New design for old stuff (1)
Today I thought about how warzone looks like for someone who never played it before. With the ‚look‘ I mean the design and presentation of data in-game.
So I think you all know the construction menu. On the right is a full animation of all eight tabs you can/must click through to find a specific building. For those who played warzone a hundred times already there’s nothing new to this and you know that the fortresses can be found on the last tab or last two tabs. But how does this look like for a newbie? For someone who never played warzone before? For someone who is used to comfortably arranged and sorted construction menus? In one word: confusing.
As I think that it’s one of the aims of the future development of warzone to make the game more newbie-friendly one of the main problems is the construction menu. And I have an idea for a solution to this problem.
The game internally distinguishes between different structure types and the idea is to make this distinction visible in-game.
Explanation
On the top you don’t have the tabs anymore, at least not as the first ‚level‘. Instead there are buttons indicating the structure-category. Clicking one of these buttons may lead to a second level of buttons. Perhaps the category-tree then looks like this:
- Base Structures
- Energy Management
- Power Generator
- Power Generator Module
- Oil Derrick
- General Base Structures
- Command Center
- Commando Relais
- Research Center
- Research Center Module
- Production and Repair
- Factory
- VTOL Factory
- Factory Module
- Cyborg Factory
- Repair Facility
- VTOL Rearming Pad
- Energy Management
- Defense Structures
- Intelligence
- Hardened Sensor Tower
- CB Tower
- VTOL Strike Tower
- VTOL CB Tower
- Wide Spectrum Tower
- Satellite Uplink Center
- Artillery
- Bombard Pit
- Pepperpot Pit
- Incenediary Mortar Pit
- EMP Mortar Pit
- Ground Shaker Emplacement
- Hellstorm Emplacement
- Incenediary Howitzer Emplacement
- Angel Missile Emplacement
- Archangel Missile Emplacement
- Bunkers and Emplacements
- Rotary MG Bunker
- Lancer Bunker
- Tank Killer Emplacement
- Inferno Emplacement
- Plasmite Flamer Emplacement
- HPV Cannon Emplacement
- Twin Assault Cannon Emplacement
- Railgun Emplacement
- Gauss Cannon Emplacement
- Flashlight Emplacement
- Pulse Laser Emplacement
- Heavy Laser Emplacement
- Plasma Cannon Emplacement
- AA Structures
- Cyclone AA Site
- Whirlwind AA Site
- Vindicator SAM Site
- Stormbringer AA Laser Site
- Assault Gun Hardpoint
- Twin Assault Gun Hardpoint
- Cyclone Hardpoint
- Whirlwind Hardpoint
- Avenger Hardpoint
- Vindicator Hardpoint
- Heavy Rocket Bastion
- Hardpoints and Towers
- Assault Gun Hardpoint
- Twin Assault Gun Hardpoint
- Tank Killer Hardpoint
- Scourge Missile Hardpoint
- Assault Cannon Hardpoint
- HPV Cannon Hardpoint
- Heavy Cannon Hardpoint
- Railgun Hardpoint
- Gauss Cannon Hardpoint
- Flashlight Hardpoint
- EMP Cannon Hardpoint
- Mini-pod Rocket Guard Tower
- Scourge Missile Tower
- Needle Gun Tower
- Special Defense Structures
- Nexus-Link Tower
- Laser Satellite Command Post
- Cannon Fortress
- Mass Driver Fortress
- Missile Fortress
- Heavy Rocket Bastion
- Intelligence
The ‚demolish structure‘ (which is an own structure internally) is shown on every page. ‚Wall‘ and ‚Tank Trap‘ are shown on every page of the Defense Structures. As you may notice some structures are in more than one category.
My hope is that these categories will make it into the game at some point in the future. To preserve the feeling of the original warzone this should be an on- and off-turnable feature.
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