Campaign summary/Journal

[Krazyguy75]

No, I mean, anyone seeing that will have no idea what the hell the ones you made mean unless they read this thread or a readme or were told it by one of their friend.

 

Firaxis implemented bars which are really just 1 unit per bar. You implemented colored bars which no one understands what they mean. Example:

 

 

http://s13.postimg.org/5raf8e4qv/Panel_Countries_310x504_w_Panic_Boxies.png

 

 

What do these colors and amounts mean? Is it the max amount of panic in each country? If so, that's a somewhat helpful piece of information conveyed in a way that requires you to decipher it in more than a glance. And what about this:

 

 

http://s27.postimg.org/bchtdself/Panel_Countries_310x504_Test.png

 

 

That has 5 bars with the same colors that have different meanings, and they are designed to convey percentages that you can only understand if you look at the numbers underneath. Take away the colored bars and you still have all the information you got before with less confusion.

 

My point: Color isn't bad, but it isn't necessary to make everything colorful.

 

For the first image, you could fit all the info into a single tab on the right side and keep the 5 bar system, as once you have a scrolling bar you don't have to worry about the amount of space it takes up. For the second, you could remove the colored bars and display all that in text, and it requires less programming effort and is less confusing, the only downside being that it takes up more space.

 

As you yourself said: "I doubt *new* players would be interested by such campaign summary elements (and how they are designed)". If so, why are you prioritizing appearance over functionality? People will be visiting this screen for statistics, not pretty glowing bars and arbitrary percentages conveyed in a form that you can't get the actual data out of.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Krazyguy75

[XMarksTheSpot]

I doubt *new* players would be interested by such campaign summary elements (and how they are designed)... as they'd most probably be immersed in the LW- Gameplay and having too much fun already to even try deciphering whatever we could come up with.

As you yourself said: "I doubt *new* players would be interested by such campaign summary elements (and how they are designed)". If so, why are you prioritizing appearance over functionality? People will be visiting this screen for statistics, not pretty glowing bars and arbitrary percentages conveyed in a form that you can't get the actual data out of.

I'll have to agree with Krazyguy here, saying new players wouldn't be interested in a campaign summary is bad attitude. If presented in an intuitively understandable fashion such a summary should appeal to all players alike, be it the seasoned veteran trying to min-max their strategy, the newbie trying to figure out what is happening to them or the casual player resuming an old game who wants to recall 'the story so far'.

 

Therefore it is important to stick to a design that puts readability and ease-of-use at the forefront. It might seem tempting to cram as much information as possible into the limited space available, but you're doing so at the expense of at-a-glance understandability and will likely alienate the common player that way. After all there's a reason why the game's design is often more heavy on text than it is on icons.

 

As for the discussion about colors, I typically don't mind color-coding information, but you need to be careful when doing so. Again, there's a reason the game sticks to its neutral cyan-on-black color scheme throughout most of its menus (mainly readability). As I see it a well-designed UI for the game should work fine using the neutral color scheme and should not depend on color-coding from the start.

 

Again, color-coding isn't inherently bad, but it should only be used where it makes sense, i.e. when it provides additional and meaningful information. The game establishes precedents for that in several places, like the panic brick colors o the consistent use of purple for all things related psi. As such it would be wise to stick to established color schemes, for instance using the panic brick color series (which players are likely to have internalized already) as indicator of severity - the color defaults even have descriptive names that reflect this:

 

0 ▱▱▱▱▱-▰▱▱▱▱ 19 #5CD16C GOOD

20 ▰▱▱▱▱-▰▰▱▱▱ 39 #67E8ED NORMAL

40 ▰▰▱▱▱-▰▰▰▱▱ 59 #FFD138 WARNING

60 ▰▰▰▱▱-▰▰▰▰▱ 79 #F67420 WARNING2

80 ▰▰▰▰▱-▰▰▰▰▰ 100 #EE1C25 BAD

 

So basically you need to ask yourself about your design 'What does color-coding bring to the table in this particular case? What would the menu look like without?'. The panic bricks are an example of good color-coding; upon opening the situation room menu you immediately see at a glance which countries are endangered due to eye-popping warning colors. If everything would be rainbow-colored all around there would be a lot of visual noise in which meaningful information would be drowned out.

