Airclick to cancel replay is not discoverable

[Forestidia86]

This is probably again one of my specific problems and has to do with how I encountered Lix as I started playing it.

The main question is:
Is there any (unobtrusive) way to make the in-level-replay in its working clearer?

In particular:
The fact that and how you can cancel the replay (when using e.g. restart).

As I started playing Lix that really messed with me since I thought I was caught with my former actions forever.
I messed something up or just wanted to restart the level, but then by using restart the replay just repeated all my actions, which I actually wanted to redo. I think I soon realized that it cancelled if you assign a skill but sometimes you want to move an assignment forwards and not backwards and that didn't seem to be possible to me.
Form that experience I have still the habit to just completely quit and enter a level if I want to restart it.

To be clear I don't want to speak against the replay functionality. It's just an experience report from someone who started playing Lix mainly with knowledge of L1 but not of newer engines and I'm not sure if there can be done anything against it.

Edit: It just gets to my mind that I even played Lemmings for Windows (1995), which had already the action replay functionality but I think I never used nor understood it at that time.

[Simon]

I assume this is not about file handling, replay-level-association, level-inside-replay-file, ... Instead, this is purely about the replay user interface during regular level solving, as a helper function. And with main focus on discoverability.

I messed something up or just wanted to restart the level, but then by using restart the replay just repeated all my actions, which I actually wanted to redo. I think I soon realized that it cancelled if you assign a skill but sometimes you want to move an assignment forwards and not backwards and that didn't seem to be possible to me.
Form that experience I have still the habit to just completely quit and enter a level if I want to restart it.

The only missing piece seems to be clicking the air to cancel the replay. Airclick is undocumented except for an annotation in the options menu, to (framestepping back cuts replay yes/no). I see how very few would stumble on this helper text. I've always thought everybody would discover airclick by themselves. But the cursor doesn't look like clicking has any effect. Only a sound plays after the click, which doesn't guide towards the click before.

L3D flashed "replaying, click to play" and Windows Lemmings had replay, but Lix should be clear without such prior knowledge, indeed.

First loose ideas:

• Text in the panel like in L3D? Panel is very crowded already with many tooltips, but probably OK.
• Different mouse cursor when hovering over air, shaped like scissors cutting film tape?
• Large box with replay actions, and buttons to erase all, or move/erase single action. Always shown or on demand? This is really the most important data, the game map is merely a visualization of the replay actions.

It's just an experience report from someone who started playing Lix mainly with knowledge of L1 but not of newer engines

This is valuable feedback that few can give unbiased. I haven't ever user-tested the replaying with non-Lemmings-players.

-- Simon

[Forestidia86]

Yeah it's basically about discovering that airclick cancels.

Airclick is undocumented except for an annotation in the options menu, to (framestepping back cuts replay yes/no).

I just noticed that it is actually explained for the "Neustart" button in the options menu as well but I started playing with 0.6 and this was not yet translated.
(For framestepping back cuts replay yes/no there was even a German description in 0.6 but it didn't mention it (and still doesn't.) The English description is too long for 800x600 (windowed), so that it doesn't show this information there for me either. But most will probably play with higher resolution. I even chose that framestepping back cancels replay, which was a solution for me for rewinding then. I still think it's the best option for playing levels (though not for watching replays).)

[geoo]

I remember when I first encountered this feature in Cheapo it took me a long time to figure out what was going on.
I thought I can't control my actions and thus have to restart the level manually.

I think help text or box with replay data might be too intrusive and clutter the UI even more, and the latter if anything seems more like a potential power-user feature (with capability to edit the replay live) than a beginner feature.
The different cursor might be a feasible option, especially if it somehow references the R that's floating in the top-left corner when replay is active.

Another possible UI idea that could be applicable more generally (but I don't know how good an idea it is) would be displaying something slightly intrusive the first few times a user is using a feature (intrusive enough that you don't want to have it in the long run), and having the game count how often the user has used said feature, and disable the intrusive display after a certain number of times.
Example: Show the scissors cursor with additional text "click to cancel replay" below it, until the user has used this replay cancelling at least X times.
This could also be used with tool tips when hovering over different UI buttons, which disappear once you've used said UI feature at least X times.

Potential risk is confusing the player by the change in behaviour after X times.

[Simon]

Issue #281. This thread on the forums is important feedback, and I tend to forget these unless I file bugs on github immediately.

-- Simon