When playtest begins, any colorblind people should feel free to contact me personally if having any issues concerning shapes and colors.
Actually, one thing I like from a game I just wrapped recently, FAR CRY 3, is when different classes of foes have different shapes appear over their heads once you mark them by getting close enough to see them. Seems like a decent way to approach for this game as well.
Class icons could be used, yes, as part of somebody's nametag. Also, the great thing about W40K compared to any other shooter out there, is that each factions have distinct character and vehicule shapes. And often, even the classes look different. So at a glance, colorblind or not, your are able to read the action pretty well. And because of these difference I feel I won't have any issues creating super small map icons that are distinct per factions (i.e. A jetbike compared to a bike or Ork Warbike).
Nicolas, thanks so much for being so involved in this issue. Another thing I liked from SWBF2 (at least I think that the game), especially in space battles, was the notification noise when locks were acquired. I could see this be race and class specific noises that would as to the game's cool factor.
i'm red/green color blind and i always have trouble seeing the Xhairs in FPS games, being this is 3rd person (and a little of First in sniper rifles i'd imagine) i'm interested in seeing how this is done. P.S. Nicholas, if the UI is hard for red/green colorblind people to see... i will unleash the inquisition on you
Hahaha - it shouldn't be an issue If you see things are hard to distinguish on your side in closed beta, you can contact me directly so I can tune them! It's that easy
Better yet, NO indicators above enemy heads, no enemy dots shown on your minimap. Going this route squashes several problems at once. Difficulties color blind players experience, along with the fact that most gamers have become totally too reliant on being spoon fed "fact action and easy kills" via red dots flooding their minimaps, red name tags above enemy heads. Players should have to positively ID their enemy(Ork vs Eldar, CSM vs SM), listen for enemy movement around them, communicate with their team mates to find and fix enemy targets, rather than relying on bogus red, flashing "bells and whistles" flooding their UI, that show the exact locations of every single enemy within 500 meters. Get rid off all the ridiculous red dots, red icons, red 3d images through walls showing enemy locations, so players have to physically see other enemy players on their screen. By going this route you have a level playing field for color blind and non color blind players, you have a much more immersive gaming experience, and players can experience a true "fog of war".
