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[Sticky] Settlers of Elyria Update 2

Hello my Elyrian friends,

It’s time for an update! Much work has been done on The Settlers of Elyria event and we're pleased to announce that the bugs around sales, prices, resources, and other data-related problems have all been resolved and verified fixed. In addition, we wanted to use this opportunity to not only fix the bugs experienced previously, but really strive for a superior experience.

As such, we've implemented new load balancing, streamlined the UI, improved navigation, and more!

Rather than tell you, let’s just dive right in and show you. This is what we expect the new domains and settlements map experience to be like: Fun fact: we had a lot of continent data we could render. Providing the right information about the areas for domain selection, but not making exploration useless, was a hard balance to hit. In the end, we think this has better visual fidelity, without compromising cartography as a skill and trade.

The UI is getting an update as you can see here:

This updated style meant to communicate the same information to you a bit more clearly and make navigating a sharper experience. We’re also using this as a chance to streamline some of our site’s branding and UX. We plan to make significant improvements to the website and our web features in the near future, and this is step one.

This is when you ask when you can see it, right? Soon. We need to do some more testing, and we need to do a bit more work on the purchase pipeline now that we have resolved the critical issues. Once we have completed our tests, and ensured they are all passing, we can announce a new date for Settlers.

As an aside, this is the first of many updates to our site and related tools you’ll see this year. I know we've been quiet, that’s because we’ve been busy working on the pre-alpha and updating the domains map.

I hope you like the direction here. I’ll be making another update as soon as we have the last bits of work done and we can announce a proper release date.

In the meantime, thanks Elyrians, you rock.


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2/14/2020 3:16:29 AM #31

For example, if you click on Hrothi.


2/14/2020 3:21:19 AM #32

I like the new direction. Everything looks so much better already, cleaner.


“Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed.” ? G.K. Chesterton

2/14/2020 3:24:32 AM #33

Posted By Huldra Draco at 6:33 PM - Thu Feb 13 2020

one comment is, i hope tribal percentages will still show when you mouse over the pie chart, since those are pretty important to a lot of ppl :)

Confirmed, they do.


"Stupid questions make more sense than stupid mistakes."

2/14/2020 3:25:39 AM #34

Posted By Protey at 6:44 PM - Thu Feb 13 2020

Advice for improvement:

Since you have gone to a pie chart, it can be difficult to discern which tribe has the most when they are really close in number. I recommend on the listing to the left of them with the color dot, that they be listed from most to least in number instead of alphabetical. Edit: or at least make sure to retain being able to see the % when hovering over the section of the pie chart.

Thank you for that feedback, we will make sure the team sees the suggestion!


"Stupid questions make more sense than stupid mistakes."

2/14/2020 3:28:42 AM #35

I'm glad you didn't put a date on it. If you did everyone would have gone on countdown status and FSM forbid you missed the launch date for the new map. That said, good job. It looks much more thoughtful than the last map.


2/14/2020 3:29:14 AM #36

Nice update with good information, now let's hope we aren't in the dark for over a month next time.


2/14/2020 3:29:30 AM #37

They have color dots next to the name already.


2/14/2020 3:35:34 AM #38

I'm really liking the new stylized version of the maps, as they look like a sort of very zoomed out "mini-map" style that I remember from games like Life is Feudal. I also really like the current maps for thematic purposes and the unique artsy style they offer. Would it be possible to keep the current map style as a view option along with the new one?


2/14/2020 3:37:43 AM #39

Really like the new look of the map itself, I think that is a huge improvement.

Not quite so excited about the UI. There is minimalist, and there is excel spreadsheet with a grey background (seriously, I reproduced it, without the resource icons, in excel - looks just like it).

Not the most important, but if you really are looking for feedback, I think there is still room for some...artistic flair...in the UI, if this is what is going to be on the site forever.


Imgur

2/14/2020 4:01:51 AM #40

Thanks for the update. Good to hear things are moving along. My (unasked ;-) ) feedback:

Goods:

  • County level map looks great. Having nearby cities clearly shown is very useful.

  • Separating the “unavailable resources” is a good choice.

  • Changing “Top” professions to “Common” more clearly delineates these as the most numerous.

Others:

  • Pie charts look like a lot of data but they aren’t. Population numbers would look better and communicate the same info in much less space as a stacked bar or similar.

  • The overall look/feel of the displayed info is pretty basic. (Not necessarily bad; it’s basic info.)

  • While visibility of settlements in counties is improved on the duchy map, it looks like you can't see cities in another bordering duchy once you're "zoomed". Presumably also true for neighboring kingdoms/counties once zoomed to the appropriate level. This results in more clicks back out to make sure you're not settling into a hamlet within staring distance of the enemy duchy capital/capitol, etc.

2/14/2020 4:07:04 AM #41

SBS's long silence is at last broken and they are made whole once more.

Good to hear from ya folks.


"It's not the scales, the wings, the teeth, or even the breath that set a dragon at the pinnacle of creation. It's not the strength or senses, nor the size of his hoard. It's something that a dragon knows that only comes with age and experience. It's a skill mortals never truly master."

"A dragon...knows how to wait."

2/14/2020 4:55:24 AM #42

Nice


Friend code 198142

2/14/2020 5:00:25 AM #43

We who live under the bridge....

Approve of this message.

😈


You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry. JAMES 1:19 NLT

2/14/2020 5:48:29 AM #44

I like the direction you're headed very much. Well done. :)

p.s. With respect to the pie chart, it's always more user friendly to show the data than to require users to mouse over things. The pie chart is very nice visually, so for the sake of better UX, just stick the tribal percentages in the legend where the tribe labels already are. Then we can get our cake and eat it too. :)


2/14/2020 6:12:41 AM #45

Looking good.


Kernothia

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