POLL: Your opinion of the NPC Dialog/Quest User Interface

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Vladamir Begemot, Mar 8, 2019.

?

Groups of 3, answer once per group, Like, Don't Care, or Don't Like.

  1. I like the Dialog User Interface

    25 vote(s)
    20.7%
  2. I don't care about the Dialog User Interface, one way or the other

    9 vote(s)
    7.4%
  3. I don't like the Dialog User Interface

    79 vote(s)
    65.3%
  4. I like the font size as it is

    21 vote(s)
    17.4%
  5. I don't care about the font size

    25 vote(s)
    20.7%
  6. I don't like the font size or would like more choices

    55 vote(s)
    45.5%
  7. I like the CONTINUE button and how it functions

    16 vote(s)
    13.2%
  8. I don't care about the CONTINUE button

    31 vote(s)
    25.6%
  9. I don't like the CONTINUE button and how it functions

    51 vote(s)
    42.1%
  10. I like having to scroll back up to see dialog

    9 vote(s)
    7.4%
  11. I don't care about having to scroll back up

    15 vote(s)
    12.4%
  12. I don't like having to scroll back up to see dialog

    79 vote(s)
    65.3%
  13. I like the keyword system

    54 vote(s)
    44.6%
  14. I don't care about the keyword system

    18 vote(s)
    14.9%
  15. I don't like the keyword system

    37 vote(s)
    30.6%
  16. I like the dark color scheme

    32 vote(s)
    26.4%
  17. I don't care about the color scheme

    37 vote(s)
    30.6%
  18. I don't like the dark color scheme or would like more choices

    30 vote(s)
    24.8%
  19. I like the position of the dialog window

    25 vote(s)
    20.7%
  20. I don't care about the position

    30 vote(s)
    24.8%
  21. I don't like the position of the dialog window

    42 vote(s)
    34.7%
Multiple votes are allowed.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Vladamir Begemot

    Vladamir Begemot Avatar

    Messages:
    6,194
    Likes Received:
    12,076
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    I think half the people have that problem, the other half are trying to just be done with it and hope "help" works so they can leave.
     
    Astirian, Vodalian and Time Lord like this.
  2. Vladamir Begemot

    Vladamir Begemot Avatar

    Messages:
    6,194
    Likes Received:
    12,076
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    Have to disagree on that one! Shroud is far from a masterpiece of story, maybe some day, with some npcs with character development 75% (the fluff) dialog cut out, and a dialog window update.

    Shroud is more like a good episode of This Old House :)

    For the story to ever be great it needs a good editor who sheds no tears cutting some dialog and will be listened to about adding other (like npc character development. Until that happens the story will always be flat.)
     
    Astirian, Mishikal, ephialtes and 2 others like this.
  3. Time Lord

    Time Lord Avatar

    Messages:
    8,336
    Likes Received:
    28,405
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    ~SOTA Monk~ ~Monastery~ ~Thailand~
    Capturing Moments in a Box o_O...
    [​IMG]
    This subject actually reminds me of the silent film era, where they accomplished much with easy to read large script, coupled with mood music which fit the scene... that is to say beyond the actions on the screen which were full of close ups as ours are. I'm not saying that the same exact could fit, yet they are examples of what's being attempted to achieve here in SOTA, while in their own time, these did achieve their purpose, yet in many different styles.
    :rolleyes:~TL~
     
    Astirian and Vladamir Begemot like this.
  4. Time Lord

    Time Lord Avatar

    Messages:
    8,336
    Likes Received:
    28,405
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    ~SOTA Monk~ ~Monastery~ ~Thailand~
    One thing I did notice within the entry of "Love" which seemed flawed, needed work or something different, was the script which past on the screen when discovering the blood trail. I believe it flashed across the screen far to fast to actually read it when differentiating it from the scene's background.

    One effect that could be used within the same style as mentioned with the blood trail, is maybe the script could "write itself across the screen" o_O
    as if being typed out or actually written while reading it.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The movement of the dialog box to the bottom center when quest dialog was important, I thought was better than leaving it in normal dialog position.
    But the writing across the screen grabbed attention.

