Since I missed both beta tests I will talk only about things I have access to - VCMP files and videos on YouTube. More specifically the user interface of 0.4.


1. Scoreboard

The purpose of the scoreboard is to quickly provide a specific information. In my opinion 0.3 does this perfectly - with a single, short key press I get everything I need. Which is not the case with the new scrolling system...
0.4 scoreboard (max 14 players on the screen)
0.3 scoreboard (max 50 players on the screen)
As you see, even on the lowest possible resolution, the old scoreboard provides 3 times more information than the new one. And if the new scoreboard expands on lower resolutions, it will still show less information - even with the old font (which is smaller than the new one) you can't squeeze data about 50 players in to one column.

Why is this so important? Because of the way I and probably others perceive the displayed information. Let's imagine I'm trying to find the ping of a player I want to fight with. In 0.3 I press one key, quickly scan the screen and try to notice the nick. If I don't find it, I scan again, but this time a bit slower. And only when I *think* I saw the nick, I focus my vision on his nick and then on his ping and finally release the key.
And now with the scrolling scoreboard it is a completely different situation. After how many failed scans should I assume the nick is not on the screen and I have to scroll to the next page? And what if I can't see the nick on the next page? Should I scan again, scroll forward or scroll back (maybe I missed him)? Also if the scrolling is done line-by-line not page-by-page, it gets even harder (try quickly scrolling a homogeneous text and stop at a specific position). In the end, instead of scanning, I have to focus on / read every line.

This is a waste of time, it can be dangerous if I need to check the scoreboard in the middle of a fight or chase/getaway (compare this to driving+texting vs driving+checking dashboard) and this kind of scoreboard has reduced usability and is an ineffective use of screen space.
So I would like to see the old scoreboard in the 0.4: full screen, compact, no scrolling, with 2 or even 3 columns of data.



2. Chat

After reading some other threads it seems to be impossible to dynamically (in-game) and quickly change the number of visible chat lines like it can be done now. Is there any reason for this other than "for the sake of change"? In my opinion the old system works pretty good.

If I play on a lower resolution, the available screen space is limited and I must choose what is more important at the moment - events in the game world or chat/socializing. So I change the number of visible chat lines accordingly. When on a medium resolution, I have a little bit more screen space available and can display both kinds of information. This is when the number of lines can remain unchanged. But when I play on a high resolution, I have enough screen space to display everything, so I increase the number of visible lines to the maximum.
Now in 0.4 I don't have this freedom anymore and am forced to use some average setting. Not good.

I will guess and say that all chat messages are kept in some kind of an array and only last n lines are printed on the screen (most likely using a loop). Why players are not allowed to change the max value of this loop with a key press anymore?

And, please, don't suggest using the console. First of all this does not solve the problem on low resolutions. Secondly it is not a solution at all but workaround for poor design choices. The console itself might be useful and OK but it can't replace the F7 key. To get the functionality of 0.3 I will need to:
1) make 2 additional key presses (to show and hide the console)
2) limit my vision
3) give up the option to maneuver while reading the chat (since keypresses will be redirected to the console)
4) make additional key presses to scroll the chat (haven't worked with the console so don't know about this one)


Other things regarding the chat:
1) It might be a personal preference but the font could be a bit narrower.
2) The "*> ... <*" in death messages is unnecessary clutter. If this is built in to the vcmp, it should be removed.



3. (Low-priority?) Server browser

The new server browser must be reworked. Right now it looks too unprofessional in comparison to the original 0.3 browser.
Some points that I have noticed, not in a particular order:

• Font used in the server list (Arial?) differs from the rest of the program (MS Sans Serif). Do not use different fonts if there is no good reason for it!
• The static information in the "Server Info" box should not be bolded. These texts are not important. Either do not use bold altogether or make the dynamic texts bolded.
• Misaligned, weirdly placed controls:
  
  • Player list and labels in server info box should have dynamic width. Labels in server info box should not go over the box border.
  • Server info and Players group boxes should have the same distance from the right border.
  • Players group box and TabControl should have the same distance from the bottom border.
  • The whole player list should be reworked. (Remove the group box? Reposition the list box? etc)
  • Most of the controls have 3D border, the player list box have no border style.
  • The left side of the server lists header has a 3D border, right side has a flat border.
  • The positioning of server lists scroll bar is just ugly...
  I know these are very small bits but together they all make the program look bad.
• There are unused controls - File>Import/Export Settings does not work; status bar shows no information.
• The nick edit box has been moved to the settings window; Instead of Click+Type we have to Click+Click+Click+Type+Click/Press_Enter :X
  As for new, unseen features I'd like to have a combobox instead of a text box to enter our nick. This combobox would contain a number of last used nicks.
• If you go for the clear, minimalist, no-icon interface, the Unlocked/Locked icons in the server list are not consistent with this kind of interface. Either make the whole interface a *little* more colorful (add icons to menus, add toolbar) or use less colorful/bright icons in the list (maybe even black and white).
• The program blocks while the server list is being updated. Normally it does not matter, but it is a completely different story when there is a problem with connection to the master server:
  
  • First of all the program simply hangs for 35(!) seconds. The program should either respond to user actions (open menus, show about box, etc) and/or give some kind of indication that the program is still working (progress bar/animation). The "Please wait..." is not enough. Actually the progress bar or two would be a good additon so the user can anticipate how much time the program still needs. Most importantly it should show the actual progress not some random animation (another dumb trend of modern systems)! Progress bar 1 would display the current step (connecting to master server, downloading server list, getting server information) and progress bar 2 would display the progress of each step. Something similar you see in most file archivers.
  • Secondly after the browser fails to connect to the master server, the message "Retrieving server list. Please wait" does not disappear.

As I said, this is a low[er] priority issue (at least for me the scoreboard and chat are more important) but it still should be addressed. And preferably before the release if you focus on attracting new players. The browser will have a huge impact on the first impression so the user interface MUST be polished!



This will be enough for now.

2. When I disable auto restart appears blue screen.

Write down these texts

and search for them in google.

Is it possible to find out which players were already spawned before script was connected to the server?

It's like I have a server with 3 players: first one is driving around, second is spawned but hasn't moved or received any damage and the last one is still selecting his team. And now when I connect mIRC script, it should get every player's state - if he is spawned. How to do that?

Checking the hp or coordinates won't work (2nd player).

EDIT: btw it's enough with the idea how to do that; the mirc script is not so important