Vehicle Presets are bugged, already reported it, however I don't think that more then the "default" presets should be in, or at least make some more presets for NF too, it looks very "half-done" to just have some extra for BE and these even bugged ...
So... Would You prepare some? (hint: standard stuff and for base chassis only). F.e. You can build a LT with ML or with chaingun.
Done, ... I did not fill meds and heavys with std stuff, just left them empty for the most part so it's easier to add reseached weapons, I made some extra presets for std ... some extra with nonstd stuff ... (HIT and UGL) jeeps=engines ... There MUST be 1 preset, even if the preset is empty ... But I wouldn't do that, they would just build tanks w/o weapons and armor ...
Weapons are the first tab, so I imagine it would be fairly obvious. We should color the Armor and Engine tabs, like the customization button to draw attention to them.
This is true... the GUI here fails. I couldn't build vehicles when I started playing because I couldn't see how to fit an engine. Its obvious when you spot it... but until then.... its really not clear. I think the buttons should be made to look more like tabs (like at the top of a tabbed web browser). What ever happened to the new HUD interface that was being worked on?
Vehicle customization GUI should be preset based. 8 out of 10 possibilities can be done through a proper preset system, the customization should remain for the 2 out of 10, but meant to customize the existing presets, rather than starting from scratch as you do now. It's a far superior system for Empires gameplay, as customization is done during the game, not in some seperate phase, this means that most of the time you're concerned with getting a tank out rather than wanting to spend time customizing one. Customizing a tank generally isn't a part of the game, it's a means to an end. I could give you dozens of examples why any new gui should be preset based, but I'd rather reply as nobody reads my posts anyway.
Preset based with that amount of possibilities should cover 80%? About how many presets are we talking here? In terms of clarity it won't make sense to have more then a few, or would you be able remember which layout has what kind of set and what would fit best to your research paths and your layout which you want? I prefer customizing my vehicle in that case ...
Most of the possibilities aren't possible without research. That eliminates impossible presets. It doesn't matter how many presets are in the system, it matters how many are shown. Theres a difference. A preset based GUI is built up from Presets at its core, if you think as it like the current system with more presets, then yes it would fail horribly. Lets stop pretending I have no clue how many possibilities there are, because I do, have you seen my pre 2.0 preset list? A lot of games do it this way, even those that have real phases for customization. The point isn't to eliminate customization, it's about streamlining tank construction and focusing on the gameplay that matters, like getting a tank and driving it. If the system would categorize presets and use progressive disclosure to show only those presets that are possible, then this would also benefit your own custom presets. Add to it that you will be tweaking most of the existing presets to your own needs, it raises your own productivity as well as catering to your needs of getting the tank you need, when you need it. The other big pro is that new players don't need to customize until they learn the game and feel the need to do so. Here let me give you some example of current game where you don't need customizing, at least not necessarily. Low tier, start game: Comm researches armor. (light tank preset with armor is added) Comm researches engine. (light tank preset with armor and engine is added) Comm researches HMG. (apc preset with DUMG and HMG is added, a few varieties, all categorized nicely) comm researches Med tank. (med tank varieties added with current engine and armor. These may require customizing, like armor plates, but you can have the most important presets, like one with DU and CN and ML and engines in there, etc) etc etc. It all depends on how the GUI is designed, but I don't need to tell you how much of an improvement it is to the current system, it should be obvious.
This could probably be facilitated by two things: 1. Being able to customize and build a preset without saving over it. That is so swapping out an armor, engine or weapon from a default config keeps it intact. 2. Coding in support for values in the preset scripts that choose the first available item of a particular type, rather than a particular item. I.e. '-1' would choose the first available 1-slot item and '-2' would choose the first available 2-slot item. (While not strictly necessary, this would drastically reduce the number of necessary default scripts.)