[DONE] Time to clean up user options

[Meridian]

I plan to remove options that are not used, or very rarely used... i.e. people leave them unchanged, or always change them to the same value.

Here's my proposal.
Feedback welcome.

Spoiler:

To be removed:
---------------
Martial training at any time - use YES
Display if weapon is two-handed - use YES
Show 2-handed indicator in inventory - use YES
Display map borders on the Minimap - use YES
Wounded fight if base attacked - use NO
Extra bleeding indicator - use YES
High Stun indicator - use YES
Show item weight in inventory - use YES
Remove wounded soldiers from training - use NO
Maximized Night Display - use NO
No-Spoilers Tech Tree Viewer - use NO
Friendly craft escort - use YES
Single-handed weapon unloading - use YES

To be converted into a mod option (instead of user option):
---------------
Statistical Bullet Saving - default NO

To keep (as user option):
---------------
Select Night Vision color - default 8
Automatic Night Vision - default NO
Auto-Sell Manager - default NO
Play Briefing music longer - default NO => change default to YES
UFO landing alert - default NO
Draw enemy radar circles - default YES

EDIT: Here's the final proposal as implemented

Turn off and remove:
---------------
* Less-Spoilers Tech Tree Viewer - use NO

Turn on and remove:
---------------
* Martial training at any time - use YES
* Display if weapon is two-handed - use YES
* Show 2-handed indicator in inventory - use YES
* Extra bleeding indicator - use YES
* High Stun indicator - use YES
* Show item weight in inventory - use YES
* Friendly craft escort - use YES
* Single-handed weapon unloading - use YES

Rework and remove:
---------------
* Maximized Night Display - replace with hybrid night vision = local NV (with max shade 4) + global "maximized" NV (with max shade 8 )
* Automatic Night Vision - if craft interior is too dark (tile shade 12-15); or outside map is too dark (global shade 12-15) and all units have personal light <= 5... turn on NV
* Remove wounded soldiers from training - remove them, but remember if they want to return to training after recovery (automatically)
* Display map borders on the Minimap - turn on by pressing ALT

Convert into a mod option (instead of user option):
---------------
* Statistical Bullet Saving - default NO
* Draw enemy radar circles - change to 0 (never draw), 1 (draw if hyperdetected), 2 (always draw) => default 1

Code: [Select]

statisticalBulletConservation: false
drawEnemyRadarCircles: 1

Hidden (in options.cfg), modder can fix (it's not possible to convert this into a mod option, that's why it unfortunately needs to stay here):
---------------
* Start-Up Text Mode - default 0 # 0 = vanilla, 1 = remove dos4gw and soundblaster text, 2 = remove all text

Keep (as user option on the GUI):
---------------
* UFO landing alert - default NO
* Wounded fight if base attacked (health >= x%) - default 100%
* Play Briefing music longer - default NO
* Night Vision color - default 8
* Auto-Sell Manager - default NO

Code: [Select]

fixedUserOptions:
  oxceAutoSell: false
  oxceNightVisionColor: 8
  oxcePlayBriefingMusicDuringEquipment: false
  oxceStartUpTextMode: 0
  oxceUfoLandingAlert: false
  oxceWoundedDefendBaseIf: 100


[Solarius Scorch]

Hi Meridian,
I am am not against decreasing the number of options. Also, I generally agree with your choice. Here are some doubts:

Display map borders on the Minimap - use YES: I don't care, but I know iot's a big deal for some people.
No-Spoilers Tech Tree Viewer - use NO: The TTV is in itself a very controversial tool. I believe we should at least have the choice about how exactly we want to use it. I think being able to see direct results of an open research is not the same as seeing the entire tree. (But of course you can say "then don't use the TTV" and I don't have a good retort to this...)
Auto-Sell Manager - default NO: I can't really see the benefit of turning it off... IMO it should be enabled for everyone.

No other remarks.

[Dioxine]

Wounded fight if base attacked: interesting option, why would you want to remove it?
Show handedness, weight etc: maybe I want to use them all, but that informational clutter might get too much?
Remove wounded soldiers from training: I switch this on and off for convenience, definitely disagreed.
No spoilers tech tree viewer: why? I only keep it disabled for now because debugging.
Friendly craft escort: definitely can imagine some mods not wanting this to be on.

Statistical bullet saving: no idea why change it from user to mod.

