01-03-2003 03:11									#1
	Kludgey Interface Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

I'm probably going to get flamed royally with this post but here goes. I read all these reviews about how 'radically impressive' the new MOO3 interface is and how you can drill down in several different ways so you can 'develop your own style' to get the info you want.

Problem: The interface is a bunch of stacked windows. Not a bad idea, except that if you have one open in the background it causes grief when you try to get at it from a different angle. For instance... Dbl-click a solar system and then Dbl-click a planet - now you've got the planet window open. OK, so now click the Planets tab at the bottom. Right? you now can see the original planet window open behind the current Planets list window. Ready? Yeah, now click that planet from the planets list - or any planet for that matter. Nothing happen? Yeah, me neither. Its because that window is already open behind the current window and the UI doesn't know the window order so just assumes you can already see it.

Solution? Make sure that when you drill down that you always back out using the ESC key or you can get stuck where clicking doesn't do anything. The concept is good - so I'm not REALLY complaining that loud - I see this more as a bug than anything else. There are several areas where the concept of this drill from any angle seems like a fantastic idea, but the implementation is a bit kludgey. Hopefully the patch won't be a year late and we'll see this stuff resolved shortly...

Just so y'all don't think I'm one a those bit$% about everything guys, I think in many ways the interface is a good design just fell a little short a complete implentation of the idea. I really dig the improvements to diplomacy and the game play is very fun and well balanced. Not shelving this sucka just yet : )