HX-521, or HY-588? Let me go check. *close expansion planner again, double check, reopen, watch it recompute the list, find another planet that happens to look very similar in name*. It's a good tool. But not perfect.
Certainly, it is not perfect and I've said all along that there is and will be room for improvement. But if you don't like it you can order up that mine or colony by right clicking on your object of interest as you see it on the map.
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Yeah, I'll do that. Then it will end up forgotten like most of the other things in the list, heh. :P
Ye of little faith...
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Not joking either. I have guys who are ABSOLUTELY FUMING at me purely over ships.
Ok, I'll re-check this here, but I have not seen that. How many military ships do you have in their territory and how long have you left them there?
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Which isn't my point. My point is not that we cannot see that the AI is taking offense at the act. My point is that the player is unable to empathize with the problem or really understand WHY it bugs the AI so. He may not even be consciously aware he is causing it, so he will just suddenly find the AI fuming over some slight that he was not even aware of. It is like having a roommate that takes severe personal issues with some minor thing that you happen to do: You can't even really remember doing it and probably not even consciously aware of it, but for some reason, that thing you do, whether it's leaving your socks on the floor or not presoaking the dishes, it REALLY BUGS THE CRAP OUT OF HIM and he's incredibly strident about it at random points. Worst of all, he does it, too! (And then blames YOU for it!) Plus, he does that really annoying thing where he ___________.
Ok, so the AI is too passive aggressive in its communications - check. We'll see if we can add more "prior notice" for the player when something starts to bug the AI.
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