Hannah Flynn
Administrator
Posts: 491
3/30/2015
|
Plans, schemes, machinations: keeping track of your many intrigues can be a challenge when there's so much in the Neath to catch your eye.
So, we're delighted to bring you Plans:
- Plans allow you to bookmark Fallen London branches to remind you to play them at a later date.
- You bookmark a Plan using the icon at the top right of each branch in the storylet page, after which they appear in the new Plans tab.
- Playing the branch causes the Plan to move from 'active' to 'complete'.
- If you wish to restart or cancel a Plan, this can also be done within the plans tab.
If you would like to sign up to test Plans, we're looking for 15-20 people to try it out and share their thoughts in this thread.
Post your username and character name below if you would like to access this feature before everyone else, and help us shape it!
Note: If you are testing Plans and it has caused something to break, please report those in the usual fashion: by emailing support at failbettergames dot com, and letting us know that you were testing at the time. Please keep this thread to discussion of:
- Appearance: Does it look the way you'd imagine?
- Sense: Does it work the way you'd expect?
- Usefulness: How are you using it?
We'd like to have a most of the initial discussion before 7 April. We'll be here to listen and chip in, of course. Enjoy!
Edit: We now have enough testers for this function, thanks everyone! There will be more opportunities to check out upcoming changes soon.
edited by h4nchan on 3/31/2015
--
Wields the news canon, aboard the hype train.
|
|
|
+5
link
|
marcmagus
Posts: 168
6/16/2015
|
A maybe less-obvious use that I've particularly enjoyed is if I have "Use your influence to invite Slowcake's Amanuensis for a visit" as a Plan, it's easier to check how much Making Waves I need for the next point of Notability. No need to calculate, no need to travel to my Lodgings, it does the math for me if I gain new equipment which improves BDR, only problem is I need to make sure I'm using the best BDR equipment I own. It also lets me quickly check my current level of Making Waves; I find it easier to find this in the Plans than to find MW on Myself.
--
marcmagus, a scholar of the Correspondence of some minor note and bold explorer of the new Unterzee.
|
|
|
+5
link
|
Spacemarine9
Posts: 2234
3/30/2015
|
I'll test anything, even if it explodes. Especially if it explodes. Character name and SN username are both Spacemarine9, as you've probably guessed.
--
my rats will blot out the sun
Ratgames
FL lore/mechanics questions and answers
#FallenLondon IRC (irc.synirc.net) Channel! Click to join via Mibbit.
#SunlessSea IRC channel! Like the above, but zee-ier.
|
|
|
+3
link
|
Yoten
Posts: 9
3/30/2015
|
I sent an email to the support address about the "addded" typo as well as some notes-related stuff. As for the design, I agree it could be more useful. Some of these are more feasible than others, but as long as we're shooting for the moon:
1) Allow us to mark storylet entry points in addition to branches. If I want to build casing to rob the Brass Embassy, it would be more useful for me to mark "Preparing for a big score" instead of one of its child options like "Formulate a plan".
2a) In addition to the branch name, tell us the storylet it came from as well as the location it's in. Instead of just "Formulate a plan", something like "The Flit -> Preparing for a big score -> Formulate a plan" tells us everything we need to find that branch again. The location/storylet/branch could all be on separate lines, tabbed like a tree view for aesthetics, so as to not have to worry about things getting too long and overflowing the window borders.
2b) If the branch comes from an opportunity card, you can use the card's name and mention that it's an opportunity card so people won't get confused, i.e. "Amber in the well (Opportunity Card) -> Convince the Rubbery Men to move on". If you're feeling particularly sporting, you can also fill in the location IF the card is location-dependent (don't need it otherwise).
3) Like others have said, a "take me there" button/link would be nice to have. If you do implement my suggestion from 2a, you could even have separate buttons for each step in the location, in case the player wants to start at the Flit and drill down into the branch to remind themselves what the context is. The hard part would be figuring out how to limit this functionality to prevent abuse/confusion. I think it should only work for valid locations the user can currently reach that are also free of cost. The former keeps people from cheating, and the latter keeps people from feeling cheated if they click it by mistake.
Here are some examples of when the buttons should not appear:
- Opportunity card branches (not usually accessible, and probably not worth checking the player's hand)
- Branches inside the Clay Quarters if the player is elsewhere (entering CQ requires an entry fee)
- Places outside of London if the player is in London and vice-versa (non-trivial relocation)
- Reward actions like the reaching the destination of Forgotten Quarter expeditions (other sequential requirements the player needs to fulfill first)
Also, I agree that a simple "You have none." message when your active/completed plans are empty would look nicer.
Edit: I just saw Estelle's mock-up -- I like it!
edited by Yoten on 3/30/2015
|
|
|
+3
link
|
Hannah Flynn
Administrator
Posts: 491
4/2/2015
|
Right, gang: this was first pass to prove the concept, and it seems that you're finding lots of uses for it and it's doing roughly what you want, which is excellent.
