OpenXcom Forum
Modding => Released Mods => XPiratez => Topic started by: CaptainCorkscrew on December 20, 2016, 10:59:49 pm
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Hi,
I'd like to announce my LP.
So far I have it planned and a test episode playing another game.
For the LP proper I wait for two things:
1. Your feedback on the test episode
2. The release of XPiratez 0.99E.2+1
This youtube link should lead you to my videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn2xGNYlPVSDhKiEoi_n6ig (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn2xGNYlPVSDhKiEoi_n6ig).
You should also be able to find links to my videos on my website: https://freeshell.de/~murks/pages/Videos.html (https://freeshell.de/~murks/pages/Videos.html).
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The first episode of my XPiratez LP is finally online, enjoy the show!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVbXUoK1ADqsJlQln3ywb4EBRh9hop3Js (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVbXUoK1ADqsJlQln3ywb4EBRh9hop3Js)
Episode 2 is already recorded and will likely follow tomorrow. I'll try to get one or two more episodes recorded tomorrow and I will likely release them soon. All that encoding stuff sadly takes a while.
Feedback is very welcome. If you want a gal or have other wishes, please post them on youtube if possible, that way it will be neat and tidy in one place. Contacting me through the email on my website is always an option though..
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One suggestion I have is to only talk about UI and mechanics when they are relevant to what you are doing. For example, I don't think it was worth trying to explain the empty Transfers screen. It isn't particularly interesting when nothing is there; and viewers will probably forget what you said about it by the time you actually want to use it.
I guess different people like to see different things in a LP video; but I'd personally prefer when players get into the action quickly, and play essentially how they normally would - explaining things as they come up. If there are some interesting bits of game mechanics or UI, there will be plenty of opportunity to talk about it when it is time to use them.
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If you're looking for soldier names, I choose Lydia Bennett. Make her a melee attacker (if you intend to use melee). She's a very forward person, and somewhat reckless. (But don't get her killed! :p )
(I'm posting here because I don't have a youTube account.)
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One suggestion I have is to only talk about UI and mechanics when they are relevant to what you are doing. For example, I don't think it was worth trying to explain the empty Transfers screen. It isn't particularly interesting when nothing is there; and viewers will probably forget what you said about it by the time you actually want to use it.
I guess different people like to see different things in a LP video; but I'd personally prefer when players get into the action quickly, and play essentially how they normally would - explaining things as they come up. If there are some interesting bits of game mechanics or UI, there will be plenty of opportunity to talk about it when it is time to use them.
Thanks, I will try. I bought some stuff a little later anyway so I could have shown it then.
Action starts in episode 2 (rather soon for a XPiratez LP).
If you're looking for soldier names, I choose Lydia Bennett. Make her a melee attacker (if you intend to use melee). She's a very forward person, and somewhat reckless. (But don't get her killed! :p )
(I'm posting here because I don't have a youTube account.)
Which of the existing Gals would you like to have renamed? You still can pick any one except VooDoo Swine.
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I don't really mind which one, but it looks like Snide Hammerhead is the best of them; so I guess I'll pick her. (The starting stamina and strength are super low... but those stats grow pretty fast.)
Feel free to let someone else pick her if they want though.
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She's yours, I'll rename her in Episode 3 today.
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Sign me up please.
Name of : John "Dog Rough" Ripper
I don't mind which of your gals you pick for me. Just go raid something with them!
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John is not a particularly female name AFAIK. I would prefer female and piraty names.
It's also very long side, but still OK.
Remember that the size is limited by the size of the text field. Because of that I sadly can't give an exact number. You can fit in way more "I"s than "W"s.
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John is not a particularly female name AFAIK. I would prefer female and piraty names.
Just name her Jane "Bitch Rough" Ripper. :P
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Can I sign up as Grogged-Up Brynhild? I'll be a good grog wench, with axe and/or assault SMG as backup.
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Just name her Jane "Bitch Rough" Ripper. :P
Good idea. Not sure Lion66six will be happy with that though :)
Can I sign up as Grogged-Up Brynhild? I'll be a good grog wench, with axe and/or assault SMG as backup.
Sure, I'll try to find a gal for you that's strong enough to actually carry the grog.
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Thanks! I can just carry some extra beer or something until the gal is trained enough for grog
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I'd like a role - I'm going to adopt my favorite random name ever - Busty Chablis and I'd love to use 1-handed throwing weapons when available.
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Noted, will be done in Episode 3.
I still haven't recorded it because I'm rendering episode 2. I really need to find a better solution for that. Currently with Blender it takes about four times the video length, which is about four times as long as would be acceptable IMHO.
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You guys should perhaps come up with new names... just saying...
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By 'new' you mean 'shorter?' Groggy Bryn would work for me.
