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My list of problems/anomalies/suggestions.

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Moo:
Here's my list of mostly minor things I feel could be improved. I waited until the update to see what would change before posting, and a few things were fixed. I think I checked them all but maybe some others have been fixed already too.
I put numbers so it's easier to refer to things (but maybe not easier to read, sorry). If anything isn't clear, please say :)


* "Matches" screen: Currently red for "waiting" games and green for in-progress. I would think the other way round would be more logical? Normally one would want to join a "waiting" game, I would think.
* FIXED Running time shown as 00:00:00.
* Game details shown like "Spectators Welcome - 1 / 4 Captains", which makes it look like that's the spectator slot count rather than normal captains (which would be included in the player count anyway). Rearranging it so the captains and players are shown on one line and the public/spectators shown on the other line would make it less ambiguous.
* In the in-game manual, page 3, "An airship chooses and outfits the vessel, and directs..." presumably it should say "A Captain" or "An airship Captain" rather than "An airship".
* FIXED One-pixel-wide line at left of screen not hidden by the black background of the "loading match" screen.
* When initially displaying the "loading match" screen, it's just black with "Exit Game" at the bottom left. Why not at least have a background rather than just black here?
* On the "loading match" screen, the text at the top describing the history of the map area highlights and can be clicked on... why?
* Screens (eg Progress) available from top bar are exited using Back-type buttons, and there isn't a way to do that using the toolbar. Maybe clicking the middle logo part could return you to the "main screen" too?
* On the Ship/Role/Look screens, there's a "Back" button and a "Customization Complete" button, which both seem to do the same thing.
* Empty captain slots are shown as "[AI Crewman]  CLICK TO CAPTAIN" but there are no AI captains, so that part should probably be removed.
* Text input boxes (eg: promo code entry, game password entry) are badly aligned, should be higher up with the caret aligned to the middle of the box rather than the text being at the bottom of the box. Alternatively, the caret could be shortened to not go over the edge of the boxes.
* Text at top left in game about who destroyed what etc, and chat at the bottom left, and icons in the map, the dark red and blue are often hard to read against the background... Maybe they could be made lighter, or given a light outline, or something?
* In the ship customization, the guns seem to be divided into two types, Light Gun and Heavy Gun (according to the gun info popup)... But the Item Selection window itself calls them "Small Gun" and "Medium Gun" instead.
* There is no way to see who or what is in a game other than by joining it, which means lots of unnecessary joining and leaving. It would be nice if there was a popup or something to show at least the ships and their crews before joining. It could go in the space currently taken up by the create-game stuff, and have a button or tab or something to switch between them.
* When joining a game, one is placed into a crew slot by the system. This can mean people end up in silly places, or have to go to spectator to allow someone else to change ship, etc. What I think would be better is if people joining weren't put into any crew slot, and were put in a "waiting" slot instead, or maybe just a spectator slot. Then they can join whichever slot they do want. This already happens when clicking on a running game.
* When the match actually begins, everyone spawns in the same spot, which means you end up seeing the insides of the other crewmembers. It'd be better if there were 4 spawn spots (one for each crew position) arranged near the current single one instead.
* FIXED In Social page, template email displayed on first view of page, but blank on subsequent views.
* In Matches screen, colour of [Regional] etc when typing is same colour as team you last played on. Should probably be white when not in a game.
* Clicking the "Back to Lobby" button on the connecting-to-game screen doesn't take you back to the lobby, it quits the game completely.
* The map filter in the game list filters by map and game mode, but doesn't display the game mode in the text. Either it should show this too, or probably better, just filter by map and not game mode.
* It would be nice if there was a screen that could be visited post match showing stats, such as how many kills and deaths for each ship, maybe a copy of the whole log of who destroyed/repaired/killed what etc.. Or maybe just a log of which ship destroyed which.
* The game list can be confusing when there's more than one "Whoever's Game". Maybe it shouldn't let a new game be created with the same name as an existing one. Then, if someone uses the default name and tries to start a second game when the first game they made is still running, they'd have to change the name, at least slightly, before starting.
* In the Social page, when a friend is in a game, it shows the name of the map they are playing... The name of the game instead (or as well) would be much more useful.
* Also, the name of the map is sometimes incorrect. This may be showing the last map played when waiting for a subsequent game.
* When engines are destroyed etc. during a game, it shows the name of the particular engine. These aren't shown on the blueprint page for each ship, or anywhere else that I know of.