    Fascination is something that takes all of everything bringing or aiding focus to the face, the thing, the dialog, or when best done well, to both.
    ~TL~:rolleyes:
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2019
    Astirian likes this.
  5. Anpu

    Anpu Avatar

    Messages:
    7,944
    Likes Received:
    9,015
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Location:
    Hemut
    Quite a number of them actually do use emotes when speaking with them.
     
  6. Vladamir Begemot

    Vladamir Begemot Avatar

    Messages:
    6,194
    Likes Received:
    12,076
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    They do, but it shows a fundamental weakness of the keyword system + the idles. They aren't really that believable.

    For instance, when someone starts crying because you said a specific thing, they just immediately break down, then they are done when you say something else. Everything's fine.

    I don't envy any writers having to work in a keyword system, where the conversation can and does jump all over. Tough job.

    And no, I don't remotely expect that part to be worked on. Just discussion at this point.
     
  7. Alleine Dragonfyre

    Alleine Dragonfyre Avatar

    Messages:
    1,750
    Likes Received:
    4,695
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Immortal City
    Great, timely and useful poll for the devs. I think the quest system has some merit for uniqueness and true-to-RPG format but it's very, very rough.
     
    Astirian and Time Lord like this.
  8. Shift

    Shift Avatar

    Messages:
    106
    Likes Received:
    277
    Trophy Points:
    18
    yeah but with sota the way the camera is position and the text box is position you can't really see it very well.. Sota's quest presentation is terrible.
     
  9. Astirian

    Astirian Avatar

    Messages:
    614
    Likes Received:
    1,494
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Yeah I hear ya. I meant it more in a 'what it means to me' way. :)
     
    Vladamir Begemot likes this.
  10. Time Lord

    Time Lord Avatar

    Messages:
    8,336
    Likes Received:
    28,405
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    ~SOTA Monk~ ~Monastery~ ~Thailand~
    :oops: It's the Framing of the Flame adds to it's Hypnotic Qualities
    [​IMG]
    The letterbox computer screen is very similar to a movie screen

    Seeing things as a picture takes attracting focus...
    In this picture scene with Peter O'Tool, the flame is the focus object framed by the fuzzy background with the actor's face providing the framing emotion. This scene begs the audience to better fix their attention to the center of the screen, away from themselves sitting in their seats and helps draw them into the deeper story of the character.

    Such framing can be enhanced by even a black boarder around it's surrounding action (or script) or even multiple boarders or hidden see through fuzzy boarders. Movie and stage houses simply use the darkening of the lighting till only the stage or screen is the only thing left lit for the audience to focus their attention on.

    When encircling or boarding a key scene or actor, violence is often seen all around the boarders while the subject of the scene remains centered, or fuzzy soft boarders to frame a romantic scene or focused attention to the actor saying his more important lines or expressions.

    The stage is everything because that's where everything must be framed in, and the framing of scenes in our game are inadequate or just ignoring this basic principle of stagecraft.
    A slightly animate moment in time is what we have to deal with in our quests which much resemble the art of the"gif", yet have the good fortune to have "a set up" scene before hand to help the gif's meaning to become set in an emotional tempo before the important "gif with script" view is relieved.

    All of this stagecraft is almost exactly the same as the art of hypnosis, where the audience's focus is brought to a central, single spot to become fascinated and affixed on, which is why violent themed movies have become so popular... because the violence aides inducing a slight hypnotic trance on the viewer along with having drawn their attention to a single point thereafter.



    This is the exact reason why our violent or dire moment scenes or instances need to be provided more dire and dangerous boarders in NPC violent action.
    Bad script is often times glossed over or hidden within the scene's overwhelming violent intensity.
    We may or may not have good writers or venue for better script, but we do have great artists.
    ~Time Lord~:rolleyes:
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2019
    Vladamir Begemot likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.