- We definitely want better ways to organise it.
- A 'Go To' button is problematic for the reasons many of you have already recognised.
- Flagging areas is a good idea!
- Everything else is under consideration our end.
Thank you, delicious ones, for your attention. We hope to bring you further morsels, and maybe even chunks, in the coming months. We'll let you know when this is going to roll out!
--
Wields the news canon, aboard the hype train.
|
|
|
+3
link
|
genesis
Posts: 924
4/2/2015
|
One more observation. Copy/Paste of text auto-includes Failbetter's copyright text. This is completely understandable. But I was wondering (and I have no idea what the technology issues are with this) if it's at all possible to exclude that when copy pasting into Plans, since we are still on Failbetter turf, as it were...
--
http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/mikey_thinkin
Keeping track of incomplete content and loose ends in Fallen London
|
|
|
+3
link
|
Hannah Flynn
Administrator
Posts: 491
4/2/2015
|
Cecil Palmer wrote:
I understand that the cut off point for helping has passed, but I've been watching this thread and I can't help myself; if there does come a point where you need more playtesters for the Plans tab (or anything else experimental), I, "8" in Fallen London, would be quite thrilled to help out.
Cecil and anyone who didn't get a chance to chime in this time: we'll recycle and refresh the tester list with each feature. We don't want 100 people receiving random new features and getting confused between real life/fantasy (landslide... reality...), but we do want all interested parties to have a look-in.
--
Wields the news canon, aboard the hype train.
|
|
|
+2
link
|
Estelle Knoht
Posts: 1751
4/2/2015
|
AAAAAAAAAAA I was too late
If you could do something like this I will be really grateful and kiss the plans
Pretty please I like Irrigo I mean purple
--
Estelle Knoht, a juvenile, unreliable and respectable lady.
I currently do not accept any catbox, cider, suppers, calling cards or proteges.
|
|
|
+2
link
|
dragonridingsorceress
Posts: 622
4/2/2015
|
One more bit of feedback:
A 'Mark as Completed' type function would be useful, for plans I am no longer working on, but don't want to delete because they're generally useful.
--
DragonRidingSorceress is an Author of good standing. Mostly good standing. She's happy to accept any social action except Photographer and Loitering, but requests warnings before duping/poisoning/etc.
Seeker of Names is a... being with an obsession. They're willing to accept all invitations.
One who seeks to know all that is and may be. One who dances in the silence of the void. One whose fantasies make the reality come alive.
|
|
|
+2
link
|
Hannah Flynn
Administrator
Posts: 491
4/16/2015
|
Friends! Since we received your feedback
1. Plans are now sorted alphabetically (we may review this to make it more flexible for you in future)
2. The area the branch is originally from is now displayed on the plan
3. You can now 'un-plan' a plan directly from the branch - basically a toggle on or off
And plans are now live to all! Enjoy. 
--
Wields the news canon, aboard the hype train.
|
|
|
+2
link
|
Lady Taimi Felix
Posts: 202
4/16/2015
|
Estelle Knoht wrote:
I have to say I really like the new little flags animation! *click on it repeatedly*
I like the new animation too and the fact that it not looks less obtrusive on storylets where you don't want to 'make plans', but since it has gone game-wide today, the flag is no longer still colored if you've completed a plan. The account I've been play-testing this feature with has been stat-capped for a million years, so I didn't use the plans so much to remind me what I was doing but more as visual cues on which is the 'correct' option, especially when I'm half asleep or playing on my phone. Yes, the flag is still extended, but the grey eliminated the obvious visual cue. I would love it if the color would come back.
--
Lady Taimi Felix: Devoted Wife. Invisible Eminence. Patron of the Shadowy Arts. Monster Hunter. Lady of Adventure. Exceptionally Lethal. Loves a Good Chat over Coffee.
|
|
|
+2
link
|
genesis
Posts: 924
4/1/2015
|
As it happens, "Ask about a certain passage of St Matthew, and its revisions" has just come up so I added it. Nothing special so far...
I suppose this is yet another argument to have some sort of grouping/organising tool. You want to remember these Impossible! tasks for the eventual occasion when they might be not Impossible! but at the same time you don't want them cluttering your "current" plans, as it were
edited by genesis on 4/1/2015
--
http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/mikey_thinkin
Keeping track of incomplete content and loose ends in Fallen London
|
|
|
+2
link
|
odessa
Posts: 36
4/2/2015
|
After hopping into the Mahogany Mirror to check out Plans in places of menace, I have to add to the resounding chorus of distinguishing plans by location, because I can foresee myself possibly Planning something in a menace state (Things related to Cat and Mouse, Ambition-related things) and then forgetting where the heck in London that Plan is supposed to unfurl. It would be nice to see “This Plan takes place outside of London” or something of the sort for Zee/menace-related stories. Also, I’m sure this has been said before but it would be nice to see any potential level checks one might need to succeed in a Plan, or if a Plan is a luck-based check.
