Jaizak Aripaik
Gallente
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Posted - 2009.08.21 13:07:00 -
[1]
Edited by: Jaizak Aripaik on 21/08/2009 13:19:28
In a recent dev blog posting on adding an "Apply" button to corp info pages, I noticed that the devs were looking for ui improvements that might make the game more accessible to new players. I think that one improvement that would make the game more inviting would be to show the effects of your skills whenever viewing the information for an item.
You can already see this information. It just takes effort - equip a module, view its info, open the market, find the same item, view its info, tab back and forth between the two info screens and note the numbers' differences. That's frankly a lot of work to see what difference 4 days of training made on your guns. Not only that, if you want to know what a gun or module will actually do for you, you either have to do the math, buy it and try it, or use an external app (EFT).
All of this could be solved if whenever an item's information was viewed, whether from the market, hanger, your ship, anywhere, you saw the statistics for that item with your skills applied AND the base value, either in a separate column or just in parenthesis - i.e.:
Damage Modifier:
6.7763563 (1.92 Base)
See how easy that is to read? Now new users get instant feedback on what their Eve skills actually do for them, get a better idea of what new weapons or modules will do for them, and spend less time trying to dig around and find out what difference a 10% damage bonus actually makes (to those unfamiliar with the way EVE bonuses stack, a 5 or 10% bonus can seem downright unimpressive.)
There are some important notes:
1. Because the Base is listed in parenthesis, this shouldn't mess much with the current system of viewing items already equipped - i.e. viewing a module on the ship will still calculate in ship bonuses and bonuses from other modules - you can just compare it to the base. The major difference is when viewing packaged items, items in the market, or links to items, you can now see the effects that your skills will have.
2. It would probably be best to avoid showing values modified by your skills when viewing info for ships piloted by other players. It'd be very confusing to new players.
3. If a value isn't modified by any of your skills - either because you haven't trained them or because there isn't a skill that modifies that value, just don't show a Base value - there's only one value.
4. This would also improve a number of unrelated issues. For example, drone pilots could see drones with skills applied (although not ship bonuses - that's another issue). But dang it - I want to see how fast my drones actually fly! 
5. And finally, if this was implemented, some old-school players may want the opportunity to disable it. I have no idea why, but I think adding that option would sweep aside any possible player objections.
I'd love to hear other players (and Dev's) thoughts on it. It seems a relatively simple change - as simple as adding an "Apply Button" to a corp - that could really simplify and enhance the user experience.
Thanks!
-- Jaizak Aripaik __ |