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Let's go all out. I'll be Morbid Death.
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By 'new' you mean 'shorter?' Groggy Bryn would work for me.
By new I mean new, provided we don't want to reuse names (which we could).
I'm prepared, I recently refreshed my knowledge of roman literals, specifically C and D.
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Let's go all out. I'll be Morbid Death.
You have your gal as of Episode 5. It's a melee gal. Like almost everyone else so far...
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Here's the two-handed indicator in the inventory as requested.
To be honest tho, I don't like it. It feels out of place and can be easily confused with the stack number. So I made a new user option to turn it on and off. By default, it is turned off.
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If you want it to look not like stack number, you can use just green and red dots
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That'd be inconsistent, thus confusing.
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Inconsistency is the soul of OXCE interface.People that know what red and green number mean, will figure what dots are the same two.
Or - make it a pair of dots everywhere.
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Inconsistency is the soul of OXCE interface.
Well, thanks, for throwing my year's work into a garbage can... nice xmas present.
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What I meant is that when designing OXCE interface, it looks like when there was a choice between usability and consistence, choice usually was for usability. So, now game's UI is very powerful, once you learn all it's quirks (and thanks a lot for that), but one have to get used to the fact that, for example, middle click on item gives a Pedia entry on vessel equipment list, but omanufacturing usage in Fence list, and nothing in Vault and Black Marker. Or that U opens Pedia, but only in specific places, etc.
So, if previously usability was deemed more important than consistence, why change the policy now?
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I wasn't being abstract. I meant this particular proposition makes no sense due to inconsistency with all other naming systems in place. Or, being more blunt, I don't like it and I think it sucks.
These specific examples you give are either
a) because m-click bringing up manufacturing IN item listings makes more sense than it bringing up the Pedia, and there are only 3 buttons, the middle being 'info' button;
b) because Meridian didn't add special clauses to bring up these menus in some obscure places of the game, for no one is paying him to do this job and cater to their every whim.
In general, sanity/ease of implementation is usually the 'hidden agenda', or 'policy' as you call it.
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What I meant is that when designing OXCE interface, it looks like when there was a choice between usability and consistence, choice usually was for usability. So, now game's UI is very powerful, once you learn all it's quirks (and thanks a lot for that), but one have to get used to the fact that, for example, middle click on item gives a Pedia entry on vessel equipment list, but omanufacturing usage in Fence list, and nothing in Vault and Black Marker. Or that U opens Pedia, but only in specific places, etc.
So, if previously usability was deemed more important than consistence, why change the policy now?
Well, if that is the definition of "consistent".... then vanilla is as inconsistent as OXCE. No difference.
Here's the same examples from vanilla:
- 50% of the time OK button is on the left, 50% of the time on the right side
- some battlescape buttons require a left click, some require a right click (for example "spend TUs" button)
- most (if not all) hotkeys work only on specific places, e.g. you cannot abort battle, end turn or show minimap when you're in the inventory... btw. you can open pedia when in the inventory, I guess by that logic I should remove it from there
And to answer the question: usability is not deemed more important than consistence. They are deemed equally important and I am trying to improve consistence constantly. If you have any good ideas for let's say the middle button in SELL screen, I am all ears...
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Here's the two-handed indicator in the inventory as requested.
To be honest tho, I don't like it. It feels out of place and can be easily confused with the stack number. So I made a new user option to turn it on and off. By default, it is turned off.
Thanks Meridian!
I think it will be a great help (once XPiratez uses the 3.5 branch). Having an option to turn it off does not hurt.
As for the discussion: The interface definitely requires some learning. You have to remember that it was designed in the 90s with a lot small screen resolutions (640x480 or 800x600 already?). It was OK for the time and the game.
Given the vast amount of screen estate we could use now the interface could be a lot better. However, that would mean a re-design and hence a lot of work. So far Meridian has tacked on bits and pieces to help with problems that occur mostly due to the nature of the mod. The original game had only a couple of weapons and it was for the most part as simple as "pistol=one handed" and "rifle=two handed". Now we have more research and items by several orders of magnitude, hence stuff like the handedness indicator, quicksearch, research tree and so on are very useful and I am thankful that Meridian implemented those things.
Do they require learning? Certainly, and as you can see from my LP this is a process for me, even though I have watched Meridians entire LP and some of Starving Poets. It's also the reason why I mention those non-obvious things very explicitly and multiple times, so that others can make use of those things more easily. I also mention stuff that could be improved in my opinion without too much work. That's pretty much the best we can do unless we want to do a complete re-design of the interface.
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(640x480 or 800x600 already?)
FYI: Actually, the original resolution is 320x200.
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I personally don't like the hands number when the item is on the ground (for the same reasons others have said). But I think I would like it on the 'pedia page.
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Adding it to Pedia sounds good.