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A better way to do Sector Area Maps (long)

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
edited January 2011 in Controls and User Interface
I have redesigned the look of these Area maps to make them more Trek-like and to give a more user friendly look and feel.


Map Legend: Click here.

You will see that I have made many different icons of different colors to represent different mission markers and locations in the game. Currently I don't think anyone knows what the different symbols we currently have mean, because they are used oft times for things that seem completely unrelated. I think having a more detailed Map and a Legend to go with it will simplify things a bit and make it easier for players to tell what is what.



Sirius Sector Block: Click here.

First I'd like you to notice the Adjustable Course Markers. These would slide along the area they mark to make it possible for players to set a course that does not necessarily go the exact same area every time. This also will come in useful with my idea for Advanced Course Settings further on.

Note the color coded sidebars also give you an idea of what kind of sector block you are heading into. Color coding and gradations of these sidebars is as per the Sector Block beyond.

Delta Volanis Cluster: Click here.



Omega Leonis Sector Block: Click here.

First thing I'd like you to see here is how I've allowed the titles of the systems and their descriptions to stack. This goes a long way toward cleaning up the Klingon maps so it doesn't look like such a mess of text overlaying text.

T'Ong Nebula: Click here.

D'kel Star Cluster: Click here.

Eridon Nebula: Click here.

You'll notice that each of these maps connects to one another. My feeling is that if it looks like you should be able to fly a straight line from one point to another, then you should be able to.

Azlesa Expanse: Click here.



Regulus Sector Block: Click here.

Note here that the Briar Patch is marked as a regular Unexplored System as it should be. There is no reason to have a special marker here, especially not when it's a marker that would otherwise designate a Fleet Action.

Arucanis Arm: Click here.



Eta Eridani Sector Block: Click here.



Alpha Centauri Sector Block: Click here.

Noticed I've changed the Crystaline Entity into a Mobile Fleet Action icon in order to differentiate it from other enemy contacts. This will make locating the entity much easier.

Also notice that I have removed the word System from the end of Sierra Outpost II and changed it's icon to that of a normal System icon. This is not a Fleet Action and should not be marked with an icon that usually represents Fleet Actions.

No more special notes. I'll just let you look at the maps from here on.

Khazan Cluster: Click here.



Pi Canis Sector Block: Click here.

Hromi Cluster: Click here.



Pi Velorum Sector Block: Click here.

Aefehiir Nebula: Click here.



Iota Povonis Sector Block: Click here.

Eridani Belt: Click here.



Beta Ursae Sector Block: Click here.

Rolor Nebula: Click here.



Alpha Triangulae Sector Block: Click here.

Betreka Nebula: Click here.



Zeta Andromadae Sector Block: Click here.

Zenos Expanse: Click here.



Advanced Course Settings

Advanced Course Settings would allow players to designate a course by using systems to mark a specific directional route. The Course window would appear when you selected a System icon, just as it does now. But instead of only asking if you would like to set a course to that System, it would also have an option to set an Advanced course.

With this option you could select a number of Systems and designate whether you want to stop or continue when you reach them and then click Engage. If you elect to stop at any system along your course, your ship will stop and hold position until you enter the mission or choose to Resume Course. If you opt to continue the Ship will continue immediately to the next System along your plotted course.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3


This kind of system would allow players to plot a course that goes to each of their currently active missions or to go to another Sector Block at a specific point so that they spawn on the end of the Block they want to.

The sliding Adjustable Course Markers would help to designate a specific area to cross into another Sector Block with Advanced Courses. Also, this would simply feel more Trek-like than plotting a course that goes in a straight line to a single location.

Well, what do you think? Can we consider making such changes to the Sector Block Area Maps? I think it would go a long way to matching the feel of a Star Trek galaxy, while making the whole map system more user friendly.

Comments and feedback are welcome.


:cool:
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Hattip to your work on the maps. Well done, sir!

