Explain Traps/Flingers on Mouseover

[kaywhyn]

This is now github #494: Explain Gadgets (Traps, Flingers) on Mouseover.


I've already posted it in the LOTY2023 Playing Phase topic, but I'll link my video where I show my solutions to your guys' nominated levels here as well

https://youtu.be/woKK3hjwjJc

In particular, I show off this particular feature that was just implemented in version 0.10.22 of Lix, starting at around the 8 minute mark:

• Fix #427: Reveal trigger areas during play: When you activate the splat ruler, you also see trigger areas of gadgets (goals, traps, flingers, water, ...) as cyan hollow rectangles.
  

This is the first time I've seen the cyan rectangles and I must say it looks great! Consequently, I am wondering if it would be possible for names of the objects/traps to appear when you mouse over them while the splat ruler is activated, similar to how it is when you mouse over objects and traps in NL while CPM is activated.

Same thing with the rewind to previous skill assignment feature, though admittedly I was negligent on the feedback on testing it before it was in stable Lix. In all honesty, I do miss the way NL implemented it, though interestingly enough namida's implementation of it for Loap is the exact same as Lix's current implementation of the feature. So, I guess I could live with this, but I'm definitely used to NL's manner of the feature's implementation, only because in this way I don't have to press the hotkey to step back a frame too.

Also something I didn't bring up in the video, but I have noticed that only 1 frame back/forward and 10 second time skips are available. Unless it's already implemented and I haven't seen it in the game options, I'm wondering if there can be an option for players to customize the lengths of time skips, such as how NL also has hotkeys for 5 seconds back/forwards. I will say that the 5 second NL time skips I do find useful and do make frequent use of them.

Finally, please excuse my really bad German pronunciation! I learned "danke" in the Daffy Duck Commando cartoon from a while back  

[Simon]

I show my solutions to your guys' nominated levels here as well
https://youtu.be/woKK3hjwjJc

Thanks for recording these! Yes, both Inside Your Router and Rhizome are intended. geoo's Dangerous Goods is also intended.

Fix #427: Reveal trigger areas during play: When you activate the splat ruler, you also see trigger areas of gadgets (goals, traps, flingers, water, ...) as cyan hollow rectangles.

names of the objects/traps to appear when you mouse over them while the splat ruler is activated, similar to how it is when you mouse over objects and traps in NL while CPM is activated.

Have you seen a particular trap/flinger/exit/... where it was unclear what would happen?

Hatches, during mouseover, already print the spawn interval to the status bar. This text appears in the same spot where we print information about the hovered lix. And it doesn't depend on whether the splat ruler is active.

Yes, it's sensible to add mouseover text for all gadgets, again regardless of the splat ruler. Text in the status bar is unobtrusive.

• Hatch: Spawn interval 37.
  
• Triggered trap: Open. Will take 8 physics updates.
  
• Triggered trap: Busy for 5 more physics updates.
  
• Permanent flinger: Forward speed 8, upward speed 10.
  
• Triggered flinger: Forward speed 4, upward speed 12.
  
• Triggered flinger: Busy for 3 more physics updates.
  
• Exit, fire, and water need only the type, no extra info.
  

"names of the objects/traps": I assume that you mean the type of trap here, not the filename of the tile. The type should be enough. The filename would be overly specific.

rewind to previous skill assignment feature, though admittedly I was negligent on the feedback on testing it before it was in stable Lix. In all honesty, I do miss the way NL implemented it

I've answered in: Implement Rewind to Last Assignment

-- Simon

[kaywhyn]

Have you seen a particular trap/flinger/exit/... where it was unclear what would happen?

Well, if you noticed when I went over your level "Inside Your Router," I wasn't sure what the cyan rectangles where the arrows in the upper corners were. Doesn't matter, since the Lixes can't even get into those corners, but yea, I'm not sure what those cyan rectangles mean there.

"names of the objects/traps": I assume that you mean the type of trap here, not the filename of the tile. The type should be enough. The filename would be overly specific.

Correct, for traps I meant trap type, e.g, infinite or one-time. Thanks!

[Simon]

"Inside Your Router," I wasn't sure what the cyan rectangles where the arrows in the upper corners were. Doesn't matter, since the Lixes can't even get into those corners, but yea, I'm not sure what those cyan rectangles mean there.

Ah, right, you commented on those extensively in the video. Those are triggered flingers.

They're a weaker version of the flingers at the bottom middle. They have a red button and a yellow sign over it. In 2023, I put unreachable flingers into Inside Your Router purely for the decorative yellow sign. The red button is buried in the terrain below the yellow sign. Now, in 2024, we have the cyan rectangles, and the unreachable flingers became more confusing than necessary.

Indeed, describing the gadgets on mouseover will reduce the confusion by 80 %. Probably the clearest is to remove the decorative flingers entirely.

Interesting case of cultural moss, where levels from the past clash with newer game design choices.

-- Simon

[Simon]

This is still open.

This will also improve the visibility of the already-existing hatch mouseover. Nepster reported around 2018 that he didn't see where during play I'd print the spawn interval, even though I would print the spawn interval in the panel whenever you moused over the hatch.

Reason for why I believe this improves visibility: If you notice that, on any gadget, you get mouseover panel text with all possible useful information, you might want to mouse over the hatch to see the spawn interval.

I also get to factor the whole feature into the gadget class hierarchy. Removes the hatch spawn interval printing from the game's drawing logic, which already does enough other random unrelated things. Happy burrowing porcupine.

-- Simon