* It is easier to see if a part is completely repaired if you're not standing right by it, which is rather odd. The way the bar works, you can repair something, think it's fully repaired, walk away, and the icon appears showing it's still damaged slightly. It would be better if the "repair display" would make it obvious whether something is damaged or fully repaired. Maybe have the bar in green when fully repaired?
* The count of captains in the game list for running games can be inaccurate. For instance, it can say "16 / 16 Players  1 / 4 Captains" and when you click on the game, all captains (and crew) are present. I'm guessing this happens when captains leave and rejoin, or are replaced maybe?
* Keybindings - Gun Keys: There are DismountGun and LeaveGun keys (and similar for the helm). What's the difference? Maybe they should be called DismountGun1 and DismountGun2 if it's just two mappings for the same action. SecondaryFire is actually zoom for guns - I don't think any actually have a secondary fire - so should probably be renamed.
* Keybindings - Global Keys: ThirdPerson, the Order- and Practice- keys should be Player keys rather than Global, as they aren't relevant in spectator mode, and prevent the same keyboard keys being used for something else there. Map and ScoreLog should be Global keys rather than player keys, as they apply everywhere.
* Lighting/shadow on hair in Role and Look screens goes on and off depending on character rotation and animation.
* When first joining a game as spectator, the camera often begins underground. Having it start at a high altitude would solve that.
* In the game lobby, and social screen, player ranks are shown by number. In game (player labels/score display) and all chat, they are shown by title. I think there is enough room for both, in all these places, so why not show both for all of them? If not, some more consistency would be nice. Maybe only show the rank title, as the numbers can be seen by clicking on the player name (except when playing).
* Related to (15): Trying to join a "waiting" game with all player slots occupied does nothing. It should at least allow you to join as spectator. Semi-fixed in 1.2, it shows a message that the game is full. But what if I wanted to spectate?
* When voting for a map, the "click to vote" text, or the image, can be clicked on to vote, but the text showing the map name can be highlighted and clicked on and does nothing.
* After the end of the game, the red and blue regional chat from during the game appears in white, which makes it look like the regional lobby chat. It would be better if it stayed blue and red so it can be distinguished.
* When you are waiting for a game to start, you have regional, team, and crew chat. No chat for only your game, which would be very useful. The "Regional" channel does different things at different times, which can be confusing for new players. Perhaps the Regional channel could be split into two. A Game or Match or something channel, which was for only your game. This would be the one that was available during a game. This could be the one on J. While waiting for a game to start, it would be available, as well as a Global channel (on H?), which is equivalent to the current lobby-regional one. This would solve (35) too.
* Chat from friends, CAs, etc., are shown in different colours. It would be nice if chat from your captain was highlighted somehow while waiting for a game, as it is easy for it to get lost in the other chat.
* It would be good if the message saying your captain has left during a match was highlighted in a very obvious way.
* When people join a match in progress, there's several "join" lines, one for each channel. This could just be put on one line, listing all the channels they joined. Or it could just say the most specific. For instance, if they joined your crew, you know they must also have joined your team...
* It could be useful to be able to scroll the chat and "damage log" during a game, as they can go past quite quickly. Another alternative would be a popup while holding a key, like the map display, that showed more history for these things.
* What is the use of being able to set the "area" for a game anyway? As it doesn't affect the server (as far as I know), it can't be about physical location for latency purposes. Continents aren't anywhere near specific enough for language purposes. So what is it for? It seems fairly redundant to me, and a more useful per-match "setting" IMHO would be "level", so you could set it to beginner, advanced, mixed, etc. Now 1.2 has added a beginner game option, that might not be such a good idea though.
* It would be good if the popup when clicking someone's name also showed the game they were currently in.
* Spectators can vote for maps. Is this intended?
* When spectating, when not focussing on one ship, the camera view rotates about a point in front of the camera. This is fine when rotating around a focussed ship, but makes controlling the camera in the free camera mode difficult. It would be better to have normal rotate-the-camera-directly when in free camera mode.
* It would be good if the camera position and view angle were shown on the map when spectating.
* The number of kills/points required to win a match isn't displayed anywhere.
* When spectating, the CameraUp and CameraDown keys move relative to the facing of the camera, rather than the ground, which is rather strange.
* Game names can be set that are too long to see when in their lobby. In the game list screen the length given to the game name is even shorter. Maybe it should have a little popup for the full name when you point to these too-long names.