    Suggestions: use something other than just color to distinguish faction on otherwise identical icons. Some players are colorblind, and if you can easily work around that, you'll improve them even more. You could, for example, rotate the KDF Starbase icon 45 degrees. It would still be similar, but instantly distinguishable from the Fed one.

    Course Sliders seem unnecessarily complex to code. How about allowing a right click on open space, to set a waypoint and bring up the dialog for setting a course to that point? Set the waypoint on the edge of a map, and you'd have the same effect, plus you could set points in interstellar space, if you wanted to.

    Advanced Courses: the right click would set a waypoint and ask if you wanted to add it to your current Advanced Course.

    Again, nice work!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Hattip to your work on the maps. Well done, sir!

    Suggestions: use something other than just color to distinguish faction on otherwise identical icons. Some players are colorblind, and if you can easily work around that, you'll improve them even more. You could, for example, rotate the KDF Starbase icon 45 degrees. It would still be similar, but instantly distinguishable from the Fed one.

    Course Sliders seem unnecessarily complex to code. How about allowing a right click on open space, to set a waypoint and bring up the dialog for setting a course to that point? Set the waypoint on the edge of a map, and you'd have the same effect, plus you could set points in interstellar space, if you wanted to.

    Advanced Courses: the right click would set a waypoint and ask if you wanted to add it to your current Advanced Course.

    Again, nice work!

    Thank you.

    I agree with your point about the icons and color blindness. Simply rotating icons depending on faction would be a perfect solution.

    And for course sliders, having it work like something as simple as a thumbtack in the area that designates a point to follow would be acceptable.


    :cool:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    An example of why a cleaning up of the Sector Area mapping is needed.

    Smaller map UIs.

    With the option to decrease map size the map should be able to adjust to that size and remain readable. stacking System text and moving the Sector Block text to appear along the sides would greatly help.

    Also, removing the System names and making them appear only on mouse over, asthey did in Beta would help even more. With the more advanced Icons I've created players should have little to no trouble finding locations that would otherwise depend on them seeing the name.


    :cool:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Clickity clack. Bumpity bump.

    :cool:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Really nice work on the photo layouts. Though, I'd like to add a less visual aspect idea to the mix. One of the biggest headaches Ive run into, is the categorization process. I understand Sector Blocks, Sectors and Systems.. but I keep finding myself going to a System, and not the system BLOCK as I intended. A simple solution would be to break down the System List as follows.

    ALPHA QUADRANT
    ---BLOCK NAME
    SECTOR NAME
    SYSTEM NAME

    BETA QUADRANT
    ---BLOCK NAME
    SECTOR NAME
    SYSTEM NAME


    DELTA QUADRANT
    ---BLOCK NAME
    SECTOR NAME
    SYSTEM NAME


    GAMMA QUADRANT
    ---BLOCK NAME
    SECTOR NAME
    SYSTEM NAME


    This will allow the player to search quickly and not confuse system and sector names when they're similar (IE Regulus Sector/Regulus System), and it would also allow for much easier auto navigation. I click on the system I want, and the computer auto navigates to the correct Block/Sector/System without having to do it again after Ive hit a loading screen. Adding in a search function would also be a great deal of help if reorganization would cause too many bugs or too much heart ache in the short term. I hope this helps.. if Im a bit convoluted in my explanation, please let me know and I'll try to clarify.

    Most Respectfully,

    Capt Wa-Ya
    USS Chippewa
    NCC-92887
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Good ideas for the searching options. Thanks for that addition.

    :cool:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    I really like this idea, especially the adjustable course markers.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited April 2010
    Some of the more complicated items in your proposed UI changes seem...well, complicated!

    However, making the iconography consistent would be a tremendous boon, and (once the color-blindness is taken into account) I think you're definitely onto something here. Very exciting work.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Let's give this a bump, shall we?

    :cool:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    yes please.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    wow just wow i hope to see some of these ideas adopted by Cryptic that would be awesome
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    I like these ideas
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Hiya Blackavaar,

    Juat saw your post mentioned on today's episode of STOked, so if you did not know already... Well... You've been STOked...*Chuckle*...

    That said, I like these ideas. Particularly the idea of being able to advance plot a course to include several mission locations. I assume that is what you meant at any rate.

    An example being; suppose one is just starting a Patrol run with say four systems. Being able to set your course markers in the order you want to encounter the systems could be a nice way to avoid having to search for each location between missions.

    I can see this as being particularly useful in an organized group where everyone had the same Patrols.

    Herycles, howdy...

    I really liked your idea for having Sector BLocks, Sectors, and Systems blocked together some how. Possibly even have an option for collapsing the menu in some way. This would enable the player to just have say; a particular Sector open within a Sector Block, and thus show the systems within it.

    Cool stuff folks...
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    What I was thinking is that all the exploration zones should just be represented by nebulae or whatnot and then they can free up those parts of the map for further expansion.

    Just like you see the Mutara Nebula near B'tran, exploration zones could be easily represented the same way.

    Thoughts?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    What I was thinking is that all the exploration zones should just be represented by nebulae or whatnot and then they can free up those parts of the map for further expansion.

    Just like you see the Mutara Nebula near B'tran, exploration zones could be easily represented the same way.

    Thoughts?

    It was originally like that in closed beta when I joined it in October 2009, it was changed for some reason. I actually preferred it myself because stuff like the actual Hromi Cluster was placed in the Pi Canis Sector block right where it was meant to be as seen in the Star Charts book.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    /signed +1
    this is a perfect solution to the current map systems in place, great job on the visual ideas and way of explainin, hop danial looks into this and gives it the go ahead :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Bump, great improvement.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Good stuff.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited July 2010
    Good ideas. What I like most is, that it seems like it can be done fairly easy, mostly within existing engin which makes it more likely to happen. More of this kind, in everything!

    Personally, id' like to see more graphical effects for the systems in exploration missions, not just a point. Could be a sloar system, an asteroid belt,or a nebula. Graphics are already in, it just needs to be plugged inte the random system generator in some smat way. I think the little dots we have now are... underwhelming.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2010
    Wow i really like this, lets hope someone at Cryptic sees this!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited September 2010
    /signed

    You, good sir original poster, have just made my day. I would love it if Cryptic would read this post and make Sector Area maps like that. Much cleaner, and like you said, more "Trek" in general. I particularly loved the idea of more complicated route choices, such as selecting a path with multiple systems on it. Would definitely be handier, and might make Sector Space less painful.

    The idea someone mentioned of having nebulas and clusters as points on the map instead of how they are now is another one I'd adore. Would make a lot more sense in places, and as one poster said would leave a lot more room for Cryptic to add new sectors later on.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited October 2010
    Bout time for this to get a bump.

    Since the devs are redesigning the Sector Maps, they might as well fix up the mini maps too, donthca think?


    :cool:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited October 2010
    /signed
    Cryptic designers, make it happen! :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    nice idea!!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    Great improvements. +1

    I don't know if you meant that we can plot a course on the maps?

    I think it would be a great feature to have. Ever notice how Kirk would walk onto the bridge and tell Sulu 'ahead warp facor 1' without actually telling Sulu where to go? It's because there was already a course plotted! :D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    Igard81 wrote: »
    Great improvements. +1

    I don't know if you meant that we can plot a course on the maps?

    I think it would be a great feature to have. Ever notice how Kirk would walk onto the bridge and tell Sulu 'ahead warp factor 1' without actually telling Sulu where to go? It's because there was already a course plotted! :D

    Yes, that's what I meant. It would be sort of a mini-game (like scanning anomalies). You would select all of the points you wanted to go to and then click Engage and the ship would travel to each of those locations in succession until it got to the end of your course.

    :cool:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited January 2011
    I'm surprised they are not actively working on this (that we know of). Great ideas/visualizations.
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