--
Odessa, ever the socialite, would love to make your acquaintance.
|
|
|
+2
link
|
NiteBrite
Posts: 1019
4/1/2015
|
I like the look of the plans ribbons, and you can do quite a bit with color coding so that's cool. It's a shame that you can't cancel a plan/toggle it on and off by clicking the ribbon again. I've misclicked a few ribbons already, and its a bit intrusive to have to leave the story and cancel such minor errors in another tab.
The pop ups have a tendency to get me a 404 message if I click into something while the pop up is still loading. The timing of it is a bit tricky, but it happens.
I was really hoping there would be an option to plan not to do something. That is, to toggle on an optional player set lock, minesweeper style, to prevent misclicks. Like, there are a number of storylet options I don't want to ever click (unless a good reason comes along in the future). For example, if I could use these plan ribbons to set a lock on "Sell your plant" so that I physically couldn't misclick it ever, that would do wonders for my peace of mind.
There's a lot of stories out there that are just like minesweeper mines. There are probably a lot more stories out there that I would like to be reminded/protected from ever misclicking than stories I'd want to look up the requirements for in a plan. I am having terror flashbacks now to the early days of knife and candle and how it was invite only and the "retire from K&C" button was literally next to the "invite new players" button. I lost so many sky knives. So so many T_T
I'd really also like it if the plans were organizable or even searchable. Like, what if the notes you can write on the plans tab storylets worked in a similar fashion to how tags work in tumblr? I/the player could add any written categories, and organize them with a search feature- it'd be fantastic.
These are just some ideas, but the basic issue for me is that the plans tab seems a bit chaotic in its ordering of planned items. It doesn't appear to be alphabetical or chronological and I can see that falling apart into chaos as my plans list slowly grows into the 1000's of plans (I am a bit of schemer it must be said).
As it is right now, I am using the plans more as a color coding to make good options more readily and visually apparent. The little green ribbon is a sure sign to blindly click this right now its totally fine, whoosh zooom. I'm not getting that much use out of the tab itself. I just like the ability to toggle a color marker/flag on a story as YES, NO, (and maybe one day as LOCK/Don't Click). It's a very minesweeper marker system sort of mentality for me.
edited by NiteBrite on 4/1/2015
--
I AM currently accepting calling cards.
Stats loss counter: reset, irrigo equivalent: none
[00:34] <@ortab> NiteBrite's laugh is that of a condemned soul gazing into the abyss.
Merciless Modiste avatar by Paul Arendt (based on an original image by Joe England)
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/TheBriteModiste
|
|
|
+2
link
|
dragonridingsorceress
Posts: 622
4/1/2015
|
NiteBrite wrote:
Lucky for you Sara, I did test that and the ribbon color does persist. The plan stays completed even if you can't see it on your plan tab. It's like having more than 60 pending social actions. They still exist even if you can't see or access them in any meaningful way. The only way to clear a ribbon of a plan you completed more than 20 plans ago is to delete all other completed plans in your list until it's no longer in the overflow.
Not quite true. You can refresh them by clicking on the green completed bookmark/flag, and make them active. This seems to move them to the top of your Active list.
edited by dragonridingsorceress on 4/1/2015
--
DragonRidingSorceress is an Author of good standing. Mostly good standing. She's happy to accept any social action except Photographer and Loitering, but requests warnings before duping/poisoning/etc.
Seeker of Names is a... being with an obsession. They're willing to accept all invitations.
One who seeks to know all that is and may be. One who dances in the silence of the void. One whose fantasies make the reality come alive.
|
|
|
+2
link
|
Spacemarine9
Posts: 2234
3/30/2015
|
The Collection manufacture option actually looks perfectly fine! Although I was able to get a note to shed its earthly bounds and extend out into impossible space.
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]
It'd be nice to have something to let you move to a storylet from the plans menu, I agree, but there'd have to be something to stop you from bookmarking a lucrative opportunity card and spamming it forever by refreshing the plan.
As is, the Plan tab works pretty nicely as a way of tracking requirements to come back to them later, it'd just be nice to expand that functionality a little. It might be nice to have an option to lock a plan in the Active slot, for something you plan on doing a whole bunch.
Being able to link plans together might be neat as well; e.g. you plan on making Master's Blood, so you mark the airag option from the Sommelier, the Strangling Willow -> Broken Giant conversion, and the Strangling Willow payout from the Affair of the Box, so you have a note of every step of the process just in case you suddenly get blasted with an irrigo ray and forget what you're supposed to be doing (I suppose you could use the note function for that as well, but this is a bit neater).
