Beacons, Compassess, Shapes!

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Which compass shape should we use to represent nav beacons in the future?

Poll ended at Sat May 05, 2012 8:06 pm

A triangle: classic Oolite, no need to change it!
3
16%
A diamond: easier to centre, more buoy-like!
9
47%
Another design: specify in the thread, please.
1
5%
Meh: triangle, diamond, another, whatever!
6
32%
 
Total votes: 19

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Kaks
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Beacons, Compassess, Shapes!

Post by Kaks »

For a few days now we had people asking to change the triangle shape used to identify buoys on the compass, due to centring the icon on the compass itself presenting a bit of a learning curve.

A regular diamond shape - much easier to centre - was put forward as a proposed replacement, without too much apparent disagreement.
Apparently there is indeed some disagreement. Out of curiosity, how does the commoonity feel about the proposed new nav buoy icon?

If you'd like to see what it's like during play, it's enabled in the nightly builds: by default you can download and install a nightly build in parallel to your current installation of Oolite, without breaking any of your current settings.

If you've got no strong opinion one way or another, please use the Meh option: you know it makes sense! :D
Last edited by Kaks on Fri Apr 20, 2012 8:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hey, free OXPs: farsun v1.05 & tty v0.5! :0)
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Re: Beacons, Compassess, Shapes!

Post by Cody »

Kaks wrote:
If you'd like to see what it's like during play, it's enabled in the nightly builds
<shuffles off to download the nightly, humming a Shirley Bassey/James Bond theme>
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Re: Beacons, Compassess, Shapes!

Post by cim »

My vote: "Another design: make it customisable in the HUD settings" (Doesn't answer the question of what the default should be, but it seems a nice long-term goal if there ends up being a near-50:50 split between triangle and diamond)
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Re: Beacons, Compassess, Shapes!

Post by Wildeblood »

Your description in the poll options of the diamond as "more buoy-like" is misleading. There is actually a reason the current icons are a square and an isosceles triangle. At least I assume it isn't just a co-incidence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_mark
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Re: Beacons, Compassess, Shapes!

Post by Smivs »

Can we not just get the triangle in the 'right' position?
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Re: Beacons, Compassess, Shapes!

Post by Eric Walch »

Smivs wrote:
Can we not just get the triangle in the 'right' position?
What is the right position. When I line-up the nose of my ship with the buoy, the triangle is placed exactly on spot. When you look out of your front window and align the buoy in your cross-hair you get a parallax and are aiming a bit to low with your nose. This parallax will also happen with a ♢ shape.
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Re: Beacons, Compassess, Shapes!

Post by Smivs »

Ah! 8)
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Re: Beacons, Compassess, Shapes!

Post by snork »

voted "meh!"
(with a preference to keep it as triangle, but not bothered if this changes.)

and btw. I use it pretty much like SandJ (so no, it is not bound to playing by keyboard)

I set the ASC to main station nav. buoy, then center the planet, and roll to see on what "side of" the planet the station is to be found.

Unless of course I plan to do totally different things. 8)
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Re: Beacons, Compassess, Shapes!

Post by Zireael »

cim wrote:
My vote: "Another design: make it customisable in the HUD settings" (Doesn't answer the question of what the default should be, but it seems a nice long-term goal if there ends up being a near-50:50 split between triangle and diamond)
Not a bad idea, sir!
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