Palapeli Review

[Arturo Silva]

Hello all,

After a successful(?) first run with the Granatier art I'm now able to
proceed with reviewing other pending projects, in this case Palapeli.
Many apologies go out to Stefan for taking so long to get to this
(approximately 1 week). ^^;

I definitely apologize because the jigsaw game itself is fantastic,
and it's amazing the level of polish that you've been able to cram
into it in only 2 weeks time!  Everything from the library selection,
the import/export features, the Create a new Puzzle feature (which
seems to still be a work-in-progress), the creative way in which the
table texture can be changed (although I honestly think the default
selection is fine), the Cheese-like loading animation while the puzzle
table is being generated, the drop shadows, the realistic ridge lines
for each puzzle piece, and so and so forth....

in short, it looks like a mature piece of software already, and I
congratulate you on a job well-done!  All it really needs is a help
file and a few key things fixed (such as the Create new puzzle, see
below), and it should be ready for feature freeze as is!

I did however record a few observations -- bear in mind a lot of these
are probably on your todo list, or have been talked about in your
blog, so feel free to ignore anything that sounds redundant:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- I haven't tested this out on a small screen (such as in one of my
netbooks), but my guess is that the default puzzle table behavior will
be scrolling instead of scaling as well.  Do you think it would be
necessary to allow the ability to scale the image (as in you can
toggle between the current view, and a "Proportional view which resize
the puzzle table (and puzzle itself) based on the current window size?

- A popup congratulating the player on completing the puzzle would I
think be nice.  The little status bar update is neat, but just a touch
anti-climactic. ^^;

- In that respect, are you also planning to add a high score option
based on time perhaps?

- Some subtle sounds (which can also be disabled in the preferences if
need be) would be great for a further level of polish.  I'd envision a
"scattering" sound when the puzzle starts, a soft "thuck" sound every
time a piece is placed on the board (but not when picked up), and a
jingle when the puzzle is completed (and the aforementioned "popup
window congratulating you appears).

- Create a New Puzzle doesn't allow you to select a Puzzle Type at
this time, so I think that's the reason why the "Create Puzzle" button
is always grayed out.  Furthermore, since the *.conf files seem to
have multilingual options, I wonder if it would be necessary to have
multilingual data entry lines in the "Create a New Puzzle" screen.

- I'd like for the ridge lines in the puzzle pieces to be optional
(enabled/disabled via the preferences). True puzzle enthusiasts would
obviously prefer the ridge lines, but I'd be more partial to having
smooth pictures instead.

- I'm not terribly big on the floating play button appearing
constantly while hovering over selections.  IMHO, I think the play
button should only appear over the thumbnail IF the puzzle is already
loaded into the Puzzle Table.  Otherwise, the rest of the behavior
stays, except that launching a puzzle to the table would only require
either a double-click or a Space/Enter keystroke.

- In that same vein, it'd be nice to see in the library some
indication of which puzzles are "in progress" (as in have save
information) but not actually loaded in the table yet.

- If the five sample puzzle files are the true default ones, I'd love
for these to be prebuilt as *.puzzle files beforehand.  I had an awful
lot of trouble building these from the source file, and I had to go
through the troubleshooting section in your blog a few times before I
finally got the hang of it.  I certainly wouldn't mind going through
that whole kbuildsycoca4 thing if it's only to create new *.puzzle
files from scratch (which I did in this case), though.  ^__~

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh, and the Import Puzzle feature works -- I just tested it with one
of my own drawings....  ^^b

http://pigux.com/kde4/storage/palapeli/ubunchu-akane.puzzle

FYI, the above is only a test and not really meant to be included
(unless you really really like it, but probably not). ^^;

So yes, the above issues aside, my overall impression of Palapeli is a
very positive one!  I do hope it can be a part of 4.4, because IMHO it
deserves it! ^__^b



--Arturo "C-quel" Silva
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Hi,

it's been quite a long time since you posted your review. Thanks for that, and
apologies that I did not answer up to now. Things have been quite busy, you
know.

Am Freitag 16 Oktober 2009 03:27:47 schrieb Arturo Silva:
> - I haven't tested this out on a small screen (such as in one of my
> netbooks), but my guess is that the default puzzle table behavior will
> be scrolling instead of scaling as well.  Do you think it would be
> necessary to allow the ability to scale the image (as in you can
> toggle between the current view, and a "Proportional view which resize
> the puzzle table (and puzzle itself) based on the current window size?

The current zooming implementation is quite basic. I'm currently collecting
ideas on how to improve it. However, I do not know whether an improved
implementation will make it into Palapeli 1.0.

> - A popup congratulating the player on completing the puzzle would I
> think be nice.  The little status bar update is neat, but just a touch
> anti-climactic. ^^;

This is on my short-term todolist, already (the one that contains anything
that has to be done before KDE 4.4 = Palapeli 1.0).

> - In that respect, are you also planning to add a high score option
> based on time perhaps?

Added to my mid-term todolist (the one that contains tasks for KDE 4.5 =
Palapeli 1.1)

> - Some subtle sounds (which can also be disabled in the preferences if
> need be) would be great for a further level of polish.  I'd envision a
> "scattering" sound when the puzzle starts, a soft "thuck" sound every
> time a piece is placed on the board (but not when picked up), and a
> jingle when the puzzle is completed (and the aforementioned "popup
> window congratulating you appears).

