General > Discussion
Some rant about ufopaedia texts
TrashMan:
That bothers you?
I'm more bothered by the assault rifle being caseless, despite having a huge magazine size-wise and holding only 30 bullets, and similar things that look conflicting.
homunculus:
in that case, shouldn't i be more bothered about deuterium poisoning that the phalanx scientists are talking about?
if i need to find and read base/ufos/weapons.ufo to get any useful info about a smoke grenade, will i be extremely cheerful about it?
Vassilios de Veritas:
--- Quote ---1) aircraft equipment storage.
2) alien artifacts storage.
3) alien stiffs storage (especially as it contradicts other ufo games).
4) equipment in use by soldiers (I have accidentally sold equips worn by soldiers and discovered my soldier without a gun or ammo at the battlefield. But afaik player cannot sell, say, installed aircraft weapons, dunno about aircraft ammunition loaded in those).
5) in the future, probably also UGV storage.
6) items being researched in the lab (again, this has happened in game, sold alien medium armor; afair, the research screen looked strange before I started the time).
7) the meaning of storage capacity in practical playing, so that the player would understand how much he can really store, and if he would need to build a second one.
--- End quote ---
All of those things are.. things. And when you store them... you do it in some place. For example, in a house. Storehouse. Haha. Really basic concept, you don't need a lot words to describe it because everything is obvious from the name.
As for the "i have accidentally sold EVERYTHING, GIBE MONEY PLEASE"... well, that's bad game design or technical problem, player should receive notification when he tries to sell something that's being used. Has no relation to description of a warehouse. That place where you store things.
--- Quote ---I hope reading a real world Arms Room SOP (standard operating procedure)
--- End quote ---
Emmm, what? Storage facility is a description of a warehouse for a video game, that text in your link is a description of standard operating procedures for arms room in a real military. I don't see the connection. In fact, there should be no connection, if we want to make a fun game.
Anyway, i looked at the storage facility text again, and now i understand that it was my fatigue, and now i'm ready to translate it, do it like it's my job, you know. However, the text is dull and uninteresting, and i will not have fun while doing it. And when, if, player will be reading that description, he will feel the same.
--- Quote ---MESSAGE FROM: Surgeon-Captain Helen Floydd, Medical Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command
MESSAGE SUBJECT: Commander, do you feel fine?
Executive Officer Howard told me you sent him an email, with a request to describe you our storage facility. He asked me to perform this task.
Well you see, commander, when people don't use things, those things usually just don't move (aka "lay around"). However (and this is important part, read carefully), some things go BOOM when you accidentally hit them or leak radiation and alien substances, so it is better if those things lay around in some safe places. Preferably, places with walls, just like room or house. In our civil life, we call those places a warehouse, a storage room, or a storeroom. But since this is military, we call it a storage facility. We are having fun, and so should you!
Commander, if you feel yourself tired or depressed, come visit me ASAP, there is nothing to be ashamed of in alcoholism. With care, doctor Helen.
--- End quote ---
Also,
--- Quote ---In the case of an invasion, we will need all the storage space we can get. Large stores of ammunition may need to be squared away for long periods of time.
--- End quote ---
JESUS CHRIST PEOPLE, THE ALIENS ARE AT THE DOOR, GRAB THE ALL STORAGE SPACE YOU "CAN GET", FIGHT FOR IT IF YOU MUST, AND STORE THOSE HUGE PILES OF AMMUNITION THAT WERE LAYING OUTSIDE THE STORAGE FACILITY FOR SOME REASON EVEN THO THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE WHERE WE STORE IT, CAUSE WE TOTALLY GONNA FIGHT THOSE ALIENS WITH OUR GUNS THAT REQUIRE AMMUNITION!!! GOD BLESS HUMANITY AND OUR RIGHT TO GET ALL THE STORAGE SPACE WE CAN WHILE UNDER ALIEN INVASION!!!
