Discussion: Issue 22: Death Incarnate - March 20, 2012 [Live] Patch Notes

The "Legacy manner" is "You have an icon in your tray called XP Booster, click on it, power activates". That's different from "add a new icon into your list of temp powers".

BTW, the more I think about it - this isn't just a problem with claiming items (thought that is seriously messed up). The whole way that temp and inherent powers are handled needs some rethinking. They've started to do some of it with the "popup power tray" they talked about in UStream, but maybe some more thinking is handled.

Here's what I'd recommend. First, have a popupable power selector, shows powers in a list, maybe broken down into tabs based on type of power (pet, travel, buff, etc.). Click on a power in the list, and it activates. Limited powers like XP Booster or Experienced, that you don't use regularly in play, could stay in the power selector, never hitting a power tray. Players can move any power into a tray if they want through the old way, but they don't have to. Maybe make the button to bring up the power selector pulse when you get new powers that don't appear in your trays (see below).

Second, for trays - There are a lot more powers in the game than when the old tray system was designed. So here's a fairly straightforward improvement:

Allow 1-5 rows of power in the main tray. Default to 3. Instead of finding the obscure button to click for another row, make it a setting (that can be saved with the other settings, so if you want to start with 5 trays, loading saved settings does it). Automatically have the rows show 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - and first floating tray be 6, next 7, etc. Again, save the row choices in window settings.

I might also consider the option (not default) for wider trays. I suspect most players have decent sized monitors and could handle more than 10 buttons in a row. These extra buttons wouldn't have key presses associated with them, but they'd still be there for ready clicking.

Third, whenever you get a new power that you're likely to use regularly, be it by training, crafting, claiming, or just becoming unlocked by leveling (Rest and Ninja Run, I'm looking at you), those powers get added to the power trays, provided there is a visible spot to hold them (visible includes any floating trays).

There will need to be some judgement about which powers go into the trays, which would be mostly used by the popup power selector. Any primary, secondary, power pool, accolade, or incarnate power should go into the trays. Any toggle probably should go into the tray, for the visible indicator that it's on. Limited use pets (Shivans, vanguard pet mech, longbow pet mech, werewolf from Striga arcs, witch from Croatoa) should probably stay in the popup power selector. Temp attack powers not tied to a specific foe (crafted weapons like the revolver, the bow and arrow you get from Croatoa) are tougher calls. And of course players can still edit the trays, move powers around, remove them from the trays, move other powers into the trays. But it's better for both new players and veteran to see "oh, I got a bow and arrow" and then decide to remove it than hope they say the flashing words and go looking.

Would all this be simple? Nope. From what you said about the popup power tray (which I am looking forward to), the legacy code won't make these trivial changes to make. But it'll give a better UI for both new and veteran players, more obvious, and consistent.

Quick Question: Why isn't the same criteria applied to Windfall and Prestige Booster?

They are both claimed in exactly the same way, and yet Windfall and Prestige Booster are in the trays - ie the "suboptimal user experience." Is this really a sub-optimal user experience? If so, why hasn't it been applied universally? Or is there some other motive?

"You got to dig it to dig it, you dig?"
Thelonious Monk

On the UStream, Zwillinger said that Windfall (and presumably Presige) will get the same treatment in the next patch.

I was dismayed when I discovered this today. Like most posters in this thread, I liked to divvy up my XP Boosters between characters and have them ready in a power tray. I mistook the "this will activate the XP booster" warning for a "this is something only one character can claim" warning, and I ended up with a XP booster on a character I was about to finish playing.

Worse, when I claimed the booster, the email vanished from my inbox (presumably so I could not claim another one while I had the one active), giving me the impression that the other five XP Boosters that email was good for had just vanished.

I don't like this change and would like to ask for it to be reverted, and not applied to any more boosters.

Seems very strange that only one is dealt with initially and no mention of the other (if I understand your post correctly)

I guess I wont' be buying any more XP boosters then

"You got to dig it to dig it, you dig?"
Thelonious Monk

Go to Ouroborus. Do Max's final mission there.

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