4 things that would make CoH2 instantly better

Repair is free as far as I can tell.

Once again this thread went down a bunch of random tangents, but I'm glad there's an ongoing discussion.

Unfortunately, it feels like a lot of the desired mechanical changes aren't going to be implemented.

What I'm really hoping for is the things that appear to be the easiest to change, such as the UI and such, will be fixed/improved. A tac map with some actual "tac" would be nice, a resource system that's visually clear, a more detailed mini-map, etc. I'd think these types of issues would be small beans and relatively easy to implement, then add or remove/revise as feedback comes in.

I think those are actually some of the hardest to fix - stuff like upkeep and so on can be fixed just by changing numbers in some spreadsheet. Changing the UI requires artists to draw new assets, UI programmers to program new UI elements, UI designers to make sure they work for different resolutions, etc. I think it's far more work to change something like the UI and for that reason I'm not to sanguine on the chances of large changes, although the feedback has been so resoundingly in favor of changes that maybe Relic will listen (they did move the commander UI from its location in the Alpha).

I think those are actually some of the hardest to fix - stuff like upkeep and so on can be fixed just by changing numbers in some spreadsheet. Changing the UI requires artists to draw new assets, UI programmers to program new UI elements, UI designers to make sure they work for different resolutions, etc. I think it's far more work to change something like the UI and for that reason I'm not to sanguine on the chances of large changes, although the feedback has been so resoundingly in favor of changes that maybe Relic will listen (they did move the commander UI from its location in the Alpha).

having some experience in the UI design process (albeit not a whole lot) i can second that.
even minor changes to the UI have to go through the whole "pipeline" (don't forget QA either).

changing stuff like a panthers penetration is very easy, the only stuff they probably do is discuss it beforehand. from experience i can tell that most of the balance testing is done later on live anyway MVGame

Could someone list some of these UI issues people are referring to

I know observer mode and the limitations of the vCoH adopted replay interface are poor formsupporting community casting.

Could someone list some of these UI issues people are referring to

I know observer mode and the limitations of the vCoH adopted replay interface are poor formsupporting community casting.

Cons of the new UI:
-Resources are shown in a horizontal order, instead of vertical. Makes it difficult to read.
-Information is all over the place: in vCoH, you had the minimap, pop cap and resources on the left side, neatly packed.
-Big, huge, useless bar in the middle that just shows a description of the unit. A description that has no impact on the game.
-Vehicle damage is shown in very small, almost distorted icons that are difficult to discern.
-The small shield for multiple selected units, as well as the tab contorl to switch through them, is gone, making micromanagement more difficult.
-Experience points appear on top of the unit killing enemies, instead of on top of enemy's killed. Most of the time, you don't notice that XP, due to this very reason.

Pros:
-Better unit shields on top right. Easier management.
-Small tooltip on top of veterancy stars in unit's portrait, telling you what that vet level does (useless, since vet is very irrelevant, and not very unique to the unit).

Thanks. Yes can agree with most of those. Especially that in vCoH important resource data was listed vertically next to the minimap, consolidating important strategic information there for viewing at a glance., particularly for those small gaps in intensive micro action where a player is considering his next move, builds and current stratrgic situation.

I disagree on the xp popup. Makes more sense to me that it appears on the unit that received it, rather than the model that attributed it. I can see how this can be problematic when the unit receiving it may be off-screen, but it simply makes more "sense" that its on the receiving unit, especially in engagements where multiple units are focus firing, where you would then otherwise have no visual que as to which unit is receiving that xp.

Vehicle damage gumps are indeed crap, insufficiently differentiated, and, in my experience, if there are several they dont even appear on the horizontal on-field units status bar.

I have to believe the long useless unit decription text wont make it to release.

Removal of in-group selection options is a bad regression. If anything this kind of group differentiation through key micro should be encouraged and developed in favor of players forming keybound groups, to allow the keyboard hand to handle more of the micro and selection.

I disagree on the xp popup. Makes more sense to me that it appears on the unit that received it, rather than the model that attributed it. I can see how this can be problematic when the unit receiving it may be off-screen, but it simply makes more "sense" that its on the receiving unit, especially in engagements where multiple units are focus firing, where you would then otherwise have no visual que as to which unit is receiving that xp.

Just watched and old vcohcast, in the lack of new coh2-beta gamplay to watch...
I cant belive i didnt notice those xp-popups were missing from coh2.
Its was soooo satisfying seeing the xp just rolling in over targets. And the tracers, my god the tracers, were did they all go?

I do agree that it makes more "sense" to have the xp over the units that is dealing the dmg, but its not very satisfying though... Hope it gets relocated to were it had the most entertainment value.

Sidenote, MORE tracers pls

It only makes sense on paper. Experience tells us otherwise.

Because of the way the game is played, your focus is on the enemy units as you micro.
Moreover, in teamgames, as you watch the enemy, you wont know who got the xp.

The final nail in the coffin is indirect fire, where you are NEVER looking at the firing unit in a real game.

There's also the fact that you can't zoom out far enough - the number one gripe amongst a group of friends that I play with casually.

All unit descriptions should go in a wiki section that you can access while waiting for a game and before starting a search for a match.

Im very curious how the open beta will look like, because after that version i doubt they are gonna change core design stuff for official release.

At the risk of maybe repeating something someone else has already said, I would like it if the VPs stopped draining during blizzards. Also, agree with everything Tommy wrote in the original post and also what Basilone wrote about abilities that can't be dodged. It's like the Soviets have a Tom Brady in every conscript squad who can not only hit a moving vehicle from 30m away - every time - but also give it a damaged engine - every time - no matter where the AT grenade connects.

I like that they have descriptions, but I don't like how it takes up so much room. The problem I can see with it though is what do you put there instead? in vCoH wasn't it just a blank panel anyway?

I also really disagree with whoever said the UI hasn't been improved at all. Some parts look great to me, and I especially find the tooltips for vetrancy really useful. I also find it good how the keyboard shortcuts seem to be layed out slightly better than previous. My number one gripe is also with the resource panel. It just doesn't feel right

^You don't need the UI crammed full though, that is contrary to what your eyes would want. You want a big amount of information conveyed simply, you don't need a lot of information on the UI neccessarily. Those spaces makes it easier to sort through, overview as well as more relaxing to read.

The space around your avatar is pretty empty too, but we don't need to see 20 different statistics around there just for the sake of it. thesamereasonforwhywedontwritelikethis,eventhoughitsavesspace.

Having a clean UI that shows a medium amount of information is way better than a UI with a lot of information, that shows more. That extra information should instead be shown somewhere else. (Like the doctrine overview in CoH 1)

There should be a COH2.ORG skin for the UI That would actually be bad-ass.

This picture only makes me think one thing: Cluttered. The beautiful models and terrain are just littered with little bright bits of color. In the snow it's much worse, because everything is white with little bright bits of color. This picture doesn't even show the full extent of it, because there are no red and blue territory lines and capping circles.

There should be a COH2.ORG skin for the UI That would actually be bad-ass.

This picture only makes me think one thing: Cluttered. The beautiful models and terrain are just littered with little bright bits of color. In the snow it's much worse, because everything is white with little bright bits of color. This picture doesn't even show the full extent of it, because there are no red and blue territory lines and capping circles.

I definitely agree; the game just looks inconsistent and very busy.

It sort of feels like all the artists have done just a good of a job in CoH 2 as they did in CoH 1 (and sometimes they did even better - the trees on fire and the smoke are gorgeous for instance) but the art direction hasn't made sure to keep everything consistent and readable and coordinated and easy to see and understand. It's just a mess from the UI to the tracers to the colors to the effects to the terrain. It's really pretty in a screenshot or just looking at it lazily, but if you try to play the game and specifically if you try to, in a glance, take in all the information you need to take in if you want to be effective, it's tiring

All good points... really agree regarding the blizzard and engine criticals. That shit needs to get changed.

It only makes sense on paper. Experience tells us otherwise.

Because of the way the game is played, your focus is on the enemy units as you micro.
Moreover, in teamgames, as you watch the enemy, you wont know who got the xp.

The final nail in the coffin is indirect fire, where you are NEVER looking at the firing unit in a real game.

The way XP is shown is for good reason. It it irrelevant what unit got the (final) kill. XP matters less to individual units since they gain vet through taking and receiving damage, rather than dealing the (final) blow to an enemy unit. Your overall XP adds up to command points, which are shown in a similar way compared to CoH1.

It just requires a little more micro to see what your units are shooting on. Now, this cant be bad for a game with competitive intentions.