Board Game Arena

This interface Has taken back to the days of Pong. Maybe all the options are great for the simple mode but in the Arena this current version is unplayable.

JohnnyCyclops wrote: ↑11 April 2024, 10:28 Re using ‘setup’ I simply didn’t have the time with the game clock already running down to fiddle around with screen size, and the other options. I nearly ran out of time as it was having to scroll back up the screen each turn to find and click the ‘confirm’ button. As someone else suggested, having the ‘confirm’ button appear on the board might be better. Can we make the undo optional and thus have an auto-confirm? If I make an error in this game I can always fix it in the next!

As I have described in my previous post, the confirm button is already now in the middle of the board! Just click on the dice after you made your moves and the moves are confirmed...

You can post making the undo functionality optional as a feature request. I have no idea if it has a chance to be implemented...

Maybe one game out of ten I make a mistake that I wish I could take back. The Confirm thing is so slow it's not worth it.
And I know the doubling die is for gambling. Apparently with this you're gambling for points here? Some kind of explanation would be helpful.

euklid314 wrote: ↑11 April 2024, 13:26
As I have described in my previous post, the confirm button is already now in the middle of the board! Just click on the dice after you made your moves and the moves are confirmed...

From my one game yesterday the Undo / Confirm buttons displayed above the board. I’m cautious to try playing again on my phone but may try again on PC and will check again then.

I agree, this latest update is terrible. It is a downgrade, not an upgrade. The new interface makes it very hard to see what is going on, and it is very difficult to play now. please revert back to the old interface.

euklid314 wrote: ↑10 April 2024, 20:20

But the interface has changed and every change is tedious at first. I want to stress the two most important positive features:

*) Every time you wanted to move a checker you needed two clicks in the old version. Namely, you clicked on the checker first and then on the place where it should go. In the new version you only need to click a single time per checker move. The first checker you click on moves the number on the left die (the larger number), the second checker moves the number of the right die (the lower number). If you want to play the lower number (left die) first, you just click on the dice and they change their order. This approximately halves the number of clicks for checker movement.

This is a huge improvement but it takes some time to get used to it. I do not wonder that players find this counterintuitive at first - but it is the standard way to play on online sites.

I could not disagree more. The earlier interface was very intuitive, this new one is not. Now I have to click a die first, then the checker I want to move? That is just confusing. I hate this new mode, it makes the game much harder to play.

And then there's the graphics, are we playing in 1990 now? Before you could easily click a checker and see your possible moves. The new interface makes it very hard to see the dice, and harder to see the moves.

justanotherjo wrote: ↑11 April 2024, 15:28

euklid314 wrote: ↑10 April 2024, 20:20

But the interface has changed and every change is tedious at first. I want to stress the two most important positive features:

*) Every time you wanted to move a checker you needed two clicks in the old version. Namely, you clicked on the checker first and then on the place where it should go. In the new version you only need to click a single time per checker move. The first checker you click on moves the number on the left die (the larger number), the second checker moves the number of the right die (the lower number). If you want to play the lower number (left die) first, you just click on the dice and they change their order. This approximately halves the number of clicks for checker movement.

This is a huge improvement but it takes some time to get used to it. I do not wonder that players find this counterintuitive at first - but it is the standard way to play on online sites.

I could not disagree more. The earlier interface was very intuitive, this new one is not. Now I have to click a die first, then the checker I want to move? That is just confusing. I hate this new mode, it makes the game much harder to play.

And then there's the graphics, are we playing in 1990 now? Before you could easily click a checker and see your possible moves. The new interface makes it very hard to see the dice, and harder to see the moves.

I think you just need to adjust your settings.

I never have to click on a die to move (I've turned off 1 click move, and if you play with move hints on [in game settings, not personal setup], you can see your possible moves just like before).

My dice are very easy to see. They are 4 color schemes available in personal setup, maybe try the other 3 (classic theme is very easy to see on both my phone and desktop interface)?

The new version is slow and painful. Especially the "confirm" thing is a pain. And the graphics look fuzzy, while the old ones were very crisp. Why?

Revising previous post. Have now played again without the doubling and going to 1 point - that mostly restores the previous functionality (just with lots more clicking).

More constructive feedback:

Having both moves in one server side call is good - that makes sense and always irritated me before.

However, the new version is so slow and the constant confirmation of turns is a pain. It would be good to just auto-confirm on placing the last counter, or at least have an option to enable that. I'd also put a countdown on the confirm of say 2-3 seconds. See Azul for a good example of disabling confirms and auto-confirming after x seconds - that way like minded players can choose how they want to play. Personally, I'd rather risk making the odd mistake than having to click confirm every single time (especially annoying when bearing off).

I was playing earlier and concede wasn't working - said you had to be at 50% progression - even though there were only a few counters left, you should always be able to concede in backgammon. The forfeit thing isn't a bad idea but if you are forfeiting offering maximum points the other player shouldn't get a choice - if there is no way you can win, it's just frustrating to have to keep playing.

The auto-move forced turns thing is buggy - it moved the counters but wouldn't send the turn back to the server. After a few refreshes it still didn't work so I turned it off and did the moves manually - that worked.

The doubling and playing to a number of points could be good but having to roll the dice yourself slows things down. Again, perhaps an auto-countdown - you've got a couple of seconds to choose to double 3, 2, 1... it rolls automatically. Or perhaps a button that says double whilst the other person is playing that goes away as soon as your turn starts and the dice roll. Anything to speed up game play and to stop it being so clunky.

gdman wrote: ↑11 April 2024, 22:15 Revising previous post. Have now played again without the doubling and going to 1 point - that mostly restores the previous functionality (just with lots more clicking).

More constructive feedback:

The doubling and playing to a number of points could be good but having to roll the dice yourself slows things down. Again, perhaps an auto-countdown - you've got a couple of seconds to choose to double 3, 2, 1... it rolls automatically. Or perhaps a button that says double whilst the other person is playing that goes away as soon as your turn starts and the dice roll. Anything to speed up game play and to stop it being so clunky.

First off, thanks for posting more. I was curious what your issued were more specifically.

Don't have much time to comment on many things, but I did want to point something out about the doubling cube.

You can "lock" it (as shown if you click the "help" button. Locking it means you don't plan to double so then it auto rolls. And you lock it (and unlock it) just by clicking on it (can do this on your opponent's turn as well).