I'm not breaking any new grounds by saying that GCD has flopped as far as method looking to bridge the PC/mobile gap. Essentially it tried to limit the output while encumbering the input as a way to bridge that PC/Mobile divide. The best analogy I can think of is the QWERTY keyboard system. This came into being because the earliest mechanical typewriters couldn't cope with the fast human typists so they specially designed the key layout to SLOW DOWN how fast a person can type.
It's not a good choice. When one platform is already at a disadvantage, the solution isn't to make it even worse. I have touched on this topic previously so I won't belabor the point. Rather I think the situation calls for a complete re-think on mobile UI while keeping what's unique about Eternium gesture control scheme intact.
Background:
PC advantage, what is it and how it applies to gameplay.
Three things come to mind when identifying the PC platform advantage over mobile.
1: precise movement control offered by mouse
2: mindless skill spamming
3: effortless attack switch (left/right button)
The approach to bridge the mobile/PC gap should be approached from a buffing the mobile UI perspective instead of nerfing the PC UI as this will create an overall better experience rather than some mythical platform uniformity goal. Which is not really achievable anyway.
Solution:
How can we improve the mobile UI to address the above PC advantage?
First the realization of limited bandwidth of mobile UI. What I mean is that a human finger can only perform so many tasks in a short amount of time that the ceiling is limited by our own biology. Mobile UI is designed to be playable on one hand (with the other hand holding the phone for example). This has inherent disadvantage compared to PC. Essentially PC puts both hands to use, one controls the mouse which controls the movement and normal attacks while the other hand bang away at the keyboard for those skill/potion whatever else spam. It doesn't stretch anyone's imagination to say that two hands are better than one in doing just about anything.
So the true/final solution is about removing as much as possible tasks that needs to be performed by the playing hand on mobile. Sure the playing hand can quaff potions, can trigger skills, can move characters, can do anything in this game. The question is should it? By making everything doable on one finger merely bumps up against that mobile UI bandwidth problem I alluded to earlier. A great mobile UI is about simplification, streamlining. That should be the overall aim.
I will take the 3 PC advantages in reverse and offer my specific suggestions.
3: Effortless attack switch (left/right button)
Doing attack switch on PC has zero input cost. What I mean by this is that normal attack switch on pc has no consequence on any other game input/behavior that a player might want to perform. This doesn't slow down any skill trigger/potion/apple (the keyboard hand responsibility).
So the solution should be doing normal attack switch should have zero input cost too on mobile UI. Of course there are mobile players that are adept to do the 1 finger/ 2 finger attack switch. But it's a fallacy that a cool trick is better than streamlined experience especially for a mobile UI.
I have previously proposed the normal attack pattern idea (earliest version almost 1yr ago) so that normal attack switches are handled automatically; therefore, at zero input cost, on mobile UI. However this idea hasn't gained any traction. I don't understand why as the idea enables the optional zero input cost normal attack switch at the cost of less precise control on the sequence of attacks performed. At the same time the idea still allows the precise control the current scheme permits with current level of input cost on mobile UI (for those that don't see a need for improvement, or just oldschool).
I still think this is the best solution. The only reason that I can guess for not adopting the idea is that it looks cool to be able to switch attacks with one finger or two finger tap. As I stated earlier, my position is that a cool trick doesn't make something a better mobile experience if the trick creates more clutter/steps. The best mobile experience isn't look what I can do, but rather the simplest, most streamlined way to perform something over and over again.
So, I urge the devs to seriously consider the normal attack pattern idea. This WILL make for a better mobile experience.
If however, devs are set to keep the current system on normal attack switch, then here is a compromise idea to make normal attack switch better on mobile UI.
Make the two normal attack icons area on the main game display a single active toggle area.
If someone is holding the phone on the left hand, then their thumb can tap that area easily. Basically whenever it's tapped, it switches the normal attack back and forth between the two. This method removes the work of attack switch from the main playing hand (right hand). Since most of the attack switch benefit comes from some buff an attack offers, now this can be performed mindlessly on mobile UI as well. Taking advantage of the currently underutilized phone holding hand.
By removing the work from the main playing hand, it in effect increases the available bandwidth for the main playing hand for other tasks.
2: mindless skill spamming
Spamming skills, apple, potion carries zero cost on a PC platform because all of those are done via keystrokes using the non movement control/mouse hand. So the solution should be reduce the input costs for performing those same functions on mobile UI as much as possible.
