NS2 I&S Rules, Guidelines , and Best Practices!
digz
be still, maggot Join Date: 2002-05-07 Member: 588Members, NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, Constellation
be still, maggot Join Date: 2002-05-07 Member: 588Members, NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">READ OR DEVINE WIND!</div>I've bootstraped together a first hack at some much needed official constraints on the I&S forums. This is a work in progress, much of this I have stolen from other stickied topics from posters much groovier then I. All you I&S fanatics, shoot me a PM if you have a suggestion or correction. If a thread is found in major violation, and it's clear you haven't read this sticky you're thread may get locked with a link back here.
The <strike>three</strike> four most important additional rules to this forum:
<b>Search:</b> Chances are your idea has been suggested, debated, elaborated and even flamed before on these forums. If you take the time to do a little research, the community will appreciate it!
<b>Single Topic per Idea:</b> Keep each idea to organized with its own thread. This will mean more threads in the forum but it will make moving/merging and locking much, much easier.
<b>Topic Headings:</b> Make the topic heading descriptive, that way those who want to skim ideas can have an easier time. Any topics without a sufficient title may be locked until the title is changed, or will have the title changed by a mod.
<b>This is NOT the Discussion Forum:</b> Come here with complete ideas that are as thought out as you can make them. Starting a topic on discussing possible "X" abilities for "Y" things is discouraged and tells us you haven't read this sticky!
Moderator Related Rules:
<b>Post specific deletions:</b> Posts that have no purpose (for example off-topic posts or attempts to hi-jack a post) will simply be deleted. I will leave posts that indicate an agreement with the thread topic simply because it makes it easier to see community support. I will also leave posts that have a dissenting opinion that is thought out and presented with information.
Best Practices:
<!--quoteo(post=407194:date=May 8 2003, 12:09 PM:name=xect)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (xect @ May 8 2003, 12:09 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=407194"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Over time, the problem of frequently suggested issues is, in my opinion, being far overshadowed by people's wish to hunt for those threads all over the place. This means that a lot of serious threads are being shot down with "search", "see the FAQ" and "suggested before". I suggest that people get the habit of, before quoting, considering the following things:
- If you're posting your opinion about the idea, make sure to think about what you want to achieve. Remember, we're here to help the dev's get ideas, not to decide what goes in.
- If you're telling people that their idea is good, make sure to tell WHY it's good, what's so good about it and how could it become even BETTER.
- If you're telling people that their idea is not good, tell them what is bad about it so people know. Makes more sense than "your idea sucks", and makes you sound like an intellegent being.
- If you're telling people that you personally like/dislike their idea, tell what you like/dislike about it. Makes other people able to think about that, and comment on it, and perhaps get ideas for improvements to the suggestion. Again, just saying "I don't like it" get's us nowhere at all. Saying that you like it makes the poster happy, but saying what you like about it is even better.
- If you're telling the person that his idea is often suggested, not wanted or already in: USE A QUOTE.
-If you expect him to find it by search, tell us how YOU found it (what keywords did you use), and give us a link, so we can discuss in that thread if neccesary. I've seen people tell others to search for things they couldnt even find themselves if they tried.
-If you're telling the person that what he's asking for is already in the FAQ, quote the FAQ. Quite a lot of people are seeing things in the FAQ that was never even there.
- If you're telling him that was he's saying is already going into the game, quote the thread where it was said. Saying "i think this is going in" doesnt get anyone anywhere, you might as well be wrong, or the suggested version could be better than the already used one.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That said, <b>don't be discouraged</b>! Following these rules, guidelines and best practices will help your ideas be shared more clearly to the community and shows that you've done your homework.
The <strike>three</strike> four most important additional rules to this forum:
<b>Search:</b> Chances are your idea has been suggested, debated, elaborated and even flamed before on these forums. If you take the time to do a little research, the community will appreciate it!
<b>Single Topic per Idea:</b> Keep each idea to organized with its own thread. This will mean more threads in the forum but it will make moving/merging and locking much, much easier.
<b>Topic Headings:</b> Make the topic heading descriptive, that way those who want to skim ideas can have an easier time. Any topics without a sufficient title may be locked until the title is changed, or will have the title changed by a mod.
<b>This is NOT the Discussion Forum:</b> Come here with complete ideas that are as thought out as you can make them. Starting a topic on discussing possible "X" abilities for "Y" things is discouraged and tells us you haven't read this sticky!
