New UI Update: Gameboard

fight4thedream

***Mod note: While I understand the need to vent, please keep in mind this thread is to provide feedback regarding the changes to the Gameboard; it is not meant to be a space to lecture other forum users on how they should or should not be reacting to those changes.

We ask that you take these discussions of differences in opinion to DMs.  Any further posts not directly providing feedback regarding the Gameboard changes will be removed. Please keep this thread on topic. Thank you.

The rockett

HoundofShadow said:

All the players getting very angry over the speed hack two weeks ago kept quiet all of a sudden after this update was rolled out. It's like the speed hack has never happened before. Virtually none of them (those who got affected by it) brought this closing of speed hack as a possibility why we are getting new problem (s). As a matter of fact, they ignored this possibility or pretended  that it didn't exist.

The speed hack is a pressing issue for some (like scl 10 players) because they are willing to discredit the dev by saying that they did nothing about it and made the "hack" publicly available for many players to be seen.

People just have to wait until 3rd April, and hopefully, earlier, to see if things improve. In any deal, there will always be losers and winners. So, I don't expect the upcoming fix to make every single player happy.

About the speed hack, what are we supposed to do.  High five around and keep posting about it?  Do you realize that this updated happened in the middle of a pve event.  Hmm.... I wonder what the next pve event was..... oh yea a boss event that time doesn’t matter.   So now we are into a brand new pve event that sub 1 just ended for S1 and have no idea what the end will look like.   

Again with half truths and facts about this without painting a full picture of when this fix happened, what events were going on and what the next event was.  

As for the game board, while I have issues with how the colors look, the AP bar being very small and not being able to see quickly when some powers are ready, I have had 0 issues with this.  When I have talked about the issues facing some players, it is because some do not talk on the forums, don’t want to come and set up and account.   I did have 2 player quit due to their headaches and eye strain they have suffered.  I have one that is playing very limited due to his epilepsy issues.  He is looking away every single AI turn and doesn’t think he will be around much longer.   

PiMacleod

Not to fan the flames... (And i really dont want to, but i fear my words will be taken as such)

Ive NEVER seen an update for this game get so much vitriol before this one.
Not just here... But in other places too.  Facebook for one, is even more toxic than normal.
My own YouTube channel, which is meager at best, has its nay-sayers towards the update.

I make do with it.  I guess i'm 'blessed' to be okay with it currently.  Ive gotten used to the entire ordeal, even though i know i'd be happy to go back to what it was.  In the end, they probably dont wanna undo their hard work and resources spent, but also dont wanna lose such a large part of the playerbase (which i'd assume includes people from F2P to Whales).  

I look forward to the next change, and to our topics reverting back to "character balance", "okoye everywhere", and "cheating". 

ThaRoadWarrior

PiMacleod said:

Not to fan the flames... (And i really dont want to, but i fear my words will be taken as such)

Ive NEVER seen an update for this game get so much vitriol before this one.
Not just here... But in other places too.  Facebook for one, is even more toxic than normal.
My own YouTube channel, which is meager at best, has its nay-sayers towards the update.

I make do with it.  I guess i'm 'blessed' to be okay with it currently.  Ive gotten used to the entire ordeal, even though i know i'd be happy to go back to what it was.  In the end, they probably dont wanna undo their hard work and resources spent, but also dont wanna lose such a large part of the playerbase (which i'd assume includes people from F2P to Whales).  

I look forward to the next change, and to our topics reverting back to "character balance", "okoye everywhere", and "cheating". 

I tried to start one about finding any use at all for post-nerf Danver5 lol; so far it's been "meat shield for Thano5" or "no use now, but no use before either...."

PiMacleod

@ThaRoadWarrior lol.  Noted.  And honestly, i havent seen anything either.  Been playing around with more 4s lately, just for fun, but M5rvel remains lackluster at best.

entrailbucket

Now that this thread is only for our own feedback and not critiques of others', I can update my own feedback, completely immune from criticism! 

After a couple days I got used to the board and it's fine.  I haven't talked to anyone who has a problem with it.  No one in my alliance has a problem with it.  No one I know has quit the game over it.

AndiTi

We had a long-time commander take a break after noting how much he hated the dimming issue. He didn't say it was about that, but the coincidence is spectacular if it wasn't. Other than that, some mixed negative reaction in general but no others stepping away.

I'll get used to it, and am already halfway there. That said, I'm glad they are adjusting it at least somewhat. I'll withhold final judgment until I see it.

As far as the wait, I'm sure there are a lot of other things that went into this beyond what the user can see that make them not want to simply go backwards (some of which have been discussed) and there may even be some other benefits later on--who knows. It's not that big a deal to me to wait for the adjustment, but I can understand the frustration for what appears an arbitrary and unnecessary change. Especially for those with accessibility or medical issues preventing them from playing. I'm lucky in that my objections are merely aesthetic.

As has been pointed out, I really, really recommend the devs seek help from an accessibility expert before making major UI changes. In my own field we are constantly aware of accessibility issues with online displays and the need to test these types of changes with multiple different user concerns in mind BEFORE going live.

LavaManLee

After playing for the past several days with the new UI, here are my completely biased thoughts:

1) I have totally gotten used to the gameboard.  Very surprised at how quickly I got used to it and now can't imagine playing the old board.