Automation should be the key for this. I have previously suggested to make apple/potion activation automatic based on some preselected hp%. I still think this is the way to go for that. Given apple and potion have cooldowns, auto quaffing isn't OP by any means (doesn't make anyone an immortal). Why weight down what the playing hand has to do with something that can be easily handled by the game. Besides knowing that I'm close to death I need to quaff a potion isn't a reflection of a player skill. It's just common sense.
Now the big kahuna, skill spamming. Let's face it, there is no easy solution to this. The best one can do is remove as much of other superfluous stuff the mobile playing hand has to perform so that more of the limited mobile UI bandwidth can be dedicated to the skill spamming task.
However there are certain skills that are just ripe for dumb automation. Basically buff skills that need to be kept up constantly and attack skills that need to be spammed constantly. If those are automated, then you cut down the necessary skill spamming substantially; thus allowing that limited mobile UI bandwidth (@orion_134, yea my writing is littered with your bandwidth word, I borrow liberally when I think it just fits, hope you don't mind) to be used for those skills that DO need be performed tactically.
I will give the shield block/BR example for buff that just cries for autocast and then shockwave/dt for attack skills that need to be mindlessly spammable.
UI change:
Make skill icons on the main game display active toggles. Two modes, normal and autocast mode. When it's toggled to autocast mode, the skill will autocast based on some very simple logic.
For skills that don't require an target, shieldblock/BR, when the skill is put on autocast, then it just casts as soon as CD is finished.
For skills that do damage, shockwave/DT, when the skill is put on autocast, then it simply casts centered at the selected current target automatically when CD is finished. If there is no active target, the skill doesn't cast until both conditions are met (CD finished and target selected).
That's it folks. The game logic here is quite simple. There is no smart targeting required for autocast. If one wants to the benefit of autocast, then one shouldn't expect to also gain the optimal targeting along with it. You get dumb autocast. For those that consider themselves more skillful/tactically oriented, there is nothing that stops you from NOT enabling autocast.
One gets 3 active skills and minion skills as the most frequently used skill triggers. By putting at least some of them on autocast, you free up bandwidth for the more important thing like:
1: precise movement control offered by mouse
I can't think of anything native on mobile UI that can be changed to bridge this gap. But by addressing 3 and 2 with the above suggestions, at least the mobile player has more time to dedicate to combat maneuvering. That alone will be a big improvement compared to the current situation.
So in short, please get rid of GCD, it really failed as a tool to bridge the PC/mobile divide and at the same time seriously degraded the mobile experience itself.
Adrian (Developer) Red (Developer)
It's not a good choice. When one platform is already at a disadvantage, the solution isn't to make it even worse. I have touched on this topic previously so I won't belabor the point. Rather I think the situation calls for a complete re-think on mobile UI while keeping what's unique about Eternium gesture control scheme intact.
Background:
PC advantage, what is it and how it applies to gameplay.
Three things come to mind when identifying the PC platform advantage over mobile.
1: precise movement control offered by mouse
2: mindless skill spamming
3: effortless attack switch (left/right button)
The approach to bridge the mobile/PC gap should be approached from a buffing the mobile UI perspective instead of nerfing the PC UI as this will create an overall better experience rather than some mythical platform uniformity goal. Which is not really achievable anyway.
Solution:
How can we improve the mobile UI to address the above PC advantage?
First the realization of limited bandwidth of mobile UI. What I mean is that a human finger can only perform so many tasks in a short amount of time that the ceiling is limited by our own biology. Mobile UI is designed to be playable on one hand (with the other hand holding the phone for example). This has inherent disadvantage compared to PC. Essentially PC puts both hands to use, one controls the mouse which controls the movement and normal attacks while the other hand bang away at the keyboard for those skill/potion whatever else spam. It doesn't stretch anyone's imagination to say that two hands are better than one in doing just about anything.
So the true/final solution is about removing as much as possible tasks that needs to be performed by the playing hand on mobile. Sure the playing hand can quaff potions, can trigger skills, can move characters, can do anything in this game. The question is should it? By making everything doable on one finger merely bumps up against that mobile UI bandwidth problem I alluded to earlier. A great mobile UI is about simplification, streamlining. That should be the overall aim.
I will take the 3 PC advantages in reverse and offer my specific suggestions.
3: Effortless attack switch (left/right button)
Doing attack switch on PC has zero input cost. What I mean by this is that normal attack switch on pc has no consequence on any other game input/behavior that a player might want to perform. This doesn't slow down any skill trigger/potion/apple (the keyboard hand responsibility).
