Post by TheFinn1970 on Apr 26, 2019 1:42:07 GMT -5
NOTE 1- I (try to) play on a 10" tablet. I'm sure some of the issues I raise either aren't issues on a PC or aren't nearly as severe
NOTE 2- Cory and Andrew. I want you to know I respect and appreciate your hard work. If I sound angry or frustrated or bitter, well... it's because I am because I know this is a great game. I know I'd LOVE playing it... if it wasn't for all the irritants and annoyances that eventually overwhelm my enjoyment and cause me to frisbee my tablet into the wall. If I come across sarcastic, please don't take it personally.. it's just how I vent frustration.
The Cargo Slider
-It might be sufficient on it's own with a mouse, but with fat fingers +1 and -1 buttons would be extremely helpful
Font Sizes, Styles and Colors
-First and foremost... larger fonts would be welcome on pretty much every screen, though I realize some show so much information, it isn't possible
- Font colours - white font on black background is fine. light blue on black background depends (it's ok for the attributes and skills on the crew page, not so great for a full paragraph trait descriptions). light blue on dark blue background (like the contact name and time remaining on the mission page) is EYE PUNISHING. Some screens (like Mission Results) have 4 or more font colours on them, some of which aren't easy to read. Pick two high contrast colours and alternate them for each piece of info (probably the best advice on ALL the screens actually.. I'll take legible over pretty any day)
- Italics are nice for emphasis, but full sentences or paragraphs in italics in such small fonts? Ughh.
-Mission Step Text - make the important info stand out or get rid of the color/flavor text altogether. "We must explore the surface Rubicon until...." would be better as "We must EXPLORE the surface of RUBICON until..." or even just as "Explore Rubicon" (whether it's a spy, a scientist or a goldfish you're after.. it's just flavor.. and flavor is nice but not at the expense of the visibility of game-affecting information)
-the turn by turn combat log... I don't have words for how hard it is to see information on this screen. It's so bad, I don't even try and look at it anymore.. same can be said for the details of the card game - how long it took, lost morale, etc.. it's too hard to read to even bother trying. All I really pay attention to is the main results
Make pertinent info more readily accessible
- When selling cargo, it warns of Trade Conflicts. Can we get the same warnings when buying cargo? Especially Trade Wars?
- At the top, just below the Captain and Freighter status bars, would be a great place to let a player track 2 conflicts without constantly having to open the Outlier and scroll through all conflicts (as a merchant, Trade Bans and Wars are important to know, the other types, not so much... while a bounty hunter might want to stay constantly up to date on Assassin Duals and Solar Wars)
- Every time I request mission, it takes 3 or 4 taps to get to the Galaxy Map to see if it's on-route with wherever I'm headed, plus maybe checking conflicts, or whether I'll have the passenger space available by the time I get to the pickup location, etc., then 3 taps to get back to the mission screen. There's a button to accept a mission, another to accept and waypoint it. Why isn't there a quick way to get to the outlier and back to help determine if I want to accept it? Why aren't all the important details available right on the decision screens where they matter?
There's a reason out-of-game mapping died back in the 90's
- taking screenshots of the maps, adding the additional information to make them useful as static maps (like the names of all sectors on a galaxy map, or the planets on a sector map), and alt-tabbing between them might not be a huge pain on a PC, but it's definitely a pain on a tablet. The game has TRADERS right in the name, but it doesn't let you see the ports of call along your multi-sector route. The atlas doesn't cut it, because I don't know if that single Industrial world in the next sector is on-route to the next wormhole, or if I have to fly 30 AU out of my way to land and sell my Polymer Ingots
Why can't I hyperwarp and chew gum at the same time?
This one isn't really quality of life. I understand the needs of the great god Game Balance, but if those needs can't be rationalized in a realistic manner, you've got to expect a choir of "That's stupid".
I have to heal my crew, repair my ship, and complete my missions one after the other? Why can't I do it at the same time? What's the rational?? Because right now.... "that's stupid"
The Pyramids were built with nothing but thousands of slaves, but now we've got technology...
Another not really QOL issue. While I have issue with the amount of time things take in a number of areas (or the fact that it's random for spying, blockading, patrolling instead of X days or until something happens, whichever comes first), there's one particular situation that I really find irksome:
Someone's so desperate for 25 units of vodka they set up a mission and are willing to pay 5x-10x it's value, but when I land at the spaceport (as opposed to a wilderness stash) it takes them upwards of a week to unload it
? Are you frakking hand-balming it??? "that's stupid"
Again, I apologize for it sounding harsh. I want to love this game the way it deserves to be loved.. and maybe on a PC it's possible.. but between screen-jumping, lack of maps and hard to read fonts.. it just has no place on a my tablet.. and that leaves me frustrated and sad. 
