Ghost detection range UI for ghost planets

For what's not in 'Top Priority Game Design'. Post your ideas, visions, suggestions for the game, rules, modifications, etc.

Moderator: Oberlus

Post Reply
Message
Author
Ophiuchus
Programmer
Posts: 3433
Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:01 am
Location: Wall IV

Ghost detection range UI for ghost planets

#1 Post by Ophiuchus »

LienRag wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 12:18 pm we do not see the other player's detection range when we do not observe his planet ?
...I understand that the detection range can vary since the last time we saw it, but couldn't it show the last one ? Maybe a bit greyed to show that it may have changed in the meantime ?
Yes, you only see the detection of ships/planets you see. What you ask for is reasonable but rather specific - a "ghost" sensor range only for planet ghosts. I guess it should not be too hard to implement as the values are already saved and shown for the ghost planets.

Good UI there is harder. Should you combine the ghost ranges of multiple planets (in which case a dashed line makes more sense than a greyed out one) or simply show the circle around the planets. What about multi-empire systems? What about systems where multiple systems of an empire have different detection strength?
Any code or patches in anything posted here is released under the CC and GPL licences in use for the FO project.

Look, ma... four combat bouts!

User avatar
LienRag
Cosmic Dragon
Posts: 2148
Joined: Fri May 17, 2019 5:03 pm

Re: Ghost detection range UI for ghost planets

#2 Post by LienRag »

Indeed, it seems complicated to find a good UI for it, I hadn't thought about all these cases...

Ophiuchus
Programmer
Posts: 3433
Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:01 am
Location: Wall IV

Re: Ghost detection range UI for ghost planets

#3 Post by Ophiuchus »

i think doing a circle about each planet with dashed lines in the empire colour (or slightly more grey) would suffice well enough
Any code or patches in anything posted here is released under the CC and GPL licences in use for the FO project.

Look, ma... four combat bouts!

User avatar
Oberlus
Cosmic Dragon
Posts: 5715
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 4:25 pm

Re: Ghost detection range UI for ghost planets

#4 Post by Oberlus »

What about just showing ghost detection ranges same as non-ghost?
If for whatever reason the planet's detection goes down, well, OK, once you get there you'll realize it has less detection range than expected. But that should be an odd situation.

Ideally, map would update ghost planet sensors with known upgrades (e.g. that empire got +50 planet detection range). But I assume that is much more complicated.

Ophiuchus
Programmer
Posts: 3433
Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:01 am
Location: Wall IV

Re: Ghost detection range UI for ghost planets

#5 Post by Ophiuchus »

Oberlus wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:51 pm What about just showing ghost detection ranges same as non-ghost?
There could be local temporal effects which increase (or decrease) detection. If that goes in the UI you could be greatly mislead I guess.
Any code or patches in anything posted here is released under the CC and GPL licences in use for the FO project.

Look, ma... four combat bouts!

User avatar
LienRag
Cosmic Dragon
Posts: 2148
Joined: Fri May 17, 2019 5:03 pm

Re: Ghost detection range UI for ghost planets

#6 Post by LienRag »

Ophiuchus wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 4:07 pm
Oberlus wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:51 pm What about just showing ghost detection ranges same as non-ghost?
There could be local temporal effects which increase (or decrease) detection. If that goes in the UI you could be greatly mislead I guess.
Considering how this discussion came from me being stupidly following the UI rather than thinking logically about what could be the real situation, the main issue with Oberlus' proposition is that it would be even more misleading.
Ghost range shown as non-ghost will certainly not make any player think that the actual range may have been extended, and feeling false security.

But yes maybe dashed lines or grayed circle may be good enough (same UI as for ghost monsters or the like).

Post Reply