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A few QoL improvements

Discussions of the development process of the game.
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Lokdal
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2019 3:17 pm
android_version: 9.0 - Pie

A few QoL improvements

Post by Lokdal »

Hey all!
So glad to see this game coming back to life :) I thought I'd share a few things that have been bugging me for a while.

1. Selecting menu options: Sometimes, nothing happens when you click the text. Or a orange rectangle highlighting of the list of choices happens instead of selecting the option.

2. Fighting controls : It would be amazing if we could select the target when multiple enemies are fighting. Also, upon pressing the "Flee" button, the only way to go back to attacking is to click the "Move" button, which is very counterintuitive. It would also be neat if the round could end when no more actions can be taken after any action (and not only after a "Attack" action). And could we click the active de/buffs icon to see their effects?

3. Repetitive dialogs : Multiple NPCs go through the same dialogs over and over again each time you talk with them, or events that should only happen once happen multiple times. I haven't made an exhaustive list, but here's what I remember off the top of my head.
Flagstone prison : The walking corpses randomly say "Fresh flesh!", forcing you to select an option and pressing next before moving on. Also, the note about the tunnel being dug by a previous inmate keeps appearing every single time. These should stop happening once the relevant quest is done.
Remgard : The thief in the Inn does his superlong introduction every time you talk to him. The NPCs you interview about the dissapearances still offer the option to ask them about the dissapearances after the quest is done.
4. Display issues.
I think the Action bar (with the "Attack" button, the AP bar, "End Turn" and "Flee") along with the enemy info should not overlap with the map. Instead, this area could be filled with the loot notification (so it would stop hiding the health bar) along with current EXP and Cash. Or simply nothing. Just not covering the map.
Similarly, I don't think the quickslot should overlap with the map, it just results in random use of potions.
Regarding the action bar, I think the "Attack", "End Turn" and "Flee" buttons should be larger and next to the Character button and the Backpack button. The AP bar should replace the EXP bar (which we really do not need to see at all times).
I Microsoft painted what I mean, I hope it's understandable :)
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Zukero
Lead Developer
Posts: 2028
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2011 9:56 am
android_version: 8.0
Location: Eclipse

Re: A few QoL improvements

Post by Zukero »

Wow, relevant UI feedback AND mockups! Well, warmest welcome to the forums Lokdal.

For 1, this happens when you click outside of the reply's area. I'll try to see if I can shrink the margins to 0px between replies, and ensure full width for the clickable area.

For 2, you can select the target, or re-engage after a flee/move by long-pressing the desired target. Likewise, you can flee by long-pressing an empty walkable slot and then tap on it.

For 3, indeed. We try to avoid that in the new content. Reworking existing content is currently low on our priority list, but definitely something we hope to address someday. This kind of changes can also make a very nice and easy first contribution for aspiring contributors with a knack for details and little interest in creation. :wink:

For 4, there's certainly a lot of great ideas there. It wouldn't work for everyone. Small phones, or low-resolution devices couldn't display that much information in a readable way. Maybe some alternative layout for capable devices could leverage that.

I agree that the top of the combat UI shouldn't cover the main gameplay area. Replacing it with something useful outside of combat is a great idea.

I found myself clicking on the (de)buff (called actor conditions around here) icons myself to see the details, even though I coded these as simple, non-clickable icons myself. Then again, having them clickable means taking them out of the main gameplay part of the display, meaning more screen real estate consumed by the HUD, which becomes a problem for smaller devices.

UI/UX work can be really tedious and time-consuming. I'll try to come up with something viable for everyone that improves on the current situation. It's not the highest priority for now though.
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Lokdal
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2019 3:17 pm
android_version: 9.0 - Pie

Re: A few QoL improvements

Post by Lokdal »

Hey Zukero,
thanks for the reply! I know these aren't high in the priority list, but thought I'd send them regardless while I was in the mood to do it (otherwise I never would've gotten around to it).
I'll see if I can contribute in the future, but I'm currently looking for a job. I don't think it's in my best interest to invest more time in hobbies at this time (not that I don't want to haha).
Cheers!

EDIT : Thanks for the tips about long-press, works very well!
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