Context is Everything

Facing the difficult problem of trying to cram too much information into a limited area of the game screen, I’ve added a new console display in the upper left corner of the map viewport that displays different information depending on the current turn phase. In the movement phase it shows the movement class of the player’s tank, their maximum and remaining Movement Points, and in the future will also display any movement-related restrictions (immobilized, bogged down, etc.) In the shooting phase, it contains essential information on the player tank’s main gun. Both movement and main gun information will always be available from the player tank screen, but for the most part players will only need this data during the appropriate phase, so it seemed to make sense to move it there. As a result, I’ve been able to display more important data about the player tank, such as its crew and armour ratings.

I’ve also improved by roguelike credentials by adding a message console to the bottom of the map view, with a message log window to come in the future. The full messages will eventually contain much more specific information about what is going on (timestamp, name of the unit, etc.) while the on-screen pop-up messages will only provide quick indications of events and outcomes.

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