Added to my mid-term todolist.

> - Create a New Puzzle doesn't allow you to select a Puzzle Type at
> this time, so I think that's the reason why the "Create Puzzle" button
> is always grayed out.  Furthermore, since the *.conf files seem to
> have multilingual options, I wonder if it would be necessary to have
> multilingual data entry lines in the "Create a New Puzzle" screen.

The short answer: Make sure that $KDEDIRS is configured correctly.
The long answer: On my short-term todolist is displaying some messagebox when
slicers are not installed correctly. Also, these problems will be gone
completely when Palapeli is installed from distribution packages.

> - I'd like for the ridge lines in the puzzle pieces to be optional
> (enabled/disabled via the preferences). True puzzle enthusiasts would
> obviously prefer the ridge lines, but I'd be more partial to having
> smooth pictures instead.

If you mean the shape of the pieces, that can not be altered after the puzzle
has been created (design decision). You can, however, create puzzles with
simple rectangular pieces.

> - I'm not terribly big on the floating play button appearing
> constantly while hovering over selections.  IMHO, I think the play
> button should only appear over the thumbnail IF the puzzle is already
> loaded into the Puzzle Table.  Otherwise, the rest of the behavior
> stays, except that launching a puzzle to the table would only require
> either a double-click or a Space/Enter keystroke.

In the current SVN revision, the button's gone, instead, the puzzle is loading
by activating the item in the list. In this case, "activating" means either
clicking or double-clicking, depending on your global KDE configuration.
Pressing the Return key will also work.

> - In that same vein, it'd be nice to see in the library some
> indication of which puzzles are "in progress" (as in have save
> information) but not actually loaded in the table yet.

Without the intent to sound harsh: This is an implementation detail which the
user should not have to bother with.

> - If the five sample puzzle files are the true default ones, I'd love
> for these to be prebuilt as *.puzzle files beforehand.  I had an awful
> lot of trouble building these from the source file, and I had to go
> through the troubleshooting section in your blog a few times before I
> finally got the hang of it.  I certainly wouldn't mind going through
> that whole kbuildsycoca4 thing if it's only to create new *.puzzle
> files from scratch (which I did in this case), though.  ^__~

As I said, this kbuildsycoca4 hazzle will be gone once Palapeli packages are
provided by your distribution. Concerning the puzzle files: I think I'll
create them once when Palapeli moves to trunk. Before this point, I want to
keep the freedom to alter the format of the puzzle files.

FYI, I've put my todolist into SVN. (It's in palapeli's top directory.)

Greetings
Stefan


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[Arturo Silva]

Yo Stefan. ^^

Thank you for the response -- I'm happy to know that the majority of
the points I mentioned are on, or have been added to, your TODO list
in some form.  ^__^

Regarding the zooming, my recommendation is to have the "zoomed out"
view scale to the size of the window (the default behavior for nearly
all KDE games), but that it still retains the ability to zoom in
(either with the slider or the mouse wheel) so that it allows for
greater detail viewing.

Regarding the ridge lines of the puzzle pieces, I think that's fine.
It does retain some of the realism.  :D

Regarding the play button, I think your current build as you've
described it would work perfectly. ^^b

And regarding the "in progress" thing, I really suggested that in the
event the computer is shared by more than one person (read, "kids").
If one happens to load a puzzle correctly in progress by another
player and not realize it's in mid-play, there goes there work.  :P

But agreed this is a very minor detail, so feel free to revisit this
in the distant long-term after more core functions are
completed/polished.  :)

And that should be all.

BTW, I may yet draw a tile pattern after all -- I was inspired by a
pattern I saw in a diner counter.  We'll see if it really looks good
on Palapeli or not -- if so, I'll post it for you.  :D


--Arturo
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[Arturo Silva]

I wasn't able to spend as much time as this as I wanted, but attached
is a quick mock-up I made of my tile idea.

Still needs to be given highlights, bevels and the like, but this
should give you an idea of what I have in mind for counter tiles (even
though this can also second as floor tiles). ^^;


--Arturo


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Am Mittwoch 21 Oktober 2009 05:36:12 schrieb Arturo Silva:
> I wasn't able to spend as much time as this as I wanted, but attached
> is a quick mock-up I made of my tile idea.
>
> Still needs to be given highlights, bevels and the like, but this
> should give you an idea of what I have in mind for counter tiles (even
> though this can also second as floor tiles). ^^;

Can you please put this into SVN? There is a README.ARTISTS for you.

Greetings
Stefan


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[Arturo Silva]

I don't have access.  :P

Besides, I really just need your nod on this for now so I know I can
move forward with it.  If you want me to load it, though, I'll take
that as a sign that you kinda like it.  ;)
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Am Mittwoch 21 Oktober 2009 17:04:52 schrieb Arturo Silva:
> I don't have access.  :P

http://techbase.kde.org/Contribute/Get_a_SVN_Account

Please, it makes stuff much easier. When the web form asks you for who
supports this request, enter my name.

> Besides, I really just need your nod on this for now so I know I can
> move forward with it.  If you want me to load it, though, I'll take
> that as a sign that you kinda like it.  ;)

I like the direction.

Greetings
Stefan

--
Die Zukunft wird nicht gemeistert von denen, die an der Vergangenheit kleben.


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