Messages

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Discussion / Re: Some rant about ufopaedia texts

« on: January 10, 2012, 12:22:29 am »

Oh, i get it.
And it sucks.
 

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Discussion / Re: Some rant about ufopaedia texts

« on: January 09, 2012, 11:44:12 pm »

So you want a simple list because it's hard for you to find things in text?

The Storage facility is the base's repository for:
*ammunition
*weapons
*other equipment not currently in use
*battlefield vehicles.

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Discussion / Re: Some rant about ufopaedia texts

« on: January 09, 2012, 11:20:51 pm »

You lost me bro, i don't know what you want now. I pointed out problems in text, i rewrote that text without those problems, and text didn't end up like the one in your post. What "fiction-writing artistic freedom" do you need for a description of a warehouse? It's not even a Command center. And we (not me for sure) weren't talking about all emails, just building description.

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Discussion / Re: Some rant about ufopaedia texts

« on: January 09, 2012, 03:10:55 pm »

Being a bit..anal..aren't we?

Oh boy, here we go. What's next, "U MAD BRO?"?

Descriptions give flavor.

Nobody argued about that, i personally pointed out problems in one particular text.

You complain the Storage description is too long?

No. I complain [link to my huge post, with no complains about size].

But it does look ugly, any better ideas how the same info could be said in a different way?

The Storage facility is the base's repository for ammunition, weapons, and other equipment not currently in use, and a garage for battlefield vehicles. These remain in their bays until mission time, with fully-loaded magazines in case of a base attack.
Objects are being stored on pallets, and the Storage facility can fit a maximum of 50 standard-sized pallets of equipment. The amount of items in a pallet is relatively unimportant, size is the main restricting factor with regards to Storage facility space. A dedicated production base may require two Storage facilities to keep production running smoothly. Please note Commander, that all equipment used by soldiers, and all items needed for research and production are also being stored in this facility.

Recommended Doctrine
During a base attack, the Storage facility would not be more than a target of opportunity. Any sensitive equipment in the facility will most likely be protected and require significant effort to destroy. Facility does not depend upon any other base facilities to function, and is cheap and easy to repair.

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Discussion / Re: Some rant about ufopaedia texts

« on: January 09, 2012, 01:09:52 am »

I would replace it with:

Oh, i didn't pay much attention to that, just copy-pasted chunks from original. 
Honestly, this thread is really random for me. Just like i said in my first post here, it just made me recall that text and problems i had when i was working on translation. I also didn't try to make it more funny or formal, just point out some problems that would not make any text better and problems that definitely wouldn't make any video game entertaining.

Items
Soldier equipment (including assigned equipment and ammunition)
Ground Vehicles (not including assigned ammunition)
Aircraft equipment (not including assigned equipment and ammunition)
Alien artifacts (including items researched in lab; not including corpses and robots)

Emm, including-not including parts look ugly, too repetitive and long.

Up to this day I have not figured out how the storage space works, except for looking at available storage space changes when I buy/sell things.

Uhm, so maybe we need additional counter with available/occupied storage space?

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Discussion / Re: Some rant about ufopaedia texts

« on: January 08, 2012, 08:06:55 pm »

The Storage facility is the base's repository for ammunition, weapons, and other equipment not currently in use. All small-arms, vehicle and aircraft ammunition that is not earmarked for emergency response resides in the Storage facility.

Tautology.

Live ammunition and other sensitive equipment such as alien artifacts are kept in locked containers in the quartermaster's office behind rigorous security; checking anything out of locked storage requires the presence of the base quartermaster and written authorisation from the Command Centre.

So ammunition and alien artifacts have same value and importance? So when mission starts, bunch of people run into the quartermaster's office and start grabbing the piles of ammunition, or a forklift rides in? And while all this happening, poor quartermaster just sits behind his desk?

The Storage facility can fit a maximum of 50 standard-sized pallets of equipment. The amount of items in a pallet is relatively unimportant, size is the main restricting factor with regards to Storage facility space. The contents of each individual pallet are scrupulously tracked by magnetic labels and detailed punch-card logs.

Magnetic labels and punch-card logs. Things are scrupulously tracked. Fascinating, considering that if you don't watch for things, you lose them. Just like if you don't close the door, someone or something can freely walk in and/or walk out. If a room can't store things, you don't call it a storeroom, and if a room can't elevate things higher you don't call it an elevator.
All of this is not hard military sci-fi, it is common sense. You know why text has this problem? Because there is not much you can say about warehouse, even if it's a military facility, there is no "recommended doctrine" for warehouses. You don't need to describe standard operating procedures to tell player what storage facility does. Especially if those sop are common sense everyday non-sci-fi activities.
Idea with pallets is a nice explanation of what is storage space in UFO: AI. 1 pallet = 1 unit of space, am i right?

i have worked in (what i think would qualify as) a middle-sized furniture factory for a two months, enough to be somewhat disillusioned about the level of organization in such places, including the warehouse (= it is quite high).

I never argued about that, so... My school also had high level of organization, but reading all the rules was not an entertaining gameplay.

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.

I don't get this part. First of all, since when storage space is an important part in war, any war? Ammo, guns, resources, yes. But storage space? Empty space under a roof? This is ridiculous. Secondly, if this part of the text is about invasion, then why would you need to store ammo for long period of time when you need it to fight off the previously mentioned invasion? And where were ammo piles before invasion if the need to store them appears only during invasion?

During a base attack, the Storage facility would not be more than a target of opportunity. Any sensitive equipment in the facility will most likely be protected and require significant effort to destroy. Even the facility itself is cheap and easy to repair. The only threat comes from stored explosives and ammunition, which may present a risk due to the possibility of sympathetic detonation.

