I was asked to re-post this with a poll, so here we go



UX PROBLEM: When trading resources, I forget which ones I need and which I can trade away. Also, the resource list is not in any order.



SOLUTION: Add resource icons and amounts (with hilights on monopoly) and arrange the resources in some order. F.e. strategic first and then luxury and alphabetical/amount/rarity or some kind of order on top. I just placed the resources into the default order (on empire management view etc.) in the picture, I have no idea what the default order is based on.



PICTURE: (current view - new sketch)







COMMENTS: Sketch has wrong font and messy resource icons, sorry about that



And yes, this has been talked about before too, but this isn't mentioned in the sticky https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space/forum/28-game-design/thread/13096-updated-summary-of-suggestions-ideas :/

The other summary thread has a mention of "See how many resources you have to trade from the trade screen" in the second post: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space/forum/28-game-design/thread/13003-summary-of-suggestions-so-far-discussion

... which links to an archived thread that I coulnd't reply on (http://forums.amplitude-studios.com/showthread.php?1212-Diplomacy-trade-screen-needs-work.&highlight=diplomacy).



That archived thread is also in [SOLVED] -status, so I think they've just forgotten about this or something

Anyway, I suggest more than just resource numbers (resource icon, monopoly-hilight, some sense to the order in which the resources are shown).



jetkar just wanted me to post a poll with this to see whether folks truly want this. So, do we want better usability for the resource trading or not? :P







-Drendil



p.s. you could update the "Proposal submission rules" to mention polls, since nearly all suggestions need votes to go further

p.p.s. sigh, ofc I found the way to add polls to old threads only after I made this new one, and now I cant find a way to delete this, or the old one :/ mods, help me and delete f.e. the old thread? original thread: https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space/forum/28-game-design/thread/12186-resource-trading-ui-improvements

Oh and btw, for all those who vote "No", could you please explain why not? I'm really eager to know why you wouldn't want to see the resource amounts in trade screen

Yes, please, this eliminates the necessity to keep maxing out the number of the elements i want and have, so i know how much he can give me.

AtomSoldat wrote:
Yes, please, this eliminates the necessity to keep maxing out the number of the elements i want and have for the enemy, so i know how much he has.

Yep, I rarely even bother anymore since it's too bothersome to do Ofc so far I've only played superior-level games that have been too easy anyway. In a tougher game I'd have to still do that.

I really, really like that idea. But the numbers should be the one you really can trade, so it should not include the already traded amounts and it would be helpful to know which resources you need for the ships you already built (for repairing them).

Tiriondil wrote:
I really, really like that idea. But the numbers should be the one you really can trade, so it should not include the already traded amounts and it would be helpful to know which resources you need for the ships you already built (for repairing them).

i should have votes Yes with changes, cause i just thought that it should also tell you how much you are getting from treaties, so you don't offer someone 3 in treaty A and then realise you got those 2 from treaty B and one which then gets broken so you can no longer fulfil your end of the bargain and cause diplomatic tension.



i should learn to break up my sentences.



oh idea like columns like

-----------------------------------------------

material | in | out | base | available |

-----------------------------------------------

titanium | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 |

hexaferrum | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |

etc.



it would require the screen being slightly enlarged but that can be done

DarkNexus wrote:
it would require the screen being slightly enlarged but that can be done

The current screen is quite nice, I don't see a need to break it, just relegate that info to a mouse-over text. If I have something like 9 hexaferrum, then I won't really have to worry about the in/out. If it's just 2-3... much more.

Yep a mouse-over would suffice for me too. To keep the UI simpler.

First I thought that you could just show the base value in brackets, f.e.



titanium 6 (4)

hexaferrum 4 (5)



ie. no need to show in/out, current (base) is enough. But even that makes the UI a bit uglier :/ So my vote goes for mouse-over extra info with possibly even more details about current deals with that specific resource. Something like:



Titanium:

Current amount 6

Base amount 4

+2 from Sophons for -3 anti-matter

This has been added to summary list under Interfaces > UI Improvements Rescourse Trading for Dev Team to consider

Hooray! \o/

They implemented this, at least in some way

Sadly, the implementation is a bit sloppy



Problems:

1) The scrollbar in luxury resources blocks the view so you can't see all of them.

2) The black-n-white resource-block-icon in the resources list is useless with the new resource icons that actually help the user to locate specific resources. Just check my suggested picture, a lot cleaner and simpler.

3) The order in which the resources are listed is based on what? At least list strategic resources first and then luxuries and then put them in order according to their total amounts or in alphabetical order.



I wonder if the devs read the original post at all or just read the title for the suggestion :/

Drendil wrote:
Sadly, the implementation is a bit sloppy



Problems:

1) The scrollbar in luxury resources blocks the view so you can't see all of them.

2) The black-n-white resource-block-icon in the resources list is useless with the new resource icons that actually help the user to locate specific resources. Just check my suggested picture, a lot cleaner and simpler.

3) The order in which the resources are listed is based on what? At least list strategic resources first and then luxuries and then put them in order according to their total amounts or in alphabetical order.



I wonder if the devs read the original post at all or just read the title for the suggestion :/

Well, I can assure that we read the suggestions listed by Jetkar. It took Romain and I a few days to make that list: read the suggestion, follow the link, understand the idea and try to find a solution to the problem, list it on our improvement list and add to the thread.



As for your suggestion, the problem is that removing the resource icon was more complex than we thought, and adding the number of strategic/luxury resources on the right side would not fit with so little space (Meta-Enctatogen or Pre-Schism Artefacts or instance). You also have to think about the German language, with their extra long words (I love Germans, but yeah you see my point).



Also, resources are listed by order of discovery/possession.

Thanks for reply Steph'nie! <3

And yeah I speak German too so I understand perfectly



My main concern is the scrollbar blocking some of the luxury resources though (1). To avoid that, you'd need to increase the size of the box at the bottom so all the resources fit in without scrolling, or so that the box is wide enough for the scrollbar to appear without blocking some of the resources.

Steph'nie wrote:
You also have to think about the German language, with their extra long words (I love Germans, but yeah you see my point).

Just curious: What resources would that be? I mean Hexaferrum for instance is the same in German. (And I'm a native German speaker, too, so I see your point. )

Tiriondil wrote:
Just curious: What resources would that be? I mean Hexaferrum for instance is the same in German. (And I'm a native German speaker, too, so I see your point. )

Pre-schism artifacts -> Prä-Spaltungs-Artefakte.