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Loading screens

#1
This may be kind of silly but... how do you make loading screens the least bit of interesting?
  1. Randomly selected screenshots / graphics / concept art.
    Well, concept art would probably look funny when it's just a long mathematical formula. Sub-optimal background graphic material.
    • Add user-supplied screenshots from a specific folder?
    • Replace all generic backgrounds with graphics from the user-supplied folder or add them to the pre-made ones?
    • Procedurally generate random backgrounds and imposing ships for the player to gawk at?
      In rotatable 3d?
  2. Randomly generated ship or station from anywhere in the universe.
    Arranged like a sales brochure with rotating picture and stats.
    That gives new users a taste of what they might encounter one day even before they are able to do much traveling.
    Might need a key to hold the loading screen active so you get to see / read all of it. =)
  3. Quotes.
    Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space. - THGTTG
    Scoundrel? Scoundrel? I like the sound of that. - Han Solo

    There are soooooo many memorable quotes in S/F stuff.
  4. Game hints.
    You can increase your speed as well as your afterburner speed by directing energy towards your engines. Just keep an eye on your shield levels.
    (well, already implemented in the prototype...)
There is no "I" in Tea. That would be gross.
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Re: Loading screens

#2
What about procedurally generated information about the location you're about to visit?

For instance when travelling to a planet I'd like to see the ship enter the atmosphere in the background (while the planet data loads). In front of this would be a datapad with information (probably sent by the surface) with information.
This information could be: speciality of the planet -> cheapest materials to buy , resources the planet can use , best shopping locations, restaurants, schools , some history ...


Edit: some clarification
Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.
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Re: Loading screens

#5
The computer could takes automatic screen shots every time something interesting.
For instance the screen capture could take a picture of the gameplay if it meets one of the following constraints:
- 1 in every five explosions viewed by the player is a pic
- If projectiles meet a certain equation then a pic is take (For example (y=x*3) with y being the picture taken and x being the number of ships nearby.
- I could go on for another 40 lines about other constraints on the picture capture process, so basically the more stuff that's on the screen, the more likely a picture will be taken.
Forgive me if I ask a stupid question, I do that a lot.
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Re: Loading screens

#6
nmull wrote:The computer could takes automatic screen shots every time something interesting.
For instance the screen capture could take a picture of the gameplay if it meets one of the following constraints:
- 1 in every five explosions viewed by the player is a pic
- If projectiles meet a certain equation then a pic is take (For example (y=x*3) with y being the picture taken and x being the number of ships nearby.
- I could go on for another 40 lines about other constraints on the picture capture process, so basically the more stuff that's on the screen, the more likely a picture will be taken.
I think this would be cool. A big freighter explodes because of you? Snapshot it and use it for a loading screen. I like it all though. Adverts, news, system info. All of it sounds like good stuff.
Image
Early Spring - 1055: Well, I made it to Boatmurdered, and my initial impressions can be set forth in three words: What. The. F*ck.
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Re: Loading screens

#7
I've always had a penchant for those:
Image But admittingly, procedurally generating that visual style doesn't seem very possible.

I'd prefer to get some info on my destination (kind of like the old Elite blurbs about a planet), with an optional toggle (either "continue as soon as stuff is loaded", which might result in the splash screen being only seen in a VERY short while, and "press space to continue" for slow readers and people with fast PCs). Double points if I can get newsflashes that way, too. ("Draught on Zhitnitsa VII - Prices for Water and Food are rising").
Hardenberg was my name
And Terra was my nation
Deep space is my dwelling place
The stars my destination
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Re: Loading screens

#8
My vote is definitely for some kind of Encylopedia Galactica précis of the system/planet at which you are arriving. The information could take the form of news feeds. Alternatively some kind of diagram of the system topography, so you can familiarise yourself with it. Basically something useful that supports player immersion; all the other ideas will be fun for the first ten systems you enter and then they'll be just hokey and annoying.
Experiencing a significant gravitas shortfall
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Re: Loading screens

#9
Gazz wrote:Advertisements?

Drink Black Hole Cola! Because that's what fiends are for!
(The Attorney General recommends: Just to be clear - friends are not for drinking or juicing.)

+1

also I love propaganda ads, so on a load screen you might see a propaganda ad of a civilization that operates under some sort of dictatorship / oligarchy. Not sure how well that would fit in though..
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Re: Loading screens

#10
Yep, I think news, ads, and propaganda would be the best. As far as propaganda goes, how about something like:

Always pay your taxes. Happy collectors means happy citizens. Remember, Lord Lukalukutakowaki is watching you!

System info would not be a good thing for loading screens, since that's the kind of thing you need to study for more than a few seconds, and as such, should be something you access in game.
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Re: Loading screens

#11
CaptainAdlai wrote: System info would not be a good thing for loading screens, since that's the kind of thing you need to study for more than a few seconds, and as such, should be something you access in game.
True. But I'd rather read this information while I'm stuck watching at a screen, than at moments where I could be doing other stuff.
Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.
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Re: Loading screens

#13
Here's an example image that shows roughly the kind of system diagram I was proposing. This would be perfect for a screen that will only be seen for a few seconds because it will give you some brief information for orientation. You can take a glance and you know: "This system has X planets in ABC locations and the jump gate is closest to planet C."

P.S. Yes I know that planets will not orbit in LT, so the orbital paths in the example diagram would not be needed.
Last edited by Zero Gravitas on Sun Jan 27, 2013 11:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
Experiencing a significant gravitas shortfall
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Re: Loading screens

#14
If there's an in-game library/wiki giving information on known systems, then showing the summary for the system may be worth doing. Even if it says "unexplored system", there should still be initially knowable information such as star type and number of giant planets. As information is added to the library (probably worth another discussion) then the loadscreen summary would become more detailed. Similarly, publicly-available news would add to such information e.g. a corporation takes over a known system. This would add to the sense of a dynamic galaxy that changes over time.

Is there a thread about an in-game library?

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