Fixing Map Navigation

[Tsueg]

Castle in the winds....? good reference. Ya know... I'd be convenient to have a settings option to add/toggle a d-pad control to the screen. Just a thought.

Speaking of the map interface itself... It works, well. You press your ma button, it shows the map and the list of where you can go. I never thought it as broken or clunky.

I'm more interested in seeing the zoom-state preserved between sessions than the pinch zoom feature. As it is, the zoom bar reports accurately but the zoom is always maxed. until it is re-selected by the user.- more or less a 'meh' for me.

And since we are on the discussion of maps and navigation.... When is Mars Inc going to open up that tunnel to Chicago for public transportation between them zones? *hmmm?* Ya.. just curious.

[Cory Trese]

Sept 28, 2011 12:14:59 GMT -5 Tsueg said:

I'm more interested in seeing the zoom-state preserved between sessions than the pinch zoom feature. As it is, the zoom bar reports accurately but the zoom is always maxed. until it is re-selected by the user.- more or less a 'meh' for me.

What phone and OS are you using? I'll try to recreate, for me the zoom bar and zoom level stay consistent. If I return to the main menu, it will reset, but otherwise all our test devices haven't had any issues. Details?

[Tsueg]

Sept 28, 2011 12:26:53 GMT -5 Cory Trese said:

Sept 28, 2011 12:14:59 GMT -5 Tsueg said:

I'm more interested in seeing the zoom-state preserved between sessions than the pinch zoom feature. As it is, the zoom bar reports accurately but the zoom is always maxed. until it is re-selected by the user.- more or less a 'meh' for me.

What phone and OS are you using? I'll try to recreate, for me the zoom bar and zoom level stay consistent. If I return to the main menu, it will reset, but otherwise all our test devices haven't had any issues. Details?

whoops. Okay, found solution -- added relevant info to my sig.
there ya go.

[blackgauntlet]

Sept 28, 2011 10:20:02 GMT -5 Cory Trese said:

I wish I had Karma to give out to everyone on this thread.

If you dun mind, you could hand it out to my Cyber-Knight, thanks... ;D

By the way, pinch zoom is not really required with the zoom bar. I only have problems with the bar (as it is too small to be able to fine tune) when I'm making the map on an Excel sheet.

D-pad? Not really necessary. Perhaps as an optional control interface?

It'd be cool if we could lock our CK down when we are scrolling the map though. I had a few unpleasant moments where I was checking out the environment and I think I left my finger a second too long for the phone to believe (wrongly) that I had tapped that square for my CK to get there.

As you could imagine, that's not really healthy when the CK is down to 1 HP/2 MP and his stupid IRL avatar had sent him off to some encounter with a 6-man Yakashima patrol while trying to find a short-cut to a motel.

[Volyren Nightsong]

Stock up on cheap health packs. 200¥ per heal up to 6. And a couple of shops you can get the 7hp kits for 200-300¥
Always works for me!

[blackgauntlet]

Sept 29, 2011 2:37:41 GMT -5 Volyren Nightsong said:

Stock up on cheap health packs. 200?per heal up to 6. And a couple of shops you can get the 7hp kits for 200-300?Always works for me!

Hah! Took too many taxis, my man! Ain't got enuff moola for health packs and I'm always playing on Crazy. So, health packs aren't of much use to me when every shot from even the lowliest thugs could hit me in the eye. ;D

[LordofSyn]

I know what follows is only relevant to the topic of the thread by relation of content, however I just thought it would be awesome to see Reggie's trailer from Max Headroom, or other small cyberpunkish in-jokes. I know there are some, that I have seen...I would also like to contribute some...

[fallen]

blackgauntlet - if you raise your Electronics skill, then medkits may be used multiple times in a row before they are exhausted. A little known secret that raises the value of your medical investment (and just might fix that busted eye ball!)

[Volyren Nightsong]

lol, I didnt know that either!
a good thing to know!

[blackgauntlet]

Volyren Nightsong- Yeah, me neither. It's going in your Guide, wouldn't it? ;D

fallen- A small floating caption about such information over the stats when we tap on them would be really helpful. I always thought Electronics was something to do with implants.

[fallen]

blackgauntlet - i think we are headed toward an XP page a bit more like ST, where the descriptions are nicely inline.

[spectre]

fallen = Very cool, it would just be nice to be able to know these things, since the discerning taxi would have a holo map on his flat rate meter to make sure he gets to the right place.

[blackgauntlet]

fallen That'd be great. I've got this notion that Medpacks were something like Chems. Guess I was way off.

[fallen]

blackgauntlet - electronics covers using items, equipment, gear, chems, electronics, devices of the future. Soon, we will show that in the UI and all will be revealed.

[LordofSyn]

Sept 28, 2011 10:20:02 GMT -5 Cory Trese said:

I wish I had Karma to give out to everyone on this thread.

What I don't like about the map navigation is that people tell me it doesn't work for them.

When someone tells you that it isn't working for them, they're almost always right.

When someone tells you how it is broken and exactly how to fix it, they're almost always wrong.

There reports are the former. Several people have said it feels "clunky"

Part of that is that I'm still struggling to get pinch zoom to work on all devices smoothly, i think that will help. Smooth walking probably do a lot too.

I think the problem goes back to "Castle of the Winds" and the fact that your keyboard had a number pad with 7 directions =)

so then the question is compromise?!
without an emulator-esque overlay, which I don't know that I would like compared to what it is now, finding the happy compromise when not all devices have physical keyboards, and without the huge need to ever open the touch keyboard. so therefore it all has to work by contextual buttons or by gestures in touch, correct?!

I ask because I have a working knowledge of the tech and layers necessary...just not the actual coding for it...but I am most willing to learn.

I feel that "controls" portion of any game is one of the most precarious aspects. it can certainly make or break a game, and we have all played games that we can claim " if the controls had been better, I would have probably played it more".
Its difficult enough with any engine to get the controls working just right, enough that the best games have an intuitive control scheme that 'just feels right'. I am most sure that was difficult enough for a large enough company who only had to work with One Console.
Now put yourself in the shoes of a designer who has a considerably smaller budget, and while the OS will be fairly similar, the output formats can dramatically alter the gamer's experience.

that's where it seems the largest discrepancies have risen. I stand behind you all, and will test, provide feedback, etc.

IMHO, I don't feel that it is bad the way it is now.



so then the question is compromise?!
without an emulator-esque overlay, which I don't know that I would like compared to what it is now, finding the happy compromise when not all devices have physical keyboards, and without the huge need to ever open the touch keyboard. so therefore it all has to work by contextual buttons or by gestures in touch, correct?!

I ask because I have a working knowledge of the tech and layers necessary...just not the actual coding for it...but I am most willing to learn.

I feel that "controls" portion of any game is one of the most precarious aspects. it can certainly make or break a game, and we have all played games that we can claim " if the controls had been better, I would have probably played it more".
Its difficult enough with any engine to get the controls working just right, enough that the best games have an intuitive control scheme that 'just feels right'. I am most sure that was difficult enough for a large enough company who only had to work with One Console.
Now put yourself in the shoes of a designer who has a considerably smaller budget, and while the OS will be fairly similar, the output formats can dramatically alter the gamer's experience.

that's where it seems the largest discrepancies have risen. I stand behind you all, and will test, provide feedback, etc.

IMHO, I don't feel that it is bad the way it is now.