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Steam project status?

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9 years ago
Haven't been lurking the channels lately, and I'm curious about the present status of the ZK->steam project:

What's left to implement that's considered absolutely necessary for steam?

What's left that would be great to have, but not necessary?

Also, I'd perhaps suggest making a wiki list of these for reference (currently there seems to only be a wiki about achievements).

<3, sprang
+0 / -0
FIrankFFC
9 years ago
Achievements?
+0 / -0


9 years ago
https://code.google.com/p/zero-k/wiki/SteamAchievements
+0 / -0

9 years ago
One thing I think people agreed on was updating the look of the ugly lobby

ZK Lobby currently looks worse than weblobby used to do and when evo did steam release, I think the biggest complaint was "this looks like a piece of shit" but it looks 100x better now with dark themed skin that anarchid made, which is what zkl needs tbh

It seems like steam playerbase is more dumb than the usual players spring seems to attract and the first thing they judge is the lobby, they think it's part of the game, though tbh I know I'd probably be instantly turned off too if I downloaded ZK for first time again

I'm just gonna throw this out there too - if a player sets high graphics it should turn the outline and xrayshader widgets on. Devs always say "widgets is not something newbies should have to fiddle with" but I think it's so wasteful that these widgets are off by default just because they cause fps drop, ZK isn't a particularly taxing game anyway and these widgets make such a huge improvement to the way things look
+2 / -0


9 years ago
An organization remains the most serious thing missing.

I was recently able to compile ZKL on linux, so a darker and edgier paintjob is not implausible.
+1 / -0


9 years ago
Top things to do in order of importance:
  • Create a legal entity to interact with Steam. Without this nothing can be done.
  • Integrate steam accounts. Launching ZKL with steam should automatically register a hidden stupid name and display the user's steam name.
  • Fix lobby usability. It is currently a mess of tabs and confusing features. The start tab should have a good menu which gives clear options (tutorial, campaign, singpleplayer, settings, matchmaker, custom games etc..)
  • Organize and implement maps and missions to be bundled in the steam install. This puts most of the download work on their end allows them to play many things with no internet connection.
  • Make campaigns and missions, this seems to be coming along well but I don't know much.
  • Improve tutorials and manuals, other methods of teaching like short youtube videos.
  • Make the lobby pretty. The 'biggest problem' according to GBrank[Fx]Drone.
  • Finish ZK UI (use new rez bar, fix some chat problems, replace playerlist widget, tooltip delay etc..)
  • Get the dev engine working and move to it.
  • Improve AI.
  • Balance.
+8 / -0
I agree, The ZK lobby is slightly messed up and not very pretty.

Plus, The news popup. No one likes it, yet it still lingers. Kill it.

+3 / -0
FIrankFFC
9 years ago
Bu...i like it...
+2 / -0


9 years ago
quote:
(...fix some chat problems, replace playerlist widget...)


What are the specific chat problems? Is it something fundamental to the way the widgets are written, or just that the whitelist isn't right yet?

Also, what needs doing for the playerlist widget, or is that just "replace crude playerlist with deluxe playerlist"?
+0 / -0


9 years ago
There are a few text clipping issues around and backchat does not always line up correctly. The whitelist is a bit wrong.

The playerlist should be replaced with something which is smaller with a higher density of useful information. Some button could be pressed to temporarily display all information.
+0 / -0

9 years ago
lobby > tutorials and missions, who even looks at those?

what would noob prefer, get straight into game easily with pretty interface or sit around reading guides for some obscure game with an ugly amateur interface

I agree that website guides are long and convoluted though, should just get shadowfury to make a 1-2 min video with brief summary of how to play would be enough of a starting guide, assuming shadowfury is capable of being brief lol, will probably go off on a tangent about how much energy the lab uses
+0 / -0
quote:
* Integrate steam accounts. Launching ZKL with steam should automatically register a hidden stupid name and display the user's steam name.


Stupid name -> Steam Unique User ID
Examples:
76561198034380788 = Skasi
76561197988094846 - CArankAdminShadowfury333

Why generate a stupid name when you can have steam generate a stupid name FOR you? Looking up a steam unique id should be pretty simple (i got it from looking up skasi's and shadowfury's profiles in steam).

Suggestion #2:
Users who have a preexisting account should have an option to register their name to their steam account upon successful login. This prevents squatters from stealing names and such. If an account is already here, display that name instead of steam username.

Suggestion #3:
Wipe the zk database at some point, use steam unique user id as the lobby account id. username = steam username. Users will have an opertunity before hand to migrate an account.

Also nice: could block unverified accounts from registering names.
+0 / -0
GBrank[Fx]Drone Tutorials are ingame things. Improving them encompasses improving their discoverability.

Usability encompasses some parts of prettiness. The UI has to communicate what it is does for people to use it correctly. I think we rank different things as prettyness vs usability. It seems to be a communication issue and you're not likely to do anything useful so I don't see a reason to delve deeper into it.

@ArchShaman I don't know the method of generating a stupid name. Registration is still required to use the lobby server but this can be completely hidden from the user. Other lobbies are likely to see the stupid name.

Your suggestion #3 would make ZK a steam only game which I don't think it going to happen.
+0 / -0
FIrankFFC
9 years ago
Don't u dare to remove my trollcoms BC dome steam shit
+0 / -0
@googlefrog Why not use the steam unique id as the lobby uid entry then..
Example: 15114 (@googlefrog ) becomes 76561198005614529 (GoogleFrog becomes @googlefrog .. tada! other lobbies don't see stupid name..

Or just..

15114.steamid = 76561198005614529
+0 / -0
9 years ago
Well, if someone's taking suggestions for how to popularize this game I'd say ranked matchmaking would be key. Currently there's typically one or two large team-games, one chicken game, and one 1v1 queue with two people playing and the rest watching.

Ideally there should be multiple ranked 1v1 games going on at the same time. This is what made supcom so great back in the day; you'd just log on and search for a game and be matched apropriatly. Yes, there is a critical player mass needed for matchmaking to work properly, but you can't expect to get there if it isn't there in the first place. The current manual matching also have hosts of potential problems in regards to selecting your own opponents, possibilities for collusion, newbs not wanting to play while being watched etc.
+2 / -0


9 years ago
@ArchShaman I have no idea why you are discussing the implementation with me. Are you or I going to be implementing this? I really doubt it.

NOrankKrigsmaskin matchmaking is currently being worked on. It is interesting that you say spectating should be limited.
+0 / -0


9 years ago
Oh you aren't going to be working on that? I was under the assumption you were.. oh well, whoever might work on it might stumble across this message and get ideas or something. Probably not tho.
+0 / -0
It's funny how people find the lobby "ugly", while it, along with zero-k website integrated into it looks SO much better than the previous spring lobby...

To me it looks like it's just a fashion thing : the zero-k lobby looking like a chat room (but it IS a chat room!) with black text on white, which for some reason has become unfashionable (associated with poorly coded software maybe?).

Just inverting the colors (with additional white outlines for some of the darker icons) would probably do the trick of making people consider it "not ugly". A better way would be to make its design fully consistent with zero-k website design, but that would probably need more effort.

Example : The SupCom : Forged Alliance Forever lobby :
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/v/t1.0-9/p160x160/1174725_602115053165129_2132603910_n.png?oh=793999040543dab1c4a038e5e0ae0c98&oe=5484ED75&__gda__=1418676837_7a9caeafd8655ed4b1277e417bb21a2d
+0 / -0


9 years ago
Supcom FA forever lobby is based /inspired by ZK lobby - same for FA planetwars thing..
+0 / -0
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