Galactic News broadcast!
Scanning has been released for some weeks now helping our testers secure their first planet NFTs.
We worked hard to deliver on its atmosphere: triggering sounds at the proper time, looking for the correct alarm sound, modifying fx.
Then generators got updated then colonization portal.
We know there is content, we know there is atmosphere, but now... how is the rest coming together?
This topic is about our major scanning update.
Tighten your seat belt - we are diving in!
Hey Fixolindos, how is it going?
Did you say four days?
I catch myself red-handed here!
I was packaging a nice update to our scanning experience, which included, among other things, fixes and sharing more information on events...
... but also setting up the most important features awaited for scanning, such as:
- a new way to present active tasks,
- a rework on our active menu,
- and then moving on with activating our remaining crew roles.
These were the last steps before we got back to landing and playing further.
At that point, Designlindos - the other guy there - came up.
"I see what you are trying to do, and I think, this is not going to work.
Not this way. You need to do this... and that... and that. Let me help you!"
Designlindos is a guy having the attention of the big boss (who is of course as you can guess, Bosslindos) because he is a big vision proponent. Fortunately Fatherlindos, the other me, is a bit laid back, thus giving us a lot of time so far. :)
Meanwhile, the intent was also reinforced by latest feedback: scanning is about..
- traveling to planet,
- understanding that space is dangerous (did players feel it with this ringing alarm?),
- but must also introduce a few very important quick-made decisions.
It follows evacuation but must not make players feeling just powerless.
And that last part is still needing updates, meaning, it is still not addressed the way we want.
We thought scanning was not in capacity to distribute enough information in its current format to do that properly. There was some misfire between what we were trying to do and what we achieved. The experience was great but needs to be much better.
We knew we had to upgrade UIs and especially information access, but we wanted to do that
with a success of colonization in mind (such as reusing almost 100% of scripts used in this update)
And I think our ways to access information and make our decisions is getting so much better now!
First of all we are getting a new Task List:
(upper right on this screen!)
Instead of navigating with menu buttons and animated screens you will now directly see this on the right of your screen.
You will always see who is doing what and what time is left on it.
Also, you may click on a task to view more details about it.
Distance to planet may also be displayed there; but jury is still out on that one!
We are also gaining access to more information:
New information screens are added too; they are not put in menu sections but accessed with side buttons instead. Later planet information should be moving there too!
"Processing" is also being replaced by the task list. The menu is going to be much cleaner! And this is good as more crew roles are coming.
We understood that navigating many times in the main menu was not something we wanted.
And we are receiving new lists!
Previously, you clicked on a menu, and you then view a list.
Now, you click on a menu, and you still get a list.
But that list will be ordered and also, much better!
Let's zoom on that a bit.
First the list is being ordered. When you click to assign a new role, the person with the best efficiency for this role will always be proposed first. For a pilot for instance, Piloting and Spaceships is used to determine the efficiency for this role (as it's the primary and secondary skills). So, the best result in these two values together will be used to order the list.
You also notice a different thumbnail of the hovered crew member. It has more information. But please note all this part is still a work in progress.
Event information will also be displayed. We will share some of the main events which can occur for someone in this crew role, and what are his or her chances to succeed.
Now, we should pause about events, because this is where some of the "feeling powerless" happened.
Zooming on events...
We lack feedback about events (more about that later) but we also lack any information displayed about them. And this screen does not go entirely there yet.
For a Pilot, instead of mentioning a skill (such as Piloting, Awareness, Stealth like here), we may actually determine the possible events for this role, and the chances of success to them. Such as displaying Evasion Chances, Threat Detection and Stealth Chances.
The following table gives the first draft of skills being tested for a Pilot, however please note that for balance reason, some of them may change.
| Risk Event | Description | Main skill | Secondary skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evasion | Evade immediate and deadly danger (dodging fire, meteorites, etc). | Piloting | Spaceships, Awareness |
| Threat Detection | Inform captain of ongoing threats. | Piloting | Spaceships, SRT |
| Stealth | Avoid obvious detection patterns. | Piloting | Spaceships, Stealth |
.
