Showing XP on ScoreBoard

Trooper wrote:

could the cross be more defined? the cross's arms are not long enough to be noticeable. make the arms thinner and then they will appear longer.otherwise no one will notice

BotFodder wrote:

If Slzat is doing exactly what I was going to do, the cross being used is part of the default textures, and isn't easily modifiable (it's the same one used for health pickups, etc). So what you see is what we're mostly limited to, unless Szlat wants to add a different cross texture to a texture file and require it as a download.

You'll notice the difference easily though during normal play I think.

Trooper I agree it is not as good as I would like. However, BotFodder's assumption is correct. And I am not keen on the hassle of creating an extra texture file for download, so let's try it first. It is actually reasonably noticable due to the straight edges.

Radar changes look good. Wont really know how much its visible till we actually see it go live. Looks noticable to me though.

Heh on the radar monster coloring from green to red, to tell you the truth, i've never see the monster go green

only Red to Yellow on Queens, Titans, Warlords since they have the highest life values. Prob cause my Medic Healed max of 350 instead of 450.

Anyway great job on the radar and scoreboard and now cant wait to see them go live.

cribbage wrote:

Not sure about coloring monster dots based on relative health. Awareness should remain a purchased ability. Having the higher hp monsters in red seems just as useful.

As Szlat noted, this is the way it is now - but I think you're missing some key points here:

First, it's not just the monster's health that's figured into the color here, which is the way it is with awareness. A fully healthy monster with awareness shows as the big red bar, which shrinks (*bow*, thank you, thank you, you're too nice) and changes color based on it's total health. In the RADAR, your health is figured in, too. A monster that's weaker than you even at full health will not be the red that a monster that's stronger than you is.

Second, I personally find the difference on RADAR not defined enough for me to make a the judgment that I can make with awareness. I'm focusing on position when it comes to RADAR ... the evaluation of health requires a bit more thought, and, given my first point above, the color differences don't mean as much there as they would with Awareness.

Szlat wrote:

Based on a concept from BotFodder, Medics are now displayed with a cross rather than a dot. It isnt as clear as I would like, but I am a bit limited by the symbols available in the Hud bitmaps. It does look a bit clearer in real play.

Monsters now range from yellow to red based on relative health. Was green to red.

Pets are now displayed with normal size dots rather than big dots. Own pet is green and other pets are cyan

Items out of range are now displayed at the edge of the radar, rather than not at all. However, the client doesn't get told about all items, only those the server deems as relevant - so still can't always find that last monster.

It used to fade as you got closer to the edge of the radar. I have removed that fading. Items not bright are unmanned vehicles (grey) and things out of range displayed on the perimeter

Trooper wrote:

could the cross be more defined? the cross's arms are not long enough to be noticeable. make the arms thinner and then they will appear longer.otherwise no one will notice

One way to get the medics to stand out more would be to color them differently. If we had medics in blue but normal players in green, then the medics would really stand out. (This would mean changing pets to be bright cyan for own pet and dull cyan for other pets - but who cares about other peoples pets anyway?)

Alternatively, I could just make the medic crosses bigger.

If we are color coding medics differently, there is an argument that says it would be nice to know where there is a group of engineers - as that is likely to be where a base is. So should each class get their own color? As in the scoreboard?
light blue - medics
yellow - engineers
purple - WMs
orange - AMs
white - none
This would leave grey for vehicles etc as now
blue for pets (Bright for own pet, not so bright for others).
Unfortunately that doesn't leave a lot for monsters. cyan - > green on health? I am not convinced. Green just seems wrong.
Or could have Bright red for monsters, and do the dots increasing in size relative to health rather than color change?

cribbage wrote:

I like the idea of an original health color. Might help in avoiding things when your own health gets low. On the other hand, it might make it easier for Elite to spot the high xp monsters and hork even more points!

So, who has a preference? Should the color scaling of monsters be based on their current health relative to the players current health? Or should it be a fixed scaling on the monsters original health?

