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Re: cNon-developer comments and reports on 7.2
jan.javorsek@guest.arnes.si writes:
> I have always been followinq Xconq project from afar, playing with
> friends but not participating. Since with its improved X11 interface
> 7.2 is really beginning to look like everyones prefeered startegy
> game, perhaps you might be open for comments with a distance.
> version) (I tested X11):
Playtesting is very much needed! Your feedback on the various games
and scenarios would be very welcome. E.g., I think that rom-civ-war
and red-october are reasonably well balanced, but I have not heard of
much human-vs-human testing. And galaxy2 really needs human-vs-human
testing and tuning suggestions.
> * Bugs
>
> doctrine comand - exits immediately
Yes, it crashes xconq immediately.
Moreover, "add-player" crashes xconq at the end of the turn:
Stan, are you working on 7.2.1? ;-)
From here on, thoughts on 7.3 development:
> * Ideas and comments
>
> save games: I never managed to see a fileselector in any version of
> xconq. Is it actually possible to have it save the game with a
> different name? A simple command line option would be great. Also for
> (ver ynice) standing orders save file.
xshowimf has a file selector. Unfortunately, it is known not to
compile for some versions of unix, so it was kept out of xconq
proper. I guess we will have to wait for gtk xconq. :-)
You can easily implement a command line option in a small wrapper
script.
> orders, units, side: Gerat and helpful commands, perhaps they should
> be made to a binding? A F key perhaps? It would be easier for players
> with not-so-huge X displays to have them share a single window (like
> gtk notebooks), but perhaps too tricky to implement.
The problem is that you can have a virtually unlimited number of unit
closeup windows. The "closeup list" window is supposed to help here;
try configuring your window manager to keep it (and the side closeup)
at hand.
> unit list: (to the right): Could be compacted vertically (I do use 3d
> Athena, so perhaps my view is a bit distorted here) and color icons
> would be much more visible. The inverted icons are often difficult to
> tell apart. It would also be ideal place to show the "code-letter" of
> a unit, since quessing that is often difficult in new game libraries.
> I think this could *greatly* improve accessibility for new players,
> and we need new players. Those letters are just too hermetic without a
> visible clue.
Yes, it could be compacted vertically (somewhat), and I don't like the
black background either. You don't really need code-letters ("char");
but yes, they could be shown here. Also, unit type help should
display it somehow. BTW, some games, e.g. empire, don't even assign
distinct letters. The problem with color icons is the size.
> unit status: production: On the task list, it would be nice to have
> estimated number of turns left next to a produciton statement since
> not always we have an actual unit there on which we could see that (in
> libraries that implement tooling up for constuction, for
> example). Also tooling up could be described there (in postmodern,
> "armor 0 of 99 x 13" could be replaced with "armor tech x 13"). Is there a
> way to see the technology a city possesses? Can it (GDL-wise) have
> more?
Technology is a side property, and it is shown in the side closeup.
The equivalent unit property is toolup, and it is show in the unit
closeup. But yes, "armor 0 of 99 x 13" is not illuminating; it should
be "armor tech ..." or "armor tool ...".
> secondary maps: Hardly useful without map close, but I suppose there
> must be a problem with implementation. In case it gets done, it would
> be great if one could have a map with no other windows in it (no
> panner, status, buttons etc), that one could resize to have a good
> overview.
Well, iconifying them is almost as good. ;-) You should be able to
resize the subwindows as you see fit, by dragging the grips (the
smallish black squares on window boundaries). If you can't find the
grips, try
xconq -xrm '*Grip.foreground: magenta'
> zoomed cell window: Often a user zooms in the map to see what is
> happening inside a cell and then zoom out to move the newly selected
> unit etc. A zoomed-in view of the current cell to the left of the
> unit-status window (above the buttons) would be really helpful,
> especially if units could be selected and moved there. Tricky, I
> suppose.
Good idea. (Almost) all the pieces are there, it should be reasonably
easy to implement it. Stan, what do you think? When 7.2 is
reasonably bugfixed and we start working on 7.3, I'll try to add this.
Regards,
Massimo Campostrini