Moderator Related Rules:
<b>Post specific deletions:</b> Posts that have no purpose (for example off-topic posts or attempts to hi-jack a post) will simply be deleted. I will leave posts that indicate an agreement with the thread topic simply because it makes it easier to see community support. I will also leave posts that have a dissenting opinion that is thought out and presented with information.
Best Practices:
<!--quoteo(post=407194:date=May 8 2003, 12:09 PM:name=xect)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (xect @ May 8 2003, 12:09 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=407194"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Over time, the problem of frequently suggested issues is, in my opinion, being far overshadowed by people's wish to hunt for those threads all over the place. This means that a lot of serious threads are being shot down with "search", "see the FAQ" and "suggested before". I suggest that people get the habit of, before quoting, considering the following things:
- If you're posting your opinion about the idea, make sure to think about what you want to achieve. Remember, we're here to help the dev's get ideas, not to decide what goes in.
- If you're telling people that their idea is good, make sure to tell WHY it's good, what's so good about it and how could it become even BETTER.
- If you're telling people that their idea is not good, tell them what is bad about it so people know. Makes more sense than "your idea sucks", and makes you sound like an intellegent being.
- If you're telling people that you personally like/dislike their idea, tell what you like/dislike about it. Makes other people able to think about that, and comment on it, and perhaps get ideas for improvements to the suggestion. Again, just saying "I don't like it" get's us nowhere at all. Saying that you like it makes the poster happy, but saying what you like about it is even better.
- If you're telling the person that his idea is often suggested, not wanted or already in: USE A QUOTE.
-If you expect him to find it by search, tell us how YOU found it (what keywords did you use), and give us a link, so we can discuss in that thread if neccesary. I've seen people tell others to search for things they couldnt even find themselves if they tried.
-If you're telling the person that what he's asking for is already in the FAQ, quote the FAQ. Quite a lot of people are seeing things in the FAQ that was never even there.
- If you're telling him that was he's saying is already going into the game, quote the thread where it was said. Saying "i think this is going in" doesnt get anyone anywhere, you might as well be wrong, or the suggested version could be better than the already used one.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That said, <b>don't be discouraged</b>! Following these rules, guidelines and best practices will help your ideas be shared more clearly to the community and shows that you've done your homework.
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
I've sniped this from a submission from zex, which is formatted and presented in such a way that shows a clear and understandable suggestion.
<!--quoteo(post=1853291:date=Jun 15 2011, 07:15 PM:name=zex)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (zex @ Jun 15 2011, 07:15 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1853291"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->A recurring complaint by NS2 players is that attacking with a Skulk is distracting, because the jaws cover the entire screen while biting. If a Skulk attacks and misses, it can be disorienting, because you are blind at the moment of the attack and therefore can not see in which direction the target moved causing the miss. This makes correcting for aim errors even more difficult.
The solution is to only partially close the Skulk jaws <b>when an attack does not land. </b> The jaws would clamp down from the top/bottom of the screen, but they would not close completely, leaving gameplay clearly visible (albeit with a reduced FOV) in the center of the screen during missed attacks. This would remove the effect of disorientation and make correcting for missed aim more intuitive.
Following from this solution, there is an additional benefit of differentiating hits from misses in the most glaringly obvious way possible. When a bite<b> successfuly hits a target</b>, the jaws would close completely as in the current animation. This hit feedback would make sucessful bites far more visceral and satisfying.
In summary:
Problem: bite-blindness is disorienting because jaws cover the entire screen
Solution:
A) MISSED BITES: Jaws only close partially, eliminating disorientation from being blinded after missing the target
B) HIT BITES: Jaws close completely, giving the player visceral, satisfying hit feedback in a situation where only the target would be visible anyway
Discuss : )
There's already been discussion in another thread, but it got seriously off track and people got confused what the actual suggestion was due to all the random nonsense being posted. Plus I don't like to bump a thread that implies Skulk bite-blindness is a "unacceptable design mistake" because I don't agree. I do think bite-blindness has room for improvement, and this suggestion would be an improvement.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What we can take from this:
1. State the problem/Issue you are tackling.
2. Suggestion or solution.
3. Description and implementation.
4. Reason you are submitting (not found on search/ expanded out of current discussion/ old thread has train wrecked etc).
5. Don't bite off more then one idea at a time - be specific and cingular per submission on ideas and threads.
How a poorly formed I&S submission might look:
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->get an upgrade for the sentry turret e.g. a short ranged flamer to help stop the alien charges. upgrades the sentries health and kills infestation. takes about 1 minute to upgrade without player help and is inactive during the process.
:)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You most likely won't get the attention from the developers or a response from the community.