So the solution should be doing normal attack switch should have zero input cost too on mobile UI. Of course there are mobile players that are adept to do the 1 finger/ 2 finger attack switch. But it's a fallacy that a cool trick is better than streamlined experience especially for a mobile UI.
I have previously proposed the normal attack pattern idea (earliest version almost 1yr ago) so that normal attack switches are handled automatically; therefore, at zero input cost, on mobile UI. However this idea hasn't gained any traction. I don't understand why as the idea enables the optional zero input cost normal attack switch at the cost of less precise control on the sequence of attacks performed. At the same time the idea still allows the precise control the current scheme permits with current level of input cost on mobile UI (for those that don't see a need for improvement, or just oldschool).
I still think this is the best solution. The only reason that I can guess for not adopting the idea is that it looks cool to be able to switch attacks with one finger or two finger tap. As I stated earlier, my position is that a cool trick doesn't make something a better mobile experience if the trick creates more clutter/steps. The best mobile experience isn't look what I can do, but rather the simplest, most streamlined way to perform something over and over again.
So, I urge the devs to seriously consider the normal attack pattern idea. This WILL make for a better mobile experience.
If however, devs are set to keep the current system on normal attack switch, then here is a compromise idea to make normal attack switch better on mobile UI.
Make the two normal attack icons area on the main game display a single active toggle area.
If someone is holding the phone on the left hand, then their thumb can tap that area easily. Basically whenever it's tapped, it switches the normal attack back and forth between the two. This method removes the work of attack switch from the main playing hand (right hand). Since most of the attack switch benefit comes from some buff an attack offers, now this can be performed mindlessly on mobile UI as well. Taking advantage of the currently underutilized phone holding hand.
By removing the work from the main playing hand, it in effect increases the available bandwidth for the main playing hand for other tasks.
2: mindless skill spamming
Spamming skills, apple, potion carries zero cost on a PC platform because all of those are done via keystrokes using the non movement control/mouse hand. So the solution should be reduce the input costs for performing those same functions on mobile UI as much as possible.
Automation should be the key for this. I have previously suggested to make apple/potion activation automatic based on some preselected hp%. I still think this is the way to go for that. Given apple and potion have cooldowns, auto quaffing isn't OP by any means (doesn't make anyone an immortal). Why weight down what the playing hand has to do with something that can be easily handled by the game. Besides knowing that I'm close to death I need to quaff a potion isn't a reflection of a player skill. It's just common sense.
Now the big kahuna, skill spamming. Let's face it, there is no easy solution to this. The best one can do is remove as much of other superfluous stuff the mobile playing hand has to perform so that more of the limited mobile UI bandwidth can be dedicated to the skill spamming task.
However there are certain skills that are just ripe for dumb automation. Basically buff skills that need to be kept up constantly and attack skills that need to be spammed constantly. If those are automated, then you cut down the necessary skill spamming substantially; thus allowing that limited mobile UI bandwidth (@orion_134, yea my writing is littered with your bandwidth word, I borrow liberally when I think it just fits, hope you don't mind) to be used for those skills that DO need be performed tactically.
I will give the shield block/BR example for buff that just cries for autocast and then shockwave/dt for attack skills that need to be mindlessly spammable.
UI change:
Make skill icons on the main game display active toggles. Two modes, normal and autocast mode. When it's toggled to autocast mode, the skill will autocast based on some very simple logic.
For skills that don't require an target, shieldblock/BR, when the skill is put on autocast, then it just casts as soon as CD is finished.
For skills that do damage, shockwave/DT, when the skill is put on autocast, then it simply casts centered at the selected current target automatically when CD is finished. If there is no active target, the skill doesn't cast until both conditions are met (CD finished and target selected).
That's it folks. The game logic here is quite simple. There is no smart targeting required for autocast. If one wants to the benefit of autocast, then one shouldn't expect to also gain the optimal targeting along with it. You get dumb autocast. For those that consider themselves more skillful/tactically oriented, there is nothing that stops you from NOT enabling autocast.
One gets 3 active skills and minion skills as the most frequently used skill triggers. By putting at least some of them on autocast, you free up bandwidth for the more important thing like:
1: precise movement control offered by mouse
I can't think of anything native on mobile UI that can be changed to bridge this gap. But by addressing 3 and 2 with the above suggestions, at least the mobile player has more time to dedicate to combat maneuvering. That alone will be a big improvement compared to the current situation.
So in short, please get rid of GCD, it really failed as a tool to bridge the PC/mobile divide and at the same time seriously degraded the mobile experience itself.
Adrian (Developer) Red (Developer)