 

Also two more important things about UI design for the game that haven't been touched upon much are input schemes and localization support.

 

When designing a new menu it's always tempting to, for instance, put buttons everywhere that perform various functions, but you need to keep in mind that the menu should be navigable via non-mouse controls, too, i.e. via keyboard or gamepad inputs. For this reason interactive components are usually grouped in close proximity to each other in the game's menus. This way directional inputs or primary and secondary buttons are contextualized as 'next', 'previous', 'accept', 'cancel' and so on. So it's always good practice to take a step back after laying out interactive components and asking yourself 'How would I activate this particular component without a mouse?'.

 

As for localization, this has a similar impact on how components should be laid out. Basically we're limited to using what's provided in the localization files, which means strings like 'S-Africa' or 'UK' are out of the question as those aren't even defined in the basic English localization. Furthermore you need to keep in mind that different languages often feature different string lengths for the same terms. So if 'United States' turns into 'États-Unis' your layout may not be compromised, but when 'Germany' turns into 'Deutschland' you're suddenly presented with a string that's about a third wider (depending on the font used). For this reason using a two-column layout may not be a good idea as you cannot guarantee that to look balanced for all language versions.

 

Okay, I think that's enough 'Design 101' for now, I didn't intend to rant this much again :sweat:

[Zyxpsilon]

Thanks for your rational opinion(s) on such HUD design steps, X.

 

I share the same concerns with (some) coloring schemas (as suggested), intuitive selection of elements (buttons or strings, etc), localization limits & calibration of specific Menus... for any type of players. Really didn't mean to pass off as having "bad attitude" about it - it was more of a casual yet sarcastic approach to the problems.

 

Functionality is preferable to overshot, agreed.

 

But -- we're at a very early stage of concept(s). We should combine our efforts toward the most optimal solutions when possible. Thus, i'd like to see some of YOUR own ideas in mockup forms, please. Keep in mind, much of the necessary features (or options) aren't fully determined at this point. Do we prioritize this or that? Can we use that or another?

 

PS; The Countries panel could certainly remain within the current text format... that means a scroll becomes necessary on that side too -- or, finding a font size that would squeeze 16 at once without breaking readability -- or, using pagination to flip between two versions (or even by Continental groups). (My extra) Blue & Magenta might not be in the "Firaxis standards" pool of valid color choices... yet, we *have* to differentiate between UFO Crash--or--Land and create the "Base Assaults" type from scratch.

Again those fall into the *WHAT* (and specifically, HOW) we decide to supply or display on screen in a cohesive (( Rational, enough?!? :wink: )) manner.

 

PS2; For proper instructions about "new" features and on-screen items (which aren't standard) i'd have to recommend a system of "side boxes" such as what we get from the current menu options ( "Tell-Me-More" Style). But if we absolutely MUST stick to verbose strings (excluding any kind of cool visual icons in the process) -- then, some Drop-Down applet might become the only reasonable alternative.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Zyxpsilon

[Zyxpsilon]

Yesterday evening, i've given a quick try to a "combined" Situation-Room mockup with all of the current elements made so far...

 

 

 

http://s9.postimg.org/9ctcz3rcv/Basic_Mock_Up13_Top_Bottom_LR_Panels.png

 

 

 

What is it **YOU** would want to alter or adapt to some other ideas within it -- in its current format or another... better?

 

AFAIC... the above is nearly final in how i envision what i'd be willing to deal with except maybe for a few fine-tunings here & there. From now on, i'll be using my brain & energy & time on all of the secondary screens (Missions report, List of events, Spreadsheets for facts & data, etc).

Edited July 22, 2015 by Zyxpsilon

[Krazyguy75]

How would one be able to get info on specific missions from this? Also, what zooms the map? Also, what selects the month? Can you have 2 different months active normally (may and october)? Also, I still don't understand the two boxes in the corners, they don't seem like the right type of scrolling icon. I believe the things on the bottom are total missions of each type thus far, however, for a shorter term summary this seems like a piece of information that is less important. Also, what to the boxes under the months do (as in, appearance wise; or in the cast of the star and the number sign, at all)?

