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[jz28]

In the past, i have told td how i felt about the genres, but he wants the users to decide how they want it (or at least thats what i get from him).

so far the poll shows otherwise df, that people DONT like them. i myself, just look at it from the "new user" perspective...even rc2 was not like this, because you could turn the "sorting" off. and i did on every install i helped with or did myself.

its confusing, and personally i see no reason why anyone would actually host a game in "xbox' or "driving".

and i really have to disagree with taz, that will make things even more confusing.

think about it, someone just wants to play, and not have to navigate with 10 clicks to get to teh game they want to play.

popular or not, people are going to play what they want, and not go to a game just because others are playing it, tho thats a huge factor. they are going to play what is fun and new mostly all the time...usually they only look for numbers AFTER they see no one playing the game they WANT to play, and thats after they even find it.

we see this every time a new syslink game comes out.

for the record tho, i dont care how many people are playing what, i just want to play the games that i like, my favorite games, and i dont like to look at all the games i dont own, or have to sort through them.

I think that new users just want to get to the game they want to play also, and tho every app is different and has a learning curve, "most word processing apps" look pretty much the same. obviously a tunnel isnt like a word proc. app, but its the same thing.

there are lots of things we can do to make it easier on new users, but most of all, we have to take into account what everyone is used to, and have something that is somewhat intuitive.

[taz1975uk]

QUOTE (DOS4GW @ May 6 2004, 02:36 PM)

With all those dirs one will have to use a lot of time just finding the games! The easiest and most managble way to make this is just a long list of the games. No looking, joining, parting, just look down the list and find the game you're looking for.

atm there is 70+ games that you will be able to play on kai. (once PS2 support goes online)

its got to be easier to break them down into manageble categories.

i do agree that the quicker and easier it is to find the game arena that you want the better.

also once kai 7 gets released you will see benefits to having it structured this way, as you will be able to tell at a glance how many people are playing a certain type of game on that console.

ie. if you want to see how many people are playing sports games on the xbox, you can tell by sitting in arena's xbox and you will see the most popular category, then you can expand on that by entering the sports category and see what sports game is being played the most at the moment.

This information may help choose what game to buy next.

perhaps we could ask nintendo, sony and MS to advertise xlink as it helps sell units

the information would certainly help me in deciding what type of tournament to run next. (no point running a tourney when theres no one playing)

[taz1975uk]

QUOTE (jz28 @ May 6 2004, 03:23 PM)

and i really have to disagree with taz, that will make things even more confusing.

i think your right it would.

some of my sugestions in earlier post would make it more confusing for a new user.

I personaly can see pro's and cons for both sides.

List of all games.
pro. Less clicks, quicker access
con. too much information.

Different categories
pro. Clean and structured.
con. takes a little bit more time.

[jz28]

QUOTE (taz1975uk @ May 6 2004, 10:39 AM)

i think your right it would. some of my sugestions in earlier post would make it more confusing for a new user. I personaly can see pro's and cons for both sides. List of all games. pro. Less clicks, quicker access con. too much information. Different categories pro. Clean and structured. con. takes a little bit more time.

yeah i definately agree taz, and i know that in the end, there just isnt the time for any restructuring...I brought it up a bit earlier, but its a difference in opinion.

I do hear from users tho everyday (new users) that its confusing, hence why i even bother to discuss it.

I think to grab a bit of the group of players, we have to not only be super innovative (TD wins hands down), but also have a bit of familiarity, so that the users can EASILY pick up kai and know what to do, without having to consult with dfunkeds fine new web site for support, but instead only consult with it for cool xlink news

[jz28]

[DOS4GW]

QUOTE (taz1975uk @ May 6 2004, 03:33 PM)

atm there is 70+ games that you will be able to play on kai. (once PS2 support goes online) its got to be easier to break them down into manageble categories. i do agree that the quicker and easier it is to find the game arena that you want the better. also once kai 7 gets released you will see benefits to having it structured this way, as you will be able to tell at a glance how many people are playing a certain type of game on that console. ie. if you want to see how many people are playing sports games on the xbox, you can tell by sitting in arena's xbox and you will see the most popular category, then you can expand on that by entering the sports category and see what sports game is being played the most at the moment. This information may help choose what game to buy next. perhaps we could ask nintendo, sony and MS to advertise xlink as it helps sell units the information would certainly help me in deciding what type of tournament to run next. (no point running a tourney when theres no one playing)

Ye, not all games for all consols on the root, but all xbox games on viewalbe direct in the xbox folder, and so for the other consoles also..

All games for all consols directly on the root folder would be a disaster, like a game witch is for (gamecube), ps2, and xbox. How to know witch one to select for your consol?

Naa, gamelist in the consol-folder would be the perfect thing i think.

[jz28]

QUOTE

> It's only my UI which needs ppl to nav down - others could make a UI with just a straight list.

If this is the case, wouldnt this still cause problems with orbs?

[DIE-HARD]

[DOS4GW]

QUOTE (flat235 @ May 6 2004, 04:33 PM)

> You are able to mark arenas as "Favourites" - and nav to them with 1 click.

That would be real helpfull independent to it beeing a list or in folders.

[taz1975uk]

QUOTE (permarco @ May 6 2004, 08:08 PM)

if you are worried about orbital load with an huge list of game you can implement a sort of A-D, E-H ... subdivisions, obviously maintaining also the "old" category division ...

not a bad idea, but i see a problem to start with.

some games are known by different names in different countries.

for instance.  DTM Race driver 2 is also known as TocA Race Driver 2

if you have the game you probably know that its called either DTM or ToCa and xlink is going to display it as either one or the other or maybe somthing else like Race Driver 2.

so to initaly find the room they may have to check under D, T and R before finding the correct arena,

while if they go to driving, they will spot the arena they want straight away.

other games may be know by differnt titles in other countries.

Rainbow Six 3 may be known "as el arco iris seis 3" in spain or "l'arc-en-ciel six 3" in France.

obviously people who speak thease languages are aware that the titles are in English, but that may mess up UI's that are based in a different language.

[taz1975uk]

QUOTE (boxorox @ May 7 2004, 12:32 PM)

Can anyone tell me if we will be able to see how many players are in an arena before entering it?

it will.

im not sure exactly shure if it shows.

# of xtags in that arena
or
# of consoles in that arena.

but you will be able to get a good idea to how many players are in the arena.

also it will show whos in the sub-arenas.

so if you look at halo.
you will see how many people are in there in total.

go into the arena, and you can tell how many of these are in pal and ntsc arenas.

[dfunked]

The arena's show how many users are in the arena, and also how many private arenas have been hosted...