[Freeciv-Dev] (PR#6981) Wishlist & small bugs

["Guest" <rt-guest@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://rt.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=6981 >

Hello Civ-lovers!

I love Freeciv! After trying the stable 1.14 version on FreeBSD, i tried
the unstable win32 28-Nov build. There are a couple things i'd like to
change:

- First I encountered a bug where i couldn't change the tile production
in my cities (see: http://rt.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=6905 ).
Also there is no "Change in" statistic below "Granary" in the City
Overview, indicating in how many turns a population increase (or
decrease -> red) occurs.

- On every event the Messages dialog pops up, also for minor things like
unit production and lost/won battles. This is inconvenient. The dialog
also wont close on an ESC keypress, I have to use the mouse instead.
Recommendation: do not use a message dialog. Instead, use the internal
log at buttom of screen, and show a dialog for special events, like:
found new city, invented new discovery, lost a city, barbarian uprising,
result of discovering a hut (the bonusses on the map), etc. Use a small
window with a nice picture and clear text. Center the dialog on the
FreeCiv-screen and let the dialog close by pressing enter or clocking
Close-button at the bottom.

- Like said above, when you invent a new discovery, show a dialog of
which benefits it gives. So you know which units or city improvements
you can build. Make the new available items clickable (and display the
corresponding help-browser). After clicking the dialog away, the dialog
to research the next goal should appear.

- Battles go too quick, either slow them down or pause 1 second after
each battle resolution. If a unit is destroyed, show a graphic that it
appears. Now it flashes all in front of your eyes and you have little
awareness of what is actually happening.

- Make all dialogs (F1, F2, etc) close by pressing ESC, for easy navigating.

- In Win32 build 28-Nov, some cities (like the Arabs) don't have a flag
when there is a unit in the city.

- When the log/chat window has focus, you cant use the numpad to
navigate units. There should be an exception to this for the numpad, so
you dont have to click on the map everytime, after sending a
chat-message (i forget always ;).

- In the log/chat window, use colours! Important events like a lost or
won battle should be in red. Built units/city improvements/advances
should be in (dark)green. And warnings/advice should be in blue, for
example. Also make the font BOLD, so that the colours are easily
readable. Some events should stay black, like:

Year: 3550 BC
Game: Tax rate exceeds the max rate for Despotism.


That's about it, though there's more in my civ-crazy mind. ;)

I hope my recommendations were useful! Thank you all very much for this
great piece of software! I love it. Also i'd be interested in
participating (testing, graphics/artwork, recommendations). I'll send a
mail when i'm ready for this.

Thanks!

Marilena "Enlightenment"
enlightenment@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

P.S. I couldn't find my version. It is the Nov 28's win32 build, but the
NEWS.txt file states that it is 1.14. Perhaps it is wise to show the
version in the Help > About screen?