Campaign summary/Journal

[Zyxpsilon]

As i proposed earlier, some pre-designed "popup" assets can certainly be re-purposed for whatever functional components we'd want (or absolutely need) to integrate in the final generic concept. (( Refer to this post for such gimmicky inserts that could be VERY usefull -- http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/3012609-campaign-summaryjournal/?p=26921314 )).

 

If XMTS can contribute --even in some random limited terms-- it's great news for the development steps as i seriously believe proper results are directly dependant on good SWF handling along with a variety of custom scripting devices. It's one thing to be able to trace (and save in a stack somewhere) vast amounts of statistical data to be mounted in a coherent fashion, another to provide HUD elements that would present it all in a rational (and comprehensible by the most common player type) set of gameplay features.

 

Thus why... i feel constant feedback within the "team" is important. The more eyes on the target, the most optimal aim at reasonable goals.

 

1) To me -- the Situation-Room (as it is shown by default) is the main concern. Ideally, it should be presented in that particular state (central map, two panels and with its proportional distribution of variable screen elements. Yet, the surrounding "areas" (beyond those core assets) could also be used somehow. If you remember the early mockups, i had inserted "Continental buttons" below the Holo-Map screen. That's the main reasoning with on-screen real-estate. Not too complex... but minimally straight facts. Easy to detect and analyze. In a word -- friendly.

 

2) SWF is magic... when tackled by expert minds. Opening up a wide range of possibilities for various concept decisions. I know a minimum of things about it (thanks to XMTS), and i'll do my best to use that knowledge for better or worst. The essential here is that i'm openly *asking* for input when it comes to calibrating a cool (enough) HUD that will offer two priority context; Monthly statistics & Country levels observation -- both of which serving the "TT_Journal" splendid idea too as a bonus.

 

3) Anyone willing and able to give help is encouraged to do so. Stressing this... the limits are inside US.

 

4) This *IS* TrackTwo's thread, btw. My LW-projects inspired him to start it... i just had to jump right in and take the precious opportunity to push a personal agenda... Campaign Summary is a fascinating feature -- let's not ruin it with silly decisions (( Even mines! )). Combining our brain energies is the key.

 

Soooooo... let's continue. To have great fun in developping this further and, until reality strikes hard with a fantastic MOD. :wink:

 

PS; I *did* have plans for graph-like assets & flow-charts features later on, btw.

Edited July 17, 2015 by Zyxpsilon

[Zyxpsilon]

bilfdoffle,

 

Please refer to the "May-box" sample above... it has some EMAF values shown on a per-month basis.

[Zyxpsilon]

Even just using the available space where the country boxes were is better than directly keeping those boxes, but it still might not be enough space. Once Xyz finishes the mockup of the adjusted one with 3 boxes in the side we can see how that works out.

 

First though... what's your opinion on the "collapsible box" principle ((PS3)) with tiny arrows mentionned earlier?

Edited July 17, 2015 by Zyxpsilon

[Zyxpsilon]

... Once Xyz finishes the mockup of the adjusted one with 3 boxes in the side we can see how that works out.

 

That would become quite easy to determine -- look below;

 

 

 

http://s21.postimg.org/424ggi0af/Basic_Month_DOUBLED_May_Trio_Calibration_sample.png

 

 

 

Bi-directional red arrows make it obvious that spare room is available (Lining up EMAF values on the same line(s), adding UFO-Escaped fact(s)... for example) even if the main boxes are 128 pixels tall (relative to the screen as displayed @runtime)... thus why i suggested the alternate "Collapsible" method.

 

PS; TrackTwo, you asked for a purely Cyan version... here's the essential image;

 

http://s30.postimg.org/5kduf910h/Basic_Month_DOUBLED_May_310x84_Collapsible_C.png

Edited July 17, 2015 by Zyxpsilon

[tracktwo]

I'm on my phone and couldn't find the collapsible box thing you mentioned, can you provide a link? I checked the link you had above and saw 3 images but not the world collapsible :)

 

Anyhow. Regarding the overall vision of the mod, my original thoughts were along the lines of a timeline showing events. With additional feedback from Zyx and X, I am now thinking of 3 main scenarios:

 

1. Timeline recap view. Main features would be a big map view, a movieplayer like transit tool (play/pause, faster, slower, slider). Events would be listed as they happen, either beside or below the map, and blips placed on the map to match. I always refer to the civ map recap, that's the model I have in mind for this. Click on an event/blip for more detailed info. This view gives you a time lapse overview of your campaign.

