Ratnaraj_ Posted January 5, 2025 Report Posted January 5, 2025 (edited) Hello! First of all, I want to say that the game is absolutely fantastic! I was a bit skeptical at first, but I ended up playing for over 20 hours in just a few days It’s clear that a lot of effort has gone into this game, and I’d like to share my thoughts on a few aspects that I think could enhance the experience. (Apologies if some of these are already being discussed!) Interface Main menu layout: The current layout of the main menu, with buttons glued to the left edge of the screen, feels visually unbalanced. A more centered or symmetrical arrangement could enhance usability. Window movement simplification: Moving windows involves too many steps. Instead of clicking the menu icon, enabling "Movable," and then dragging, why not allow dragging directly by holding a dedicated drag icon? Adding a reset-to-default option in a dropdown menu (visible only when the window's position is changed) would also improve convenience. Sleeping interface feedback: While sleeping, there’s a fade-to-black animation, but once the screen is completely black, interface elements like the toolbar remain visible. This makes it hard to distinguish between sleeping and being in complete darkness (e.g., in a cave without light). Maybe hiding or dimming the interface during sleep could help. Adding a subtle indicator, like an animation (e.g., "Zzz" or a soft breathing effect) or a unique sound, could further clarify the sleeping state. A wake-up transition (fading back into light) would also enhance the experience.While sleeping, the toolbar remains visible, and there’s no animation or indication that the character is inactive. Adding an animation, temporary toolbar removal, or even a subtle "sleeping" overlay could clarify the state and enhance immersion. Interactions Tool sounds synchronization: Tool sounds do not match their animation speeds, which creates a disconnect between the visual and audio feedback. Synchronizing these would improve immersion. Shortcut consistency: Placing tools on the ground uses a different shortcut than other items, which can be confusing. While CTRL + Left Click is necessary for actions like lighting a firepit, could a universal shortcut be implemented for placing tools/items? Infinite water source logic: A single block of water surrounded by full blocks acting as an infinite water source feels counterintuitive. Is there a way to adjust this mechanic for greater realism? 'Content' window closing: Allow closing the 'Content' window by right-clicking on the creature, similar to how storage blocks are closed. This would provide consistency in interactions. Handbook Input field improvements: Add a CTRL + A shortcut to select all text in the input field and/or an option to clear it for ease of use. Pause button clarity: The 'Pause game' button is confusing because its label remains the same regardless of its state. When the game is paused, the label could change to 'Game paused' to make its state clear. However, a simple label change might reduce its perceived clickability. Differentiating its appearance or adding an icon might help. Additionally, when the game is paused, applying a soft dark transparent overlay (like a modal on the web) could visually reinforce that interactions with the environment are disabled. World Map Display options layout: The display options on the left resemble the tabs in the Handbook but serve entirely different purposes. This similarity can be confusing. Displaying the map options as button icons overlaying the map itself might provide better clarity and functionality. Thanks for taking the time to read through my feedback! I’m really enjoying the game so far, and I can’t wait to see how it evolves in the future. Feel free to share your thoughts on these points or let me know if I’ve missed something. Edited January 5, 2025 by Ratnaraj_ 1
LadyWYT Posted January 5, 2025 Report Posted January 5, 2025 First off, welcome to the forums! 3 hours ago, Ratnaraj_ said: Main menu layout: The current layout of the main menu, with buttons glued to the left edge of the screen, feels visually unbalanced. A more centered or symmetrical arrangement could enhance usability. Have to disagree here--the balance feels fine, and I enjoy having everything contained over on the left-hand side so I can enjoy the featured background screenshots. The only thing I would change is adding an option in the settings to disable the slow-motion camera zoom/wiggle. I don't mind the visual effect, but I've seen a few players mention that it makes them motion-sick. 3 hours ago, Ratnaraj_ said: Sleeping interface feedback: While sleeping, there’s a fade-to-black animation, but once the screen is completely black, interface elements like the toolbar remain visible. This makes it hard to distinguish between sleeping and being in complete darkness (e.g., in a cave without light). Maybe hiding or dimming the interface during sleep could help. Adding a subtle indicator, like an animation (e.g., "Zzz" or a soft breathing effect) or a unique sound, could further clarify the sleeping state. A wake-up transition (fading back into light) would also enhance the experience.While sleeping, the toolbar remains visible, and there’s no animation or indication that the character is inactive. Adding an animation, temporary toolbar removal, or even a subtle "sleeping" overlay could clarify the state and enhance immersion. I don't think this is really needed given that making your character sleep is a deliberate choice, and there are already clues that coincide with making that decision. IE, your character lies down and the screen fades to black a second or two after, and you'll wake back up after enough time has passed with a similar fade-in from black. The only change I would make is having the player wake up almost instantly if they choose not to sleep for the full duration--currently, the delay on waking up means that it's very easy to oversleep. 3 hours ago, Ratnaraj_ said: Tool sounds synchronization: Tool sounds do not match their animation speeds, which creates a disconnect between the visual and audio feedback. Synchronizing these would improve immersion. I believe this is being refined, but it's not really a priority compared to other things that need work. 3 hours ago, Ratnaraj_ said: Infinite water source logic: A single block of water surrounded by full blocks acting as an infinite water source feels counterintuitive. Is there a way to adjust this mechanic for greater realism? This feature actually got added in 1.20.