New for 1.2
* Key labels in Piloting tutorial shown as names of keys rather than actual keys ("[increaseThrottle]" etc). Also one is "[hemlRight]".
* F7 icon in sandbox shows an airship, but it actually summons a static target. Should be an icon similar to the other 3?
* F9 icon doesn't highlight when pressed.
* "LVL 1-2" marker/box got stuck at one point on the third visible game in the list, whatever it was. Even with "beginners only" filter set to No.
* Message about giving thumbs up (and boxes for that) after a match is shown to spectators. Boxes are shown in tab list too.
* Unable to "unclick" the thumbs up after giving it. Also the receiver is notified immediately, which isn't great if it was accidental.
* IMHO it would be better if the boxes weren't displayed at all for people other than your crew, and were empty rather than a darker thumb icon when not selected.
* Clicking on a ship when you're on the lobby screen of a game in progress shows "Loading ship" and the model never appears.

Clara Skyborn:
Wow! I've already forwarded this along, but when you compile lists of stuff like this, please send it to us directly at feedback@musegames.com so the right people see it and can get to work on fixes.

Good work and great feedback, thanks!

Moo:
Like I said in game yesterday, I think forums are much better for such things, as it allows discussion from other people, and saves people wasting time reporting stuff that's already known. If the "right people" don't read the forums, perhaps its time they did ;)

Quite a lot of my list is my opinions, and not bugs per se, so...

Meibes:
i generally approve of most of your points, the ones i think are important are marked with a +1 and on some others i have some suggestions


--- Quote from: Moo on May 01, 2013, 01:30:06 pm ---
"Matches" screen: Currently red for "waiting" games and green for in-progress. I would think the other way round would be more logical? Normally one would want to join a "waiting" game, I would think.

--- End quote ---

i think it's fine as it is - new games are on top and actually running games are on the bottom - i usually only join running games and "green" means i can start playing instantly while "red" means i have to wait for the lobby to fill

my suggestion:
red - waiting for lobby to fill
yellow - game starting (loading screen) - new
green - game running


--- Quote from: Moo on May 01, 2013, 01:30:06 pm ---There is no way to see who or what is in a game other than by joining it, which means lots of unnecessary joining and leaving. It would be nice if there was a popup or something to show at least the ships and their crews before joining. It could go in the space currently taken up by the create-game stuff, and have a button or tab or something to switch between them.

--- End quote ---

+1

my suggestion on top of that:
"Quick Join - Options" where you can select which gametype/map you'd like to play most or which ship - maybe even the possibility on which map/ship you actually don't wanna play on because you don't like it e.g. i hate Spire and for one achievement i have to play on Galleon and Flayed - Flayed is pretty easy to spot in the gamelist, but for the Galleon i need to join every game and that isn't much fun


--- Quote from: Moo on May 01, 2013, 01:30:06 pm ---When the match actually begins, everyone spawns in the same spot, which means you end up seeing the insides of the other crewmembers. It'd be better if there were 4 spawn spots (one for each crew position) arranged near the current single one instead.

--- End quote ---

+1 this way it would be easier for beginners


--- Quote from: Moo on May 01, 2013, 01:30:06 pm ---When engines are destroyed etc. during a game, it shows the name of the particular engine. These aren't shown on the blueprint page for each ship, or anywhere else that I know of.

