mirror attack icons for defender?
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mirror attack icons for defender?
I realized that the new attack icons (I love them!) have a stronger sense of direction than the old attack icons.
Most of them suggest an attack from left to right.
If the attack icon for the defender is mirrored in the window, where the user selects the attack type, it will face to the left.
Pros:
Attack icon of the defender faces the attacker icon, and thus giving a better sense of conflict.
Cons:
Mirror images of a right hand (fist attack, lightning attack, etc.) will appear as images of a left hand.
If this suggestion belongs to the idea threads, please move it.
Most of them suggest an attack from left to right.
If the attack icon for the defender is mirrored in the window, where the user selects the attack type, it will face to the left.
Pros:
Attack icon of the defender faces the attacker icon, and thus giving a better sense of conflict.
Cons:
Mirror images of a right hand (fist attack, lightning attack, etc.) will appear as images of a left hand.
If this suggestion belongs to the idea threads, please move it.
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Jetryl, our lead artist, spoke against this proposal. His reasoning, which I agree with, is that these are "symbols" - we use them to characterise certain attacks. Flipping an image left-right actually turns it into two symbols, which means twice the memory.
It might not be common sense, but from my cognitive psychology classes, he has a point.
It might not be common sense, but from my cognitive psychology classes, he has a point.
"Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I am beginning to agree with Jetryl. Inferring direction from attack symbols may not be a good idea, especially when you consider that the attacking unit may very well be on the right side (in-game).
So it comes down to a very minor graphical improvement versus a very minor cognitive improvement. Either way, I don't think it would make much of a difference.
So it comes down to a very minor graphical improvement versus a very minor cognitive improvement. Either way, I don't think it would make much of a difference.
http://www.wesnoth.org/wiki/User:Sapient... "Looks like your skills saved us again. Uh, well at least, they saved Soarin's apple pie."
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- irrevenant
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Yeh. It's about recognisability. The primary purpose of an icon is to be as quickly and easily recognised as possible. Looking cool is a distant second.pstradomski wrote:They mean people's memory, not RAM.
Having two different variants of an icon is cool, but it makes them less recognisable.
You still occasionally see a similar argument going on with regard to giving units different genders...
- Elvish_Pillager
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I don't know about people in general, but when I look at the right side of the attack dialog, I look for things to be flipped. When the attack icons aren't flipped, I take almost a whole second to recognize them.
It's all fun and games until someone loses a lawsuit. Oh, and by the way, sending me private messages won't work. :/ If you must contact me, there's an e-mail address listed on the website in my profile.
I think I agree with EP here.Elvish Pillager wrote:I don't know about people in general, but when I look at the right side of the attack dialog, I look for things to be flipped. When the attack icons aren't flipped, I take almost a whole second to recognize them.
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Could someone do a mock up of how it looks now (preferably with the cool new attack icons) and how it would look with defender images flipped?
"you can already do that with WML"
Fight Creeeping Biggerism!
http://www.wesnoth.org/forum/viewtopic. ... 760#131760
http://www.wesnoth.org/forum/viewtopic. ... 1358#11358
- Eleazar
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I find it hard to care much.
Jetryl's point about the instant recognisibility needed for icons would usually be valid, but i don't think it's a significant concern in this situation. If we make these icons so similar that mirroring destroys their distinctness, than we've done a very bad job.
I slightly prefer the flipped version, but i'll be happy either way.
Jetryl's point about the instant recognisibility needed for icons would usually be valid, but i don't think it's a significant concern in this situation. If we make these icons so similar that mirroring destroys their distinctness, than we've done a very bad job.
I slightly prefer the flipped version, but i'll be happy either way.
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Feel free to PM me if you start a new terrain oriented thread. It's easy for me to miss them among all the other art threads.
-> What i might be working on
Attempting Lucidity
-> What i might be working on
Attempting Lucidity
I definitely see Jetryl's point. The two bows are much more obviously the same attack type in the non-flipped version. And I don't think the flipping helped a lot with the directionality; IMHO, it makes the bows look awkward, and does't much of a difference with the others.
I'm going to have to switch my vote to, don't flip them.
I'm going to have to switch my vote to, don't flip them.
For I am Turin Turambar - Master of Doom, by doom mastered. On permanent Wesbreak. Will not respond to private messages. Sorry!
And I hate stupid people.
The World of Orbivm
And I hate stupid people.
The World of Orbivm