Jumpgate Evolution - Dev Journal: Flight Dynamics

[Draegan]

No avatars kinda kills it for me, as well as any resemblence of a 'ground' game - whether it's on a planet of another ship/space station. 

Like POTBS? 

[SnakeCharmer]

Heh.

 

[Venkman]

Unless its SWGdoneright, I'd rather have good space or ground game.

[Mrbloodworth]

Here is why i don't think Eve is sticky for me.

Not Twitch in any way. And no Avatar.

Here is why i like the idea of jumpgate.

Its twitch.

For now, i can live with one out of 2.

That is, unless the spacetime guys can work something out ;) I understand doing space, and ground is akin to devloping two games. I guess im just more patient as i get older...i know this stuff can be added later. So in a way, i agree with Darniaq, Do one right first.

[Sky]

RE: the AI broadcasting. One thing that would suck would be if it acted like Freelancer, where the AI made a beeline for players over other AI (to the point where the other AI could destroy them while they chased you). Ruined that game for me, even more than the mouse-driven flight model.

[Mrbloodworth]

RE: the AI broadcasting. One thing that would suck would be if it acted like Freelancer, where the AI made a beeline for players over other AI (to the point where the other AI could destroy them while they chased you). Ruined that game for me, even more than the mouse-driven flight model.

Just picked up that game the other night, for $9. I enjoy the flight controls.

[Simond]

The ultimate purpose, however, isn't to create a nifty network of thousands of bots that effectively play the game for us. That would make a delightful AI experiment and does have use as an excellent load testing tool, but ends up doing little for gameplay.

But the AI is still like living in a world of autistic, non-functional retards.

Oh, I don't know - that sounds pretty much like the typical MMOG playerbase to me. 

[Venkman]

"Barrens Chat" was not just something someone picked out of the air (and for Alliance, it's any /trade channel).

[Venkman]

To be featured at Codemasters Connect, March 14/15.

A comical thing to see on the main Connect page: the flipping images advertising the event, particularly the "fellow gamers" one. I still don't get how there can be an entire event dedicated to just the Codemasters MMOs. For one, I can't even find out from the site where this event occurs (I wasn't planning on going, just curious). For another, I think I broke the site by looking

Anyway, expect someone somewhere to be there and blog about it.

[Mrbloodworth]

Jumpgate Evolution - User Interface: Accessible Functionality

Most developers are well aware that user interface can break a product. Sadly, it doesn't usually "make" a product. Players don't often think, "Wow. This UI is really well-executed!" If the UI is really well-executed, it's most likely that players hardly notice it at all. The trouble happens when the interface gets in the players' way, or is found inadequate. A game can be beautiful and have great features, but if the interface annoys, irritated players tend to simply pick something else to play.
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Obviously, user interface has to be taken very seriously during development, which can require quite a significant investment of time and effort. Every feature needs a good interface, but there's a seeming infinity of presentation methods. How should we as developers decide how to build each interface component? There's certainly more than one way to approach the problem, but for Jumpgate Evolution, our team has elected where possible to let the players themselves guide us.

For a game that hasn't been released, such a pronouncement might sound ridiculous, but we're working to accomplish this very goal from three different directions. First of all, we're driven by the need to make the displays and controls very accessible and easy to use. Information must be available where and when the player needs it. Key choices must be practically self-evident. Frustration must be minimized, especially in the first fifteen minutes of play, when the new player is deciding whether the game is interesting or not. To learn how to do this, we test very frequently, in focused sessions lasting about fifteen minutes, using someone who has never seen the game before. We watch everything they do, asking them to tell us what they are thinking about as they do it. This teaches us what they are trying to do, where they are looking, and what they are, astonishingly enough, not seeing. We have found repeatedly that even though the information a player needs may be there, placed in a very obvious way from the designer's point of view, the player still may completely miss it. As UI designers, watching these tests can be brutal, agonizing, even maddening. Our response to the input that comes from the tests, though, is really simple. When the tests show us that things are being missed, we change those things. In this manner, many parts of our user interface are being adjusted every week, as we strive to make sure that needed information is clear and noticeable, and that it ceases to be intrusive when it's not needed. We’ve already gone through three major design iterations as well as scores, possibly even hundreds, of minor adjustments and it's not finished yet. Nearly every day we change some part of the UI again, little by little moving closer to our stringent accessibility goals.

Rapid iteration is one of our major development strategies, and for UI we're aided in this not only by our automated build system, but by the decision a year ago to license Scaleform, which allows nearly all of our UI development to be done using Flash. Instead of spending time building internal tools, which our team then has to get accustomed to, we've been using well-established commercial Flash development software and leveraging the prior knowledge of Flash that members of our engineering and art teams already had. As if this weren't enough benefit, we also have the option of opening some of our interfaces to customization by the many Flash developers who will doubtless be part of the game's eventual community.

