This is being posted to both the Yahoo! group, the Shrapnel message board, as well as emailed to Malfador and Shrapnel's support departments (just to be sure I covered all the bases and the right person sees it).
Issues I'd love addressed...
1) I *finally* got the command line to work. I just realized that you had to user the actual full filename. In the history.txt file the example shows the second parameter as being:
"c:\program files\shrapnel games\malfador machination\space empires iv\savegame\BigMulti.gam"
This TOTALLY misled me since all my multi player games contain the turn and year. I was thinking I had to drop those and in my example use mnt1.gam (where my full name is mnt1_2_24047.gam). I thought if I used mnt1.gam, the game would look in that directory and find the highest year and turn of that game and just launch it (makes sense).
So my question is this... how am I *supposed* to be taking advantage of this feature? I thought I'd make an icon on my desktop, but I'd have to change the icon every turn. Am I supposed to keep a DOS window open, up-arrow and change the command line every time? I don't get it at all.
Also, when I did get the command line to work the log comes up immediately (ie. you don't get to watch your ships move).
1a) Weren't we supposed to be able to eventually just double-click a saved game and have it go to the current players turn? I can't really believe that was never done.
8/17/2000:
To:
[email protected]
Subject: Re: [SE4] Double-clicking a save game file?
The command line parameters I gave were only for Simultaneous Games that are being executed by the Host. We'll try and add in the ability to load normal games as well from the command line.
Aaron
Please note the subject line I used when I made this request then.
2) The 'savegame' path feature. I posted a message about this problem I'm having and someone said:
the morale here is to NEVER use the savegame path "feature." it sucks.
Geez. Ok well let me tell you the problem:
I'm in a multi player PBEM game with a friend. During game setup I set the SAVE GAME PATH to c:\temp (not sure
what I was thinking).
When I first go into the game and hit LOAD GAME it shows me the contents of the installation path "d:\games\space empires
iv\savegame".
However, after every turn, the game still gets put into the savegame directory "d:\games\space empires iv\savegame", NOT c:\temp (there are some text files going there though). There doesn't seem to be any way to change the location now that the game is under way
Secondly, after my turn I click YES to end my turn and NO don't quit the game. For me this is logical since I ICQ the turn to my friend, who plays and ICQ's me back (I get a turn every 15 min or so). Anyway, this puts me at the splash screen as I await my turn to be sent to me. After my game arrives and I hit LOAD GAME. But instead of showing me the installation path save directory like it did when I initially started the game, it THEN wants to load out of c:\temp all of a sudden. Shouldn't the game totally reset when you go back to the splash screen? I guess if it was saving to the savegame path I had set in the first place this wouldn't be annoying me.
Additionally, when I hit CHANGE DIRECTORY and type d:\games\space empires iv\savegame into the CURRENT DIRECTORY box and hit OK... and it does nothing (that is I stay in c:\temp). I'm not sure if it has something to do with the drive box at the top (which I didn't change to d: ). So I wind up having to go back into CHANGE DIRECTORY, changing drive to D: manually, clicking 'games', clicking 'space empires iv', clicking 'savegame' (grrrrr).
3) Oops, I mis-numbered. Ok you get off easy this time
4) After a night of heavy playing (during which i stopped and started se4 many times due to the annoyance in the previous point), I opened the task manager and se4.exe was running 12 times, one of the processes was taking up 12mb (most of them 1mb-ish). none of them were in the task bar :/
5) UI. First of all, as a programmer I know how incredibly complex this all is. I'm also a student of web design, and having just had several interface design classes, I feel I have enough info now to constructively criticize. One of my teachers went so far as to say programmers should never design interfaces ("they just don't think right" :/ ). Anyway...
I firmly believe that in a game this complex, where it's not painfully obvious that you can click on stuff to make stuff happen (ie. buttons and tabs), there should be a visual clue. Examples:
5a) The Galaxy map in the lower right hand corner. My friend and I have been playing for days now and he didn't know you could right-click on it. You can say RTFM all you want, but a little high-lightage... a little message... would make the UI friendly to the MASSES (not just people like you and I who RTFM and click things naturally).
