NUTTERNAME
Member
Since BF really scrogged-the-pooch with it's lame attempt at 'featurizing' the UI, I wonder if just improving the existing UI would have been more in their comfort zone.
I find the game-play to have irritating qualities that just make playing it an unpleasant experience. It's like being at a ballpark and some a-hole is blowing a whistle all the time. Does one integrate this annoyance into the sports arena experience? Be nice to stick the whistle in the person's rump but there are too many witnesses. And he isn't the only Philllies fan either. But, I digress.
When playing the game, and using the lower right hand interface to give orders, I constantly 'bump' the lower right hand screen edge and this 'jumps' the view to the right. Why the lower screen next to the menus is 'live' to this motion effect is beyond me. It should only be the screen-view of the 'playing field'. In any case, it occurs to me that the whole menu placement should not be off to one side but just centered in the lower middle part of the screen. I typically have the unit under 'command' that I wish to give orders centered in the screen and usually at the lower-center. Having the menu system in the middle would decrease mouse motion and also avoid 'bumping' the screen.
The menu system is also annoying in that I am always searching around for the command and it seems that I am always in the wrong menu choice. I know that you can use the keyboard but that is a weak solution. I notice that many of the menus have 'blank' spots where orders could go. Orders like 'HUNT" are, to me, both Combat and Movement. I would like to see Hunt in every and any menu type. I also would like to see Target in every type of menu selection. It is used for LOS, not just target, and I bet if a study was done (oh No!, not real testing!!!), you could identify the frequency of these commands. Personally, I would like one more menu 'catagory'. That being Custom. Basically the player fills up a Menu box with what he likes and the game defaults to this menu type after each command. A player can then, just using a quick mouse motion, give the most commonly used commands in an expeditious manner. I would even like the menu system enlarged. Even to the extent of 'hiding' the 'guns' part of the interface. The guns would scroll out when the mouse cursor overlaps the left hand unit information. (Or it wouldn't in the case of limited intel about one's own troops). That is another thing...jeesh, I could go on forever...the game gives too much uber-info about one's own troops even if they are beat to hell. But, I digress.
The whole screen edge 'bump' system sucks. I would just as soon turn it off.
It just seems that playing the game with annoyances has been accepted by the inner-circle and die hard fans. I am not sure that the game is really evolving and the lame attempt at improving the UI and heralding it as a 'Feature' makes me feel that game development might be at a burn-out stage. Forget things being patched let alone improved. I doubt there will be much change in 'Arnhem' and even the first EF game. This is the product as you see it in CMFI. Get used to the bells&whistles.
I find the game-play to have irritating qualities that just make playing it an unpleasant experience. It's like being at a ballpark and some a-hole is blowing a whistle all the time. Does one integrate this annoyance into the sports arena experience? Be nice to stick the whistle in the person's rump but there are too many witnesses. And he isn't the only Philllies fan either. But, I digress.
When playing the game, and using the lower right hand interface to give orders, I constantly 'bump' the lower right hand screen edge and this 'jumps' the view to the right. Why the lower screen next to the menus is 'live' to this motion effect is beyond me. It should only be the screen-view of the 'playing field'. In any case, it occurs to me that the whole menu placement should not be off to one side but just centered in the lower middle part of the screen. I typically have the unit under 'command' that I wish to give orders centered in the screen and usually at the lower-center. Having the menu system in the middle would decrease mouse motion and also avoid 'bumping' the screen.
The menu system is also annoying in that I am always searching around for the command and it seems that I am always in the wrong menu choice. I know that you can use the keyboard but that is a weak solution. I notice that many of the menus have 'blank' spots where orders could go. Orders like 'HUNT" are, to me, both Combat and Movement. I would like to see Hunt in every and any menu type. I also would like to see Target in every type of menu selection. It is used for LOS, not just target, and I bet if a study was done (oh No!, not real testing!!!), you could identify the frequency of these commands. Personally, I would like one more menu 'catagory'. That being Custom. Basically the player fills up a Menu box with what he likes and the game defaults to this menu type after each command. A player can then, just using a quick mouse motion, give the most commonly used commands in an expeditious manner. I would even like the menu system enlarged. Even to the extent of 'hiding' the 'guns' part of the interface. The guns would scroll out when the mouse cursor overlaps the left hand unit information. (Or it wouldn't in the case of limited intel about one's own troops). That is another thing...jeesh, I could go on forever...the game gives too much uber-info about one's own troops even if they are beat to hell. But, I digress.
The whole screen edge 'bump' system sucks. I would just as soon turn it off.
It just seems that playing the game with annoyances has been accepted by the inner-circle and die hard fans. I am not sure that the game is really evolving and the lame attempt at improving the UI and heralding it as a 'Feature' makes me feel that game development might be at a burn-out stage. Forget things being patched let alone improved. I doubt there will be much change in 'Arnhem' and even the first EF game. This is the product as you see it in CMFI. Get used to the bells&whistles.
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