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[Reiver]

Sooo, now that I've played through to my first few levels, I feel I can probably comment on what I've found to be painful on the first impressions.

To establish, I run kb+mouse combo; I steer the Cogmind with the keyboard for precisions sake, and use the odd shortcut as it's convinient (especially grab and aquire!), but tend to run the rest of the menus, firing weapons, and identifying objects and robots via mouse. I have to say, it's worked extremely well so far. That said, I'm finding a couple extra mouse-clicks more than strictly needed.

As a newbie, the right-click button is mighty handy for learning what each robot is and (even more important) what the heck each part does. Using it, however, has tripped up a few bits of polish:

1) When you click on a line item to learn what it means, you can't then click away until you've clicked the text box itself. 'clicking away' is pretty common in UI language, so its absence can be mildly aggrivating.
2) The right click menu is just as guilty - you need to click that again to make things clear as well. Especially frustrating when what you really wanted to do was right-click one robot to see what it was, then right-click another robot in quick succession... like, say, when a patrol shows up and you're working out what each robot is all about. It'd be ideal if you could keep right-clicking stuff and have the sidebar just refocus on the new item as you go; likewise it'd be nice if clicking/moving 'elsewhere' simply closed the information panel.
Is there a reason to leave it up until explicitly click-to-close? As far as I can tell, I can't actually do anything until I've closed it again, but this could be a rookie mistake.
3)  (I figure the very first level is safe from spoiler alerts, but anyhoo: spoiler alert!) The first level has you chat to a friendly NPC, then wander through until you find propulsion - your first opportunity to learn how attaching stuff works. Obviously you want to attach stuff, right? ... yeah, actually putting on those legs or wheels and activating them will slow you down. While I get the idea for it (It'll be to your benefit soon enough once you start grabbing other junk), and I also get why the naked cogmind should be speedy if weight-vulnerable... the combination is somewhat tricky to actually implement.
4) Do mining claws let you dig through dirt? Mining lasers do, as I determined via experimentation, but I may have missed a line in their descriptor that explicitly identifies the two items as being excellent at dirtbusting? If there isn't, should there be?

[Kyzrati]

Thanks for the feedback, Reiver.

1) When you click on a line item to learn what it means, you can't then click away until you've clicked the text box itself. 'clicking away' is pretty common in UI language, so its absence can be mildly aggrivating.

This has already been fixed for Alpha 2, you don't even have to click: As soon as you move the mouse a bit away it automatically disappears.

2) The right click menu is just as guilty - you need to click that again to make things clear as well. Especially frustrating when what you really wanted to do was right-click one robot to see what it was, then right-click another robot in quick succession... like, say, when a patrol shows up and you're working out what each robot is all about. It'd be ideal if you could keep right-clicking stuff and have the sidebar just refocus on the new item as you go; likewise it'd be nice if clicking/moving 'elsewhere' simply closed the information panel.
Is there a reason to leave it up until explicitly click-to-close? As far as I can tell, I can't actually do anything until I've closed it again, but this could be a rookie mistake.

Currently the only valid "continue-clicking-to-interact" areas are the parts/inventory lists, but yes this has been the #1 interaction feature request since the game was launched, and is something I wanted to do earlier but it requires hacks in the engine, which is the only reason it hasn't been implemented yet.

This behavior should be changed in a not-too-distant future release. I've been thinking of a solution in the background...

3)  (I figure the very first level is safe from spoiler alerts, but anyhoo: spoiler alert!) The first level has you chat to a friendly NPC, then wander through until you find propulsion - your first opportunity to learn how attaching stuff works. Obviously you want to attach stuff, right? ... yeah, actually putting on those legs or wheels and activating them will slow you down. While I get the idea for it (It'll be to your benefit soon enough once you start grabbing other junk), and I also get why the naked cogmind should be speedy if weight-vulnerable... the combination is somewhat tricky to actually implement.

I don't quite get what you'd like to say here, without a clearer summary of your point. Are you saying the game should explain the speed thing in a tutorial message? Or what?

From watching a number of beginners streaming their first games, I've noticed that until it becomes a big problem none of them are paying attention to their speed, or many other details, for that matter, simply because there's a lot going on at once (for someone not yet familiar with the interface).

4) Do mining claws let you dig through dirt? Mining lasers do, as I determined via experimentation, but I may have missed a line in their descriptor that explicitly identifies the two items as being excellent at dirtbusting? If there isn't, should there be?

There is no description there, no (I'm trying to avoid giving most items descriptions, for several reasons). But sure they can dig through dirt. They just aren't as efficient at it as lasers. You may need a few successful hits to get through. I've seen streamers/LPers figuring them out just fine when it became necessary in the Mines.

[Reiver]

1 & 2: Excellent! Just wanted to make sure it was clear.
Actually, while I'm here - is there a mouse-equivalent of [a]quire? I learned that kb shortcut specifically because I tend to run around with a full inventory, and shuffling everything via the mouse was maddening enough to look it up.

3: What I mean is what you've noticed - the average newbie has enough going on that they don't notice that it's affecting their speed, when it's technically detrimental to equip the first items you stumble upon. That said, the parts are always in the area, and it's a relatively safe spot - it might make an excellent opportunity to have a text hint pop up explaining how to learn about part attachment and speed, if not describing the mechanics then-and-there, perhaps? Getting distracted at that point is less fatal, after all.
"Equipping propulsion lets you carry more, but can affect your speed. [Instructions on how to find info] to learn more.", or the like, is all I'm suggesting?

4: A single-line "Mining" keyword at the bottom of the descriptor might suffice. I'm assuming they have a special bonus to be so good at it (If I weren't at work, I'd check haha). Why are they less good at digging, incidentally? Lack of a heat or energy penalty in doing so?

[Kyzrati]

Actually, while I'm here - is there a mouse-equivalent of [a]quire? I learned that kb shortcut specifically because I tend to run around with a full inventory, and shuffling everything via the mouse was maddening enough to look it up.

There is, but it requires a mod key: Ctrl-LMB.

One option would be to make the attach automatic via the normal click if your inventory is full, but I'm wary of doing anything automatically that also consumes resources. Plus having two very different possible results from the same input isn't very good design where beginners are concerned.

3: What I mean is what you've noticed - the average newbie has enough going on that they don't notice that it's affecting their speed, when it's technically detrimental to equip the first items you stumble upon. That said, the parts are always in the area, and it's a relatively safe spot - it might make an excellent opportunity to have a text hint pop up explaining how to learn about part attachment and speed, if not describing the mechanics then-and-there, perhaps? Getting distracted at that point is less fatal, after all.
"Equipping propulsion lets you carry more, but can affect your speed. [Instructions on how to find info] to learn more.", or the like, is all I'm suggesting?

I see. The main problem there is there isn't any more room to add tutorial messages. They've already reached maximum density for the tiny area that is the tutorial, and I don't want the tutorial to be any longer. That said, players aren't noticing all the tutorial messages, anyway. It would take a more intrusive tutorial to get players to really notice everything they should, but I don't want to be that annoying!

I'll keep it in mind if and when we need more changes as the audience gets larger.

4: A single-line "Mining" keyword at the bottom of the descriptor might suffice. I'm assuming they have a special bonus to be so good at it (If I weren't at work, I'd check haha). Why are they less good at digging, incidentally? Lack of a heat or energy penalty in doing so?

There is no special bonus at all, actually! Their ability to mine is purely damage-based--they're balanced against the integrity of the walls/earth, and do far more damage than other early-level weapons (they just have an incredibly short range and are slow to use).

The reason the claw is less effective comes from its wider damage range, which isn't always enough to bring down a wall depending on the random roll. I think it makes sense that the dedicated power-draining laser be somewhat more effective than the claw.

Due to the mechanics, you'll find that cannons and powerful guns, especially later, can blow through walls. This is because they simply do enough damage in one shot.

The wall/machine damage mechanics are actually taken from UFO Defense, in which damage from a single shot/attack must reach a certain threshold, otherwise there is no effect on the target. I think this simulates realistic weapon immunities fairly well, making it impossible for you to plink a wall to death.

[Reiver]

Ah, a mod-key. I'll be glad to know it, and then probably never use it I guess (If I'm reaching for shift, I may as well reach for 'a'. They're right beside each other, after all. )

Level 0 is at maximum tutorial density already? Huh. I'll have to actually pay closer attention to what's being said in the tips dialogue. I know I learned about F3 with such a message on one of the later levels... still, I bow to your expertise on that one just fine.

And it's good to know that's how they work - I'd not gotten that far in to really check. And no, the digging claw taking a couple goes is fine - if it's not draining as much power and making heat, you can just keep bumping your way through the dirt anyway, right? (And if it's high damage, does this make it a decent melee weapon anyway? That could be handy. I had all my shotguns blown off by a bot with Flak. )

[Kyzrati]

On the tutorial density, we have to take into account the fastest possible speed the player could be moving through it, so it may not seem as dense to those players wandering around a little more.

A few less vital messages like F3/ASCII I did space out beyond the tutorial level itself, so it's true there is always room for more of those, but they are even less likely to be noticed than those shown during the tutorial. There's a lot more the player could benefit from knowing, but I don't want to spam the log with non-immediately-relevant messages they may not read anyway. There comes a point when players should just read the manual! That and I think the context help text for stats helps fill in a lot of holes (and all of those are pointed to by a single tutorial message).

Sure you can just keep digging along with the claw. No limit on resources there. The problem with the Mining Claw for combat is that it's both really slow and is at a hit% disadvantage. Damage is good, but it would be a last resort only!