Static component status indicators

[Urz]

While I can guess the reasoning behind the current indicators (to show new players the locations of the parts on the ship?), I'd like to see the option to toggle on a static set of indicators like the ones recently added to spectator mode. Give players the ability to more quickly and accurately see the entire status of the ship they are on, rather than needlessly scanning the borders of their screen, allowing more attention to be spent on the things happening outside.

Screenshot from spectator for reference:
http://i.imgur.com/XQHdKMv.png

[JaegerDelta]

yes plz

[Sgt. Spoon]

IMO it would make the game loose a bit more immersion

[All Systems Go]

I would like to see this. Maybe it can be done in some other form but I'd like to see it or something like it.

[Helmic]

IMO it would make the game loose a bit more immersion

...immersion?  Sir there are giant fucking white brackets surrounding spotted ships, they spawn in the middle of the fucking air and sound like beached whales orgasming when ramming each other.  There is no fucking immersion in this game.

That being said the current setup doesn't clutter the screen as much, if you can't see a component that's because it's already fully repaired.  It pops up with an icon and you can tell which one it is by its location on your screen.  The hull gets special mention because the screen borders turn red as you get closer to exploding.  You have to remember that the screen can afford to be a little cluttered in spectator mode, you can just move the camera or turn off the UI to get a better shot for a stream.  Mid-match while you're gunning on a ship, with the UI making it hard to see the flags on that approaching Pyra?  Not so much.

[Sgt. Spoon]

IMO it would make the game loose a bit more immersion

...immersion?  Sir there are giant fucking white brackets surrounding spotted ships, they spawn in the middle of the fucking air and sound like beached whales orgasming when ramming each other.  There is no fucking immersion in this game.

It's true that there isn't much immersion already, which is why I said "loose a bit more".
Nowadays you have to, at least, look around to see how stuff's going. That's something at least, instead of having everything smacked up on a big chart in front of ya.
Edit: though yes, the difference wouldn't be particulary big.

[Veyka]

While I can guess the reasoning behind the current indicators (to show new players the locations of the parts on the ship?), I'd like to see the option to toggle on a static set of indicators like the ones recently added to spectator mode. Give players the ability to more quickly and accurately see the entire status of the ship they are on, rather than needlessly scanning the borders of their screen, allowing more attention to be spent on the things happening outside.

Screenshot from spectator for reference:
http://i.imgur.com/XQHdKMv.png

+1 would be really useful, doesnt help that sometimes the onscreen icons can be sometimes hard to see due to other elements or background stuff obscuring them

Also

sound like beached whales orgasming when ramming each other

< So fucking funny

[Fidgit]

Honestly, I love the idea. However, it really only applies to engies, as it's their job to manage that stuff, so perhaps a class specific ui? although that may be a bigger re-work than I imagine, it would also open the door for other stuff like captain or gunner specific ui aids.
The only issue I have is that It might be hard to tell the motors and guns apart ie: a squid with four engines has one damaged, if the icon sin't over the damaged one then how do you know which one is damaged?)

what I propose are small health bars in the corner of your screen for the hull, the balloon, and (when applicable) the gun you are using. (leaving all the old dynamic icons as they are)

[Urz]

Honestly, I love the idea. However, it really only applies to engies, as it's their job to manage that stuff, so perhaps a class specific ui? although that may be a bigger re-work than I imagine, it would also open the door for other stuff like captain or gunner specific ui aids.
The only issue I have is that It might be hard to tell the motors and guns apart ie: a squid with four engines has one damaged, if the icon sin't over the damaged one then how do you know which one is damaged?)

I think it would be best as kind of an optional "advanced UI", which experienced players who are already familiar with the ship layouts could toggle on in settings. Another idea is to label the indicators somehow, eg, FL (front left gun), UR (upper right engine), etc.

[-Muse- Cullen]

But... if the system doesn't need to repair, then why do you need to see it? By taking damage, a system pops up, which is more than enough for me, and should be more than enough for others. If the UI showed all systems, the screen would just have unnecessary clutter, and light damage wouldn't be visible without something to discern it from the other fully-repaired things; it would probably flash or change colors. I feel that the extra visuals would just be really distracting compared to the non-obtrusive setup that's going on now, because both options- static and dynamic damage indicators- literally would do the same thing, albeit with more or less on-screen pictures.

[Urz]

But... if the system doesn't need to repair, then why do you need to see it? By taking damage, a system pops up, which is more than enough for me, and should be more than enough for others. If the UI showed all systems, the screen would just have unnecessary clutter, and light damage wouldn't be visible without something to discern it from the other fully-repaired things; it would probably flash or change colors. I feel that the extra visuals would just be really distracting compared to the non-obtrusive setup that's going on now, because both options- static and dynamic damage indicators- literally would do the same thing, albeit with more or less on-screen pictures.

The problem is not the amount of time it spends on the screen, but rather the location. When I say "static", what I mean is that it would appear in the same place (the upper left, for instance) rather than somewhere along the border of your screen based on your orientation and position relative to the part. In addition, while you may consider the current implementation "more than enough", I do not, and if expanded as an option, it would have no impact on players who didn't elect to use it.

[-Muse- Cullen]

...If expanded as an option, it would have no impact on players who didn't elect to use it.

There's a lot of options that could be implemented for variations in the HUD, crosshairs, sounds, graphics, etc. etc., but because they don't have a real impact on people, and because the current style seems to work, Muse is probably going to keep their efforts focused on problems and expanded gameplay, such as the new game mode, balancing, ships, and weapons, in lieu of minor details that are simply options.

Otherwise, it is just a matter of preference, so there's no real foundation for me to argue one way or another for it; if this option was a toggle, it wouldn't really matter if it existed for me.

[Urz]

There's a lot of options that could be implemented for variations in the HUD, crosshairs, sounds, graphics, etc. etc., but because they don't have a real impact on people, and because the current style seems to work, Muse is probably going to keep their efforts focused on problems and expanded gameplay, such as the new game mode, balancing, ships, and weapons, in lieu of minor details that are simply options.

It would have an impact on me, thus why I created the thread. Several other people have also spoken up in favour, so there appears to be some amount of interest in the idea. That and the fact that it's strictly an interface feature, one which has already more or less been implemented in spectator mode already, would make development cost minimal. While there may be other reasons for not adding it, I doubt that difficulty of implementation is one of them.

[William Winters]

I am not sure about this, while part of me finds this very interesting, another part of me thinks this could take away from the "real" feeling of ships. As in, when I pilot a ship, I feel like it's an actual ship, moving and responding, "alive" as you will. I think adding such things would make it feel more like a game to me, making me lose immersion and connection to the game itself.

I would personally not like this I think, but if it's a toggle-able option many players desire, I have nothing to say but "Why Not".