What I don't get is: why having many options is bad? And why should we decide for "the people"? Same could be argued about many of the vanilla OXC options, really... Like alt movement methods.

[Meridian]

Auto-Sell Manager - default NO: I can't really see the benefit of turning it off... IMO it should be enabled for everyone.

I hate this option, it gives me proposals I really don't want... sometimes I want to sell all the looted heavy plasmas and sometimes not... and I don't want the game to tell me what I want to do when.

I tried the option several times, and always came to conclusion I want it turned off.

What I don't get is: why having many options is bad?

Because they clutter and confuse.
If each feature similar to those mentioned above would have a user option to turn it on/off, we would need thousands of user options.

I want to remove those, which don't deserve to be an option, because they appeal to a small minority only.

Many of these options were also originally added as "proving grounds", with the explicit intention of removing them later after finding out if the feature is good/bad, used/not used, etc. That time is now.

[Stoddard]

FWIW I like the "Wounded fight" option.

I sometimes have about 4 crew and a ton of dogs and reapers on bases in the boondocks, and of those usually 1 to 3 are wounded because having downed a small enemy they botched the wreck duty.  Not having them around to defend the base would be uncomfortable.

[robin]

Are the bleeding/stun indicator options about the little icons (example: blood drop) next to the affected units? If so I'd like them to be optional, I like my battelscape "clean".
Also, dunno how the No-spoiler tech-tree works but: when you are researching unknown alien stuff I think it makes sense you don't exactly know what you get from a research.

[Meridian]

Are the bleeding/stun indicator options about the little icons (example: blood drop) next to the affected units? If so I'd like them to be optional, I like my battelscape "clean".

No, it's the blue and purple boxes with numbers on the right-hand side of the UI.
Similar to the red/green boxes for visible aliens.

Also, dunno how the No-spoiler tech-tree works but: when you are researching unknown alien stuff I think it makes sense you don't exactly know what you get from a research.

Even with no spoilers on, this info you still get.

[robin]

No, it's the blue and purple boxes with numbers on the right-hand side of the UI.
Similar to the red/green boxes for visible aliens.

Oh I see. I'm fine with those.

[Ethereal]

I use the following settings:

Wounded fight if base attacked - use YES
Remove wounded soldiers from training - use YES
Maximized Night Display - use YES
UFO landing alert - use YES

These options are best not to remove from the menu. Let it remain as it is.

[Lord_Kane]

I use the following settings:

Wounded fight if base attacked - use YES
Remove wounded soldiers from training - use YES
Maximized Night Display - use YES
UFO landing alert - use YES

These options are best not to remove from the menu. Let it remain as it is.

I agree with Ethereal there.
could you also consider keeping friendly craft escort as a user option?

[Meridian]

could you also consider keeping friendly craft escort as a user option?

In what scenario does it make sense to turn friendly craft escort off?

[Lord_Kane]

In what scenario does it make sense to turn friendly craft escort off?

hmmmm valid point now that I think about it, but most mods I play I don't use HK's (heck my mod doesnt even have them) so I guess removing it makes more sense then not.

[mumble]

I think wounded fight is worth keeping, but might I add a small bit of input? Ever since the addition of system shock, this option has proven to be an extreme liability, killing off people who endure a raid due to being up at 3hp and having a stroke.

I'd still recommend keeping it with a mod, with a stipulation. Keep any units under 40% hp out of combat. I think anyone under that isn't going to be very useful anyways, and this prevents unnecessary casualties using this. I know the option has saved me in the past, but the 3 hp system shock deaths are a little bogus.

I'm sorry to bring that up in addition to what you have to work on, but while the subject is at hand, it felt obligatory to bring up its issue. Because it's indeed EXTREMELY useful, but the fact it doesn't discriminate between a unit with a broken hand, and a unit on life support, makes using it a double edge sword.

[Meridian]

And that's exactly why I want to remove it...

If I set the limit to 40%, vanilla players will argue that they don't have any shock mechanics and want all soldiers to fight. If I don't set the limit, you'll have the issues you describe. And in both cases, the description of the option would be counter-intuitive or misleading.

[Ethereal]

If I'm not misunderstood, whether the people do not understand... This, as far as I understand it is about the options menu, from which the items will be removed. However, the functions themselves will remain and they can be enabled/disabled in options.cfg.