Easy To Use Interface Essential

[WW2'er]

I am very much looking forward to this game! However, I am concerned that the grand scale which will be the game's greatest asset will also be it's biggest problem. Some folks may just feel too overwhelmed by all there is to control over so much territory.

Making the game's interface as easy to use as possible will be crucial to keeping people from feeling overwhelmed.

I know that right after UV came out, many people made comments on the interface with suggested improvements. Some of those have been implemented in patches, but others have not. I hope someone will go back over that list of ideas and make sure most of them are applied before WITP is released. Every mouse click that can be done away with will be important.

Please go over all routine (and not so routine) tasks and ask, "What can be done to make them simpler?" New things like lists showing all routine convoys, what they are carrying and the bases they run from/to, would be most helpful. The ability to locate all infantry sub units from a list would also be great! Making a convoy and being able to set it's cargo and destination all on the same screen at the same time would be great.

All these types of ideas and others will really help players to feel like they "Have a handle" on what is going on.

My best wishes to the whole development team! Keep up the great work you started with UV!!!!

[Grotius]

I like the interface in UV, and I know you've got your hands full with the huge game that will be WiTP, but I hope you'll consider more keyboard shortcuts in WiTP. I've been playing Pacific War off and on, and one nice thing about a DOS game is that it involves LOTS of keyboard shortcuts! They make the game easier (and for those of us with creaky joints, less painful) to play. UV does implement some, but there are more I'd like to see:

1. Keys to scroll through air units at a base. (Right now you have to click on 'next unit' or 'prev unit.') For that matter, it would be great to have keys to scroll through any list of units like this. A "next base" and "next TF" hotkey would be nice too.

2. Maybe a keyboard way to move the map around? Arrow keys, or even IJKM as in Pacific War. Maybe a way to jump to "hot spots" on the map using the keyboard. Anything to reduce mouse time, which is fatiguing.

3. Keys to scroll through TF mission selection, air unit mission selection, what % to put on CAP/Nav Search/etc, what cargo to load, and so forth. E.g., number keys for CAP%.

Thanks again for all your hard work on these games. UV is just incredible.