bugfix: Evacuate button positions are now consistent across all ground transport vehicles - #160
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The changed referenced in the Migration Project does not match this change: TheSuperHackers/GeneralsGamePatch#1545
One is moving positions, and the other is changing images.
I will unlink them. Many of Patch1's changes are not atomic so it's sometimes difficult to achieve a 1:1 match. |
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Yes it looks like it has multiple commits in it |
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Here is the evacuate button position reference change: TheSuperHackers/GeneralsGamePatch#165 |
| CommandSet Nuke_ChinaListeningOutpostCommandSet | ||
| 1 = Command_TransportExit | ||
| 2 = Command_TransportExit | ||
| 9 = Command_Evacuate |
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What is the rationale for not streamlining the command/icon?
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It is a separate change, and vehicles should use Command_EmptyCrawler (it shows a vehicle), structures use Command_Evacuate (it shows a building).
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Why should it be a separate change when the intended outcome is that all ground transport vehicles can use the evacuate command within the same selection?
The different icon is not important; the action is the same and it should be consistent. Command_EmptyCrawler should be obsoleted.
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Why should it be a separate change when the intended outcome is that all ground transport vehicles can use the evacuate command within the same selection?
Ok it is fair point. We can have it one change then.
The different icon is not important; the action is the same and it should be consistent. Command_EmptyCrawler should be obsoleted.
I vote for the crawler image for vehicles. It fits better. Maybe we need a vote then.
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That still does not explain how it is helpful for the user. If the action is the same, the icon should be the same unless there is a strong enough justification for otherwise.
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Just preference. I like the crawler image. It is closer to what happens: evacuating the vehicle. It is not evacuating a building.
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Personal preference should not supersede the correct logical approach. The evacuate icon represents evacuation, which is what the action does. The object being evacuated from in the icon is irrelevant.
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Who defined that? EA added 3 different evac button and it mismatches your logical approach. I understand your perspective and it is reasonable, but it is also perfectly reasonable to have a different opinion than yours.
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Did EA make a perfect game with no mistakes? They clearly had an Command_EmptyCrawler command which was likely distinct in behaviour from Command_Evacuate at some point, but the behaviour was ultimately dropped and the command was not appropriately replaced. I would also suggest a similar thing happened with the Chinook, where it would maybe have unloaded objects via ropes as depicted in the icon. It is extremely unlikely they would intentionally have had a unique Chinook unload button designed otherwise.
| 8 = Command_TransportExit | ||
| ; 9 = Command_TransportExit | ||
| ; 10 = Command_TransportExit | ||
| 9 = Command_Evacuate |
| 7 = Command_TransportExit | ||
| 8 = Command_TransportExit | ||
| 9 = Command_EmptyCrawler | ||
| 9 = Command_Evacuate |
| CommandSet ChinaListeningOutpostCommandSet | ||
| 1 = Command_TransportExit | ||
| 2 = Command_TransportExit | ||
| 9 = Command_Evacuate |
| 7 = Command_TransportExit | ||
| 8 = Command_TransportExit | ||
| 9 = Command_EmptyCrawler | ||
| 9 = Command_Evacuate |
…d transport vehicles
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3 Soldiers evacuate from building: 
3 Soldiers evacuate from vehicle: 
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3 Soldiers evacuate from tunnel: 
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A week-long poll was made and the developer voters would like to see different icon images for vehicles and buildings. 
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I think that poll perfectly demonstrates why crowdsourcing is a flawed approach for establishing a cohesive design language. First of all, the poll is framed with an inherent bias. If you ask whether a vehicle's icon should depict a vehicle or a building's icon should depict a building, almost anyone will vote yes because the logical link seems obvious in isolation. The correct framing is: Should button iconography ever vary for an identical underlying action, and if so, why? All that poll really serves to do is cloud judgement when trying to pursue/establish a logical design paradigm. If we follow that poll's logic, should the Attack Move button remain depicting a tank for every type of unit? Should we create unique Evacuate icons for Tunnels, Fire Bases or Helixes? Where do we draw the line? The correct approach is to prioritise functional usability over literal illustration. The same button should map to the same action across the entire game. To that end, this PR aims to standardise all Evacuate buttons and their positioning across all ground units. This is a consistency fix, not an attempt to implement a new design philosophy where iconography changes based on the selected object. Even if a context-dependent design philosophy is pursued later, this PR remains valid as a baseline and should not be blocked for this reason. Furthermore, splitting the iconography introduces unnecessary technical debt and complexity to the data for no practical benefit. We'd lose modularity - developers would have to track which object type a
If such a design philosophy is still desired, it should be proposed as a separate, dedicated PR with solid rationale justifying why such a significant technical trade-off is worth the impact on player UX. |
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This change streamlines the position and iconography of the Evacuate button for all ground transport vehicles. Units in a selection that share the same button position can use the hotkey for that button. This means that all units with the same Evacuate button can now be evacuated in a group. This is particularly notable while having a group selection containing both a Humvee and Ambulance.
Note
The Combat Bike is the one exception as
Command_ScuttleCombatBikeis a separate action toCommand_Evacuatethat cannot be used when grouped with other units, nor would it likely be desirable in such a scenario.Before (left) and after (right) layouts are compared below: