Console shouldn't spam or be erased

[effigy]

Currently, we can choose to have no console information (which also disables viewing of critical game information, ie. radar and team chat), and to expand the console to a few of the most recent entries in the console.

The console could be improved by:

1) not ever displaying more than a few lines unless the console is asked to expand (IIRC default is 3 lines).

2) retaining console text if clicked while it's in expanded form (it is annoying having a wall of text filling your game screen, but it's irritating when you lose important text such as team chat). Clicking the console should "roll-it-up" not clear it.

[NoQ]

Clicking the console should "roll-it-up" not clear it.

Yes
Maybe right-click for clearing, left-click for hiding, in case someone still likes cleaning.

There's another case when you can loose messages: it's in game lobby when you configure building limits, and someone says something when you do it. I think this should be fixed as well.

[effigy]

Good suggestions

[Buginator]

Hit the "`" key to bring it back down.

[alto1234]

Hit the "`" key to bring it back down.

this is irrelevant to the suggestion, the issue described is that there is no limit on the size of the unexpanded console and that there is a limit on the total information stored, not a lack of comprehension on how to expand the console.

[NoQ]

Hit the "`" key to bring it back down.

If you clicked it, there's nothing to bring back down anymore.

[effigy]

Apparently, Buginator didn't read the initial post correctly. I'll emphasize that in multiplayer games the console expands too far into the game window. This happens under normal circumstances that require multitasking (i.e. managing combat units/reserve units/research labs/factory production/truck&engineer orders). During these times the console is either clicked inadvertently (likely because the players attention is focused on the action vs. the text that the player should be able to review later), or because the player chooses not to sacrifice game play for waiting on the console to retract itself.

I suppose it's possible for this situation to occur in comp-stomps where the player doesn't have the advantage.

Also, IIRC, on a larger display ( i don't remember the resolution I use to play at) the console would only occupy approx. 1/2 the game area. It wasn't such a nuisance then, but the issue still occurred.

[urgood2]

There is another problem. If multiple trucks are told to build at the same oil resource, a message ("Truck commanded to build oil derrick") appears once for every truck. If I click on two oil resources successively, the console prints so many messages that it fills up half or more of the entire screen.

How would it be if the console displayed just one message and included a repeat index at the right? Like this:

Truck ordered to build oil derrick (x8)

[effigy]

That would be an improvement, also. I'd like to see it combined with my suggestion.

[Buginator]

Apparently, Buginator didn't read the initial post correctly.

Correct.