 

Very smooth in appearance, but I still feel like the usability is weird. You only need 1 area for selecting months, so the right side could have a scroll wheel to keep it to the 5 bar appearance. Also, still my opinion that the percentage bars should either be 1 bar that is 6x as large, or be conveyed in numbers, cause right now, I can't get anything precise out of them (if I took away the numbers, no one would have any idea what they meant).

[Zyxpsilon]

Great questions... relevant & absolutely legitimate concerns.

Sooooo, i'll try to give some direct answers to everything below.

 

How would one be able to get info on specific missions from this?

 

Once any of the holo-map(s) (global & individual countries.. 17 versions in total) have been populated with their tags (for the currently active "focus"; monthtly or National)... you'd just click on anything and another corresponding popup would display such detailed infos. I'm considering to use a customized "Brief" screen with a smaller Tactical-Map-Image (as shown by the Save-game screen as well), Locations, mission types, Time & Date, the artifacts recovered, a list of the squad, Aliens killed or captured, etc. I'm in the process of creating a mockup version for that special stuff.

 

Also, what zooms the map?

 

Most probably via mouse-selection of a country from the Right-Side panel. Or... also with an indirect click on any Tags -- if necessary, not sure if that should be added in the code.

 

Also, what selects the month?

 

Left-Side panel scroll-list. Or... as luck would have it, we can still inspect the National "values" too on a per-month basis or into a cumulative kind-of-way.

 

Example; You just had liberated Russia (or China) in November... remember the October panicked_X? Well, it would be gone now. :smile:

 

HINT; Imagine this scenario for a minute. You rapidly select successive months by hitting the arrow on the right. From the Start in March to whichever points in time you'd like to stop with. You have Credits in focus... you then would see an indirect "animation" of what each countries gave to the XCom project in a sequence. Cool!

 

Can you have 2 different months active normally (may and october)?

 

If Track-Two can code the function & its components... it could be available. Don't see what's the advantage in terms of "Campaign Summary". This sort of thing would be better served by what X suggested; graphs and/or flow-charts.

 

Also, I still don't understand the two boxes in the corners, they don't seem like the right type of scrolling icon.

 

Which "boxes" -- exactly? If you meant the red-X or empty with tiny blue-arrows aside... these are reserved for an extra-feature which would need to be discussed later with TrackTwo. Unless the code can produce it rather easily... it might just be discarded as unfeasible.

 

I believe the things on the bottom are total missions of each type thus far, however, for a shorter term summary this seems like a piece of information that is less important.

 

Yep. Trust me, these totals are dramatically important from a "Summary" perspective. This is the kind of detailed Data that isn't currently available anywhere in the default game settings. Except for a final set of four screens upon winning the game -- only! People would define a summary as being a way to catch a general sense of campaigning *INSIDE* time. They'd witness progress being made as all of the events are relative to the monthly pathways leading to the stacking totals.

 

Also, what to the boxes under the months do (as in, appearance wise; or in the cast of the star and the number sign, at all)?

 

The tiny arrow points up to an empty area (didn't bother to add anything.. multiple choices) to the right of each Month lines. When your Grades were listed... i've likened the principle to a "Star" context. E-M-A-F == Elerium gained during all of these months for example. Agreed that the Skyranger is hard to discern with that # white symbol == Total number of missions in those months.

 

BUT --- people would possibly be inclined to click on these tiny boxes and watch for themselves what they have to offer. Once they know... it's frozen into their memory forever! :wink:

 

(if I took away the numbers, no one would have any idea what they meant)

 

Which is exactly why there is a need for...

1) The row of grey-icons layer right underneath the "scale-boxes". The colored boxes are there for kicks and visual punch. To me, it's cool.

2) The exact values below (or hovering the icons) their corresponding mission types.

3) The total (Skyranger) per month.

 

It's either that or the verbose type as shown by Monthly-Reports with the ACTIVITY paragraphs...

 

 

 

http://s16.postimg.org/6w8z9zffp/MAY_Report.png

 

PS; Once we click Continue on that screen... all of that precious information is gone, baby! Our "Campaign Summary" mod (it's an opportunity, we shouldn't miss it) would (or must) give it all over -- again... in a brand new feature with some cool custom HUD designs.

