Margin MagnateWork for this released started out with fixating the design for the last 4 missing features. For natural resources this took quite some time but I am happy with what I came up with, as it opens them up for more interesting decision making other than simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. They will be easier to view; separate from the tile they are on; rights to access the resources can be sold; &c.
When I started to implement the newly designed natural resources I quickly realized that it is very much an UI/UX centered change. So instead of implementing another half-baked UI for something I decided to finally go for the UX overhaul I so often mentioned.
I implemented an altered UI design in the game, which looked in no way better than the old one. It only changed its looks, not the actual way to interact with the world. The second approach also included a major shift in user-interaction with the game and a mock-up in Photoshop. However there were serious problems in the way the design and the interaction worked, which required concessions to either of the two. None of the solutions were satisfactory. It was only yesterday that I came up with a UI that would work, without sacrificing design or usability. (Or I just have not found the problems yet, since it is a new idea…). But it does its best to adhere to Fitt’s Law, offers quick access to things by means of a CLI, user-customization &c.
This of course means that neither natural resources nor a usable new UI made it into the game for today. Hence no new release this week.
My original estimate for the UX overhaul were 4 weeks (release #1 for the design and implementation of the basics; release #2 to convert all current layouts to the new system). So the next 2 releases will be about the new UI, maybe even 3, since I did not include the CLI in my earlier estimates. I think this is the first time that I outline my future plans with an actual timetable. Most likely this will turn out to be a stupid idea and the last time I do this :)