--- End quote ---

wonderd about that too

my suggestion on top of that:
add new icons/descriptive texts to the engines for repairing - e.g. "main/thrust engine" or "steering engine" so it's easier to beginner to choose which to repair/buff first, if all engines are destroyed


--- Quote from: Moo on May 01, 2013, 01:30:06 pm ---It is easier to see if a part is completely repaired if you're not standing right by it, which is rather odd. The way the bar works, you can repair something, think it's fully repaired, walk away, and the icon appears showing it's still damaged slightly. It would be better if the "repair display" would make it obvious whether something is damaged or fully repaired. Maybe have the bar in green when fully repaired?

--- End quote ---

+1


--- Quote from: Moo on May 01, 2013, 01:30:06 pm ---In the game lobby, and social screen, player ranks are shown by number. In game (player labels/score display) and all chat, they are shown by title. I think there is enough room for both, in all these places, so why not show both for all of them? If not, some more consistency would be nice. Maybe only show the rank title, as the numbers can be seen by clicking on the player name (except when playing).

--- End quote ---

+1 it's not easy for beginners to see which player has more experience ingame, especially for not-english speakers who have to look up most of the rank names (at least in my case)

my suggestion:
display rank and rank title everywhere and add an option to display it ingame under the name (why did you remove it anyway?) - if you're under fire and see someone repairing the hull you might wanna go on and repair the engines but if you take a short look at the leaderboard and get to know that the one who is repairing the hull is a "powder monkey" you might wanna tell him to mount the gun and start firing - this takes up time and can mean the difference between win and death


--- Quote from: Moo on May 01, 2013, 01:30:06 pm ---When voting for a map, the "click to vote" text, or the image, can be clicked on to vote, but the text showing the map name can be highlighted and clicked on and does nothing.

--- End quote ---

there is also a bug - if you vote for a map and click on "progress" (or maybe other tabs) and switch back to the lobby, your vote is gone


--- Quote from: Moo on May 01, 2013, 01:30:06 pm ---When you are waiting for a game to start, you have regional, team, and crew chat. No chat for only your game, which would be very useful. The "Regional" channel does different things at different times, which can be confusing for new players. Perhaps the Regional channel could be split into two. A Game or Match or something channel, which was for only your game. This would be the one that was available during a game. This could be the one on J. While waiting for a game to start, it would be available, as well as a Global channel (on H?), which is equivalent to the current lobby-regional one. This would solve (35) too.

--- End quote ---

+1
my suggestion:
change it to one button for chat and implement commands like "/crew /team /lobby /all" and save the last picked option, also make it able to change the adressed people via mouse - while you're chatting you normally don't need your mouse to navigate or use a hash and numbers to speed things up - "#1" - crew "#2" - team and so on
of course one button for each chat is faster, but you don't want to have 5 buttons mapped for chat o.o on top i haven't yet figured how to send personal messages and messages you get while joining a game are lost too o.O


--- Quote from: Moo on May 01, 2013, 01:30:06 pm ---The number of kills/points required to win a match isn't displayed anywhere.

--- End quote ---

+1 basic stuff ^^


--- Quote from: Moo on May 01, 2013, 01:30:06 pm ---Unable to "unclick" the thumbs up after giving it. Also the receiver is notified immediately, which isn't great if it was accidental.

--- End quote ---

+1 you should be able to remove your commendation

my opinion:
the whole commendation system is hilarious because you get achievements for it
e.g. (made up story) there was this really annoying guy who did flame all the time but in the end i gave him a commendation - and why? because i get achievements for it and i want to unlock a new piece of cloth - so where's the point in this system? you can also receive commendations if you haven't used the (voice-)chat once - because ppl knew you're a really good person and you don't have to say a word
just the same as "if you like me on facebook, you'll get $5" - who wouldn't like him?

greetz

Lord Dick Tim:
I'm glad we have people in the community that can make an extensive break down like this, because its generally beyond my scope of notice.  It goes to show how years of being a Can Do SeaBee has really made me blind to some rather obvious, now that you pointed them out, flaws.  Just so use to making do with what's at hand, good catches all around, even the suggestions, that's what the feedback forum is all about.

And you can be sure any suggestion presented intelligibly will be looked over, I've got to see this dev team really apply player feedback to the continued mechanism of this game.  Salute for you sir!

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