We call 'em "action indicators". They were primarily designed to make it easy to tell which butterflies you have already massaged or which piggies still have nibbles left in 'em for you today, etc. We will probably expand their use.
I like the indicators, but here's my 2c for making them something one could toggle on and off. Maybe default to on, but definitely let me turn 'em off! Perhaps even at the level of "turn on butterfly indicators, turn off piggie indicators".
Although I prefer keyboard play those "action indicators" will make things much easier for people who mainly use a mouse as I know there are some who have difficulties using a keyboard. I could see them being a bit much on a crowded street like Marylpole Mount, but don't mind them on others. However I could see the on/off being nice if not too difficult. Thanks devs!!!!
I don't care for the indicators, it makes it look like a childs game imho, but I can see the help/use they could be. But yes please give us the option to toggle them on/off ...Please!! Pretty please with a cherry :)
I am another one who does not care for the indicators. Part of the fun of the challenge of the game (I think that made sense) was to FIND the pigs who needed to be nibbled or the butterflies you had already massaged. Poo Poo to "simplifying the game".
I love the indicators it helps when I need to harvest alot of animals in the same areas. but I can see how it might cluster if people arnt into cooking/harvesting and are more of a miner type / explorer but it certain helps me alot and saves alot of time saves alot of pain in the butt jumping about to check butterflys
although I dont see why pigs have *pet* there first instead of nibble, if you have higher skills and dont need to pet you should just have nibble there like milk on the butterflys
The problem I have with the indicators is that when I'm mining there are 5 pigs and 3 chickens walking in front of my chunk of rock with their clickable bubbles. Makes it awkward.
Please, at least make it optional to see the new indicators in your own garden. I cannot plant or harvest for "signs" - and it is not as if I have a lot of animals.
sorry I also don't like them. I like to actually pet the tree/ pig etc. I know you still CAN but I still don't like them. It takes they eye away from the wonderful art work that has made glitch a beautiful place to play. People will forget to enjoy the view as it is to easy to just click an action. The pig may as well look like ham if your just looking for a quick smash and grab :)
I like that there is an indicator for whether a pig can be nibbled or a butterfly milked, but having played with this for a bit, I think that the current setup makes everything a little too easy. You can milk/nibble/pet things that aren't especially close to you. Part of the challenge of butterfly milk is that you should have to chase down the butterfly.
Also, when you click on a pig, the available options are not always in the same order. Pet seems to always be on the bottom, but the second one is sometimes Nibble and sometimes Rename, which is strange.
indicators: mixed feelings. they are cute, but it would be nice to turn them off. the fact that every pig that i am able to pet seems to be saying "i have a broken heart and only you can help me" makes me feel bad! and even though i actually really love petting piggies, despite the fact that i don't actually need to do so to get a nibble in, i am starting to resent them for giving me such a guilt trip. :) i would prefer the meat indicator to show up first, followed by the ability to turn them off altogether. (maybe a higher level animal skill could give you the ability to "talk with the animals" all dr. doolittle style, and then you could tell them all to shut up already to toggle off the notifications.)
the focus off thing absolutely drives me crazy, it pops up waaaay too frequently. based on chat chatter, this also seemed to be causing way more confusion than i ever noticed before from people who couldn't figure out how to move. i think it should be limited to an early gameplay period of time, and people will get the clue how to move back and forth between chat and the game. or maybe this feature could be incorporated into the new tutorial, along with a quick lesson about how to chat.
i like the new sound effects for the super harvest rainbows. it's just as well that the frequency with which they appear has been reduced, because i would have totally gotten sick of them, and they seem to be showing up at a good rate now.
It makes it a lot easier to milk & massage a butterfly with the indicators. At other times, it does seem too busy. I agree with the idea of having an on/off switch.
ohhh... this is becoming a clickfest for me!!! Though it would indeed be nicer if there was an selective on/off switch for the indicators. I feel that there may be times where I just want to check which piggies need petting, or just want to see if my collectors/milkers were ready to be harvested.
Yes, the focus orb icon that is new is not necessary either. Just include a blurb in the tutorial saying "We encourage you to chat with your friends in the sidebar or help each other out if you can. Please note though, that when you switch over to chat you must actually switch back to game and click on something when you are done chatting." Simple one time thing. Players will get used to the game mechanics w/o having a blaring sign to worry about every time they chat.
