User Interface Feedback and Suggestions

[K 19]

Since I've finally got the game half-way working on my PC, I'd like to share some of my opinions and suggestion regarding the UI. Overall, I feel the UI is too spread out, disconnected, and slightly confusing- requiring too much unecessary clicking and screen switching. It could be more simplified and streamlined.


1. Personel Training and Management Screens:

I'm not sure why there are several different personel management screens for different departments. Could these not all be displayed on one screen with maybe three or four verticle columns with available slots for each department, where the player can just drag the personel back and forth between training and department assignments? And maybe clicking on each employee could bring up their detailed information and the ability to train them. Being able to see everything on one screen would greatly simplify and clarify personel management.


2. Space Complex Screen Building Labels:

Building labels could be added directly to the boxes around the buildings instead of being up in the right-hand corner. Also, adding the ability to have the building labels permanent would be nice. As of now, they reset each time the game is restarted.


3. Mouse-overs:

Having mouse-over pop-up option for each menu button saying what it is would be great.



4. No Choice but to exit to Space Complex Screen each time:

For example, on the Solar System Screen I click the Manage Mission Components button at the bottom. But to exit that screen, I have to jump all the way back to the Space Complex Screen each time. How about having a separate back arrow button and a Return to Space Complex Screen button on every game screen. That way I can go to the previous screen without having to always start from the Space Complex Screen each time.


5. Quick-Jump Menu Option:

Adding a quick-jump menu option would greatly improve interface usability. By this I mean for example adding a verticle pop-up menu on the far right of the screen. From this verticle menu, every single game screen could be accessed. All the game's main screens could be listed, and upon clicking on those, each of the sub-screen names would be listed- kind of like Window's Start Menu. A small button at the bottom right on every game screen could make the Quick-Jump Menu pop up upon clicking.


6. Employee Ages, Skill Declines, and Sickness:

Not related to the UI, but how about adding ages to all astronauts and staff. Giving the player reason to force retirement if the employee decides not to voluntarily retire themselves. If they continue working into older age, their abilities greatly decline. Maybe the skills and abilities decline could start after 50 years old for ground staff, and after 30 years old for astronauts and pilots. And maybe the decline could even be slightly randomized for each employee. On top of that, the older they get, the greater (randomized) chance they become ill and have to take a leave of absence, or even suddenly and unexpectedly have to retire because of it.



Great game by the way. Keep up the good work. [8D]

[Nacho84]

Hello K 19,

Thanks for the feedback.

ORIGINAL: K 19

1. Personel Training and Management Screens:

I'm not sure why there are several different personel management screens for different departments. Could these not all be displayed on one screen with maybe three or four verticle columns with available slots for each department, where the player can just drag the personel back and forth between training and department assignments? And maybe clicking on each employee could bring up their detailed information and the ability to train them. Being able to see everything on one screen would greatly simplify and clarify personel management.

Once we're done implementing the core gameplay features, we're going to redesign the personnel management screen to something like this. That should fix most of the issues you mentioned.

ORIGINAL: K 19

2. Space Complex Screen Building Labels:

Building labels could be added directly to the boxes around the buildings instead of being up in the right-hand corner. Also, adding the ability to have the building labels permanent would be nice. As of now, they reset each time the game is restarted.

I'm not very fond of placing the labels inside the buildings themselves, as localization becomes really difficult and we might get text going through the edges (especially in languages such as German, who tend to have very long words).

ORIGINAL: K 19

3. Mouse-overs:

Having mouse-over pop-up option for each menu button saying what it is would be great.

The UI needs to be the same for tablets, so mouse-overs are not an option. We'll add more in-game help once we're done with the core game features, though.

ORIGINAL: K 19

4. No Choice but to exit to Space Complex Screen each time:

For example, on the Solar System Screen I click the Manage Mission Components button at the bottom. But to exit that screen, I have to jump all the way back to the Space Complex Screen each time. How about having a separate back arrow button and a Return to Space Complex Screen button on every game screen. That way I can go to the previous screen without having to always start from the Space Complex Screen each time.

No problem, we'll add it to the backlog.

ORIGINAL: K 19

5. Quick-Jump Menu Option:

Adding a quick-jump menu option would greatly improve interface usability. By this I mean for example adding a verticle pop-up menu on the far right of the screen. From this verticle menu, every single game screen could be accessed. All the game's main screens could be listed, and upon clicking on those, each of the sub-screen names would be listed- kind of like Window's Start Menu. A small button at the bottom right on every game screen could make the Quick-Jump Menu pop up upon clicking.

That's what the lowermost bar does. Notice that all the buttons in there are clickable, and you get immediate access to the PAO, the different employees centers, the HQ, etc.

ORIGINAL: K 19

6. Employee Ages, Skill Declines, and Sickness:

Not related to the UI, but how about adding ages to all astronauts and staff. Giving the player reason to force retirement if the employee decides not to voluntarily retire themselves. If they continue working into older age, their abilities greatly decline. Maybe the skills and abilities decline could start after 50 years old for ground staff, and after 30 years old for astronauts and pilots. And maybe the decline could even be slightly randomized for each employee. On top of that, the older they get, the greater (randomized) chance they become ill and have to take a leave of absence, or even suddenly and unexpectedly have to retire because of it.

While I agree that your suggestion is realistic, from a gameplay point of view I think some players will be a bit annoyed about stats going down, I'm not very fond of them myself. We'll give it some thought, though.

ORIGINAL: K 19

Great game by the way. Keep up the good work. [8D]

Thanks!

Cheers,

[SAAvenger]

Would it also be possible to add a checkbox to all the personnel screens so that we could only show "Available" personnel instead of shuffling through all of them everytime?

[Sardaukar]

Regarding astronaut/ground crew skills declining by age, I don't think ages 30/50 would be right. IIRC, e.g. astronauts are barely out of training if even in it yet at age 30. They are usually experienced in their field and that takes, well..years of experience first.

[Nacho84]

ORIGINAL: Sardaukar

Regarding astronaut/ground crew skills declining by age, I don't think ages 30/50 would be right. IIRC, e.g. astronauts are barely out of training if even in it yet at age 30. They are usually experienced in their field and that takes, well..years of experience first.

Agreed, yes. Several astronauts from the Shuttle era flew into space well into their 50s!

Cheers,