View Issue Details
| ID | Project | Category | Date Submitted | Last Update | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0022204 | AI War 2 | Suggestion | Nov 15, 2019 1:46 pm | Nov 19, 2019 11:37 am | |
| Reporter | Peter Ebbesen | Assigned To | BadgerBadger | ||
| Severity | minor | ||||
| Status | resolved | Resolution | fixed | ||
| Product Version | 1.009 Hotfix | ||||
| Fixed in Version | 1.010 Extracting Those Archives | ||||
| Summary | 0022204: Better sorting and aggregation of Current Metal Flows list | ||||
| Description | This list is both poorly sorted and lists each flow individually. The result is a mess that does not provide a good overview except when one has only a few planets and very few flows. The player is usually not interested in getting lost in individual flows, something that can run to hundreds or thousands in the mid- and end-game if not playing low-AIP, but in being given a short list with information aggregated where sensibled to enable meaningful strategic decision making. All flows are one of two forms: ACTOR on PLANET spends AMOUNT on ACTIVITY on TARGET ACTOR on PLANET spends AMOUNT on ACTIVITY Since the purpose of such a list is to produce clarity with a minimal amount of player effort, I suggest applying rudimentary UX skills to it. To whit: Aggregate entries where ACTORs, PLANETs, ACTIVITIEs, and TARGET-types are identical into the form NUMBER ACTORs on PLANET spends AMOUNT on ACTIVITY on TARGET Note that this very deliberately aggregates by TARGET type, not by TARGET identity. E.g. if a planet has two Muggers being repaired by engineers, the overview aggregates this to two engineers repairing Muggers, not an entry for each individual Mugger. Aggregate entries where ACTORs, PLANETs, and ACTIVITIEs are identical (that don't have TARGETs) NUMBER ACTORs on PLANET spends AMOUNT on ACTIVITY <primary sort by planetname, secondary sort by ACTOR type, tertiary sort by ACTIVITY, quaternary sort by TARGET-type if it exists, quaternary sort by AMOUNT descending> This will make the list much shorter, much better sorted, and provide the player with the information that is important, such, as in this hypothetical situation where on planet Lehman 13 engineers are busy constructing a Factory and a Tractor Array while repairing one or more Muggers (it is unimportant to the player whether in the instant the list is viewed N1 engineers are repairing the ship Mugger1 and N2 engineers are repairing the ship Mugger2 ; what is important is that N1+N2 engineers are currently repairing Muggers) <planets alphabetically before Lehman> 4 Engineers on Lehman spending 2360 assisting construction of Factory 3 Engineers on Lehman spending 1770 assisting construction of Tractor Array 6 Engineers on Lehman spending 4440 repairing hull of Mugger 1 Factory on Lehman spending 990 on self-construction <planets alphabetically after Lehman, all information about Lehman done> Currently you might get something like this: <information about engineers on some other planets> Engineer on Lehman spending 590 assisting construction of Factory Engineer on Lehman spending 740 repairing hull of Mugger Engineer on Lehman spending 590 assisting construction of Tractor Array Engineer on Lehman spending 740 repairing hull of Mugger Engineer on Lehman spending 590 assisting construction of Factory Engineer on Lehman spending 740 repairing hull of Mugger Engineer on Lehman spending 590 assisting construction of Tractor Array Engineer on Lehman spending 740 repairing hull of Mugger Engineer on Lehman spending 590 assisting construction of Tractor Array Engineer on Lehman spending 740 repairing hull of Mugger Engineer on Lehman spending 590 assisting construction of Factory Engineer on Lehman spending 740 repairing hull of Mugger Engineer on Lehman spending 590 assisting construction of Factory <information about engineers on some other planets> <information about self-construction on some other planets> Factory on Lehman spending 990 on self-construction Tractor Array on Lehman spending 990 on self-construction <information about self-construction on some other planets> | ||||
| Tags | No tags attached. | ||||
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Significant improvements have been made in this area. Thanks for the suggestion! |
