Give immediate feedback when units are given impossible task

Ideas and suggestions for how to improve the Warzone 2100 base game only. Ideas for mods go in Mapping/Modding instead. Read sticky posts first!
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Forgon
Code contributor
Code contributor
Posts: 298
Joined: 07 Dec 2016, 22:23

Give immediate feedback when units are given impossible task

Post by Forgon »

Units don't move when you click an unpassable tile (ticket #2803). It would be good to know that instantly.

Cursor feedback

Currently, an X-shaped cursor ('./data/base/images/intfac/image_cursor_notpos.png') indicates moving to cliffs and certain buildings is not possible. It should indicate all unpassable tiles, unlike below:
Wrong cursor! The cyborg is not Jesus.
Wrong cursor! The cyborg is not Jesus.
water.png (92.64 KiB) Viewed 2489 times
The minimap lacks that cursor altogether, which is often a problem when units are sent ahead with queue orders:
Radar suggests all targets are passable.
Radar suggests all targets are passable.
minimap.png (93.98 KiB) Viewed 2489 times
There is no feedback for exceeding structure limits in queue orders. I suggest to show the X-shaped cursor immediately when trying to place an impossible building along with a warning: "Cannot build cyborg factory, structure limit is 1":
Cursor and warning should indicate exceeded structure limits.
Cursor and warning should indicate exceeded structure limits.
construction_queue.png (104.04 KiB) Viewed 2489 times
I used maim to capture screenshots with cursor.

Sound feedback

If units are selected and the X-shaped cursor is shown (including suggested uses above) the 'fail' sound './data/base/audio/sfx/interfce/beep8.ogg' should be played. It is currently reserved for attempts to build burning oil dericks and some obscure situations. I think overall this would be an excellent improvement, though there are disadvantages:
  • Burning oil derricks are valid as destinations and in queue orders. To avoid confusion, I suggest not to play the sound for burning oil derricks since a warning message is given anyway.
  • Units would need to be deselected before clicking on e.g. a power generator unless the 'fail' sound can be tolerated.
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