Diziet Sma wrote:Redspear wrote:(assuming that oolite.org remains the only download site for the game?)
It isn't, and hasn't been for a long time.. pretty much every major Linux distribution out there makes Oolite available in their package management system. They generally only go with official stable releases though, and I expect it won't be long before 1.80 is made available.
Ah, once again my ignorance becomes apparent
In that case, I can see the oxz system as potentially very useful to someone who downloaded from such a source.
Svengali wrote:Last but not least - no mechanism will catch all possible exceptions, but a standard helps to reduce confusion. The Wiki is after all not a picture book. It should provide accessible information which also means to highlight important bits. Too many is confusing, but not enough is not good as well. It is (or should be) a collaboration tool.
I'm reading that as meaning that it's there to be read and considered. I'd have thought that the audience for a game like oolite was more likely to read and consider such things anyway (by which I think I'm agreeing with you here Svengali).
I'm still not convinced that there's a need for this (maybe that's my cue to leave this thread to people who can see such a requirement
).
Yes, a system everyone(/most people) likes that achieves the goal would be nice but who is it for?
Beginners???
When i was a beginner, I found things were very much hinted at by the function of the oxp (e.g. new ship - better check that out; tweaks commodities - that could change things; don't know what it does - I'll look it up). I've seen posts from people (outside this thread) suggesting such an idea as useful but I can't recall anyone suggesting it would be useful to them personally. I'd read the wiki and I'm not the sort of person to find reading manuals entertaining.
Assuming for a moment that there is such a need, and that having the effects explained on a wiki page is insufficient, then I have a suggestion.
- One colour: red.
Meaning: Warning - this oxz can significantly alter game difficulty/balance
Use: A listing either has that colour tag/phrase or or it doesn't.
Frequency: At the discretion of each oxp author.
It's simple: only one colour, no 'direction'. I'd have thought that red intuitively suggests a warning for a great many people (or would at least highlight it as different when listings were either red or not) and it encourages a proper investigation via the wiki. If one is unconcerned by a warning flag then perhaps one is also less likley to care in which 'direction' it leans.
It's functional: if an oxp/z alters balance a little rather than a lot then it becomes even more subjective and less clear as to in which direction those effects might lean. Less significant = less important that it be highlighted. Not highlighting such oxps makes things less confusing whilst still addressing the main concerns.
At a glance? The red flag would be made all the more conspicuous by the absence of other colours. It's there or it isn't. It stands out; it has no contemporaries.
Intuitive? Strong association with the colour, no sliding scale and (I suspect) less subjective categorization.
Don't like it? It would be optional. Other than that, sorry, I'm out of ideas for now
It's certainly not perfect but it does a job, which some people seem to think is important (and may well be) and it does it with minimal fuss.
The wiki pages themselves might have whatever system the author likes as, after all, he or she probably knows the effects of the oxp fairly well. A red warning line at the top could be something that they could choose to add if they wish.
Well? Am I an idiot?... It's ok doc, I can take it
(be interested in what fish you have but this probably isn't the place 
) but even for me, when I see red and green isolated from such a 'strip' then the traffic light association is a bit overpowering... whether it's suggested or not.