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A good first step, though looking at metalflow.png there are some obvious issues: 1) It looks as if you are aggregating based on individual TARGETs on a planet, not based on TARGET-type. In your metalflow.png this results in having two separate entries for engineers assisting construction of Station-Keeping Watchman Frigate. 2) Entries aren't sorted by location etc., so finding flows in a given location, while easier than before because of a shorter list, will remain problematic when lots of construction is ongoing. Sorry to nag, but clean informative UI is a hobby horse of mine. :) Compare metalflow.png with the following list, which shows the same 17 flows consolidated and sorted: 7 Engineers on Aalst spending 3490 assisting construction of Station-Keeping Watchman Frigate Station-Keeping Watchman Frigate on Aalst spending 490 on self-construction 4 Engineers on Croft spending 790 assisting construction of Station-Keeping Watchman Frigate 2 Station-Keeping Watchman Frigates on Croft spending 990 on self-construction 7 Engineers on Elee spending 1740 repairing hull of Focused Gravity Generator 7 Engineers on Elee spending 1390 assisting construction of Station-Keeping Watchman Frigate 2 Station-Keeping Watchman Frigates on Elee spending 990 on self-construction 5 Engineers on Euros spending 1490 assisting construction of Station-Keeping Watchman Frigate 2 Station-Keeping Watchman Frigates on Euros spending 990 on self-construction 7 Engineers on Hahn spending 3490 assisting construction of Station-Keeping Watchman Frigate Station-Keeping Watchman Frigate on Hahn spending 490 on self-construction 7 Engineers on Honor spending 2090 assisting construction of Station-Keeping Watchman Frigate Station-Keeping Watchman Frigate on Honor spending 490 on self-construction 7 Engineers on Invincible spending 1380 assisting construction of Station-Keeping Watchman Frigate 2 Engineers on Melpomenia spending 990 assisting construction of Station-Keeping Watchman Frigate 2 Station-Keeping Watchman Frigates on Melpomenia spending 990 on self-construction |
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Here's a few more improvements at consolidating things. |
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Better consolidation, but I'll still beg for primary sort of the list being alphabetically by location, to make it trivial to look up specific locations by having a good idea of where it'll be in the list rather than having to scroll through the list carefully reading until you find it. In your example the sort would be: Aalst-flows Croft-flows Elee-flows Euros flows Hahn flows Honor flows Invincible flows Melpomenia flows and the player would based be able to get an overview of what goes on in a specific location rapidly. |
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Come to think of it, now that they are presented in location-blocks for each planet/fleet, how about taking a page from the energy flow list and preface each location-block with a one-line summary? (Still sorting by planetname) E.g. Aalst total metal spending: %d <list of Aalst flows indented> Croft total metal spending: %d <list of Croft flows indented> etc. |
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I chose to sort the planets from "Most spent" to "Least spent" since I think that will be more helpful than by planet name. |
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Fair enough. A case can be made for either as they are different use-cases ("I need to save metal, where can I cut a lot in a hurry!" and "I want an overview of what my planets are costing me, so I need to be able to quickly assess individual planets"). In a slightly bigger budget title you'd be able to sort either by most spent or alphabetically by clicking a sort type button at the top of the list to accommodate different use-cases, but I understand that this sort of UI improvements for marginal gain is a poor match for the Arcen Devteam+volunteers such as it is. |
| Date Modified | Username | Field | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 15, 2019 1:46 pm | Peter Ebbesen | New Issue | |
| Nov 16, 2019 5:52 pm | BadgerBadger | Assigned To | => BadgerBadger |
| Nov 16, 2019 5:52 pm | BadgerBadger | Status | new => resolved |
| Nov 16, 2019 5:52 pm | BadgerBadger | Resolution | open => fixed |
| Nov 16, 2019 5:52 pm | BadgerBadger | Fixed in Version | => 1.010 Extracting Those Archives |
| Nov 16, 2019 5:52 pm | BadgerBadger | Note Added: 0054600 | |
| Nov 16, 2019 5:52 pm | BadgerBadger | File Added: metalflow.png | |
| Nov 16, 2019 11:18 pm | Peter Ebbesen | Note Added: 0054603 | |
| Nov 17, 2019 12:23 pm | BadgerBadger | File Added: HowsThat.jpg | |
| Nov 17, 2019 12:23 pm | BadgerBadger | Note Added: 0054607 | |
| Nov 17, 2019 4:56 pm | Peter Ebbesen | Note Added: 0054614 | |
| Nov 17, 2019 6:27 pm | Peter Ebbesen | Note Added: 0054617 | |
| Nov 18, 2019 11:45 am | BadgerBadger | File Added: another_try.jpg | |
| Nov 18, 2019 11:45 am | BadgerBadger | Note Added: 0054624 | |
| Nov 19, 2019 11:37 am | Peter Ebbesen | Note Added: 0054632 |
