Advanced Build Mode: simple upgrades

[spacie]

Advanced build mode, it makes most of the larger incredible ships out there possible, but it can still be clunky or even annoying to use. In the distant future a total rework of the system might even be nice, but that's not an option right now with all the other things that are being worked on. Therefore I have put together a list of hopefully simple to implement changes that I think would reasonably improve its usability and the overall user experience.

Orientation Clarification:
Give every type of block the same generic color scheme in the preview window like shown below.
Additionally, make the preview window bigger.
Why: You already know what block you have selected (hotbar) , the preview only has to show orientation, which can be a real pain for certain textures and because the window is so tiny. This should make the current orientation extremely clear/easy/quick to determine.


It's been suggested before, I never saw a reason why it shouldn't be in the game:
Numeric input boxes for area size and build helper. At the default max size of 10x10x10 this isn't needed, but if you have, say, a circle generator with a maximum radius of 5000(currently the case), then a slider isn't accurate enough and you'll have to click a few dozen times to get to the right value. (yay RSI!)

Lighten mode: change the luminosity to somewhere in between the current (100%) and lightier lighten mode mod. Mainly because currently lighten mode doesn't help squat for standard armor, so 1/3rd of all the hull blocks is near impossible to use in dark environments without weird workarounds. Keeping a slver of the shadows would most likely work in all cases.

"artist" impression​

Spoiler: The way less important stuff

The things above are the actually annoying ones, below you'll find the slight inconveniences and irks.
These have also been put into my artsy impression if applicable.

Buttons instead of checkboxes: the checkboxes are really tiny, buttons are easier to click and provide a more coherent layout

Pick filter and Replace/Remove toggle buttons: right now if you want to switch between replace and remove functions on the block filter you'll have to re-select the desired block or hover over an empty inventory slot, which is inconvenient. Being able to toggle without re-selecting the blocktype would be appreciated.

More accurate build helper: even with the recent update to the floating point accuracy of the build helper, there's still some minor issues with symmetry and reproducability of shapes. I'm not sure if this can be fixed if you also have single degree rotation of shapes.

Toggle adv. build mode: Having to hold down ctrl with your little finger can get quite tiring. An option to switch between "hold down" and "toggle" would be very welcome.

that's it for now, comments & suggestions are always welcome.

 

[ltmauve]

Toggle adv. build mode: Having to hold down ctrl with your little finger can get quite tiring. An option to switch between "hold down" and "toggle" would be very welcome.

This, would probably go in the options/esc. meny, but yeah.

Orientation Clarification:
Give every type of block the same generic color scheme in the preview window like shown below.
Additionally, make the preview window bigger.
Why: You already know what block you have selected (hotbar) , the preview only has to show orientation, which can be a real pain for certain textures and because the window is so tiny. This should make the current orientation extremely clear/easy/quick to determine.

One of things I notice for that is you can't tell which way a rail is facing unless you can see the docking face. I'd suggest making the direction indicator larger than a block face.

 

[QuantumAnomaly]

A million times agree OP. There's still issues with lighten mode for both black and white armor of all types, getting the right radius of a circle, especially if you set your X axis rotation instead of your Y, and have to start all over just to set the helper up.

 

[alterintel]

couldn't agree more. Thanks

 

[Valiant70]

Yes.
My additional ideas:

• Polygon build helpers for weird but useful polygons like hexadecagons and pentagons.
• Ellipse build helper (for a 2D ellipse outline) instead of circle.
• "Mirror cubes" on by default. Why would you ever toggle this off anyway?
• Wireframe highlight mode: Even the best lighten mode may not work perfectly all the time. This picks up the slack for the worst case. Give each block/shape a wireframe outline. The color of the outline may vary from block to block to ensure visibility. I suggest rendering it so that the wireframe pixels just invert the color behind them.
• Corner select mode: Click two opposite corners to define a selection rather than using the pre-defined box. For remove/copy/replace, the two blocks clicked would be inside the selection boundary. For placing blocks, the empty space next to the clicked face becomes the inside of the selected area. (By inside, I mean the last/farthest block enclosed within the area.)
• Advanced replace filter to replace all shapes of a specific hull/glass/whatever color at once.

 

[ltmauve]

• "Mirror cubes" on by default. Why would you ever toggle this off anyway?

Because it messes up the textures on hull and hazard stripes.

 

[spacie]

Yes.
My additional ideas:

• Polygon build helpers for weird but useful polygons like hexadecagons and pentagons.
• Ellipse build helper (for a 2D ellipse outline) instead of circle.
• "Mirror cubes" on by default. Why would you ever toggle this off anyway?
• Wireframe highlight mode: Even the best lighten mode may not work perfectly all the time. This picks up the slack for the worst case. Give each block/shape a wireframe outline. The color of the outline may vary from block to block to ensure visibility. I suggest rendering it so that the wireframe pixels just invert the color behind them.
• Corner select mode: Click two opposite corners to define a selection rather than using the pre-defined box. For remove/copy/replace, the two blocks clicked would be inside the selection boundary. For placing blocks, the empty space next to the clicked face becomes the inside of the selected area. (By inside, I mean the last/farthest block enclosed within the area.)
• Advanced replace filter to replace all shapes of a specific hull/glass/whatever color at once.

Although I would love to see most of these things in game, I have to wonder if all of them qualify as "simple to add in" additions. Polygon helper seems like a lot of work for something very few people will probably use. Same goes for an ellipse. For lighten mode I'd be content with whichever way is easiest to implement/works reasonably well.
Corner select would be very useful but is a completely different system from the way things currently work, probably making it hard to implement.
With advanced replace, do you mean replace all block shapes of a certain colour with the same shapes of another colour or replace it with just one block? I'd imagine one being more tricky to get right than the other.

 

[Valiant70]

With advanced replace, do you mean replace all block shapes of a certain colour with the same shapes of another colour or replace it with just one block? I'd imagine one being more tricky to get right than the other.

Pick a color, and all shapes of that color get replaced by the correct shape of another color.