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Object Description Rework


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Posted (edited)

So I've been playing on Aurora like three months, and this is a place with some seriously opaque mechanics, and it often demands I wiki dive or even code dive to figure out how to do something or if I even CAN do something. While people are very supportive of each other when it comes to helping with mechanics (since it seems like Everyone Suffers), ideally you should be able to examine an object and receive all the information you need about how to interact with it in any common capacity. While many objects do have some 'show additional information' text, it is not implemented consistently.

There are several different types of information that would be very useful to have when examining objects, which I have broken down by function below:
[Name]
[Damage/Condition]*
[Description]
[Extended Description]**
[Mechanics]**
(how do i X)
[Assembly/Disassembly]** (what tools to use)
[Upgrades]** (science has a point?)
[Antagonist Interactions]** (if the user is an antagonist/observer)
[General Status/Feedback]

* - If the object is damaged.
** - If the user clicks the '[Show in Chat]' button.

This is currently a WIP. There is a PR for this where implementation feedback can be provided, but this forum thread is intended for UI feedback and how it looks/feels presents. I have laid some groundwork for this update already, and [Show in Chat] already gives you better information on many objects, but the following are some screenshots from both live in-game and my WIP branch for your consideration. Please disregard minor style differences between screenshots, they were taken at different times and stages.

obj_desc_example1.thumb.png.323babe1d4efccc54c5f6bdfea3f104c.png

obj_desc_example2.png.ad83a630a7c26d6f1ff56c4149b4d7c0.pngobj_desc_example3.thumb.png.217f644e35c3a3d139d4236cc974cd94.png

Edited by zha everything broken
  • Like 5
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

This is currently test-merged.

There's an insane number of structures, objects, machines, and items in this game, and it'll take me forever to trawl all the code of every single one personally. Therefore, I would be very grateful to the community for any help filling in more in-game documentation, by posting items or objects that could use additional Mechanics or Antagonist hints! (I am not currently adding many assembly/disassembly hints except to the most commonly built/broken objects- there's another rework behind this one to make that programmatic.)

For mechanics hints, I am looking for objects which have special interactions (alt-, ctrl-, click-drag, etc.) which are not already listed, or which have functions or interactions with other objects that are useful/non-obvious.

For antagonism hints, I am looking for objects which have unique mechanical antagonist interactions, or which can be effectively exploited by antagonists (for example, airlock crush and electrification wires).

Please use the below format for any suggested tips:

Object Name
Mechanics
- [Suggested mechanics hint 1.]

- [Suggested mechanics hint 2.]
Antagonism

- [Suggested antagonist hint 1.]

- [Suggested antagonist hint 2.]

Feedback
[Blah blah blah.]

  • Like 1

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