Trickster
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If you left-click on an ortho-square, all ortho-squares are highlighted. This is all well and good, except for three things.

1) If there is an orb or pressure plate on an ortho-square tile, the only way to reveal the targets of the orb or pressure plate is to click on the ortho-square. This makes it potentially very difficult to find the targets of the orb or plate, since half the screen may light up at the same time. I have had to put a note in one or two of the rooms of my hold describing what the plates in a case like this link to, because it's so annoying to click on them with the ortho-square feature active.

2) Potentially this will be even worse once the feature of "left-click a door to see what affects it" is added, which I believe is currently in the works.

3) I have never needed to light up all the ortho-squares in a room. Try as I might, I cannot imagine a single instance when this feature would actually be useful to a player. This is about as nonsensical as lighting all the force arrows, doors, or obstacles in a room. It's not a necessary ability, especially since ortho-squares are already distinct and very easy to see on virtually every background.

Please curb-stomp this feature. Thanks for your ear.

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[Last edited by Trickster at 07-09-2012 03:01 AM]

Dischorran
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Ditto. (For you youngsters, that means "THIS").

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12th Archivist
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Trickster wrote:
Thanks for your ear eyes.

No problem, and I agree. Not sure why the highlighting was put in, but it should be taken out.

Maybe a checkbox option to toggle the highlighting?

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Jatopian
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I wouldn't cry too hard over the loss of this feature, so despite the dismaying yet attention-getting title of the thread I am OK with this idea.

If someone shows up and says they like this feature, though, we should make an option.

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Ezlo
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I think it was put in because the original texture for orthosquares was (were?) much smaller than it is (they are?) now.

But since it's been changed to be more visible oh so many moons ago I completely agree.

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Trickster
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Ezlo wrote:
I think it was put in because the original texture for orthosquares was (were?) much smaller than it is (they are?) now.

But since it's been changed to be more visible oh so many moons ago I completely agree.

Ah! Historical sense-make.

(But yeah, it's been a very long time since that happened if the regulars here don't even remember it.)

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The Architest
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I didn't even know you could do that! Time to go fill some rooms with ortho squares.

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[Last edited by The Architest at 07-09-2012 10:34 AM]

Someone Else
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Well, also if you have this:

.O.
O.O
.O.

It can be difficult to notice at a glance that there's no ortho square in the middle. This is more significant if there's a few missing out of a pattern.

Moo
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So maybe it doesn't need to be removed, just changed to not interfere with other clicking. How about make it some key (control-O or something).

Jatopian
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What if repeatedly clicking on a square cycled through potentially interfering sets of highlights (and the state of no highlights). This would create a framework for dealing with future such problems.

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[Last edited by Jatopian at 07-10-2012 06:20 AM]

Trickster
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I don't mind the suggestions, but I really don't think it's worth trying to salvage a feature nobody ever uses or plans to use.

Anyone who has the update will see the current ortho-square picture, which is clear enough. I think the case Someone Else refers to is not difficult to see (for me anyway), but if people want the functionality that's fine.

Just don't have left-click highlight all ortho-squares as its default operation, because that is ass (as the kids say nowadays).

I would also beg and plead that door colors not fade in and out while checking orbs/plates since it's really, really hard to tell red from orange as both fade to yellow without waiting five minutes and getting eye strain, but that's another topic I've covered before so I'll wait a while before respamming it.

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Tahnan
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Trickster wrote:
Try as I might, I cannot imagine a single instance when this feature would actually be useful to a player.

mutter mutter I can mutter mutter spoiler mutter

Trickster
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Tahnan wrote:

Trickster wrote:
Try as I might, I cannot imagine a single instance when this feature would actually be useful to a player.

mutter mutter I can mutter mutter spoiler mutter

Are you TRYING to make me add a horrific ortho-square secret to my project just before completion? Because that sounds like something I just might do.

...iff the feature is removed

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[Last edited by Trickster at 07-10-2012 04:49 AM]

noma
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Tahnan wrote:

Trickster wrote:
Try as I might, I cannot imagine a single instance when this feature would actually be useful to a player.

mutter mutter I can mutter mutter spoiler mutter

Not so much a spoiler since you do give a bigger one in-game.