 

2. Monthly summary view. Major elements are the map w/ mission blips and several month summary boxes as in xyzpsilon's mockups. Again click on missions for detailed info. This gives you a snapshot of the state of your campaign at a particular point. Can be shown in world or single country view.

 

3. Graphs! This would probably be best served as a financial overview like dialog placed over the sitroom ui. Gives detailed information about one particular aspect over time (e.g. off the top of my head - not sure how many of these are easily achievable - resource stores, active soldiers, projects completed, active interceptors, active sats, to name a few.

 

Regarding team stuff, I'm happy to have help from whoever is willing to provide it. My strengths are in the coding and reverse engineering, but I'm not a designer. I could stumble my way through a rudimentary ui but it wouldn't look nearly as good as some others could make and would take me far, far longer to do. I definitely appreciate the mockup work and ideas from Xyz, and if you're interested in contributing, x, I'd really appreciate the expertise.

 

I am a big fan of releasing what I make, so I plan to make all the patches and other assorted bits and pieces available along with the mod for those that are interested in modding the mod. So even if you think my ideas are stupid you can use it to make your own version with blackjack ;)

[Zyxpsilon]

Get a PC!! :D

 

Bof... don't worry -- eventually you'll be back (from the forest) to the real world and be able to view anything as it should.

 

1) + 2) + 3) ?? Sure... whatever complexity of features is becoming reality, people will enjoy them all.

[Krazyguy75]

Can I borrow a template of sorts with all the elements separated and the background and map so I can try to make a mockup myself?

[XMarksTheSpot]

1. Timeline recap view. Main features would be a big map view, a movieplayer like transit tool (play/pause, faster, slower, slider). Events would be listed as they happen, either beside or below the map, and blips placed on the map to match. I always refer to the civ map recap, that's the model I have in mind for this. Click on an event/blip for more detailed info. This view gives you a time lapse overview of your campaign.

I can see where this is going, from the graphs point of view this is like presenting a vertical slice through all graphs. The side panels next to the map could then display the various values corresponding to the current point on the timeline, like current number of scientists/engineers, current research project, number of items manufactured and whatnot.

 

2. Monthly summary view. Major elements are the map w/ mission blips and several month summary boxes as in xyzpsilon's mockups. Again click on missions for detailed info. This gives you a snapshot of the state of your campaign at a particular point. Can be shown in world or single country view.

This feels pretty much like option 1 to me, like you'd just skip to somewhere in the month-of-interest on the timeline and see the corresponding values displayed in the side panels. Maybe all that's needed is some form of toggle or setting that determines how far back the value aggregation is reaching, e.g. showing campaign totals so far or showing only differences accrued since the last council end-of-month report.

 

I think the side panels are ill-suited to display data spanning multiple time points - the monthly breakdown mockups presented so far are really crowded and hard to parse, in my opinion.

[tracktwo]

That's not a bad concise summary of things. Scenario 1 is show me the state if all things at a particular instant, while 3 is show me 1 thing across time. You're right, 2 is not really well defined in this model.

 

Extending this metaphor a little further, it's common to overlay several graphs on top of each other: show me this subset of things across time. I want to see how my sat coverage correlates to my alloys income, for an example off the top of my head. Original xcom had this, sort of. You could draw lines for various things in a category on the same graph. Going back yet again to civ, the same thing. You can plot your military power vs whatever else.

 

What would the scenario 1 equivalent be? Show me all the things across this subset of time. A month is arbitrary, but maybe selecting a range of time and showing all of that in the timeline view makes sense. It'd hopefully be less crowded visually, as there is only one single summary to show for the range of time. Thoughts? Am I just trying to jam this concept in where it wouldn't be so useful? I kind of do like the idea of being able to look at time ranges. People often discuss LW strategic level stuff in terms of seasons, and this would help you get a sense of "what did summer 2016 look like?"

[Zyxpsilon]

Can I borrow a template of sorts with all the elements separated and the background and map so I can try to make a mockup myself?

 

What exactly would you require?

I can provide you with some of the (current) basic files that i'm holding (as i proceed to design various versions) in a Zip file if you PM me an eMail. But, know in advance that i do a lot of manual "experimental" stuff as i go along. Artistic intuition (anyone's too, btw) has a knack for extremely complex issues - visual & rational.

 

Trust me, over the years i've learned how tough it is to please the most (or the fewest) with anything to be eventually seen by the eyes and then, swallowed whole & in parts by people's minds. For every result, there's about 100+ more different impressions that the human brain has to deal with many times over in a span of minutes not days.

 

;)