For instance, Awareness may become main skill for Evasion... SRT for Threat Detection... and Stealth for Stealth, instead of secondary skills ; but the skill components are what is already in engine.
.
Now let's speak about this A+ and C displayed on the above screen!
.
Ranks are being added.
In EXODE you already know that one activity or crew role tests several skills versus a difficulty.
Suppose that we speak of chances to succeed on a test, such as 77 %, etc, this would not cover all skills involved and moreover, we don't even cover all possible difficulties on displayed information .
Difficulty may depend, for instance, on the flying technique you picked! This means sharing a chance to succeed (in %) would not exactly be fair. One chance vs a normal test may be different vs another difficulty.
So instead, we are considering adding ranks (such as D, C, B, A, A+ and S). S will be the ability to succeed most times even vs Elite difficulty. A+ would mean more than 90% vs normal difficulty for instance. Tahira would never receive an A+ with her scores by the way! (but a C or so) so this screen was just an example of it.
All this is about how "indirect control" is to be handled and important information will be shared.
Ranks were present in the first version of Evacuation last year but they were actually first implemented to "hide" skill values. We thought going with skill values was "too frontal" for players.
Since then, we updated user interface and revealed more about skill values. We felt we needed to give much more control to players (and this is where the investigation screen was made).
But we still consider that Ranks should be proper to estimate efficiency on a task.
For instance, a "cargo loader" for EVAC uses skill values in Manual Dexterity, Speed, Awareness and Station Expertise. It will all be great when you will receive a Rank for it instead of sharing a big screen of values with each skill.
If you see someone being "A+" in Cargo Loading, this means the crew member is excellent for this role, and that's thanks to his/her skill values. Of course, expert players could still look at the little details in this and access more information.
All this was always planned but was not really a priority, not before we update Evacuation with this for beta.
Estimating ranks is also less easy than before (some skill values are used to reduce time instead of giving a success chance for instance). But we believe now is the time to introduce ranks, and we'll add them later to EVAC roles.
We are working on it in this version, as we believe colonization (and later, evacuation) will greatly benefit from this new way of presenting a citizen capacity.
The big picture!
I felt it important to share information about what is coming up!
All this is still about Front UI. But this update is going further and is more polished. Which is actually a good thing. It covers more about what we want in colonization too.
The important thing here is clarity. EXODE benefits from an entire spectrum of systems, every layer contributing to its own sustainable model of valuation and positive gameplay, from software to ship to weapons to vehicles and buildings.
Clarity, atmosphere, gameplay, all this needs to work together. Scanning was connecting evacuation and colonization but most of its script framework is the colonization one. And we want clarity in that.
Oh!
And there is one last thing... event feedback!
More about event feedback!
Events is one thing, but event feedback is even more important.
First of all dialog is being updated, to be less invasive and more pro.
And you can see where it fits in the following screen:
Not only are we giving crew dialog a revamp, but there is more. We are also working on a LOG interface, which could be used to access rolls and event logs.
Moreover - but this part is not part of the next scanning update, to avoid delaying it further - we are implementing a new interface for reactions and decisions.
Such as this:
So... now you see that Fixolindos has a lot on his plate! :D
As mentioned above, it's really possible "dialog reactions" will not make it in this update, they are not considered for release right now. However task list, selection lists, and side buttons are, and the base ground for dialog interactions will be there too and will be tested in colonization this month.
That's all pilots!
Next post when this update is live!
More information about EXODE can also be found on our website, our Discord, or multiple posts such as this one about our epic characters, or this trailer made by a fan, or this review or this one . A summary of latest posts and events is also here.
Also running a witness node:
You can check the post about it here and if you like what this means you can:
See you soon in eXode!