 

 

 

There isn't that much space on the Situation-Room already... thus (for me) the word "Summary" implicates a gimmicky function -- to be able to catch a glimpse of anything & everything at once! :D

Edited July 23, 2015 by Zyxpsilon

[Zyxpsilon]

Alright gang, here's what i have in mind for the "Mission Reports".

 

We'd be hi-jacking the default Brief-Popup (that zooms in&out when the Skyranger is in flight to destination) and re-purposing most elements by adding our own items, re-sizing the map, using some of the actual "Debrief-Popup" sprites and boxes for Artifacts, fitting the stuff in the generic framework.

 

This would overlay the background (Situation-Room & Holo-Map) once we click on any "Tags".

 

 

 

http://s1.postimg.org/ytvfs57tr/Operation_First_Sword_Sample_TEST.png

 

I think, the overall concept & ideas shown above are self-evident. There might be a few more things to add, a couple of calibration issues, coloring choices to change, font sizing, etc.

In order to squeeze everything on it... the City & Country strings must be on their own individual lines.

 

The EMAF letters could be used instead.. or even creating new Icon-Tags for them (since Meld already has such an Icon). UFO Power-Source, Computer, Food, Surgery & so on would also need such "symbols" if we decide to just simplify that area with some custom "Values+Multiplier+Icons" combo.

 

I'll most probably have to create the whole set of custom Alien-Images (basicly inspired by the Ethereal version inserted in that sample).

 

 

 

 

Questions, comments, suggestions?

Bring'hem'on! :smile:

Edited July 24, 2015 by Zyxpsilon

[Zyxpsilon]

Not sure yet about the "ALIENS on Location" area and how we should handle the framework and what could be done with GFX+SWF assets to deploy such stuff with reasonable functions.

 

But after extensive edits to many INV & IC vanilla files (( From cyan while erasing the connector "tagging blurred text" from Robotic units images and cropping the others straight out of the Interrogation Containment images ))... i came up with a full set of 16 Alien types in three distinct variations; Color-coded, Basic Cyans & Grey-scale (which i think would be used when Aliens aren't active in any such mission).

 

I also feel the shard-loot should be represented by the Outsider below with maybe an Icon overlay of the Shard itself as shown by inventory.

 

Thus the HUD would always show the entire "list" of them (currently 96x96 pixels each) with simple add-ons like the Killed or Captured amounts & symbols. Maybe in two columns of eight each.

 

 

 

http://s30.postimg.org/oabm3r07l/SIXTEEN_w_Colors.png

-------------------

http://s11.postimg.org/afkj8ihzn/SIXTEEN_w_GS.png

-------------------

http://s24.postimg.org/trmxrm1o5/SIXTEEN_w_Cyan.png

 

 

 

Opinions? Suggestions? :wink:

Edited July 25, 2015 by Zyxpsilon

[Krazyguy75]

The problem I see is that as those are wireframes, certain ones end up far more detailed, making them hard to make out at a glance: for example, the muton and the muton berserker are very hard to tell apart at a glance; same goes for the sectoid and sectoid commander. Also, the chryssalid is hard to recognize.

 

Only other thing: the brilliant color one looks a little too pastel. I feel like you are making XCOM: Tropical Edition, whereas the normal game uses more neon/highlighter colors.

 

 

 

PS: Now that I came up with the idea for XCOM: Tropical Edition, I really want someone to make it in XCOM2. Every XCOM member wears hawaiian shirts and sunglasses. Then they blast away the ethereal who was chillin' under his parasol and proceed to take out the sectoid pool party and the thin men who were watching this from the balcony in their hawaiian shirts as well. And, of course, every mission is to a tropical beach area, because that's where the aliens want to vacation too, and they are buying out all the hotel rooms that you wanted to stay in!

Edited July 25, 2015 by Krazyguy75

[tracktwo]

Hey all, I'm back to the land of internet access. I'm still reading over and absorbing all the stuff that's been posted in the last week. Glad to see all the activity here, though!