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Help a player out

from Stardock.net Forums

I recall reading a forum post from Stardock saying that when it came to the UI they would take function over form. It does not appear to be so.

I believe that having a consistent, predictable UI makes gameplay smoother and more enjoyable for the player. When a UI is consistent players can think more about the game and their strategies rather than what they need to click to get things done. Yet in GalCiv3 there have been inconsistencies that have plagued the game from the beginning.  I was hoping Crusade would address these but apparently not.

You STILL cannot escape out of Diplomacy.  Yes, you can escape from the first screen but when you are talking to another empire and want to end the dialogue you have to click Back, That is All and then you can escape.  WHY??  Every. Other. Menu. Allow. Escape. Out.  Again, little things that break the flow of the game.

When you open the tech screen and double click a tech, it selects that tech and closes the tech screen.  Yet, if you open the Tech Tree and double click a tech, nothing happens.  Why is this?  Why can't we ALWAYS double click a tech and get the same UI behavior?

Technology research indicator (upper left on the main screen): Is there some reason that we can see the number of turns left while researching a tech? There's a slick progress bar that you can hover over to get this information, but as a player I want to know how many turns are left at a glance.  A functional UI would display "Artificial Gravity (8)" and not force unnecessary mouse movement. And, in fact, the planet list shows what a planet is working on and how many turns are left, why isn't the technology icon consistent?

This isn't commentary on Crusade, this is about GalCiv 3. And while it may seem small, these are things that have been brought up again and again and seem easy to fix.  Please add these to the 'to-do' list.

Thank you.

24,018 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

They're also obscuring ship designer information with the resource list.

Reply #2 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting psychoak, reply 1

They're also obscuring ship designer information with the resource list.

I noticed this and it boggles the mind how this could go live.  I can understand some semi-sneaky and sneaky bugs or questionable design choices going live, but this is in your face obvious.

Star Control: Origins
Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

In another thread, I too mentioned the number-of-turns-to-go issue for the tech icon.  Mousing less makes for smoother gameplay.

I would also like to have a way to select multiple tech tree research items by holding down CTRL or SHIFT.  Currently, you can only research up to the next "specialization branch", which is the techs denoted by the oval-shaped boxes.  Sometimes I'd like to be able to select beyond that point. 

Civilization (sorry to compare, but it's the most apt comparison) lets you hold SHIFT (I think) and just keep selecting more technologies, and that game just queues them up in the order you select them.  Anything to KEEP REDUCING interruptions and the associated nag-factor.