After some 16 hours playing, my observations

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tstein
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 4:41 pm

After some 16 hours playing, my observations

Post by tstein »

First, I like the depth of the game, it is refreshing to see something on this level, thanks for the effort!

I have a few points that I think must be improved:

1) Too much clicking on repetitive things. The classical example is when a mission ends you have effectively 2 popup menus to click continue. That is not nice and get tiresome very fast. On another level, repeat missions could be improved to reduce the number of clicks. For example, defense interests mission when set to repeat could cycle among countries you have CP. Changes like that could reduce drastically the number of clicks.

2)GUI side effects are sometimes annoying. For example I am focused in one side of the world and I want to bring agents from the other side of the globe to help me in a tiny country . Whenever I click on those agents the globe rotates (and a bit slugish at that) to where they are. So I need to pan all over again to where I want to send my agents to. This rotation is completely unecessary and can hamper a lot my patience.

Also whenever an interface transition to a base, ship etc it must be to a place where you CAN do something without strgle with the GUI. When the interface sends me to a station in orbit I should be able to enter the construction/expansion mode of said station with a single click.. no matter the path that lead me to that station info.

3)Each mission should have a clear description of what attributes are more important for them. CLEAR, concise, like primary:Espionage Secondary:Command.

4)handling 4 armies at the same location is bad. If I want to seand each one to a different location I can only know if I am dealing with one that already has an order by looking at the side list of "units/agents/fleets". There should be a clear indication of what is the current status of an unit when I click it.
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Alitari
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2022 8:54 pm

Re: After some 16 hours playing, my observations

Post by Alitari »

I agree with your points and have a bunch more to add.

I'm at 25 hours played:
  • Initial warning about 'insufficient capabilities' ... seems to only crash when the Anti-Aliasing is higher than 0.
  • No option to make armies attacking xenoforms a Permenant option (instead of just Repeat, of course stopping at 50% as per normal)
  • Default is to pan & zoom to where a unit is when selected ... I generally go to an location that needs attention, then select the unit, then I have to go BACK to that location ... maybe pan & zoom to the unit if double clicked or clicked again if not already centred on the unit?
  • On the Xenoforming map filter, the colour doesn't drop off until you pan over the location (so that it highlights with the default 'scrolling' dotted background) and then reverts to what level it should be.
  • Some items only have the Close or Take Me There options (no Continue option) (looking at Engineering Section Reports, Set National Policy Mission, Hab Module Complete)
  • Some items only have the Continue or Take Me There options (no Close option)
  • Save game does not retain the previous 'Arrange by:' in the Research and Development area for selecting new projects
  • Save game does not retain game speed
  • Playing as The Resistance, it appears no other factions are either fighting Kaijus or stopping / slowing Xenoforming
  • If I want to Assault Alien Asset, I can't select it then click on the region I want to do that in ... I have to either select the region from the 'drop down' list or right click the icon for the Xenoform on the region (not the region itself) and then scroll through until I find the item I'm looking for. Perhaps also add in context specific right clicking, so right clicking on a Launch Complex would give options of relevant things that the selected unit can perform on that thing.
  • Right clicking on nation asset icon (like a Xenoform) replaces the unit list on the right. Perhaps have it pop up an new window?
  • Charts that explain in detail the various sources of income and expenditure for all the various top row items
  • Mission Control and Mission Control income are sometimes used interchangeably ... for instance, during the solar flare event, it said that my income would be reduced by 50%, when my actual was reduced by 50%.
  • Perhaps separate out fleet costs from Mission Control to another asset, dependant upon docks, supply depots, etc. so that there is one resource for base building and a different resource for fleets.
  • Have nations gain Militech score by using the armies in combat, the tougher the combat, the more score they gain (or the more damage the army takes?)
  • Selected Continue from the main menu and I'm now a year behind where I was before? My previous session crashed out but presumably my most recent autosave file would be taken?
  • Load Games don't include the in game date or faction
  • A clear visual indication as to which regions an army can be deployed to
  • Menus cannot be moved around, resized, or otherwise adjusted
  • No search option in the Council Research Archvies
  • No sorting available in the Council Research Archives
  • Perhaps have separate tabs for Global Research vs. Council Engineering Projects in the Council Research Archives
  • Surveil Location does not seem to be tied to any Attribute (perhaps Investigation?)
  • With the benefits that Orgs provide, there should be some emphasis somewhere that boosting Administration is perhaps the first, best thing to put XP into
  • Armies should have a kind of missions assignment as well ... if you want to, say, Assault an Alien Asset, selecting the army and selecting the target, the Army should navigate through the shortest path to that target and then work the problem until its done. Right now it's busy work to have to slow boat them from region to region then tell them what to do.
  • Airlift Home does not indicate that it will take substantially longer than slow boating your army via Deploy Army, nor does it give a time frame for how long it will take on hovering over the icon
  • Had a nuclear winter event occur without any apparent nuclear weapons being used.
tstein
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 4:41 pm

Re: After some 16 hours playing, my observations

Post by tstein »

Played some extra 10 or so hours.

More and more I see the worst problem with the game is the automatic focus on the unit/agent you select.

I click in a fleet that I have in mars just so I can click in resupply.. That makes the game pan to mars, and on those fast pans is where most lag happens. It is annoying. Another example. i have a fleet that keep bombarding alien megafauna. I find the target, click the fleet. The game pans me away jsut so I can click the bomb button, so it pans me back to earth, but at a different place and I then need to SEEK where was that damn target.

STOP THE AUTO FOCUS! PLEASE! It is killing the usability.
blarglol
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 2:59 pm

Re: After some 16 hours playing, my observations

Post by blarglol »

tstein wrote: Sat Oct 01, 2022 11:41 am Played some extra 10 or so hours.

More and more I see the worst problem with the game is the automatic focus on the unit/agent you select.

I click in a fleet that I have in mars just so I can click in resupply.. That makes the game pan to mars, and on those fast pans is where most lag happens. It is annoying. Another example. i have a fleet that keep bombarding alien megafauna. I find the target, click the fleet. The game pans me away jsut so I can click the bomb button, so it pans me back to earth, but at a different place and I then need to SEEK where was that damn target.

STOP THE AUTO FOCUS! PLEASE! It is killing the usability.
Agreed. Single click should select. Double click should pan the camera to the person/item/whatever.
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