2) I feel for those who are having physical issues playing the game and hope they fix it ASAP.  It is great for me that I am not having physical issues, but I have empathy for those who are experiencing issues playing the new UI.  This is supposed to be fun and I hope the next adjustment allows all to play the game in a way that is not hazardous to their health.

DAZ0273

After a week or so of this:

1.) Yellow AP bar still difficult to differentiate for when ready to fire, it just needs a contrast tweak.

2.) The Game does seem slower. I cannot speak to knowing what the "speed hack" was or how this update may have fixed that as is being alluded to (and will likely never be confirmed) but if the new interface when tweaked is able to address this then that would be great.

3.) The Illusion of slow down - on top of an actual slow down I think there is also an optical trick being played on us here. I can't speak for others but when I play MPQ I am consumed mostly by a desire for it to be my turn again as soon as possible - whether this is because I have spotted a Match 5 or can fire a power, my brains little hamster wheel is going "My turn, my turn, me, me, now!" - with the dimming on the enemies turn my brain is having a major meltdown waiting for my turn to arrive and this is being exaggerated by the fact the AI now "taunts" the player by demonstrating in quantifiably measurable ways how long it is getting to play the game. This is a purely psychologial thing - previously it was not measurably obvious how long the AI was taking to do things except in long cascades or delays such as the Mindless Ones brushing their teeth or whatever - now though the game is showing you in dimmed screen detail "I am in control here sucker and I will make you wait". My brain does not accept or like this and is being a bit of a brat about it.

I have no actual physical issues to report and look forward to/hope that the Developers can fix the issues affecting other players whilst addressing their intentions for the change in the first place.

P.S. Please keep those damage numbers when the new/old UI comes around, they are Comic Book-tastic!

KGB

DAZ0273 said:

After a week or so of this:

1.) Yellow AP bar still difficult to differentiate for when ready to fire, it just needs a contrast tweak.

Also need charged tiles to stand out better like they used to do. If you've tried any battles with charged tile users you'll be shocked how hard it is to find the charged tiles now that they aren't highlighted.

KGB

BeetleGeorge

I've read that about the charged tiles for several times now. Therefore I just tried a quick lightning round with Black Bolt to confirm what I remembered. At least on my big screen with the steam version I would even call them "agressively visible" meaning they stand out above everything else. Either it has different graphics on PC or they are best suited for the big screen. Maybe that's also one reason why the new colours were okay for me.
So if there wouldn't be the darkening board and the too many flashes causing me headache if I try to play normal times or forget to close my eyes during AI moves I could consider myself one of the lucky ones.

justsing

I wouldn't say charged tiles stand out on Steam....... 

Waddles_Pines

I don't know if this has been said or not, but they also need a different shape for either blue or green.  The square and rectangle are way too close in shape for fast recognition.  At least the others are more distinguishable.  Black and TU are the same shape, but they are visually so different, so that's okay.  You basically have 2 circles, 2 triangles, and 3 quadrilaterals (1 square, 1 rotated square, and 1 rectangle).  I think that blue should either be a sideways triangle, or a completely different shape.

ThaRoadWarrior

For what it's worth, I don't think any of the actual shapes changed from old to new, just the color/contrast of them and some of the special tile icon treatments. But I agree, green and blue are not different enough to my eye if we're not going to be using high contrast.

BeetleGeorge

justsing said:

I wouldn't say charged tiles stand out on Steam....... 

I tried some snapshots too. Look quite like yours So I see on a smaller screen, e.g. of a tablet (or if I shrink the screenshot to simulate one) they cannot be recognized as clearly as on my big screen. However while testing that I noticed the charged tiles start pulsating after a second or so. Then there should be no problem seeing them I think but for my feeling in that situation AI special tiles are even less noticeable as they are anyway with the new graphic design. So I'd rather like the dedicated AI special tiles and countdown tiles made more prominent.

pheregas

justsing said:

I wouldn't say charged tiles stand out on Steam....... 

Was on vacation for a week and playing as little as possible and did my best to look away every turn.  I'm coping, but my enjoyment is down.

But what I find super interesting is that now that I've taken a minute to stare at a screen that isn't flashing back at me and isn't playing as fast as humanly possible for points or to get hit in PVP, I noticed that charged tiles have a LIGHTNING BOLT INSIDE!

This change has been live for how long and I just now noticed that.  This should go a long way towards informing the programmers behind this that charged tiles are not distinct enough, even with "anime sweat lines" and an almost invisible lightning bolt inside.

Akoni

pheregas said:

justsing said:

I wouldn't say charged tiles stand out on Steam....... 

Was on vacation for a week and playing as little as possible and did my best to look away every turn.  I'm coping, but my enjoyment is down.

But what I find super interesting is that now that I've taken a minute to stare at a screen that isn't flashing back at me and isn't playing as fast as humanly possible for points or to get hit in PVP, I noticed that charged tiles have a LIGHTNING BOLT INSIDE!

This change has been live for how long and I just now noticed that.  This should go a long way towards informing the programmers behind this that charged tiles are not distinct enough, even with "anime sweat lines" and an almost invisible lightning bolt inside.

I noticed it early on, but to be fair, I was purposely looking for it. I thought the same as you minus the anime sweat lines.   They really need to brighten the lightening bolt. Look at how bright the strike tile sword is compared to the lightening bolt which irl actually gives off light.