make usefull hints for new players in loading times

[Terminator]

modern games ussually likes to add some usefulll info about some aspects of the game during loading of something. How about to make hints like that ?

I know wz currently loads very fast, but may be add those hints in main menu somewhere bottom or at top while surfing lobby games.

example: "little heart in research item indicates that ally already doing its"

[The Overlord]

I like it.

[NoQ]

+1. Very good idea.

[Nameless]

Me likey also

[aubergine]

Would it be worth building up a list of "hints and tips" in this topic - if there are lots of good ones I assume it would stand a higher chance of getting implemented.

It would also be useful to optionally specify a .png file instead of text, as sometimes a picture can convey things much better.

Here's a few:

"Right-click on factories to set defaults for the units they produce"

"Set units to auto-retreat at medium damage to reduce losses in early game"

"If you can't repair them, recycle badly damaged units to get half their power back"

"Rockets are ineffective against cyborgs"

"Sensor droids can be used to designate targets for artillery structures"

"Research then build modules on factories to reduce production times"

"Factories must be upgraded with modules before they can build medium and large units"

[aubergine]

Hrm... A background image is already shown while game is loading - what if there was a tips folder and we'd just create a load of images (without using words) in there to add new tips?

A good example is a game called "Virtual City Playground" on iPhone/iPad - while it's calculating current city state it shows a purely graphical tip screen that doesn't really have any text on it. Doing it this way makes it easy to create tips (so long as you can work out how to say something without using words) and also removes the need for localisation.

And instead of scaling the tip images to full window, they'd just be centered in the middle of the window.

[Shadow Wolf TJC]

Here's a few more hints that I can think of:

"Building a Power Module on a Power Generator will cause it to generate more power."

"Building a Research Module on a Research Facility will reduce the time that it takes to research new technology."

"If enemy artillery is harassing you, then consider building Counter-Battery Radars to reveal enemy artillery that fire at units and structures near the CB Radar."

"Units that are set to retreat at medium or heavy damage will automatically go to the nearest Repair Facility (if one is present) for repairs."

"VTOLs and Transports cannot be built in a regular Factory. Instead, they can only be built in a VTOL Factory."

"VTOLs have limited ammo capacities, so build VTOL Rearming Pads to allow them to replenish their ammo supplies."

"Oil Derricks cost 100 power to build, so you'll need to think carefully about whether or not to build them on contested territory away from your main base."

"Flamers are powerful early-game weapons, but they have shorter range than most other weapons, and deal very little damage towards Hardpoints."

"Flamers and Bunker Busters deal massive damage against Bunkers."

"Assigning direct-fire units to Commanders will cause them to operate as if they were the same experience level as the Commander, or one experience level higher if already of a higher rank than the Commander."

"When recycling units, keep in mind that their experience levels are transferred to newer units that are produced from the Factory. This can be really helpful for going through the singleplayer campaign, as you can easily upgrade units' experience to Hero rank, the highest experience level in the game."

"Rockets are ineffective against cyborgs"

What about Mini-Rocket Arrays? Since they do artillery damage instead of anti-tank damage, they do 130% normal damage against Cyborgs instead of 30% damage.

[aubergine]

I didn't realise MRAs did artillery damage - if only there was a hints and tips fea...

[Shadow Wolf TJC]

Of course. That's why I've always felt that the Rockets line alone is so viable (and maybe a bit OP) in low-oil games. Players could use MRAs and Seraphs against Cyborgs, and Lancers, Tank Killers, and Scourge against tanks. No need to split off some research into Machineguns or Flamers.

[NoQ]

MRAs are hardly enough to deal with well-spammed mg/cannon cyborgs. They are much less cost-effective than machineguns against cyborgs. Though they do provide some flexibility.

[vexed]

May I suggest someone make a wiki page of Hints & Tips, so we can keep all these on one page ?
Hints%26Tips

Was thinking of some scrolling text at the bottom of the screen that would show these...

[Shadow Wolf TJC]

There you go.

[Terminator]

Shadow Wolf TJC. Yes you have usefull info-hints. But I think it should be shorter, & let noobi player think, don't recommend any tactics.

examples:

"VTOLs and Transports cannot be built in a regular Factory. Instead, they can only be built in a VTOL Factory."

I think should be "VTOLs and Transports can be built Only in a VTOL Factory"

"Oil Derricks cost 100 power to build, so you'll need to think carefully about whether or not to build them on contested territory away from your main base."

"Oil Derricks cost 100 power to build"

& so on. I think it should be like that

Was thinking of some scrolling text at the bottom of the screen that would show these...

Nice And it will be translatable via *.po ..like regular wz text right ?

[Shadow Wolf TJC]

Shadow Wolf TJC. Yes you have usefull info-hints. But I think it should be shorter, & let noobi player think, don't recommend any tactics.

OK, 1st of all, what's wrong with offering newbies some advice for them to start off with? Are you afraid of being overwhelmed by more noobs turned l33ts?

examples:

"VTOLs and Transports cannot be built in a regular Factory. Instead, they can only be built in a VTOL Factory."

I think should be "VTOLs and Transports can be built Only in a VTOL Factory"

The extra advice was added to tell the newbies that VTOLs, for starters, CANNOT be produced from a regular Factory, and must instead be produced from a "special" building, namely a VTOL factory.

"Oil Derricks cost 100 power to build, so you'll need to think carefully about whether or not to build them on contested territory away from your main base."

"Oil Derricks cost 100 power to build"

How would any player, let alone a newbie, find that hint useful, without the extra cautionary advice? It's like saying "a Command Center costs 100 power to build." How would this tip help me in any way?

[aubergine]

I think you both have valid points.

Hints need to be concise - not only will that increase chances of people reading them, but it will also reduce workload for translators and reduce amount of screen space required (eg. When English is translated to German, the German sentences are often much longer).

So this seems reasonable to me: "VTOLs and Transports can only be built in VTOL Factories"

But they also need to convey something useful to n00bs. Just stating that a derrick costs 100 power to build isn't much use. On the other hand, hints shouldn't give the game away. There needs to be a balance - provide a useful hint, but in such a way that the player still has to learn some stuff for themselves.

So maybe something like: "You need one power generator for every 4 oil derricks."

If someone runs out of power before setting up a power income, at least they'll know what they need to do differently next time.

Maybe we should get an initial list of the hints first, and then discuss each hint to a) make sure it conveys something useful in a concise manner, and b) doesn't make the game boring by removing the learning curve.