PLAYER INTERFACE (ver1.0): Hosted by Frank Moore

[tfs99]

The game should minimize to the Taskbar when it loses focus. HOMM3 does this.

If the game could be made to "let go" of the audio playback system when it loses focus that would be great, too.

[tfs99]

Building on the pop-up information theme:

- Let players store a note in the game when they save it that will pop-up when reloaded.

- Have the ability to enter a note to pop-up as a reminder based upon certain events (i.e., turn year, unit built, etc.)

[tfs99]

From SMAC: Have the game check to see if a full install already exists, before popping up a dialog box that tells me the game CD is not in the drive.

Minor issue, but it becomes more and more annoying over time!

[tfs99]

>>>>> Frank Moore

Custom context menus, yes! Another excellent idea. Those useful menu picks are always "squirreled" one or two levels down.

>>>>> Fugi the Great

Building on your key standardization:

Allow player to choose and customize the binding of keystrokes to various commands and menu picks. I think CtP does this.

Also, display the customized shortcut key in the context and main menus.

[Ralph]

I think the upcoming CIV-3 interface-framework should capitalise as much as possible from the well-known Windows-95 interface-standardisation.

By that i mean: standard dropdown-menus, toolbars, right-click menus, drag-dropping and so on - but also like in CIV-2 (but unlike SMAC); making CIV-3 switch-able trough the Win-95 taskbar, so the player can interact with any self-designed Civ-3 help-programs or strategy-guides.

Every PC-owner has lots of automatic “know-how” from using Windows design-standardisation, and i think it somewhat of a COMPLETE MYSTERY why most strategy-games after CIV-2 have stubbornly used there own home-grown ideas with various success. CTP is a worst-case example of this

[yin26]

-=*BUMP*=-

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CIV3 DEVELOPMENT LIST COORDINATOR

**(un)Officially Making Lists for Firaxis Since SMAC Enhancement 3!**

[Ralph]

A CIV game is not just about empire-building. It’s also a racing-game, and as such you need feedback “lap-times” and “racing-positions”.

It was a disappointment to discover that CTP only had its Powergraph. SMAC had more then that, but not enough.

In CIV-3 i want a improved/extended version of CIV-2 “Demographics”. Bring it back to us.

[Ecce Homo]

I miss the Replay function from Civ 1. It should be available throughout the game, but before the end it should be limited to ypur own Civ's accomplishments.

[Blade Runner]

I think the best a user modifiable key shortcuts interface. Everybody can use CIV III like SMAC, CTP, CIV II, AOE or Quake (just kidding ;-) ). Maybe even better to ask in the beginnig of the installation process which user interface is fit for you, of course you can later change this.

Blade Runner

[Freddz]

I would like Windows environment "Tool bars" that are minimizable and can be moved anywhere on the screen. This toolbar would have buttons for buildings and another(?) toolbar for units that can be queued without having to leave the Main map screen. This would make building things a lot faster.

Possible problem: I think it's important to keep the toolbars small so they don't cover much of the main map(in the end you'll have a lot of buildings to build in new towns). This could be solved with a "More" button which will show the other half(or how many they are) of the build buttons instead.

I think there should be easily accessed buttons for maximizing Food, Production and Science too. They were there in CTP, but nothing was easy access in that game. And you shouldn't have to step in another menu to do it.

[Freddz]

I forgot. I truly hate the grey Windows environment in a game. In that sense I loved SMAC and CTP interface. So lets not have the TRUE interface of Windows as in Civ 2. Yuk.

P.S. I dunno if any of my ideas have been mentioned by someone else. I haven't read this thread through(sorry )

[Depp]

Im must say that the interface in CTP was far better than SMAC.

SMAC had 50 million different stuff in the right click menys which made everything really hard to see.

CTP had a slick interface, and those who complained over the sending units the wrong way had obviously never changed the mouse click options in the options meny. Then you got a Age Of Empires interface, select with left and send with right, worked great.

The only thing about CTP was that it changed so much from Civ 2 so many didn´t recognise themselves and imediatly didn´t like it

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Depp writes:
CTP had a slick interface, and those who complained over the sending units the wrong way had obviously never changed the mouse click options in the options meny. Then you got a Age Of Empires interface, select with left and send with right, worked great.

I changed it. I still complained. I still hated it, for that matter. I found it easier to fight the game and use the keypad than to use the mouse for movement. It might be better if there was a decent pathfinding algorithm, but I still think the control of using the keypad is better. Of course, you could still click-and-hold to send to like in SMAC.

[Onmoy]

i couldn't wait to get CTP.. but when i finally got it home and went to play it, I couldn't stand it! It is the absolute worst case scenario at work.. the user interface is terrible.. i can't stand it.. that game is going back.. now, what i'd like to see from Civ3 is an interface almost exactly like Civ2.. i don't really think anything needs to change.. Civ2 has a great UI..

[Frank Moore]

Here are a few more ideas I had while SMACing over the weekend.

IMPROVEMENT FOR DESIGN WORKSHOP - The design workshop should be able to display many more units at one time, not just the scrolling bar at the bottom of the screen. IMHO the DW shoyld not be a popup, but the entire screen itself. I think this would allow the player to see most (if not all) of his units at one time w/out having to move the mouse over them to see what the unit is.

FILTERING IN DESIGN WORKSHOP - It should be easy to be able to just display air units or naval units, so that all of a players units of a given type could be displayed on the screen at one time.

Thats all for now, I'll try to have a summary put together before this thread gets too long.

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Frank Moore - Civ3 Player Interface Thread Master