Ryan Thomas Posted January 5, 2025 Report Posted January 5, 2025 4 hours ago, Ratnaraj_ said: Tool sounds synchronization: Tool sounds do not match their animation speeds, which creates a disconnect between the visual and audio feedback. Synchronizing these would improve immersion. I haven't experienced any of that. Perhaps we have some type of mod or something that would fix that for you; that sounds like it would be annoying!
Thorfinn Posted January 5, 2025 Report Posted January 5, 2025 (edited) Welcome to the forums, @Ratnaraj_ 4 hours ago, Ratnaraj_ said: Window movement simplification: Yeah, this bugs me too. Not a huge deal, though. Click on Movable once and Bob's your uncle. Until you have to start a new game, they will go to where you left them. I think it would be cool to have a tiled setting, as my storage tends to be... um... disjoint? Uninspired? Chaotic, maybe? Let's see just how many things I have to open to find where something is stored... 4 hours ago, Ratnaraj_ said: Shortcut consistency: Yep, another peeve. The only real reason I have info tips on. Even so, I've eaten scads of honeycomb while holding it over a bucket. Fortunately no one is watching. I can't imagine how silly that would look. Bobbing for honeycomb, I'd guess. 4 hours ago, Ratnaraj_ said: 'Content' window closing: Huh. Now that you mention it... No idea why I didn't notice it before. Maybe because I just <ESC> to close all? That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. In my ideal world, R-Click wouldn't close the storage block, though. Again, that somewhat cryptic storage method, combined with a somewhat... inconsistent memory. 4 hours ago, Ratnaraj_ said: Pause button clarity: Does take a bit to understand what it's showing you. Edited January 5, 2025 by Thorfinn 1
Ratnaraj_ Posted January 6, 2025 Author Report Posted January 6, 2025 (edited) Hello @LadyWYT, @Ryan Thomas and @Thorfinn Thank you for your answers! On 1/5/2025 at 10:36 PM, LadyWYT said: Have to disagree here--the balance feels fine, and I enjoy having everything contained over on the left-hand side so I can enjoy the featured background screenshots. I do enjoy the background as well, but my point is that the menu container should give a little breathing area to the buttons. And the consistency I pointed is related to the bottom-right container which doesn't hug the edges of the screen. And even if this other container should be removed, why not at least add space inside the menu container to make things less narrow? I think it would be more pleasing to the eyes On 1/5/2025 at 10:36 PM, LadyWYT said: I don't think this is really needed given that making your character sleep is a deliberate choice, and there are already clues that coincide with making that decision. IE, your character lies down and the screen fades to black a second or two after, and you'll wake back up after enough time has passed with a similar fade-in from black. The only change I would make is having the player wake up almost instantly if they choose not to sleep for the full duration--currently, the delay on waking up means that it's very easy to oversleep. What I wanted to say with this point is that it would make sleeping a little bit more immersive if at least the interface elements are hidden during that time. Also, what point is there to have a toolbar and minimap when you don't need those? On 1/5/2025 at 10:36 PM, LadyWYT said: This feature actually got added in 1.20. I am on version 1.20.0-rc.8, created a new survival world and I am still able to take as much water from this one block as I want to. Did I miss something? On 1/5/2025 at 10:36 PM, LadyWYT said: I believe this is being refined, but it's not really a priority compared to other things that need work. On 1/5/2025 at 11:18 PM, Ryan Thomas said: I haven't experienced any of that. Perhaps we have some type of mod or something that would fix that for you; that sounds like it would be annoying! If for example you take a pickaxe and pay attention while hitting a stone block, you'll note that there are more hitting sounds than in the animation. It is not that annoying, but I think it could be nice to fix this either by slowing the sound effect or speed the animation up so both can match And as @LadyWYT stated, this might be under refinement. At least I believe it is or will be soon since in the Jobs page, they say they are looking for a sound designer. Maybe it is related. On 1/5/2025 at 11:55 PM, Thorfinn said: Does