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General Discussion /
« on: April 29, 2009, 19:52:52 »
Well to be frank no self respecting mod wouldn't refer to the Nexus Skirmisher. The tool is quite simply THE tool to use to play modded Nexus games on your own. I'm saying this to further support descriptions for each system or ship in the Skirmisher. You are right though it is the modder who is responsible for properly describing each ship/system within the associated script files. That shouldn't stop you from adding the feature in, since the Nexus Skirmisher is so widely used by the entire community. I can almost guarantee if the feature is added that many of the currently active mod teams out there will begin adding proper descriptions to be readable by the skirmisher.
As for being able to state the location of each vessel I can't see how this would be too difficult. I assume Nexus uses a grid based system to set starting locations for each object in the game to begin with. A small 3D representation of the battlefield would be easy to do. My suggestion would be not to render the grid completely, but have it rendered similar to this:
y
|_
|_
|_
|_|_|_|_| x
So basically you would have 3 lines representing the X, Y, and Z axis and each of these lines have small notches representing the grid (axis line for further reference). When a ship is selected in the 3D view 3 knobs will appear on each axis line. The user will be able to define the position of the ship along an axis by draging the small knob on the axis line with the mouse. Adding the option for more precise numerical input for each axis would be a nice feature for some of the more patient or advanced users.
The ships could be represented by small color coded cubes. The cubes can be color coded by race or team. The ship's type could be coded with simple alphanumeric designations (A1,A2,A3, etc...) that is visible (possibly skinned onto) the cubes. The user will be able to see the ship type by looking at the "SHIPTYPE" pull-down menu and looking at each vessel's alphanumeric designation (meaning that each ship or object listed will need to be assigned a designation).
I guess what I'm saying is to stick to the absolute basics for the early release(s) and then later on think about adding ship icons for the Skirmisher. The Skirmisher doesn't need to be pleasing to the eye as long as it is functional. Sometimes, though aesthetics and functionality go hand in hand.
As for being able to state the location of each vessel I can't see how this would be too difficult. I assume Nexus uses a grid based system to set starting locations for each object in the game to begin with. A small 3D representation of the battlefield would be easy to do. My suggestion would be not to render the grid completely, but have it rendered similar to this:
y
|_
|_
|_
|_|_|_|_| x
So basically you would have 3 lines representing the X, Y, and Z axis and each of these lines have small notches representing the grid (axis line for further reference). When a ship is selected in the 3D view 3 knobs will appear on each axis line. The user will be able to define the position of the ship along an axis by draging the small knob on the axis line with the mouse. Adding the option for more precise numerical input for each axis would be a nice feature for some of the more patient or advanced users.
The ships could be represented by small color coded cubes. The cubes can be color coded by race or team. The ship's type could be coded with simple alphanumeric designations (A1,A2,A3, etc...) that is visible (possibly skinned onto) the cubes. The user will be able to see the ship type by looking at the "SHIPTYPE" pull-down menu and looking at each vessel's alphanumeric designation (meaning that each ship or object listed will need to be assigned a designation).
I guess what I'm saying is to stick to the absolute basics for the early release(s) and then later on think about adding ship icons for the Skirmisher. The Skirmisher doesn't need to be pleasing to the eye as long as it is functional. Sometimes, though aesthetics and functionality go hand in hand.