Survival Node Final Wave Indicator

RobDMind
RobDMind Posts: 24 Just Dropped In
in MPQ Suggestions and Feedback
The problem: A player is playing a survival node and forgets which wave he/she is on. Distraction is often the cause, with the play length of a particular wave in the node sometimes being the source of the distraction. Wave banners show which wave and the total wave count at the start of a wave & disappear from sight; it would be nice to have something more concrete to either glance at or have access to.

And I'm not the only one that seems to have had this thought. I did a quick search within this category and found five threads, from as recent as September 2017 to as early as December 2014:


One of the issues with forgetting the wave that has been brought up in a couple of these threads relates to a player saving up AP to fire off powers, only to then realize that the player was in the last wave.

My suggestion: Rather than try to find space on the battle screen to implement another counter or a button to access the wave count, why not use something that is already there--the enemy count box; to be specific, the box itself--to indicate when a player is in the final wave of a survival node? Much like waving a white flag to signify the last lap in auto racing, the color of the enemy count box could be changed from the blue it currently is to red (or a different color choice; something that might catch a person's eye).

I don't want to trivialize the coding that would be required to make this suggestion happen by saying that it would be "minor", but it would be less involved than trying to place a counter or pop-up. It would reduce the need for said counter or pop-up, and it would also address something that has continued to be suggested over the past 3.5 years.

Comments

  • HoundofShadow
    HoundofShadow Posts: 8,004 Chairperson of the Boards
    It seems like the problem came from the players' inattentiveness or lack of focus. Unfortunately, I faced this "problem" myself as well. The solution currently is to be more attentive.

    I saw the box that indicates the number of enemies left. They could add something there, but I think they don't want to make things look clunky.

    The AP bar and options to turn animation off were implemented a few years after the suggestions were made. This may be something down the list of priorities or tasks that they need to accomplish. If this is any sign, this could be on their to-do-list but obviously, it's way down on their priority list.
  • JSP869
    JSP869 Posts: 824 Critical Contributor
    In the Pause/Settings list the top option/line could state "Wave 2 / 4", or "Wave 3 / 3" or "Wave 1 / 1" (being a non-wave node).

    So nothing clunky on-screen, and possibly a reasonably easy way to implement this.
  • PiMacleod
    PiMacleod Posts: 1,797 Chairperson of the Boards
    I'm down with the simple idea of changing the color of the countdown box.  Makes sense without adding a bigger shape, another box, or any extra text.
  • DeNappa
    DeNappa Posts: 1,398 Chairperson of the Boards
    edited May 2018
    Very simple, obvious and non intruding concept using the current layout: https://imgur.com/a/dOPqVvM

    Excuse the **** 10-minute paint quality.

    The basic idea: add a 'shield' (or parallelogram as it currently is) for each wave in the current node that holds the enemy counter (this is currently already present in wave nodes). When you finish a wave, the shield is broken away and reveals the next shield. Repeat until all waves are complete.

    Are you taking notes devs?
  • Maximus7481
    Maximus7481 Posts: 30 Just Dropped In
    great idea - i always forget where I'm up to when I'm grinding

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