Still, any extraterrestrials are unlikely to spend the time and effort getting into our explosion-proof lockers when there are easier targets nearby.

Oh, so the storage facility is totally not important, and the only danger is our own rockets and 'nades. This part renders most of text above it pointless, but it's actually the most correct one. Because storage facility is a place where you store things.

I would also like to point, that in-game encyclopedia is not the only place where player will receive information concerning the storage facility. There are also gameplay information and graphical representation. Gameplay information player will receive when he'll start interacting with storage facility. What will it be?

You can't store things without a storage facility, so if you want to store things on a base you need to have it there.
Storage facility has limited storage space. If it runs out, build another one or transfer to other base.

Now lets look at graphical representation:

Shelves and cardboard boxes, some of them are open. Space, the final frontier and all that. I can imagine a slightly obese middle-aged quartermaster sitting behind that desk in lower-right corner playing solitaire and drinking coffee. Seriously tho, i'm sure that shelves and boxes, not mandatory cardboard, are what people imagine when they think of place where you store things.

the problem that i see with this rewrite is that...

That was just a joke. But yeah, here's my try:

The Storage facility is the base's repository for ammunition, weapons, and other equipment not currently in use, and it also serves as a garage for our battlefield vehicles. These remain in their bays until mission time, with fully-loaded magazines in case of a base attack.
Objects are being stored on pallets, and the Storage facility can fit a maximum of 50 standard-sized pallets of equipment. The amount of items in a pallet is relatively unimportant, size is the main restricting factor with regards to Storage facility space.

Recommended Doctrine
During a base attack, the Storage facility would not be more than a target of opportunity. Any sensitive equipment in the facility will most likely be protected and require significant effort to destroy. Even the facility itself is cheap and easy to repair.

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Discussion / Re: Some rant about ufopaedia texts

« on: January 07, 2012, 01:52:01 am »

Just finished translating the text, gonna post some feedback tomorrow or in couple of days.

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?

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.

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?

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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Discussion / Re: Some rant about ufopaedia texts

« on: January 05, 2012, 09:16:35 pm »

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.

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.

I hope reading a real world Arms Room SOP (standard operating procedure)

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.

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.

Also,

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.

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!!!

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Discussion / Re: Some rant about ufopaedia texts

« on: December 20, 2011, 07:23:36 pm »

Oh people, don't remind me about Storage Facility description text. Some time ago i was actively translating msg_ids to Ukrainian, but that description... that description had broken my mind, bros. It's a storage facility. A warehouse. You keep things there. How many words do you need to describe a warehouse, to show that it is, in fact, a warehouse and not a space station? I don't know, maybe it was fatigue from translating the whole Story and Buildings sections, but every time i was trying to translate Storage Facility article, i couldn't find words to stretch sentence "this is a warehouse, you keep things there" through three paragraphs + Addendum ("it's bad when aliens are in your warehouse, duh").

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Artwork / Random loading, defeat/victory etc screens?

« on: August 27, 2011, 08:12:03 pm »

Is there such feature or could it be done? Maybe some artists have interesting ideas, or even already created new images/renders for those screens.

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Feature Requests / Re: Geoscape: selective "Center objects on the maps" buttons

« on: August 12, 2011, 08:10:15 am »

+1 from me, and +2 from one dude and his father from Ukrainian torrent-tracker where they've downloaded the game, played it together and gave me some feedback.

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Feature Requests / Re: base building idea: Rec Room

« on: August 08, 2011, 07:47:06 pm »

Well, maybe they play cards sometimes, or ping-pong on table in living quarters.

Each soldier receives 1 bunk and 1 locker partition to store their personel effects such as civilian clothes.

This is from  Living Quarters description. I think that "civilian clothes" mean that they sometimes leave base and can get some RnR.

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Mapping / Re: Your least favourite map and why?

« on: August 04, 2011, 04:59:54 pm »

Big City... seriously, multilevel parking lot? Wow, that city is huuuge! Also lags, lags everywhere.

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Feature Requests / Re: Simple specializations system

« on: July 29, 2011, 07:38:05 pm »

Well, the main point of this whole shebang is bonuses, and that nice feel of receiving/keeping them.

The soldier skills are detailed enough.

Thanks for quick answer though. All team members here and on bugtracker that I've met really care for what they're doing.

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Feature Requests / Simple specializations system

« on: July 29, 2011, 06:54:40 pm »

So, if a soldier have performed some amount of special actions on battlefield, he'll receive specialization.
Medic: soldier healed other soldiers five times (one mission with healing counts for one "medic point", that's my idea for now to prevent cheating, but mb this is unnecessary). Soldier will receive health bonus +10 and now medkits which he uses will heal slightly more health.
Medic, level 2, 20 medic points on top of those five, now hospital on a base with this soldier will heal/treat injuries faster.
Medic, level 3, 60 medic points, hospital will heal patients even more faster, bonus to health +25, bonus to all armor +5

Engineer: (when we will have UGVs), 10 repairs with repair kits (i presume we'll also have them), now he don't need those kits to fix UGVs (as if he received a tool belt with all the instruments he'll need), plus bonus to bullet ( +2) and explosion armor (+5, he received a flack jacket).
Engineer: level 2, 25 repairs, now he is giving a production bonus (like he's a worker, a really good one), can build turrets or plant mines or create a little robot, like a spy drone or something.
Engineer: level 3, 50 repairs, explosion armor +50 (he is so experienced with mines/well equipped, that he's not afraid of some "fireworks"), even bigger bonus to production, turrets/robot/mines will receive special ability or become stronger.

So, the basic system is:
[Battlefield actions] -> [Specialization] -> [Levels of specialization (Last level gives biggest bonus)]
Sorry for language errors, i'm writing this in a hurry, no time to spelcheck bb got to go hope you'll like it