Also; the UI is a little barebones if you don't have any active or completed plans; putting in a box to say you've got no active/completed plans would help to bulk it out a bit, and you could maybe put a little tutorial text in as well to explain the functionality.
edited by Spacemarine9 on 3/30/2015
--
my rats will blot out the sun
Ratgames
FL lore/mechanics questions and answers
#FallenLondon IRC (irc.synirc.net) Channel! Click to join via Mibbit.
#SunlessSea IRC channel! Like the above, but zee-ier.
|
|
|
+2
link
|
A B Nile
Posts: 414
3/31/2015
|
Another thought: if we do end up with some sort of "go to this storylet" function, then I think something that would work very well alongside that would be the ability to permanently pin a storylet (as opposed to pinning it, playing it and then recycling it from the "completed" section).
--
My profile: A B Nile
My alt: Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate
(seeking Acquaintances and accepting all social actions)
Item conversion table - finally complete with all rare successes!
Bloody, bold and resolute
|
|
|
+2
link
|
Det
Posts: 48
3/31/2015
|
My initial thoughts after some testing:
1. It would be nice to have some way to easily distinguish storylet and card bookmarks (through sorting, or even some small icon).
2. For card bookmarks it would be great to have a name of a card mentioned somewhere (obviously, since i managed to bookmark one of the options, i've seen the card already)
3. For storylet bookmarks - the name of Storylet and an Area (like Lodging, Spite, etc).
Otherwise this would be just an abstract reminder, requiring to add manual notes (i do this now) or consult the wiki, if you forget where it is hiding
--
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Det
|
|
|
+2
link
|
xKiv
Posts: 846
3/31/2015
|
I don't want to test this, but I would like to
1) second the idea to display player note on the bookmarked branch (because even a "don't play this" is a plan)
2) suggest the ability to "prioritize" bookmarked branches (and storylets with bookmarked branches?) to show above non-prioritized ones, to minimize scrolling (some locations/storylets are several screens high for me, and I need to scroll up for result text and the "continue" button, and then back down for the branch I want to repeat)
--
https://www.fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/xKiv - a witchful, percussive, dangermous and shadowry scholar of coexplodence, hopsidirean, and walker of fallen kitties.
|
|
|
+2
link
|
Ginneon Thursday
Posts: 265
3/31/2015
|
I like the idea of being able to plan to buy an item at the bazaar. Perhaps the bookmark could be on the pop-up once you click BUY, so they're not cluttering up the whole page on every item.
One other very specific thought: I'm planning to get married in St. Fiacre's (about halfway there) - and the bookmark for choosing that venue is dangerously close to the option to Elope - especially on a phone. (I'll be honest, even before Making Plans was introduced, this kept me up at night.)
It seems a shame that a misclick here could instantly undo months and months of planning. Perhaps for weddings there could be a confirmation page once you click a venue before instantly taking you to the wedding?
edited by Ginneon Thursday on 3/31/2015
--
Ginneon Thursday: Revelrous Professor of Benthic
Departments of Mycoenology, Lepidoptery
|
|
|
+2
link
|
odessa
Posts: 36
3/31/2015
|
Thanks so much for adding me into this! After poking about a bit, I’ve taken down some notes. Quite a few of them have already been mentioned here but I suppose that helps as well.
-It would be lovely if we could rearrange the order of plans to whatever suits our fancy (for example, grouping related or similar plans together, or arranging them in order of importance). If there was a way to link related plans, even better. To give an example: the Kindness of Ravens storylet has multiple outcomes, and relies both on opportunity cards and clicking in your item inventory. I understand that the hunt/not knowing the future outcomes is part of the fun, but because this path is not quite as linear as “go to location, continue story in same location” it’d be nice to group those steps together. Also because I keep forgetting I have enough Wary and Dazed Advisers and need to advance them to the next level.
-Can the “notes” box be a bit bigger, perhaps paragraph-sized? A single line makes it hard to write too much of substance since half of the sentence ends up getting lost. This will also be great for creating bullet points within our notes.
-It would be nice to lock plans so that they’re not “completed”, or perhaps categorizing them as “ongoing”. For example, in Prepare for An Expedition, I wrote a note on the Whispered Secrets option related to where I want to grind for Secrets when I’m running low, and it would be nice for that to just be hanging around as a reminder.
-Can you possibly distinguish Storylets/Opp Cards/Fate-Locked/Inventory-based Plans?
That's all I have for now. All in all, a lovely feature! I'll come back with more later, I just wanted to get down my initial thoughts.
--
Odessa, ever the socialite, would love to make your acquaintance.
|
|
|
+2
link
|
Kittenpox
Posts: 869
6/16/2015
|
marcmagus wrote:
A maybe less-obvious use that I've particularly enjoyed is if I have "Use your influence to invite Slowcake's Amanuensis for a visit" as a Plan, it's easier to check how much Making Waves I need for the next point of Notability. No need to calculate, no need to travel to my Lodgings, it does the math for me if I gain new equipment which improves BDR, only problem is I need to make sure I'm using the best BDR equipment I own. It also lets me quickly check my current level of Making Waves; I find it easier to find this in the Plans than to find MW on Myself.
