Blank values in the first row of selection lists

[JubjubS22]

Concise description:

• Blank values in the first row of selection lists

Specifics:

• Code a blank value in the first row of all selection lists so there is no default value.

This will improve the following aspects of the site:

• this will help prevent players, especially novice players, from accidentally attacking or fortifying to or from the wrong territory by requiring them to select a value in the list.
• The blank value can have a text label that provides a message such as "Please select" or something to instruct the player to select from the list since some players may think a blank means an empty list.
• May speed up the selection process allowing for faster actions which can be crucial in freestyle games if turns are taken simultaneously with other players.

[a.sub]

this would protect me from doing some really stupid stuff in games

[JubjubS22]

lol, is that signature your proudest offensive moment? or is it your best defensive stand?

[icehack]

this would protect me from doing some really stupid stuff in games

+1

[a.sub]

lol, is that signature your proudest offensive moment? or is it your best defensive stand?

my best offensive moment
moral of the story: soldiers from NM are pussies

[JubjubS22]

sweet! I'll remember that next time I go to war with New Mexico

[JCKing]

Lol guys stay on topic here. Ur going off on tangents, this thread is about making a blank attack spot so people won't accidentally attack somewhere they didn't mean to.

[ubersky]

I think it's a decent idea. Not that hard to code (examples are already in the Game Finder screen).

I'd like to pimp my "No Advance/Advance All" buttons idea along with it, but either way it's a decent UI improvement suggestion.

[JubjubS22]

Absolutely! I've been wanting to post about the "No Advance/Advance All" buttons but was too lazy to scour the forums to see who had already suggested it. These features could even be coded as radio buttons in the form that submits your attack. Nothing like a 1 click feature.

The default would be to allow the user to select the number of units to advance after a successful attack, but using the radio buttons for "All / None" could be optional.

With a blank space in the first row of the selection lists and the "No Advance/Advance All" (NA/AA) as suggested by ubersky I think the attack form would be so much more efficient. It can lead to faster game play, and less accidental actions.

Maybe I'll do an HTML mockup and take a screen cap of it so people can see what it potentially could look like.

[sully800]

I wouldn't really like a blank value in the first row.

When the default if the value that I want, I don't have to change anything which saves time. Adding a blank would mean you always need to change all of the drop downs which seems unnecessary to me. Especially in cases where you only have one option, I would really be annoyed by having to change it from a blank (though I suppose that situation could be logically avoided).

[a.sub]

I wouldn't really like a blank value in the first row.

When the default if the value that I want, I don't have to change anything which saves time. Adding a blank would mean you always need to change all of the drop downs which seems unnecessary to me. Especially in cases where you only have one option, I would really be annoyed by having to change it from a blank (though I suppose that situation could be logically avoided).

i cant say what the OP is saying, but what i interpreted it as was the very first attack/fortificaton/reinforcement was blank, so if you are attacking a chain of ppl CC will still make the attacker the last one used as it does now

[JubjubS22]

Right the blank would not override the list, it would just be there in cases where there is no default value. The list is in alphabetical order, so if there is no default value, it will give you the territory that is alphabetically first in the list, which is usually not the one you need to select. In those cases, the blank gives you a clean list to start from.

If there is a territory selected in memory, it should still be selected and highlighted in the list. For example, you attack, then advance troops to the newly acquired territory. That territory is held in memory and is provided as the selected and highlighted option in the list. I am not sure what logic they are using right now, but it does seem to be pretty comprehensive. This would not change that logic, it would just start you off with a blank when nothing is held in memory.

For example, the logic only puts territories in the list that are able to take action. Lets say that you are attacking, and you are clicking away, until your territory is down to 1 troop, but you accidentally click attack again without realizing your territory dropped down to 1. The list has already automatically switched to select the first option in the attack from list and the first option in the target list and now you have accidentally attacked because you clicked without paying close enough attention.

Does it happen all the time? no. Does it ever happen? yes. I know that one answer is "pay closer attention" but sometimes you are trying to get your actions in as fast as you can. I know this is not a mission critical enhancement, I just think it could make things a little cleaner. I'll hop off the soap box now, sorry for the long post.