Spiral Knights - Make "Advanced Video Options" choices more self-explanatory.

Make "Advanced Video Options" choices more self-explanatory.

7 replies [Last post]

Sat, 04/30/2011 - 02:55

AscendantOat

Legacy Username

There are still effects even with Render Effects turned off, and "Compatibility Mode" doesn't get across that it's for low-end systems. Perhaps they could be changed to something along the lines of Advanced Effects and Lightweight Mode? Another option would be to drop the advanced video options menu. Render Effects and Compatibility Mode are mutually exclusive, so we effectively have another low-medium-high choice in the advanced video options; this could turn into an "Effects Quality" slider next to the Graphics Quality one.

What settings work best for those of you with lower-end systems? Is anyone using Render Effects without high graphics quality or Compatibility Mode without low? If not, it would work to roll those options into Graphics Quality. Something like "Very Low" for low-quality with Compatibility Mode or "Very High" for high-quality with Render Effects.

Sat, 04/30/2011 - 11:49

Dogrock

The basic functions are

The basic functions are outlined on the Wiki.

Sat, 04/30/2011 - 15:34

AscendantOat

Legacy Username

I know they are, which is the

I know they are, which is the only reason I know what "Compatibility Mode" is supposed to do. The fact that the documentation exists is not a reason to avoid improving the options UI, especially when it could be so much clearer with so little effort. I see people asking if there's any way to get the game running on older hardware; why not make it obvious?

Sun, 05/01/2011 - 06:45

Raul

If you are playing video

If you are playing video games on a PC it is assumed you know what most or all of the avanced video modes are and what they do.

PC gaming is for the big boys, brush up on your terminology.

In fact being the part elitist that I am, I think that people need to go through a test to see if they even are smart enough to own a computer.

Sun, 05/01/2011 - 08:52

Awesomest

Legacy Username

You're funny.

If you are playing video games on a PC it is assumed you know what most or all of the avanced video modes are and what they do.

Can you come fix my room's lighting? Some of the wiring needs to be replaced and I assume that since you live in a house with electricity, you'd know how to do it. Well, I guess my 2 year-old nephew could do it too, by your logic.

On-topic: agreed. OOO seems to have an obsession with making this game UI impossible to understand in plain English.

Mon, 05/02/2011 - 02:52

AscendantOat

Legacy Username

Some more thoughts.

I dug around in the release notes, and the Compatibility Mode and Render Effects options were each added separately. As a software developer, the options panel layout is less surprising considering that it wasn't designed all at once. Little tweaks and additions can build up to a UI that doesn't make sense as a whole, so I've found it's a good idea to take a step back from my projects occasionally and get a holistic view. It's even better to get an outsider's view, as they don't live in the project.

Compatibility Mode disables GLSL. The decade-old Radeon 8500 listed in the minimum system requirements only supports OpenGL 1.3, which predates GLSL. So, it looks like there is actually supported hardware that needs this option for reasons other than performance. This doesn't mean it can't be rolled into a slider; the game can just check the OpenGL number and disable unsupported options if necessary (I hope it does anyway; my hardware's too new for me to tell).

Render Effects looks like it was originally for experimental options. If it still is, it should be labeled as such (and kept as an advanced video option); if not, it can be rolled into a top-level slider.

Mon, 05/02/2011 - 03:01

adrian783

Legacy Username

very good find Oat, i myself

very good find Oat, i myself have wondered about those. now if anyone could find what graphical detail is supposed to do...

Mon, 05/02/2011 - 03:28

Dogrock

The problem with a simple

The problem with a simple OpenGL check is the difference between the hardware supported version and what is actually real-world usable though the driver (I'm looking at you Intel).

Render Effects appears to apply a filter over the dynamic background. I'm sure there's other little tweaks that I can't come up with off the top of my head.

Low graphics will disable certain translucent textures, making them opaque instead. The best example of this is the Jelly family of monsters.

High Graphics is the only option that allows for a dynamic background image.

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Make "Advanced Video Options" choices more self-explanatory.