Hertzila:
--- Quote from: Vassilios de Veritas on January 05, 2012, 09:16:35 pm ---All of those things are.. things. And when you store them... you do it in some place. For example, in a house. Storehouse. Haha. Really basic concept, you don't need a lot words to describe it because everything is obvious from the name.
--- End quote ---
Objection!
The concept is basic but what about tactical information? Many games tend to display pretty much any military storage facility or container as full of nitroglyserin ready to go off with a first bullet. Would you have guessed that a storage facility is a low priority target and the player could unload a whole clip of grenades without worrying too much?
--- Quote from: Vassilios de Veritas on January 05, 2012, 09:16:35 pm ---Emmm, what? Storage facility is a description of a warehouse for a video game, that text in your link is a description of standard operating procedures for arms room in a real military. I don't see the connection. In fact, there should be no connection, if we want to make a fun game.
--- End quote ---
Objection!
Hard sci-fi (the genre UFO:AI is intended to be) usually means that stuff is kept as realistic as possible to ground the game into reality, while keeping the intended story possible. In other words, there could, if not should, very well be a connection between the two texts, since the in-game description is more or less the fictional counterpart of the real life SOP.
--- Quote from: Vassilios de Veritas on January 05, 2012, 09:16:35 pm ---*quote*
JESUS CHRIST PEOPLE, THE ALIENS ARE AT THE DOOR, GRAB THE ALL STORAGE SPACE YOU "CAN GET", FIGHT FOR IT IF YOU MUST, AND STORE THOSE HUGE PILES OF AMMUNITION THAT WERE LAYING OUTSIDE THE STORAGE FACILITY FOR SOME REASON EVEN THO THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE WHERE WE STORE IT, CAUSE WE TOTALLY GONNA FIGHT THOSE ALIENS WITH OUR GUNS THAT REQUIRE AMMUNITION!!! GOD BLESS HUMANITY AND OUR RIGHT TO GET ALL THE STORAGE SPACE WE CAN WHILE UNDER ALIEN INVASION!!!
--- End quote ---
Hold it!
(Okay I stop using these. I've been playing Ace Attorney a bit too much.)
You do realize that the text reminds/means that the player should keep enough storages around so they won't run out of space when stockpiling supplies? Right now it's not that much of problem, since deliveries are instantaneous, but in the future buying stuff is supposed to happen with delays, so buying more ammo at the last minute won't cut it.
Vassilios de Veritas:
Just finished translating the text, gonna post some feedback tomorrow or in couple of days.
--- Quote ---Would you have guessed that a storage facility is a low priority target and the player could unload a whole clip of grenades without worrying too much?
--- End quote ---
Of course. Storage facility is a room. Walls usually do not explode or leak radiation. Containers with explosives or plutonium do. You can put those anywhere, not just a storage facility. Which is a room.
I'm not sure that "hard sci-fi" is a genre of video games. Besides, i don't think that description of "normal", casual things and activities is what science fiction is all about. Storing things in a room is not a sci-fi, alien artifacts are but not the process of storing things. But i'll talk about "casual and fascinating" in my feedback a bit later.
--- Quote ---You do realize that the text reminds/means that the player should keep enough storages around so they won't run out of space when stockpiling supplies?
--- End quote ---
Why are you so sure that player will suddenly forget such trivial thing? Base management is not a deep process, it's kinda hard to forget to buy/sell things if buying/selling them is like 1/4 of all operations related to base management. What are those, besides base building? Research, production, transfer (if there is a second base), market. And you don't need to read about those operations in encyclopedia, especially in the section about buildings, to perform them. Again, its a bad game design if player have to search info about such basic game actions in encyclopedia. Also, i'm not suppose to realize that, it must be obvious from text. And that part says something about invasion, not your usual schedOH MAN WAIT A SECOND, i just realized it's from 50s, when they were only preparing for encounter. What that part with invasion is about, invasion on Earth or base? Oh man im tired, i'll go to bed.
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