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Ingame display of ship status

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Stirbelwurm:
I have to admit, that I already anticipated, that people wouldn't like the fact, that I proposed to add new UI elements, altough I didn't think that everyone is against it ;)

Well, I already made my point on how I believe it could improve teamplay, so I'm not going to repeat myself.

I agree, that it's nice to have a simple UI, but there is a limit on how simple something can be and how useful at the same time.
What you see right now are your items, the text chat (which I completely overlook most of the time, unfortunately), the kill / destroy messages, the compass, team orders, game score and the "augmented reality" style ship parts state. What I'm trying to say is, that there already is quite some stuff shown on your screen, so I don't see such a change as a break in the immersion of the game.

Also thanks to Moo, for pointing me to other threads about the topic, it was an interesting read, especially because there was also a response from Muse. Seems like most people are rather conservative about this topic ;) I also want to point out, that I didn't want to replace the current display of the part state, because I agree that it is helpful for new players.



Anyway, I'm not going to give up this easily ;) Alright, how about this:
Instead of an UI addition, you could create an ingame item, which displays the information the way I described it and showed in the picture. Something like a dashboard or something. You could install such a dashboard on strategically convenient spots, where a passing Engineer could take a quick look to see the overall state of the ship, where repairs are going on and where he has to go next. Maybe not on a Squid, but bigger ships like Galeon or ships where you can't see everything at once, like on the Spire, this could be really helpful, without breaking the immersion of the game!

I had a similiar idea about some kind of a map table somewhere on the ship, maybe even with drawing on it or something, but that's not the topic now.


So, this altered suggestion would be somewhat more difficult to implement, but what do you guys think about that?

Seamus S:
Honestly, I think by the time you run to a dashboard to look you could much more quickly look around the standard display.

The situation you are trying to fix might be addressed in other ways. Having an option to move the parts destroyed messages to a more prominent location might help. There might be other ways to tweak the UI to draw attention to damage as well. Here are just a few ideas off the top of my head:

Maybe the regular damage icons could appear at the bottom middle or top middle part of the screen and then slide to their correct place on the side. Most people focus on the middle of the screen, so this woud call more attention to the icons when they first appear. They might even come in a bit larger or flash once or twice for emphasis before moving to their assigned location.

When the hull is almost dead the screen changes to reflect the ships failing health. Usually by this time the entire crew is well aware of their ship's precarious position. Having some sort of screen flash when the armor starts taking hits might help too. I know there are already visual cues engineers can watch for, but when your on a gun or otherwise busy they're very easy to miss.

Sound effects would be a big help. Auditory cues are great. I always know to look to the baloon when I hear that unmistakable sound of carronade fire. New audio cues have also made knowing when the pilot is stressing the engines much simpler. Unique, recognizable cues for when armor, weapons or engines are taking hits would be great.

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