I also like the new indicators for the butterflies only.
I really don't like the focus indicator - the thing that it indicates was something that has confused me in the past but having this there doesn't really help with that...so I'd probably rather not have to look at this big focus message coming up all the time!
I feel like the indicators should only highlight on a hover over basis. I don't need to know unless I hover (like the trees were before the upgrades).
I really do like the focus reminder but I have found that I also lose action focus after the animal actions as well now. Did not notice it before this test.
I think I like Mistress*of*Fishies's idea of having them available on mouseover. They are handy, and it's convenient to have a tree's status available without needing to click... but it's also a bit cluttery. Mouseover only would make it still look pretty when I just want to admire the loverly-ness of Glitch! :)
I'll give another vote to the toggle. I do appreciate it on the butterflys, but it simplifies too much on the pigs. The broken heart thing is very helpful to me on pigs, I can just run over & pet them. But on the trees! It just keeps coming back on the trees in my yard, no matter how much I water & pet. It looks like they're in trouble, trees seemed much healthier before this change. I don't want to have to tend them so often.
I like the mouseover idea. I like the indicators because then I can keep track of what I've done, so I wouldn't want to toggle them off (though I think this is a good option to put in as well as the mouseover), but a mouseover would work perfectly for me since I actually don't use the indicators to do the task, I just use them to know when I can go to that piggy or tree to do something with them.
Second day of the Action Indicators and they're driving me nuts! I try to harvest stuff in my garden and hoe and water and those dang things keep getting in the way. I don't want to have to get rid of my butterflies, piggies and chickens! :(
It just makes my garden look so busy and it really gets on my nerves. Please turn them off!
I liked it better without the indicators. Maybe that could be something that is on for the first few levels only. Also, I was able to use my w key in place of enter before to bring up the action menus. It doesn't work this test, and I miss it A LOT! :)
i like the indicators, quite a bit they are really cute and i think they will especially make it easier to play at the start - and i do like how you can tell which butterfly you have already milked!
an on / off button would be nice though or at least turn it off inside your own house?
I am finding it hard again to click on my garden because there are so many other things in the way (now i have to avoid the pigs and butterflies, and also their little hearts and milks and wheat signs).
Another vote here for removing them - or at least being able to choose if they are displayed or not. Aside from the cluttered screen - I prefer a challenge. Either figuring things out by yourself - or being forced (in a good way) to interact with other glitches was part of the initial charm for me (and still is...)
Tally count so far:
7 people just said they like them in their post above
5 people said they don't like them at all
17 people vote for some kind of toggle/hover over mechanism for turning them off
Personally I don't like the indicators. The screen feels busier — I'm already distracted enough, but this just pushes me another layer away from the environment. It makes it feel a bit more kidlike, and a bit more virtual-pet.
However, I realise they're very useful for a lot of players. So what if you could toggle it in a way *that was part of the game*?
For example, if I want to see action indicators on animals, I get myself a pair of FARMING GOGGLES. If I want to see action indicators on plants, I get myself a pair of GREEN FINGERED GLOVES. And so on.
Early on, I liked the feeling that Glitch was an adventure game. More of that please!
Thanks for the feedback everybody! We're working on some refinements for the indicators. Probably won't be ready until the next test, but they're coming!
I'm late to the party, but I thought I'd be good and give these action indicators a chance for a while before having an opinion. But so far after playing, I have a headache and part of it is because these icons, and so many of them moving around, are cluttering up the lovely landscape and often getting in the way of interactions. Also I don't like how they look, they are more "clinical" looking than the rest of Glitch's graphic language. So many of the symbols are broken in half and it makes the animals and trees appear super needy all the time (OK many of them are needy!). So, my vote is no, go away. Don't add UI facilitators that take away from the lovely harmony of Glitch.
The indicators could be confusing. For example, my piglet and chick keep telling me they want food. If I didn't know any better, I'd assume they were going to die if I didn't feed them.
Also, I don't like the idea that they're just going to sit there asking for food forever, simply because I choose not to allow them to grow up.