@Trickster: Tahnan is referring to not dr0d 2, where this" feature" is used as a good thing. You should try the hold. DRoD get pressed into service as an engine for word puzzles. It's really good.

Trickster
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noma: I'm still stuck on the first puzzle in not dr0d. I'll get there eventually.

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Jacob
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Yes, I immediately thought of not DROD 2 as well.
(it's easier than not DROD, btw Trickster, and I heartily recommend it).

But, to be fair, other than that one room, I can't think of any other good reason to keep it.

I do like the cycle functionality idea.

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[Last edited by Jacob at 07-10-2012 10:13 PM]

Dischorran
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Yeah, not dr0d and not dr0d 2 aren't really a series, and not dr0d 2's made by as close as we have to a brand-name puzzle designer in these parts.

Thinking more, I guess the other advantage to orthosquare lighting would be to keep jerk architects from throwing a couple of diagonally adjacent non-orthosquare tiles into an orthosquare field as a cheap trick. But I can't think of any actual examples; certainly it's more rare than having lit-up orthosquares getting in the way.

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RoboBob3000
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As not dr0d's author, I heartily recommend skipping not dr0d 1 and moving directly to not dr0d 2!

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Jacob
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Dischorran wrote:
Thinking more, I guess the other advantage to orthosquare lighting would be to keep jerk architects from throwing a couple of diagonally adjacent non-orthosquare tiles into an orthosquare field as a cheap trick. But I can't think of any actual examples; certainly it's more rare than having lit-up orthosquares getting in the way.

Haha, I've actually done this (and I'm pretty sure it was in a lunchbreak compilation, rather than the cheap trick one) and had completely forgotten.

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Trickster
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RoboBob3000 wrote:
As not dr0d's author, I heartily recommend skipping not dr0d 1 and moving directly to not dr0d 2!

And I will... (not).

I'm sorry. I have to be super anal about it and play them in order. (Someday I will discover what all the hubbub is about, however. On my own.)

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Trickster
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Jacob wrote:

Dischorran wrote:
Thinking more, I guess the other advantage to orthosquare lighting would be to keep jerk architects from throwing a couple of diagonally adjacent non-orthosquare tiles into an orthosquare field as a cheap trick. But I can't think of any actual examples; certainly it's more rare than having lit-up orthosquares getting in the way.

Haha, I've actually done this (and I'm pretty sure it was in a lunchbreak compilation, rather than the cheap trick one) and had completely forgotten.

I've seen that before but it stands out like a sore thumb to my eyes. Two naked squares in a field of octagons...

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Dischorran
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Not that you'll do this either, but the first room of not dr0d is bull)#(*, so you might as well hit up H&S for that one. The rest is fine.

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Zaratustra00
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Someone Else wrote:
Well, also if you have this:

.O.
O.O
.O.

It can be difficult to notice at a glance that there's no ortho square in the middle. This is more significant if there's a few missing out of a pattern.

maybe add some tiles to the ortho squares so that they can be drawn with "edges"?

Schik
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Huh, that's kinda neat.

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Someone Else
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I like that. Do that instead!

Jatopian
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I dislike this. It makes the ortho square area look like it cannot be entered or exited.

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Banjooie
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I honestly have no idea how you look at that and believe an area is unenterable. I got a little confused for a while as to which squares had ortho, mind you, and would also argue that maybe it'd be better to have orthosquares have an X over them or something, but...

Trickster
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I think every orthosquare should come with embedded text right there on the tile that completely describes what an orthosquare does. That is the only possible justification for removing an extremely annoying feature which makes certain rooms pratically unnavigable despite the fact that nobody ever uses it.

And it'd be great if we could endlessly debate what sort of complex, non-implementable feature unrelated to the initial request that we'll demand in exchange for the simple task of getting rid of this vestigial nugget of pain. So let's do that some more.



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Jutt
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Zaratustra00 wrote:
maybe add some tiles to the ortho squares so that they can be drawn with "edges"?

Although that is a cool effect, I'm not sure it's going to be any help in identifying complex ortho square configurations. That may be partially because of the floor's checkerboard colouring interfering. I say just remove the highlighting feature and leave graphics as they are. It seems that tricky configurations are rare enough that architects can deal with them on a case by case basis, using for example different floors or lighting to highlight ortho areas.

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mrimer
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I'm currently leaning toward removing this feature in 5.0.

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