Personally I'm a minimalist and dislike changing more than icon shape for medics. Dot size is icky; if green is an issue with dying monsters (I never see it, they die too quickly) then tweak that to be a shade of yellow.

And I'd also prefer the relative health of the player in RADAR (IE, the way it is now) to differentiate it from awareness.

BotFodder wrote:

And I'd also prefer the relative health of the player in RADAR (IE, the way it is now) to differentiate it from awareness.

The current way (monster health relative to player health) is closer to awareness, as the color changes as the monsters health decreases.
The other approach is to color purely based on the monsters max health - so titans are always red, and pupae always yellow - so there is no seeing when the monster is about to die. So for example on titan wave you couldn't target the yellow titans to get the kills.

Szlat wrote:

The other approach is to color purely based on the monsters max health - so titans are always red, and pupae always yellow - so there is no seeing when the monster is about to die. So for example on titan wave you couldn't target the yellow titans to get the kills.

i like that way.. now we know where titans are, where pupaes are, and such things.... the more dangerous the more red... maybe that should be nice, however... im just a singe fish in a huge pond

I honestly only use radar for : monster, pet ,player location myself
I think less info = less confusing,crowded

medic cross is great but to find engineers just look for mass of blue dots (blocks) and you will find them so not really necessary
slightly better range would be nice though

RoadKill v3.4 wrote:

slightly better range would be nice though

Radar currently shows items within 3000 units, which in "real" terms is 60m or 200ft.
If you increase the range do you want the dots packed closer together or the radar bigger?

(Note that one of the changes I am proposing is to show out of range items at the edge of the radar - which I think may be the best of the three options)

If classes are to be identified by any means, make it a purchased skill. I've got fat stacks of xp and nothing (i want) to buy.

Szlat wrote:

As in the scoreboard?
light blue - medics
yellow - engineers
purple - WMs
orange - AMs
white - none
This would leave grey for vehicles etc as now
blue for pets (Bright for own pet, not so bright for others).
Unfortunately that doesn't leave a lot for monsters. cyan - > green on health? I am not convinced. Green just seems wrong.
Or could have Bright red for monsters, and do the dots increasing in size relative to health rather than color change?

Sample screenshot.

See the two medics in the middle, an orange AM just above to the right. 2 Engineers top left. 2 purple WMs in the centre. One green pet (mine). 3 monsters - I would guess 2 brutes or sliths (~210 starting health) and a razorfly or gnat (<60 starting health)

TON80 wrote:

If classes are to be identified by any means, make it a purchased skill. I've got fat stacks of xp and nothing (i want) to buy.

Interesting thought.
If I was mean I would make the Radar and Scoreboard one point according to the level of the player. So a level 5 player can buy both for a total of 5 points, but if he waited to level 30 it would cost him 30. So for TON80 level 386......

Just joking.

But seriously, it could be a skill - if that's what people want?

I'm all for more things to buy... but make them expensive... I wouldn't care. Kids these days want it all for less, us old fogies have unlimited stat points. Give us something to spend them on, make us feel special.

My brain has limited capacity so I think the radar should have limited stuff. I'm afraid I am old and stuck in my ways.

Szlat wrote:

TON80 wrote:

If classes are to be identified by any means, make it a purchased skill. I've got fat stacks of xp and nothing (i want) to buy.
Interesting thought.
If I was mean I would make the Radar and Scoreboard one point according to the level of the player. So a level 5 player can buy both for a total of 5 points, but if he waited to level 30 it would cost him 30. So for TON80 level 386......
Just joking.

But seriously, it could be a skill - if that's what people want?

Eh the Radar could be a skill but I believe the scoreboard fix for XP should be default.

BTW the screenshot looks nice but AM's and monsters are a bit hard to tell apart due to the orange/red. Also I think the dot for the razorfly (the smallest might be a bit too small and seems to blend in a bit well with the color of the radar.