Oolite Bulletins

maik wrote:

Neelix wrote:

I think it's not a good idea to show *only* the highest spec graphics possible. Not every system is capable of that and if people see one thing on the site and then that turns out that game fails to deliver that they'll be disappointed, and may well go off the game and bad-mouth it to their friends for false advertising, regardless of the fact that the limitation is with their own machine.

I think that nowadays people expect that promotional screenshots of a game show it the way it looks best and know that if they don't have a high spec machine they will have to dial it down. Oolite still stands out in this regard because it does not require the latest and greatest CPU and graphics card combination even with all the fanciest OXPs installed and can even be played on really low-spec hardware with more basic OXPs.

In principle, one would expect that to be the case. I spent 10 years in customer service though, and my experience is telling me otherwise... *shrugs*

- Neelix

In my opinion, main graphics should be core, for the reasons Neelix has mentioned. I believe the way it is now at the test website is pretty much OK actually. It is very important that users know what they are getting from the package they download. OXPs may come later but anyone who feels disappointed - or even deceived - because the screenies they've seen don't match what they got will most likely not bother looking for OXPs to prettify their game, they'll just go play something else.

another_commander wrote:

In my opinion, main graphics should be core, for the reasons Neelix has mentioned. I believe the way it is now at the test website is pretty much OK actually. It is very important that users know what they are getting from the package they download. OXPs may come later but anyone who feels disappointed - or even deceived - because the screenies they've seen don't match what they got will most likely not bother looking for OXPs to prettify their game, they'll just go play something else.

That may very well be the case.

I must say I like what I see both of the Site and the description of what's new!

maik wrote:

Not sure about the Getting Started section. I don't think I'd put it on the web page. I'd rather make your Ship's Library part of the core game (though I haven't actually installed it yet myself) and point players to the tutorial and/or Mr. Gimlet's advise.

I disagree.. there are already far too many people who don't read the existing documentation. Having something on the website seems a good way to reach at least some of them.

maik wrote:

The table on the Expansion Packs section looks very... basic... It should be sortable and I'm not sure I'd put an authors column in there but rather a short description as can be seen on the OXZ manager screen in-game.

The table has been sortable since the draft site went up.. did you even try it? The short description idea is good, but heck, even the short descriptions in the Wiki OXP list are too long for a page like that one.

Diziet Sma wrote:

maik wrote:

The table on the Expansion Packs section looks very... basic... It should be sortable and I'm not sure I'd put an authors column in there but rather a short description as can be seen on the OXZ manager screen in-game.

The table has been sortable since the draft site went up.. did you even try it? The short description idea is good, but heck, even the short descriptions in the Wiki OXP list are too long for a page like that one.

Nope, didn't try to sort, I guess I needed a visual cue that it can be sorted beyond an underlined header... Man, I'm getting old... Re the short description: that's why I proposed to have a place in a fixed position that shows author info and description when you hover over the OXZ line.

A couple of notes about the expansions.

The updated column actually means when the manifest was updated, not when the oxp was updated. So, if I for example write up a wiki page for an oxp and then update the description link, then the updated column gets updated. Not a big deal really, but if it's possible to make it so that the updated column get's updated only if the version number get's changed, it would be nice.

Another thing is the ownership of a manifest. Is it or will it be possible to have more than one owner per manifest? That would be handy, if there are multiple authors for an oxp or if the maintainer of an oxp changes.

It would also be handy to see the owner of the manifest in case someone wants to contact the maintainer of the oxp. Should the author column actually be the current maintainer?

spara wrote:

The updated column actually means when the manifest was updated, not when the oxp was updated. So, if I for example write up a wiki page for an oxp and then update the description link, then the updated column gets updated. Not a big deal really, but if it's possible to make it so that the updated column get's updated only if the version number get's changed, it would be nice.

Should be possible.

spara wrote:

It would also be handy to see the owner of the manifest in case someone wants to contact the maintainer of the oxp. Should the author column actually be the current maintainer?

Current maintainer and contact information should be on the information_url page, I think (often as a link to the relevant forum thread).

Manifests can be moved between maintainers easily enough, but having one be editable by multiple maintainers probably won't happen soon.

Neelix wrote:

I don't think being selective is the answer somehow. How doing it as a weekly digest? One news item detailing which OXPs have been updated that week. Could such a digest be automatically generated?

Fairly easily, but I think it's best done as a separate section to the news for latest OXP releases, and can just take the last five. That I think is better than the inevitable jumpiness of content of a weekly digest, which might vary greatly in size.

Neelix wrote:

What do you think of these?

Good selection. I won't use Ranthe's, despite it being a great story and (I assume) a Douglas Adams reference because it gives away the plot of a core mission. The other three I'll add, though.

Found another small item to fix on the "Getting Started" page..

Your first flight task is to pull up so that you don't run in to the buoy.

Should read:

Your first flight task is to pull up so that you don't run into the buoy.

This line:

No more "Hello, Commander Jameson37-backup-2" messages from NPCs

is missing a full-stop at the end.

I found another Tales from the spacelanes extract I think would work well.

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The whirling cluster of ships continued, spinning, twisting, with me in the middle, taking fire from all sides and trying desperately to hold my own, whilst simultaneously doing my best to even the odds. Some of the pirates must have broken away and run, but at the time all I noticed was that suddenly there were less enemy than there had been, giving me time to concentrate on one ship at a time. Four ships remaining, then three. Two, one, and finally I was alone..

Diziet Sma - https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f= ... 70#p172958
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- Neelix

I agree both with including core game pics and the best-looking OXP pics.

That said, I'm trying to get a good screenshot of zygo's new explosions (without dying )

On the Expansion Packs page, it might be helpful if perhaps a note was added, that clicking on any of the table headings will sort the listing accordingly.

Oolite 1.80 should install straightforwardly and be compatible with almost all the OXPs you already have. However, there a few things you should be aware of when you upgrade:

Needs changing to:

Oolite 1.80 should install straightforwardly and be compatible with almost all the OXPs you already have. However, there are a few things you should be aware of when you upgrade: