Daggerfall Workshop Forums

Hi, I've played DFU again recently. While playing I've ran into some issues, which gave me some ideas on quality of life enhancements that i want to share with you.

Character Creation window. Stats and skills tool tips - when new player plays the game for the first time, game gives no information on what different stats/skills do and how they affect character. I think this info could be provided with tool tips. You can just take the same ones used in the character sheet.

Item info in cursor tool tips - info window font is too small, and there's some uncomfortable feeling (maybe just me) about looking at it while cursor is somewhere else on the screen. Why not place item info in the same place with the cursor?

Spell impact effects - right now it's impossible to understand does my spell hits the enemy or not. Classic had blood splat animation for this. Something like sparks, little flames or colored overlay after successful hit would be most excellent.

Quick spellcasting - instead of constantly selecting the same single spell, casting should use just one hotkey. How about this: while in spellbook player can select spell and then assign it to a number using Ctrl+1..0 keys. Then just press the number and fire away in constant manner, without interrupting "casting mode".

Also, i would like to see more visual indication that spell is ready to cast. Examples: A looping animation of casting hands, looping sound, spinning particles around crosshair.

Map marker and notes - being able to create a map marker with right mouse click or double click. Maximum one marker at a time. Should be displayed in compass like in later series. Also i noticed that in DFU i can't create map notes, while it was possible in classic game.


And a few ideas on visuals. Probably, more into mod territory. But if this is the case, then can you give me advice where i should look in editor/code to make these changes:

Add option to limit view distance more classic-like. This should also help with performance on weaker rigs.

Warmer lights color - change color of default white light emitting from light sources to somewhat pale orange-ish (except two blue lanterns). Looks more realistic.

More natural gradual spell light animation instead of instant "flat" flash. With quick ease in and ease out.

quasifex wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2019 6:38 am Item info in cursor tool tips - info window font is too small, and there's some uncomfortable feeling (maybe just me) about looking at it while cursor is somewhere else on the screen. Why not place item info in the same place with the cursor?

A little late here, but this has also been requested elsewhere - i.e. including full equipment data (including all enchantments etc.) in the mouseover tooltip on the inventory sheet. The inventory "info panel" (which is too small to show all of this info anyway) could then be usefully repurposed, e.g. to display carried gold amount/weight. Hazelnut has done fantastic work already on the inventory UI, and this would take it one step further. (viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1042)

... and to mimic what is done in several other RPGs, when you hover on some equipment in the inventory, also show the characteristic of the matching equipped item for side-by-side comparison...

The question is, how to not obstruct the whole screen with massive tooltips

pango wrote:... and to mimic what is done in several other RPGs, when you hover on some equipment in the inventory, also show the characteristic of the matching equipped item for side-by-side comparison...

This isn't very common, actually. Most items you pick up are just sell loot, so triggering two windows every time you hover over some junk item is problematic. When I have seen it, it's usually the merchant window only since buying implies replacement.

quasifex wrote:Why not place item info in the same place with the cursor?

TBH there's only a few devs, so even though everyone else wants it the power is kind of concentrated right now. It wasn't until just recently that tons of enchantment stuff got in, and that's the biggest reason to do it. If enough random people show up complaining about it, the better, since I'm apparently on drugs for trying to address all the reasons people quit this game.

Of course, since there are only a few devs, they're mostly busy completing classic game features and squashing bugs, so let's give it some time. I'd just love to see more of these kinds of UI/controls improvements (don't get me started again on classic's completely awful and unnecessary "interaction modes" mechanic...) as things move past 1.0, both through base DFU and mods.

quasifex wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2019 6:38 am Hi, I've played DFU again recently. While playing I've ran into some issues, which gave me some ideas on quality of life enhancements that i want to share with you.

Character Creation window. Stats and skills tool tips - when new player plays the game for the first time, game gives no information on what different stats/skills do and how they affect character. I think this info could be provided with tool tips. You can just take the same ones used in the character sheet.

There are definitely parts of character development that require tips/messages. This is especially true in areas where DFU departs from classic behavior.

Spell impact effects - right now it's impossible to understand does my spell hits the enemy or not. Classic had blood splat animation for this. Something like sparks, little flames or colored overlay after successful hit would be most excellent.

I have made a couple of suggestions in this vein. Verbose Combat would give textual feedback like "zap!" or "Your opponent is damaged" or "Your spell was resisted" or "Your spell had no effect" or "no target in range". I have also suggested that the crosshair change to indicate the interaction mode An animated spell indicator with a target in range indicator would be marvelous.

Quick spellcasting - instead of constantly selecting the same single spell, casting should use just one hotkey. How about this: while in spellbook player can select spell and then assign it to a number using Ctrl+1..0 keys. Then just press the number and fire away in constant manner, without interrupting "casting mode".

1-0 should be definable as user quick actions like spells and weapon configurations.

Also, i would like to see more visual indication that spell is ready to cast. Examples: A looping animation of casting hands, looping sound, spinning particles around crosshair.

See above

Map marker and notes - being able to create a map marker with right mouse click or double click. Maximum one marker at a time. Should be displayed in compass like in later series. Also i noticed that in DFU i can't create map notes, while it was possible in classic game.

Making notes should make a return. Not a big fan of quest marker, compass hand holding, Not against a spell being able to give you clairvoyance but not quest markers.

Warmer lights color - change color of default white light emitting from light sources to somewhat pale orange-ish (except two blue lanterns). Looks more realistic.

Concur

jayhova wrote: ↑Mon May 20, 2019 2:38 pm Making notes should make a return. Not a big fan of quest marker, compass hand holding.

Oh yes, I miss my map notes from classic. The sooner they come back the better.

Map notes are coming up now, thanks to Nystul:

viewtopic.php?f=4&p=25388#p25386

mikeprichard wrote: ↑Sat Jun 15, 2019 2:52 am Map notes are coming up now, thanks to Nystul:

viewtopic.php?f=4&p=25388#p25386

Unfortunately this does not apply to town maps.

mikeprichard wrote: ↑Sat Jun 15, 2019 2:52 am Map notes are coming up now, thanks to Nystul:

viewtopic.php?f=4&p=25388#p25386

This has the unintended consequence of making it possible to mark unexplored paths, which is 100x more useful than any note. Too bad it's a manual process, but I'll take it.