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Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 5:30 am
by kestasjk
The point and click UI is no longer beta, and is the new default for non-variant games. If you prefer the legacy/variant UI it will always be supported, and you can change your default setting in your account settings (Account > Site settings)

Any issues / feedback please post below. Note also several changes have been made in the background to prepare for various new functions and to address the cause of the recent server game processing halts, so if you notice any strange behavior / bugs please post below.

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 6:41 am
by sweetandcool
I absolutely love the point and click UI. That being said, I absolutely hate not being able to use both. Unless I go back and forth with my account settings, I can no longer: write and access notes, see the last time my opponent was active, draft messages while viewing the map unimpeded. Outrageous!

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 6:52 am
by kestasjk_test3
Hmm.. good point.. I'll add something so in the home screen / game search game panel there's a link that let you open the drop-down UI

Longer term though I'll add the functionality to the point and click UI

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 7:18 am
by kestasjk
Well.. are those the only things that you can't do via the point and click UI? If so I might as well bit the bullet and add them to the point and click UI

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 7:33 am
by sweetandcool
You can't access the message/map/moves archive. And I don't think there is a quick link to reporting bugs or getting help. That's it, I think.

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 9:36 am
by kestasjk
Hmm, that makes sense.. I've made it so the icon right below the map on the dropdown UI opens the point and click UI, instead of opening the large map (which seems redundant at this point), so this should let advanced players use the dropdown UI but open the point and click UI easily

I'm not totally sure whether I want to add loads of functions to the point and click UI right now.. People find the UI is complicated/too busy, which is great for experienced players but can be overwhelming for newcomers

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 10:09 am
by sweetandcool
Love it! Thanks a bunch, now I can easily use both modes without switching my defaults back and forth.

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 10:14 am
by jamesa7171
"I've made it so the icon right below the map on the dropdown UI opens the point and click UI, instead of opening the large map (which seems redundant at this point)"
Seems like this change might have had some side effects: came here to report that the big map icon in variant games now attempts to open the point and click UI and subsequently fails to do so (this is independent of whatever the profile settings say, if that helps).

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 10:20 am
by kestasjk
Hmm, that's weird it does seem to work here. Which game ID is happening for you on, and does it fail with any error message or does it just not do anything?

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 10:28 am
by jamesa7171
It happens for every single alternate map variant, regardless of which map or whether I'm in the game or not. Every game on the classic map works properly. The variants using the classic map seem to be split depending on whether new countries are involved or not: Chaos is broken, but the 2p variants work properly.

The screen will flash what appears to be an empty version of the classic map (on the point and click interface) for a split second, then the screen will go blank/white and there is nothing to interact with. Zooming out reveals nothing.

Edited to add: I managed to capture a screenshot of what it briefly shows: https://i.imgur.com/7GYofu1.png (This is supposed to be a Modern Diplomacy II game...and I am not Russia!) It has a couple extra details which may be useful in debugging, I suppose.

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 10:40 am
by kestasjk
Ahh I see, I forgot to disable it for variants not supported in the new map type, just a sec

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 10:54 am
by jamesa7171
Looks like that's fixed now. Thanks for all your hard work on this update!

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:42 am
by kestasjk
No worries; using a short-work-week to take a whole week to geek out on webDip and cross some things off the list, reminds me of being back in uni :)

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 1:43 pm
by Doom427
Are there plans to update the look of the rest of the website? I like the "Dated" look but can live with the new one. But going from the rest of the website to a new UI is too jarring for me so changed it back to the old one.

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 2:57 pm
by Troodonte
I really like the old map.
I’m used to “read the board” like that and cannot get used to the new one.
The fact that I can’t see the whole map on my phone screen doesn’t help…
Is there a way to mangais the access to the old big map with the middle button?

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 3:04 pm
by 2ndWhiteLine
Agree with Troo...I really like the interface for the point and click, but the scale is off and I'm so used to thinking and picturing a game using the old map that it's difficult to navigate and digest everything at once. I'd love a toggle button to the old interface. Doesn't need to be big and obvious, but something I could access on the new UI to switch to the old map view without having to dig through my profile. I think it will help ease the transition.

EDIT: I'll also add that the "fullscreen" look is kind of defeated by the large turn display covering up most of Italy. There's also a lot of dead space on either side of the board. Seems like the map could be shifted left and these informational components could be housed on the right side of the screen so I could easily see the entire board without controls hiding spaces. It's also problematic (at least as far as I can tell) to make sure all units have been issued orders.

That said, I do really like it. Never used before just now and it took me all of five seconds to learn.

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 3:04 pm
by Yonni
Holy shit. Well done, guys. It looks amazing.

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 4:22 pm
by Jamiet99uk
2ndWhiteLine wrote:
Tue Mar 07, 2023 3:04 pm
Agree with Troo...I really like the interface for the point and click, but the scale is off and I'm so used to thinking and picturing a game using the old map that it's difficult to navigate and digest everything at once. I'd love a toggle button to the old interface. Doesn't need to be big and obvious, but something I could access on the new UI to switch to the old map view without having to dig through my profile. I think it will help ease the transition.

EDIT: I'll also add that the "fullscreen" look is kind of defeated by the large turn display covering up most of Italy. There's also a lot of dead space on either side of the board. Seems like the map could be shifted left and these informational components could be housed on the right side of the screen so I could easily see the entire board without controls hiding spaces. It's also problematic (at least as far as I can tell) to make sure all units have been issued orders.
I strongly second both of these suggestions.

Please.

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 5:27 pm
by Trigfea63
Troodonte wrote:
Tue Mar 07, 2023 2:57 pm
I really like the old map.
I’m used to “read the board” like that and cannot get used to the new one.
The fact that I can’t see the whole map on my phone screen doesn’t help…
Is there a way to mangais the access to the old big map with the middle button?
Second this ^^^ For whatever reason, I can't get used to the new interface. I very much appreciate that you're continuing to support the old!

One other comment: On the old interface, please don't take away the large map function. As an old guy whose eyes don't work so well any more, I find it's sometimes much easier to see the last turn's orders on the large map. Also, failed support orders don't show up on the small map.

Re: Defaulting to point and click UI for non-variants

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2023 7:20 pm
by BrianBaru
Red exclamation mark under status in info. My moves are readied, but there is a red ! under status. Saw the same thing for another player in another game. My game is "Classic Anon-15"