Same. ^_^
It was one of the first things I added as a Plan, for that very reason.
--
Kittenpox
Current [Fabulous Diamond] count: Twenty-Five (of 50). Halfway there! ^_^
Metaphysical Caprice: 11.
-
Currently: Returned to the Neath, and regaining my footing in this place. :-)
NO PLANT BATTLES PLEASE.
|
|
|
+2
link
|
Aximillio
Posts: 1251
6/16/2015
|
Would it be possible to add notes to folders? Eg. make a folder for the Broad Unterzee, so it's easier to manage the lot?
--
Possibly returned after a long hiatus. Please do not send live rats or tournament requests.
|
|
|
+2
link
|
Kittenpox
Posts: 869
6/16/2015
|
I can't remember if I left a comment previously, but I just wanted to say thankyou for this addition to the game! Being able to mark which choices I prefer has been a godsend. Especially on Opportunity cards and action that I don't see very often, just being able to see at a glance "Oh yeah, I wanted to take this action rather than those other ones" has been super-handy.
Never again need I fear making a Zee-voyage, only to end up at a place I've already been simply because I forgot the names! :-D
(Thankyou, Failbetter Games.)
PS: Keen to find out what the green marker will be used for. Keep up the great work!
--
Kittenpox
Current [Fabulous Diamond] count: Twenty-Five (of 50). Halfway there! ^_^
Metaphysical Caprice: 11.
-
Currently: Returned to the Neath, and regaining my footing in this place. :-)
NO PLANT BATTLES PLEASE.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Lady Taimi Felix
Posts: 202
3/31/2015
|
I may be the voice of dissent here, but I'm not sure why cards really need bookmarks at all. If there's something you want to achieve before using the action on the card, you can just keep the card in your hand. There are a few goals that might take a bit longer (getting the supplies for the Lapidary can take a bit when you're a new player), but I don't think that really justifies having a bookmark option on every card. Plus, I may be misunderstanding the way the game mechanics work behind the scenes but it seems like not having the cards bookmarkable would remove the issue of making items linkable from the plans page when the card isn't in hand.
--
Lady Taimi Felix: Devoted Wife. Invisible Eminence. Patron of the Shadowy Arts. Monster Hunter. Lady of Adventure. Exceptionally Lethal. Loves a Good Chat over Coffee.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Lady Taimi Felix
Posts: 202
4/1/2015
|
Owen Wulf wrote:
This feature is actually really useful in the ambitions when you go out to Zee. Do you want to remember the laundry list of items needed by the Sisterhood at their Fortress Nunnery? Click Plan. Want to remember what Dr. Vaughan wanted from you at her encampment without slogging through the wiki? Click Plan. Want to quickly check to see if you have everything you needed for the mentioned storylets? Go to the Plan Tab. ----
To be clear, I'm not questioning the use of the Plans feature at all, I'm specifically taking about the use of bookmarks on cards vs storylets. All the examples you gave are storylets.
Odessa makes a point about cards being discarded which I hadn't considered, but it's been a really long time since I tumbled into a menace by accident.
--
Lady Taimi Felix: Devoted Wife. Invisible Eminence. Patron of the Shadowy Arts. Monster Hunter. Lady of Adventure. Exceptionally Lethal. Loves a Good Chat over Coffee.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Estelle Knoht
Posts: 1751
4/1/2015
|
1.I wonder if there should be a in-game tutorial delivered by the neighbors or somebody else when it's implemented for everyone.
2.Plans for Fate-locked branch should be marked with their Fate costs.
3.Following the above, showing the total Fate required for your plans could be useful. "You will need a total of 123 Fate for some of your plans!" or something like that. Someone could probably put that in a better words.
4.What happens if a storylet is changed / branches retired when I have plans for it? Seasonal content do change quite a bit, and so are the lodging purchase and so on. There should be a way to notify players that this branch is *changed*.
edited by Estelle Knoht on 4/1/2015
--
Estelle Knoht, a juvenile, unreliable and respectable lady.
I currently do not accept any catbox, cider, suppers, calling cards or proteges.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Sara Hysaro
Moderator
Posts: 4514
4/1/2015
|
Lady Taimi Felix wrote:
Owen Wulf wrote:
This feature is actually really useful in the ambitions when you go out to Zee. Do you want to remember the laundry list of items needed by the Sisterhood at their Fortress Nunnery? Click Plan. Want to remember what Dr. Vaughan wanted from you at her encampment without slogging through the wiki? Click Plan. Want to quickly check to see if you have everything you needed for the mentioned storylets? Go to the Plan Tab. ----
To be clear, I'm not questioning the use of the Plans feature at all, I'm specifically taking about the use of bookmarks on cards vs storylets. All the examples you gave are storylets.
Odessa makes a point about cards being discarded which I hadn't considered, but it's been a really long time since I tumbled into a menace by accident.
It could be useful for conflict cards. You can alternate between the two factions for a net increase in both, and Plans would allow you to mark the option you wish to pick next time the card turns up. It can also serve as a reminder to pick a different option on a card that you usually use for a different purpose, like getting Scheme instead of scraps. Memory can usually be relied on for this sort of thing, but I'm sure we've all had moments where we go, "Aw, shoot, I wanted to pick that other option" every now and then.
--
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Sara%20Hysaro
Please do not send SMEN, cat boxes, or Affluent Reporter requests. All other social actions are welcome.
Are you a Scarlet Saint? Send a message my way to be added to the list.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
dov
Posts: 2580
3/31/2015
|
Initial thoughts:
Not very useful for my character at the moment. Being at the content boundary there's little I need to "Plan" for.
If there's a useful opportunity card, I play it, so adding it to the "plan" is not really helpful.
The one effect which is useful is that, regardless of a "Plan", this helps mark specific branches in carousels. Specifically, when I have nothing else I'm after I tend to spend my actions on the Affairs of the Box carousel. Adding the specific carousel actions to the "Plan" is not really helping (since there is no real plan), but it does allow me to mark the "correct" actions.
Basically, for each stage of the AotB carousel, I've added the correct option to the Plan and immediately played it. This marked the action as "Completed" in the Plan but that's not the goal - because now, as long as I don't delete the action from the completed actions in the Plan, I have the "correct" AofB action marked with a little green flag. This should reduce the number of mistakes I make as I go through the carousel for the millionth time (becoming a Turncoat because of a miss-click is annoying).
So, I haven't yet found a good use for a Plan, but I am using the new ability to mark specific actions in repeated multi-choice storylets.
Oh, and one usability comment: the pop-up confirmation dialog box when deleting an item from the Plan is annoying and I believe should be removed (I think it's fine when adding the item).
--
 Want a sip of Hesperidean Cider? Send me a request in-game. Here's an_ocelot's guide how.
(Most social actions are welcome. Please no requests to Loiter Suspiciously and no investigations of the Affluent Photographer)
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Estelle Knoht
Posts: 1751
3/30/2015
|
Spacemarine9 wrote:
It'd be nice to have something to let you move to a storylet from the plans menu, I agree, but there'd have to be something to stop you from bookmarking a lucrative opportunity card and spamming it forever by refreshing the plan.
Being able to link plans together might be neat as well; e.g. you plan on making Master's Blood, so you mark the airag option from the Sommelier, the Strangling Willow -> Broken Giant conversion, and the Strangling Willow payout from the Affair of the Box, so you have a note of every step of the process just in case you suddenly get blasted with an irrigo ray and forget what you're supposed to be doing (I suppose you could use the note function for that as well, but this is a bit neater).
Something like this, perhaps? Tracking the parent storylet, its location and some such, and block jumping if it is a card / across the zee.
If linking is too much to implement, simply letting us grouping plans together and arranging orders is also an alternative.
--
Estelle Knoht, a juvenile, unreliable and respectable lady.
I currently do not accept any catbox, cider, suppers, calling cards or proteges.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Loiathal
Posts: 38
3/30/2015
|
A very simple upgrade: let us create a note to go along with the Plan at the moment we create it, rather than having to enter the Plans tab, find the new plan, and add a note.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Marianne Anders
Posts: 127
3/30/2015
|
I really like that it keeps the list of items you need for the action on the saved plan. also I like the notes section, which it would seem you could use for whatever. I would appreciate a "go to" button, which could take you directly to the storylet; however, I'm not sure how it would interact with cards, or areas like the Shuttered Palace, or the zee, or the Labyrinth of Tigers. It would also be nice to see where exactly the storylet is, in case I forget to record that and then have to run around London trying to figure out where something is.
just as a recording of things that need to be gotten to, this is pretty convenient! i would definitely use this so that i don't forget my goals. which, tbh, i'm pretty sure that i have. :P darn irrigo.
--
Not all who wander are lost. Sometimes, they are very lost.
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Marianne~Anders
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Sara Hysaro
Moderator
Posts: 4514
3/30/2015
|
I appreciate the marker turning green for Completed branches. This will help people with more than one account avoid the occasional misclick in the Affair of the Box.
--
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Sara%20Hysaro
Please do not send SMEN, cat boxes, or Affluent Reporter requests. All other social actions are welcome.
Are you a Scarlet Saint? Send a message my way to be added to the list.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Yoten
Posts: 9
3/31/2015
|
After some more Planning I have some extra minor suggestions...
- If you Plan a one-time-only action, such as on a gold storylet, after you complete it you can renew the Plan despite technically never being allowed to reach that branch again. Maybe those ones shouldn't be renewable.
- When executing a Planned branch, the UI says "You succeeded at a plan! <note text>". I like the addition of the note text, but I actually FAILED the branch's challenge so the "you succeeded" part was a bit strange. Maybe reword it to something more neutral like "executed" or "attempted"?
edited by Yoten on 3/31/2015
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Hannah Flynn
Administrator
Posts: 491
3/31/2015
|
Thanks for your thoughts so far! We now have enough testers for this function. Anyone who already commented will get access shortly if they don't have it already.
If you can't see Plans, try logging out and back in.
We'll have a think about everything that's come up so far and get back to you!
--
Wields the news canon, aboard the hype train.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Pogs
Posts: 8
3/30/2015
|
Thanks for adding me. Looks useful. Couple of thoughts. Is it possible to make a button on the plan to click on that will take you you to the storylet option? e.g. Take Me There! or Scheme On!
And can you make able to mark the very beginning of the story in an area so i remember to visit that area to start it when i have the requirements! I find myself having to cycle through zones otherwise to see what i have forget to start or need to work towards. Would be very helpful!
edited by Pogs on 3/30/2015
edited by Pogs on 3/30/2015
--
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Pogs
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Ewan C.
Posts: 675
3/30/2015
|
I'm willing - Ewan C./Ewan C - but suspect that players like me who are at the content boundary may not find this as useful, perhaps?
|
|
|
+1
link
|
NiteBrite
Posts: 1019
4/1/2015
|
Ah excellent. That would explain why some of my plans moved out of order. I was baffled but now it makes a lot more sense. Thanks DragonRidingSorceress.
--
I AM currently accepting calling cards.
Stats loss counter: reset, irrigo equivalent: none
[00:34] <@ortab> NiteBrite's laugh is that of a condemned soul gazing into the abyss.
Merciless Modiste avatar by Paul Arendt (based on an original image by Joe England)
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/TheBriteModiste
|
|
|
+1
link
|
odessa
Posts: 36
4/1/2015
|
NiteBrite wrote:
I like the look of the plans ribbons, and you can do quite a bit with color coding so that's cool. It's a shame that you can't cancel a plan/toggle it on and off by clicking the ribbon again. I've misclicked a few ribbons already, and its a bit intrusive to have to leave the story and cancel such minor errors in another tab.
The pop ups have a tendency to get me a 404 message if I click into something while the pop up is still loading. The timing of it is a bit tricky, but it happens.
I was really hoping there would be an option to plan not to do something. That is, to toggle on an optional player set lock, minesweeper style, to prevent misclicks. Like, there are a number of storylet options I don't want to ever click (unless a good reason comes along in the future). For example, if I could use these plan ribbons to set a lock on "Sell your plant" so that I physically couldn't misclick it ever, that would do wonders for my peace of mind.
There's a lot of stories out there that are just like minesweeper mines. There are probably a lot more stories out there that I would like to be reminded/protected from ever misclicking than stories I'd want to look up the requirements for in a plan. I am having terror flashbacks now to the early days of knife and candle and how it was invite only and the "retire from K&C" button was literally next to the "invite new players" button. I lost so many sky knives. So so many T_T
I'd really also like it if the plans were organizable or even searchable. Like, what if the notes you can write on the plans tab storylets worked in a similar fashion to how tags work in tumblr? I/the player could add any written categories, and organize them with a search feature- it'd be fantastic.
These are just some ideas, but the basic issue for me is that the plans tab seems a bit chaotic in its ordering of planned items. It doesn't appear to be alphabetical or chronological and I can see that falling apart into chaos as my plans list slowly grows into the 1000's of plans (I am a bit of schemer it must be said).
As it is right now, I am using the plans more as a color coding to make good options more readily and visually apparent. The little green ribbon is a sure sign to blindly click this right now its totally fine, whoosh zooom. I'm not getting that much use out of the tab itself. I just like the ability to toggle a color marker/flag on a story as YES, NO, (and maybe one day as LOCK/Don't Click). It's a very minesweeper marker system sort of mentality for me.
edited by NiteBrite on 4/1/2015
I definitely second this. I almost accidentally sold the Gold Painting a number of times, and even ended up losing my Taste of the Garden on an opp card click, and would love for something like what NiteBrite says above.
edited by odessa on 4/1/2015
--
Odessa, ever the socialite, would love to make your acquaintance.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
NiteBrite
Posts: 1019
4/1/2015
|
Lucky for you Sara, I did test that and the ribbon color does persist. The plan stays completed even if you can't see it on your plan tab. It's like having more than 60 pending social actions. They still exist even if you can't see or access them in any meaningful way. The only way to clear a ribbon of a plan you completed more than 20 plans ago is to delete all other completed plans in your list until it's no longer in the overflow.
Basically if you have more than 20 things you do regularly and want to have bookmarked, you are going to have to know that you need to delete all your other plans (blah) and then invest the time to actually do that to find it (double blah). Imagine doing hundreds of plans, but then wanting to reset one you did ages ago. You couldn't, not without spending time deleting pretty much everything else you've done after it until it shows up on the tab again.
This is why I suggest being able to toggle a plan off from the actual ribbon would be useful. The ribbon menus don't have the same 20 display limitation.
As it is now, plans in a the overflow are plans forever. I hope all the random things you added to test this are things you want to track with ribbon color forever, and not just a 'flavor' of the week 
edited by NiteBrite on 4/1/2015
edited by NiteBrite on 4/1/2015
--
I AM currently accepting calling cards.
Stats loss counter: reset, irrigo equivalent: none
[00:34] <@ortab> NiteBrite's laugh is that of a condemned soul gazing into the abyss.
Merciless Modiste avatar by Paul Arendt (based on an original image by Joe England)
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/TheBriteModiste
|
|
|
+1
link
|
dragonridingsorceress
Posts: 622
4/2/2015
|
Spectacular work as always, Hannah and the rest of the FB team.
--
DragonRidingSorceress is an Author of good standing. Mostly good standing. She's happy to accept any social action except Photographer and Loitering, but requests warnings before duping/poisoning/etc.
Seeker of Names is a... being with an obsession. They're willing to accept all invitations.
One who seeks to know all that is and may be. One who dances in the silence of the void. One whose fantasies make the reality come alive.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Sara Hysaro
Moderator
Posts: 4514
4/16/2015
|
Yeah, I would definitely appreciate it if the green marker would come back for completed plans. I like the grey for stuff I haven't planned, but the green was a nice marker.
--
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Sara%20Hysaro
Please do not send SMEN, cat boxes, or Affluent Reporter requests. All other social actions are welcome.
Are you a Scarlet Saint? Send a message my way to be added to the list.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
xKiv
Posts: 846
4/17/2015
|
Lady Taimi Felix wrote:
If you've something written in the note space, clicking that allows you to edit it.
I didn't realize that the editbox goes away (and is replaced by something wieldlier) after putting in something and hitting update!
Maybe "edit this plan" should not be visible (or should be disabled) until that plan has had a note entered?
Hannah Flynn wrote:
This is an intentional change and part of something wider. Sorry chaps. You will hopefully forgive us when you see what else is coming!
Mmm. That's at least 30% of what I planned to use plans for (at least another 30% being "track a number of qualities/items without having to wait for Myself tab to load and then hunting for the quality/item in an interface not designed for searching for a particular thing by name or name fragment"). I now have a case of antici
(if this is good, then perhaps the only thing left for me to really want is being able to see current change points on all pyramidal qualities without having to spend an action on a specific storylet and hoping that the change won't roll over stat level)
pation.
edited by xKiv on 4/17/2015
--
https://www.fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/xKiv - a witchful, percussive, dangermous and shadowry scholar of coexplodence, hopsidirean, and walker of fallen kitties.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
genesis
Posts: 924
6/16/2015
|
Hannah Flynn wrote:
This is an intentional change and part of something wider. Sorry chaps. You will hopefully forgive us when you see what else is coming!
This is super intriguing and I am very keen to finding out! Is there even an approximate ETA for the reveal?
In any case, seeing that the comment above suggests that there is more to the Plans than meets the eye, I have a suggestion/question/request.
Do plans have some sort of Quality associated with them that can be used in the main story interface (or, if not, is it possible to make that the case with not too much effort?)? So is it possible to craft a story which unlocks if a particular story is added to plans?
I've often thought that early in the game you come to road block where you need an item but you don't know where to get it. Or maybe it's available at the bazaar but there is no *in character* reason for me to assume that it's a reasonable item to buy or that item can help me with the story. Yes, I know that *out of character* I can see what item is required but sometimes that's quite arbitrary.
So what I was thinking is that certain plot significant roadblocks (e.g. Ambitions, Bronze/Gold storylets etc) could have helper stories that are unlocked if you add the relevant branch to Plans. And the helper story could provide some in-story justification of why you are looking for particular items and what actions you might take to find them.
--
http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/mikey_thinkin
Keeping track of incomplete content and loose ends in Fallen London
|
|
|
+1
link
|
MartzelDePamplona
Posts: 49
4/3/2015
|
I do like the completed section of the plans page, I just wish there was a way I could mark a plan as "ongoing" simply for convenience, so that I didn't have to check the completed tab to make sure I'm not knocking off the parts related to my goal of gallons of master's blood.
--
Martzel De Pamplona an inescapable, sagacious and magnificent gentleman. All social actions welcome.
|
|
|
+1
link
|