New UI Update: Gameboard

Kwahder

Just updated and...well, maybe my expectations were lowered by everyone else’s responses, but I didn’t mind it? I only played through DDQ, but I had no issues, really. The screen dimming was a bit much, perhaps, and possibly the the power bars could be bigger, but really, they seem like minor adjustments. If I could criticise anything, it’s the absolutely enormous size of the tiles. It felt like I was playing My First Match 3 Game. But that’s just aesthetics.

Changing a games UI 7 years in was always going to provoke a negative reaction. I mean, if this is causing people actual pain to play, that should be a priority fix, but I hope they’re going to move forward with this, not backwards.

Star1980

Hate the new update, done it with one swction story mode left, didnt even bother playing it as dislike the update so much after battling dor days for placement!! Revert to old board or after years and hundreds of pounds i will have to finally uninstall the game!!! 

MPQ_Daywalker

I’m a long-time player, on Day 2398; have been playing nonstop for the last 6.5 years.  I haven’t been active on the forums for a long time but for a long stretch I was posting a weekly buffed characters post in the Character Discussion portion of the forums. I really enjoy this game and I embrace change in general. I adapt to new UIs pretty easily. 

I don’t have any issues with the colors in the update, although speaking as a web developer who implements ADA Compliance fixes on websites I can assure you colorblind users should be 100% listened to in this thread. Color contrast is a giant problem for them. 

What i do have a major problem with is the darkening of the game board on the enemy’s turn. I suffer from migraines at times and I’ve learned over the years one of my key migraine triggers is going from light and dark and back repeatedly. I updated my game on iOS yesterday and last night and today found that this game now gives me a nausea-inducing migraine. 

The only way I can play a battle is to make a tile match and then either close my eyes or look away from the screen, which is ridiculous, slow and seriously not fun. 

At this point I don’t plan to even hit progression in the current story event and I honestly can’t tell you when the last time was that I didn’t do that (if you like to find out yourself, perhaps you can check the server stats for my account, _Daywalker_).   @LakeStone I know you already posted that the devs are looking into this feedback and taking it seriously. I truly hope that is the case; I enjoy the game and will miss it until it is fixed. 

Motren

If the old board won't come back, I'll be forced to uninstall after almost 7 years. Is 24h that I'm having a heavy headache cause strained my eyes too much watching the new board. The dimming could cause epileptic episodes. And the rest of the board is completely confusing, i cannot recognize colors and symbols anymore. And about power bars, I'm no more able to understand when a power is charged or not. I honestly cannot find an explanation, why they changed something that was working good how it was?
This is a total zero respect for those that have vision problems

Korvac

If nothing else, could you make the green more green? Generally all of the colors could stand to be more vibrant. I'm spending a lot of time staring at the game trying to remember (or just figure out) what color I'm collecting for my characters.

Wil88

I held off updating until I was forced to which was about an hour ago. So expect another 12 pages in this thread from those of us who held off. 

Speaking as an eye care professional, the dimming of the screen and the colour issues are not just forumites whining-they are significant issues that will force players to stop playing. 

josborne31

I wanted to provide my own opinions regarding the new update.  Most, if not all, have already been stated.  But I want my voice heard as well.

The muted colors can be difficult to distinguish, especially late at night when I've reduced the brightness on my device.

The character insignias on the tiles are so evident that they can be mistaken for a special tile. I've had to reduce my play speed (for a number of reasons) in order to ensure I recognize the symbol on the tiles.

The opponent's special tiles can be more difficult to see.  I didn't realize my opponent had several strick tiles because the black on black was too similar.

The dimming of the screen during the opponent's turn is not only very distracting, but it is giving me eye strain and headaches. This is the one thing that will be a game stopper for me. The other issues I can eventually become accustomed to, but I refuse to suffer eye- and head-aches because of the game.

Laslo

I'm sure most of this has already been said, but I needed to make sure it was heard:

The new interface change caused me to create an account to log in to the forum and post, nothing up until now has made me need to do this.

The New interface in general makes it more difficult to play

The tile colors need to be less shadowed so it is easier to differentiate colors and discern the enemy attack/strike/protect symbols on them

Allow a user to disable shadowing the screen on the opponent's turn, that is the time I use to determine my next move and flashing the screen along with the more muted colors makes that more difficult ( is this the effect you were going for? )

The AP bars can and should be wider, there is no reason to have space in between them, and as I saw in an earlier post, make it more obvious when a bar is "full".

In general not a good experience, I just got my wife to start playing and unfortunately both of us may have to stop playing.

