Add numeric army estimates (cfg file only) #9678
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oleg-derevenetz
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Hi @modo-lv I left a few comments regarding this PR, could you please to take a look when possible?
As for the idea of PR in general, we usually avoid introducing new settings if they cannot be done through the GUI, because on some platforms (that are considered first-class - for instance, on modern Android versions), manually editing the config is very difficult for an average user.
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Technically this PR looks OK, but I'd wait for @ihhub decision, because, as I already mentioned, there are certain requirements for new options.
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I will review this PR later. Overall, I am not against this change as I've seen many players asking for this but I see that players won't like the idea of changing such a parameter inside a configuration file. It is not a user friendly approach. Therefore, this change must have a dedicated UI option. We don't need to implement it in this PR but at least have a brief idea how it should look like in the game and where to put it. I am tagging @Branikolog for this matter. |
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My idea was to make the interface settings panel a 3x3 instead of 2x2, and use these artifact icons for the setting. They have similar purple background to normal setting icons and are also similar enough to each other too look like two states of the same thing.
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@modo-lv , icons for the option must be suitable, not some random images. We need to create new ones. Having settled about the name of the option we should update the current source code as well. I think the option should be called something like "Army size view" and has 2 states: canonical and mumeric. What do you think @zenseii , @oleg-derevenetz and @Branikolog ? |
I agree. |
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@ihhub. I agree. We shouldn't re-use these icons. Concepts for the new ones need to be come up with and then we can ask pixel artists for help. I think "army size view" would be interpreted as the exact size . How about "Army Size Range"? |
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Hi!
Maybe we can stick to just two words: army size or army view. I think it would be enough. Also, if we are going to expand settings window to 3x2 we need to add one more option there. 😅 As for the icon itself, I personally think, that making a collage with several monsters sprites and toggling text (pack/"10-19") under them could work. |
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Why not "army estimates"? Since it's not an exact size. |
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I can see that we are stuck here. Let me make the review and propose the needed changes for the future UI. |
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How about this as a base for the icon in the options menu: |
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Hi @zenseii , could you please take a look at the introduced configuration option and it's description and evaluate whether it is suitable in terms of the game? |
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Hi,@modo-lv. I left some comments. I'm not against adding such an option. My main concern is that we are adding it only in the configuration file and not as an actual option in the game. I really think we should come up with an icon and add it.
The icon @usidedown provided is of a good visual quality, but doesn't fit the purpose.
I would also much prefer it if we called it "army range", rather than "estimate" because the possible numerical values are known, so there's not estimation or guesswork in the picture. If you know for a fact that something is between 10-19, then that's a known range, not an estimate.
| break; | ||
| // Numeric estimates | ||
| if ( Settings::Get().isArmyEstimationViewNumeric() ) { | ||
| str = _( "%{range}\n%{monster}" ); |
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Personally I believe it would look better if the range was put below the name of the creature.
Instead of this:
it should be:
Orcs
10-19
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I called it "estimate" because I see it from an in-universe perspective: the heroes are estimating the size of the opposing army, without knowing the exact numbers. And it feels weird to describe singular terms like "several" and "lots" as ranges. As players we know (or can look up) the numeric range that a term represents, but the word itself isn't a range, it's a singular, inexact amount (an approximation).
As for the layout, I left it the same as canonical estimates because that's how it naturally reads: "a pack of orcs" is a natural English sentence, just like "ten to nineteen orcs". Putting the numbers underneath breaks that flow, making the numeric estimate read as a separate piece of information ("orcs. ten to nineteen."), which adds an unnecessary inconsistency with the canonical UI.
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Hi @modo-lv , we need to consider other languages as well. Usually having:
Orcs
10-19
implies that most of languages will need no changes. However, with the proposed
10-19
Orcs
we are facing a situation that we have to have some special cases for translations.
So, on one side as you highlighted we must be to true to the original atmosphere of the game but on the other hand we should be considered about translations. If we aren't sure we can take a look how in other games it is implemented.
This PR adds a
numeric army size estimatessetting tofheroes2.cfgfile. When changed toon, army estimates in game will display number ranges ("10-19") instead of the original verbal descriptions ("lots").This has been requested in #1530, and I agree that it should be an option, however adding it to the UI turned out to be beyond my ability (at least for now). So this is not a prefect fix, useful for those who can manually edit their configuration files. But I believe this is better than nothing, and hopefully the UI parts can be added in the future.