5b) When you pull up the construction queue for a planet. Often you want to see the facilities on the planet (at THAT point, without going out of the window and checking on the right-side of the screen (esPECIALLY if you got there from F11). I know that you can right-click on the middle-top portion of the screen (right below the blue 'Construction Queue' text, where the planet info is), but my friend had no idea.
I realize much of the UI was probably developed as needed. But the point at which the user feels like it's hacked together is the point at which you need to step back and look at things.
6) If I pull up the Construction Queue window by hitting F7 and realized I wanted the Empire Status window (F11), why can't I just hit F11? You're keystroking me to death... lol
Perhaps if you hit any key that opens a major window you could first call a subroutine to close all other major windows.
7) A minimize button from the splash screen. While waiting for my turn to be ICQ'd this is the screen I sit and, and I fight with it every time because I can't minimize it. You can't even right-click on the task bar icon and hit MINIMIZE.
8) A few times when I've loaded a game I got a blank screen. The interface is there, but no map, and the buttons don't work. I have to END TASK, which seems to then cause SE4 to give me the ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO QUIT THIS GAME dialog. Then I can get out of it. BTW, I'm on Windows 2000.
9) There's no way to turn 'names on' in the galaxy window view. Yes, you can hold your mouse over any of them, or right-click to pull up the big map, but it would be nice, even if it's a small font. Or at the very least, just show the name of the one you're actually viewing (I know it's in the system window, just humor me
.
10) When you pull up the ship design window and you're checking out your various ships, there is no 'Condensed View' option (like when you're actually designing one). Haven't run into it as a true problem yet (where I can't see all the components), just thought it was odd and cluttery(tm).
11) Galaxy map again. When you move your mouse around it highlights whatever galaxy you come across and shows you the name in cyan. When you move the mouse back into the system window (left), sometimes the highlighting in the galaxy map stays on whatever galaxy you were closest to Last (with the mouse), especially if you moved the mouse out fast. This can mislead you into thinking you're viewing that galaxy (it's name is still visible and it's highlighted in cyan). I think it should de-highlight when you move away from that window. If you showed the name of the galaxy you're viewing here (I know I said that in #9 it might help).
12) The manual. Is it just me or is it... sparse... in a lot of areas. I wanted to lookup ringworlds to find out what they were, what's the general idea behind them, and the process for implementing them. Nada.
Mines. It tells you in Game_Units.htm how to deply them. But nowhere does it say that you have to build a mine in the Design Ship window (who knew??).
Etc. etc. It just seems that the Game Details section of the manual is a tad sparse on... well... details. It leaves me to post to the message Boards (and the masses don't use message Boards IMHO) to get my questions answered, and it leaves you without the ability to tell me to RTFM.
13) I believe the game needs a full consistency-audit in the following areas:
13R) The return key doesn't always work and I really really really think it should. Everywhere. Examples:
13Ra) Naming a ship or planet.
13Rb) The CHANGE DIRECTORY window (when loading).
13Rc) I think there's more but I'm too lazy to go through and name them all.
13E) Escape doesn't always close a window. Examples:
13Ea) F2
13Eb) F12
13Ec) Wow I just found a lot so I'm not going to name them all. Anyway, I think you get the point.
14) Shrapnel... I now have THREE separate logins for your web site. One I created when I bought the game Online. One I created in order to post to the forum. And I've just been forced to created yet another in order to send this to support. Furthermore, I have to give my order # just to submit this to them (*flips through piles or crap*). Give me a break.
Furthermore, the DESCRIPTION box I can type my support request in is about 55 characters wide by 5 lines high. How is anyone supposed to type a letter in that (since you don't give a support email).
Lastly, I'm sorry this is one big complainy-*** letter. I love the game or I would just shelve it and not bother. It's just that the frustrations beat on me. Thanks and I hope you read this
-EB
Observations (v1.49)
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