Uber_mpq

Yeah it’s not just the dimming that is causing eye strain, but there’s a flash of light when matches are made, even after a few matches I felt my eyes starting to strain.  It’s harder to differentiate the tiles as well.

first thought was “what the hell”, second thought was “hell no”.

I appreciate the efforts to improve the game, but this update update is contrary to improvement imo.

darkangel333

I liked the board when I first saw it but now after playing it. I hate it so much. It's harder to see moves and the screen darkens everytime an enemies moves. Plus why change the characters power also. You made it backwards ughhh. It makes me not want to play the game. First update I hated so much. 

COLETIVO37

I play the game for almost 6 years. I made a registration here for the first time in all updates.

The game had fluid gameplay. Where you can understand the movements and think while the computer plays. The pieces now have an icon with a lot of black and white, making them no longer visible. In addition, between the plays, the darkening was uncomfortable.

Anyway, I hope the game will listen to players and think of an alternative.

firethorne

Wow, this is awful.  I was just automatically updated, and this is just painful.

1.  The tile icons: maybe not the worst thing ever, but not really better than before.  

2.  It is slower.  This is very noticable and not good. Enemy turns are taking longer.  My matches are taking longer to resolve and fall.  This just seems bad.

3.  The dimming: literally giving me a headache.

dokiy

After a day of playing I’m going to add some more thoughts:

Everything looks like a special tile, so nothing looks like a special tile. 

As others have said, muted colors aren’t good. Big and bright work in my opinion.

I don’t mind/like the physics. Bouncing tiles I can play with.

hard to see when AP bar fills up. Looks better when it’s the dark screen, but when it’s player turn it looks mixed with passive powers. 

If you are doing UI interface changes, bring back the SUPER OVER THE TOP WIN banner and the auto-win banner that appears early after played make a match and get a cascade that kills 3 goons. 

BubbaGump

How the )*&$$) did this even get approved?  People need to lose their jobs due to this update. 

Yepyep

Probably everything I have to say has been said well above, but I, too, need to speak out.

I appreciate the efforts at improving the game, but this change is so bad that it needs to simply be negated, wholesale. I simply can't see the board very well now, and I definitely am struggling to differentiate between colors. Like many other too-small things in the game, countdowns are barely visible to me and I cannot read their number. Charged tiles are almost impossible to pick out, and then only by looking tile-by-tile.

And the flash while the enemy moves -- this is downright dangerous. It is inconceivable to me that this would be implemented. It seems that an accessibility professional wasn't consulted at all, which is utterly baffling in 2021.

This is not an issue that can wait. It should be rolled back at once and then you can study the matter further. This is not a game (any more) for many of us.

BlackBoltRocks

BubbaGump said:

How the )*&$$) did this even get approved?  People need to lose their jobs due to this update. 

Uh, no they don't need to. Yes, this was a significant oversight, but people make mistakes. I'll give the devs the benefit of the doubt that they were trying to improve player experience, but they overlooked several things and badly missed the mark. Doesn't mean someone needs to be fired. Reprimanded, sure. Fired, no.

Have you never made a huge mistake before, and fervently wished that you would be given a chance to rectify it, instead of whoever has authority over you dismissing you?

shardwick

Man this is such a pain in the Talos to play now. The only UI update for the gameboard that was really needed was to know which wave round you're currently in.

entrailbucket

I like the change.  I think it looks cleaner, overall better and I've had zero problems telling which tiles are which.  I bet after a few days everyone will get used to it, and forget there even was an old game board.

Or, y'know, all of you who keep threatening to quit the game can actually quit for real this time?  Please?

abmoraz

for those wondering, here's what the gameboard looks like to colorblind people (simulated for all 3 major types):

SilverAgeFan

Chiming as another player, first time poster, who is having a debilitating experience with this game board change and the eye strain.

Long time sufferer of migraines. My condition has been well managed for over a decade, under normal circumstances experiencing at most two headaches a year now. Trying to play over the last 36 hours has triggered two migraines, one that lasted for several hours. Less than 10 minutes of play in either session. That's all it took.

If this change is not reverted, I will be forced to quit the game permanently. A shame. I discovered the game just before the start of the pandemic, spent over $100 on my roster and account in my first year. And enjoyed playing daily, growing my roster to 149 covers in my first year alone.

But it is literally that uncomfortable to play now that I will need to walk away if this change is not addressed. And if it is not addressed in short order, I will need to think seriously about how much more time, energy, and money I'd like to invest in this previously enjoyable diversion.