07-13-2013, 04:15 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-13-2013, 04:29 PM by Darth Pedro.)
(07-08-2013, 03:00 PM)ixnay Wrote: Let's use this thread as a feedback channel for the CW moderators to improve the game experience...
SUGGESTION:
Add more information to the ship/colony selection box. Using just the S/C number means you need to go back and forth to make sure you're dealing with the right one. Display the S/C name, type, location, or whatever else to make it more clear.
Darth:
I will endeavor to add some additional detail regarding the suggestions.
(07-08-2013, 03:03 PM)ixnay Wrote: SUGGESTION:
Move "Target S/C" box over next to "Source S/C" box (and move the main order-writing box to the right) to make it follow a clear direction when you need to write complex orders.
This would be a simple cosmetic change adding some intuitive raltionship to the order writer and I agree.
(07-08-2013, 03:07 PM)ixnay Wrote: SUGGESTION:
When displaying a colony, show the current requirements for population given current production infrastructure. So if your colony is running 1m factories, 1m mines, and 1m laboratories, show a stat prominently that states "5m professionals and 7m unskilled laborers (or their equivalent in automation) required for full production"
Same with Life Support requirements!
This suggestion would require adding extensive automated analysis capability to the Central Command client. A great idea which has been suggested by others to one extreme or the other. It would be nice to have a ship design tool, for example, which mapped directly to the inventory and capacities of the constructing S/C and kept account of consumption from other orders written to that point, etc. VERY complex to program relative to what we now have as a simple data reporting tool with order statement concatenator (my term).
I and others have and are developing tools in MS Excel and/or MS Access to perform some of that functionality BUT it is no small task. I do it for fun when I get the urge and have a set of evolving tools. The current database structure has had some tables split so it is taking some effort to update the old stuff I have just for myself. Some players have murmured complaint that the game is easier to play if you have better computer skills and that is probably true. Some more experienced players don't want to learn those skills and so are stuck with doing it the hard way. Back in the old days I used to get my new turn as a fan-fold green-bar paper report and would spend hours just perusing it and using several colored highlighters to simplify the simple task of locating relevant information. Paper, pencil and a six-digit LED display calculator was the best we had, unless you worked in a university or laboratory with spare computer time and the knowledge to program it. Order writing was done by hand or typewriter and then mailed hard copy which SOMEONE then had to type back into the computer input file for processing. It really has come a long way and Empyrean Challenge really was the first 4X game and the most complex game in existence. Maybe it still is the most complex?
