TRTR : Day 2

[Marc Duffy]

Quite a few people weren't thrilled with the radically new interface that OOTP2006 featured. I was one of them.

By Brian Ash (aka Kaitiaki)

http://www.ootpbaseball.net/clubhous...gid=26&id=1277

1 new screenshot posted too : http://www.ootpbaseball.net/screensh...6&&m=02&y=2007

Tomorrow : Tiger Fan talks historical play....

[robster1225]

Awesome write up, Kai!

[Kaitiaki]

Thanks. I hope the people who haven't seen the game enjoy it, too.

- Kai

[kagnew35]

Very good report, kai, thanks

[sfgiants88]

Very nicely done.

[cephasjames]

Good write up, Kai.

[robster1225]

What do you guys think of the improvements to the interface that Kai mentioned?

[Ninjoid]

Thanks Kai..I'm looking forward to getting my hands on my copy following all my testing with Eastside Hockey Manager..it certainly looks like the Eastside 'dream team' has been replicated into OOTP 2007.

Game looks great, really excited about the facegen which looks awesome. Roll on March 23rd unless I'm a lucky pre-order punter of course!

[Claymore]

Originally Posted by robster1225

What do you guys think of the improvements to the interface that Kai mentioned?

Looks like I'll finally be able to figure out where I am going now (although I'd still like an easier way to set up an exhibition game than by doing it through the scheduler).

I had problems with 2006's interface big time. I downloaded the demo for my new mac just to see if it would play and after about 2 hours still could not figure out exactly how to do what...

[endgame]

Originally Posted by Kaitiaki

Thanks. I hope the people who haven't seen the game enjoy it, too.

- Kai

I'm sure most will. Thanks for your tremendous efforts in achieving these huge strides toward user-friendliness. It's much appreciated.

Question. In v2006, the situation didn't arise often, but occasionally when using the Recent drop-down menu and returning to a page, that page was as originally viewed, i.e. without changes as if frozen at the last view. Will each re-visit of html pages effectively rebuild the page?

Thanks in advance, Kai.

[Kaitiaki]

Originally Posted by endgame

Question. In v2006, the situation didn't arise often, but occasionally when using the Recent drop-down menu and returning to a page, that page was as originally viewed, i.e. without changes as if frozen at the last view. Will each re-visit of html pages effectively rebuild the page?

Hmm. I can't recall ever noticing that. I'll look later today and let you know.

- Kai

[burnstuff]

The thing I'm liking the most from the screenshot is that Los Angeles is now abbreviated as LA instead of LOS.

[jtb]

Thanks for the info. Love these Blogs!

[marc]

Good stuff.

[Nu-Bru]

Originally Posted by Kaitiaki

Thanks. I hope the people who haven't seen the game enjoy it, too.

- Kai

I liked the way you phrased this, as well as the concept itself:

For people who thought 2006's interface was too 'deep', and required too many clicks to access basic information, this [Manager Home] screen very effectively flattens out the game and allows you to reach that information more efficiently.

[Muppetus Galacticus]

Yeah, what ^^^they^^^ said

[CHCfan]

Originally Posted by blog

Scrollbars that didn't stick? Screens that you couldn't close with a right-click? Text that didn't fit on a button properly? Fixing these sorts of things are as important to us as anything I've discussed above.

This is great to hear. These kinds of issues don't break a game, but if they're screwy, they make it a serious challenge to give it a shot.

[Raidergoo]

Originally Posted by Ninjoid

Thanks Kai..I'm looking forward to getting my hands on my copy following all my testing with Eastside Hockey Manager..it certainly looks like the Eastside 'dream team' has been replicated into OOTP 2007.

Gramae Kelly has been doing some very important work behind the scenes, and really advancing the Mac builds.

[Curtis]

Originally Posted by robster1225

What do you guys think of the improvements to the interface that Kai mentioned?

Most of it sounds good, but these two I didn't like: "The dual set of forward and back buttons (one for the game screens, one of the HTML panes) have been reduced to a single, unified set. They've also been relocated to the top-left section of the interface, where most people will be comfortable looking for them as they would in a web browser."

Reducing to one set is probably good. Just before Christmas something finally clicked in my brain and I understood when to use each set, but let's say one set is better, though it adds clicks and runs counter to that 'flattening out' you mentioned elsewhere. My gripe is with putting them in the upper left. Yes, that's where they are on my browser, and I've always hated it. They're right next to the 'close window' button, and I keep accidentally closing when I'm trying to back. Granted, closing the window isn't something that can be done in OOTPB, so that's not an issue. Still, i LIKED having the buttons in the upper right for a change and wish I could put them there on my browser.

"Second, the way bookmarks work has been revamped. You can still bookmark any page you like, but they are now stored in a drop-down menu along the top of the screen, again identical to what most people will be familiar with from their web browser."

Again, I LIKED having the bookmarks display accessibly along the bottom. My mind doesn't deal easily with the concept of dropdown (or popup) menus, and again, this is adding clicks to what you have to do to get where you want to go and running counter to the flattening strategy. Maybe with these icons I'm not going to need bookmarks anymore, but if I do need them, you've just made them harder to use.

I guess I feel the way the 6.51 guys felt when 2006 came out. You're getting rid of what I consider desirable features, just for the sake of change, and now I'm going to have to get used to 'new and improved'.

[LeiterFanatic]

Originally Posted by Kaitiaki

Hmm. I can't recall ever noticing that. I'll look later today and let you know.

- Kai

I had this issue as well. For instance, if you bookmarked MLB Scores and Schedules on May 19th, then everytime you hit that bookmark it would show you May 19th's games, not today's, as intended. I had to hit "jump to current day" to get the right schedules.