take a bit to understand what it's showing you. Here, I illustrated what I am talking about: When the game is active, the interface could stay as it is now. However, when you pause the game, a dark overlay could be added with the Handbook on top of it. When a portion of an interface is darkened, you pay far less attention to it compared to a brighter area. So, if your entire screen is darkened except for the Handbook (or ESC Menu) it clearly indicates that you don't need to focus on the darker portion, signaling that the game paused. Additionally, I noticed that when the game is paused, ambient sounds like water can still be heard. It could be a good idea to pause these as well. Edited January 6, 2025 by Ratnaraj_ 1
LadyWYT Posted January 6, 2025 Report Posted January 6, 2025 26 minutes ago, Ratnaraj_ said: I am on version 1.20.0-rc.8, created a new survival world and I am still able to take as much water from this one block as I want to. Did I miss something? Nope, I misread your initial post. The 1.20 change was that you can disable buckets from creating new water source blocks, essentially. But you can refill a bucket however much you want from pre-existing water blocks. So it's not quite the same thing, unfortunately. 28 minutes ago, Ratnaraj_ said: What I wanted to say with this point is that it would make sleeping a little bit more immersive if at least the interface elements are hidden during that time. Also, what point is there to have a toolbar and minimap when you don't need those? Fair enough. It would be a nice change in that sense, but given the player doesn't sleep very long at all it's not one I would really worry about. 29 minutes ago, Ratnaraj_ said: I do enjoy the background as well, but my point is that the menu container should give a little breathing area to the buttons. And the consistency I pointed is related to the bottom-right container which doesn't hug the edges of the screen. And even if this other container should be removed, why not at least add space inside the menu container to make things less narrow? I think it would be more pleasing to the eyes Maybe. The window in the bottom right corner I expect to someday disappear, given that it's the early access notification. I'm not particularly against a centered symmetrical layout, as those do look nice...but that layout also seems to be a bit overdone these days. The current layout of Vintage Story's main menu is something different and refreshing, at least in my opinion. 35 minutes ago, Ratnaraj_ said: However, when you pause the game, a dark overlay could be added with the Handbook on top of it. When a portion of an interface is darkened, you pay far less attention to it compared to a brighter area. So, if your entire screen is darkened except for the Handbook (or ESC Menu) it clearly indicates that you don't need to focus on the darker portion, signaling that the game paused. Additionally, I noticed that when the game is paused, ambient sounds like water can still be heard. It could be a good idea to pause these as well. I like this change; would very likely prevent a lot of accidents from players getting confused about whether or not the handbook has paused the game. 1
Thorfinn Posted January 6, 2025 Report Posted January 6, 2025 Maybe just switch the text when paused to "Resume Game"? 1
Ratnaraj_ Posted January 6, 2025 Author Report Posted January 6, 2025 22 minutes ago, Thorfinn said: Maybe just switch the text when paused to "Resume Game"? It could be nice to do this in addition to the overlay, indeed
Ratnaraj_ Posted January 6, 2025 Author Report Posted January 6, 2025 27 minutes ago, LadyWYT said: Fair enough. It would be a nice change in that sense, but given the player doesn't sleep very long at all it's not one I would really worry about. If you consider all little details like this one, it can make a huge difference on the global game experience
Ryan Thomas Posted January 7, 2025 Report Posted January 7, 2025 4 hours ago, Ratnaraj_ said: If for example you take a pickaxe and pay attention while hitting a stone block, you'll note that there are more hitting sounds than in the animation. It is not that annoying, but I think it could be nice to fix this either by slowing the sound effect or speed the animation up so both can match Ahh, you're right. I've only used tools from mods for a long time; switched to vanilla ones, sound and animation indeed aren't in synch. 1
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