I’ve been quite strict on my boycott of contributions thus far, and have had a great time away from spending my time working on things other than FAF. I haven’t played a game since before the Java client was made official, and didn’t bother to install the client on my new machine around that time as well. Thus: do excuse me for being very late to the party, but after yesterday the state of the client has grabbed my attention.
I was already aware that things were not exactly as they should have been. The constant complaints in FAF’s chat spaces, players outright dropping the game when the python client (which suddenly gained maintainers after the Java client was made official?) was out of action, and the even larger tirade of users resorting to asking other users how to perform basic client actions such as search for replays.
I honestly don’t care what programming language the client is written in, most regular users don’t. Furthermore I also empathise the need to stick to development for one client only. Just like in a FAF game, building two things at once ends up with two half finished structures instead of one finished one.
However, leaving the user experience and the interfaces in such a lackluster state that players are openly choosing to create a divide and jump ship to another client is going to seriously cripple player retention AND development at the same time.
When I wrote my send-off, I composed it in such a way that it would act as a call to action, in the slight hope that issues I took with the project would be rectified so that I could return in the future. RTS isn’t a genre with a lot of competition, and there is hardly any offering at all that allows me to pursue level creation as a hobby. I kept my maps folder stored in the chance I would continue working on them again, after all.
When I was talking in the other forum thread about throwing ladder games, I asked UnorthodoxBox to send a screenshot of the ladder menu to modify it and mock up a warning message. I hadn’t actually seen the ladder menu before that time, and when it was sent to me: I was met with a mix of disgust and concern. I’m apparently motivated out of pure spite, so that’s why I am here in the first place when I really could just leave FAF to bleed out like it’s currently doing.
Before I begin: The python client is by no stretch of the imagination an amazing design achievement. It has its own flaws and points of frustration. However it is simple, and doesn’t attempt to be something it is not. When the Java client was first released to the public, it was touted as having a “modern UI” as opposed to the python one. This was a few years ago now however, but the situation seemingly has not changed.
I don’t really feel the need to explain why a poor UI/UX cripples the client because to me, it’s clear as daylight. But I know a majority of people obviously have not poured hours into the field, so in short: If players are not able to complete actions or access information because of confusion or frustration, and if the information is not neatly presented. They don’t do what we (FAF) want them to do. instead they quit, and worse: they can go on to tell others around them not to bother. I’m not going to claim the steam forums as a source for this one, but as funny as it is to skim over, that’s probably a few bench sitters who decided to hold off bothering with FAF because of all the arguing. (and harassment, c’mon guys, stop flooding everything like you’re a cult. You know who you are.)
(amendment: holy crap get off the forums, you’re in every single post, no wonder they hate you.)
Imagine you want to rent a book, so you go to a library. You look in the relevant section but for some unknown reason, the book is placed somewhere else. You completely missed the sign for the section because the wayfinding was too hard to see, there was mould on the shelf next to the book you wanted. You had to sit through 10 whole minutes of upselling and membership offers before you could loan the book, and you couldn’t get out of the parking lot without running over the curb.
Do you go back to that library again? Do you recommend the library to your friends?
Anyway, I’m not here to just ask the devs to design something better, if they could they would have done so already. This post is dual purpose, to raise the alarms to promote discussion and potentially more suggestions, and to present a basic ladder tab redesign I drew up while I was working.
It’s nothing special, isn’t mocked up, and hasn’t had sincere time sunk into it. But maybe something quick and simple is what is needed?
Anyway:
biass drawing ability OMEGALUL?
Honestly do forgive me for not mocking this up, but I have actual legitimate projects that also require my attention and if I cannot get the conversation started it will all have been a futile waste of my time. It’s embarrassing to show off the most basic of design iteration as opposed to trying to blow the population out of the water with something flash. But the only thing I feel like illustrating today is the point.
Instead of trying to draw in every little detail I annotated it, and will give you my thoughts about each element in some spoilers. Try and guess what the items are first? The point of it being simple is that you should be able to guess a few of them.
Also, should be easy enough to make it responsive. But maybe something for later.
1. The play tab navigation.
Spoiler: show
2. The faction select
Spoiler: show
3. Additional information
Spoiler: show
4. The play button, and the map list
Spoiler: show
5. Nothing?
Spoiler: show
6. The rating distribution curve.
Spoiler: show
7. Rating curve milestones
Spoiler: show
8. (you)
Spoiler: show
9. Rules
Spoiler: show
10. You again
Spoiler: show
That is all I have to say for now, luckily, changing something is a lot easier now when the idea is just a sketch, rather than when the idea is completely fleshed out. For the sake of getting a conversation going, please roast the absolute christ out of me, the client, and the idea in the replies.
I have a few days off now, so I am happy to clarify why I think the ladder tab needs remaking, what i'm talking about with my shitty illustration, or help with other ideas if they are created.
Go nuts, help make FAF something worth our/my time again.