While a focus on the experience of the new player drives design of the basic interface, our second big input into interface considerations comes from Jumpgate Classic and its existing player community. Lessons learned from the parent product's implementation help guide many of our decisions, and we also have 6.5 years of suggestions and ideas from the running game to draw upon. Rather than impacting initial gameplay, though, most of this input is influencing our thinking about what we term "advanced play". These are things that aren't often the concern of the new player or initial impressions, but instead are relevant to players who are making use of the real depth of the game. Directives originating from our experience with Jumpgate Classic include a need to have more economic tools and displays as part of the station interface, improved squad (guild) and facilities tools, new combat coordination tools and features to support situational awareness in battles, and inclusion within the game of information that had previously been available only on the game's website. These changes or improvements relative to the older product may be individually motivated by design issues specific to each feature, but all fall squarely within the realm of making functionality more accessible to the player in Jumpgate Evolution.

Finally, there come times when it's very hard to determine the "right way" to do something. Sometimes it just won't matter, but sometimes it's clear that the users are polarized into two or more camps, where the "right way" for one group will frustrate the other. In some of these cases, we as designers are simply taking the easy way out. Instead of dictating how to play our game, we're implementing systems that suit each camp, and allowing the players to decide for themselves which to use. One good example of this was mentioned in a prior article on flight dynamics, in which I described our decision to implement a toggle between two flight modes, letting the players control the "feel" of flying their ships. Another, purely interface related example, is what we've chosen to do with the game's radar display: we had all the signs of a religious war brewing between the supporters of an Elite-style radar and a Freespace-style radar. Each side claimed their style felt most intuitive, and that the other style was difficult to read. Neither side wanted to budge. Rather than possibly alienating some fraction of the game's audience, we've chosen to implement both styles of radar, again with a toggle, so the players are able to choose. Of course, this decision was a tad easier because the Jumpgate Classic code already implements an Elite-style radar, so that instead of two types we're really only implementing one, but that's part of the advantage of leveraging an existing product.

We're also applying the philosophy of "let the players choose" in more general areas of the game's interface. In addition to the obvious customizability granted by using Flash, we're making most portions of the UI summonable and dismissible, adjustable in terms of size and color, and movable. Players will be able to decide what they need to see, when they need to see it, what color they want it, and where they're willing to sacrifice space on the screen. This is not particularly novel in modern online games, but it's a far cry from what interfaces were like when other space games like Elite, Privateer, Freespace, and even Jumpgate Classic were released. Allowing players to personalize the interface is another tactic to minimize potential frustration caused by our decisions as UI designers, and should simultaneously provide a big boost to accessibility. Despite the time and effort that goes into building a user interface, ultimately we want it out of the way, so players can enjoy the game.

Source

[Draegan]

I need more coffee before I even try to read that.

[Venkman]

That's like a STO post 

[Mrbloodworth]

That's like a STO post 

Its really not. They are not trying to pass off a non-unique UI design as a unique one. This is more about the continuing use of the philosophy of "Let the player decide" and ideas for the future (such as opening up the GUI to users to edit using flash). and a look as to the reasoning of certain choices in the development of the UI (Such as the two versions of radar).

I find it very interesting, and a open discourse to fans/potential users. Way more informative than "Hay we have right clicking".

Personally, i think it also shows that they HAVE learned from mistakes made in the past.

[Venkman]

It's a lot of words to say (in order, starting with paragraph 3):

• Iterative design process. Like others do.
• Lowered the barrier of internal development by using readily available tools. Like others do.
• Learning from the past. Like others do.
• An open customizable UI. Like some others do (and really, more should).
• And again, an open customizable UI. Like some others do (and really, more should).

Their audience is not newbs off the street, but rather, veteran MMOers who expect much of what they're saying here. Maybe it's not Flash, but anyone who doesn't do the EQ1/WoW-esque level of openness in their UI is going to be considered a throwback. And anyone who doesn't employ some type of iterative design process has no business being in this genre. This is the very essence of iteration.

I appreciate that they're providing all these details. They're just not saying anything that isn't expected already.

[Mrbloodworth]

Its a blog, not a news release...

[Draegan]

http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/28404

Interview from March 5th on control schemes.  Did we know they are allowing you to use joysticks? 

Interesting quick read.

[Mrbloodworth]

http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/28404

Interview from March 5th on control schemes.  Did we know they are allowing you to use joysticks? 

Interesting quick read.

The original game supported flight sticks. Don't know if "We" knew, but i did.

[Draegan]

New articles, sneak peaks etc:

http://www.netdevil.com/news/

There are a few links in the first 5? news links.  Tentonhammer, allakhazam etc.

Read if you're interested.

[Venkman]

Help Codemasters make a graphics decision.

It's an interesting way to hype your game before you're ready to extend beta invites.