Factorio Forums

Hi,

TRTRLT; Don't show items when changing already set item requests amounts (Not if it's a new, blank request slot).


When changing the amount of items being requested of a currently selected item request slot, the popup screen contains the item selection screen. This moves the slider and Confirm button away from the button that gets you into that dialogue. This goes against good UI design principals, specifically where you should minimise the distance you make your users move their mouse.

A better design would not show the item selection UI component. Without the item selection component you have to move your mouse far less. It also means that you end up having your cursor closer to the possible next item that you're going to change as it's extremely common to change multiple item requests at once, eg requesting items for a reactor or similar rare builds.

I also put the currently selected item to give the user good feedback that they clicked the correct item. This could be used to give access to the item selection component if required, but I believe that clearing an item selection when changing the type of item being requested might already be the common workflow.


Please be aware that the screenshots show an exaggerated example without the category tabs, but the UX design principal still applies even if the categories are enable.

So your proposal is to change the amount of mouse movement for those changing item quantity at the cost of additional clicks for those that want to change the actual item being requested?

Yes, under the assumption that the number of times you reassign the type of item requested is less than the number of times you reassign the amount being requested. If it's the opposite way round an it turns out that no one ever changes the requested amounts, but instead continually uses a limited number of slots that continually change what's being requested then this change would be counter productive.

I can only go off how I play.

BenSeidel wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 24, 2022 3:21 am

I can only go off how I play.

I never change the item, too. I had several times taken the wrong item. But in that case I would also go the way to delete the item completely (by right-click?!) and reassign it.

Yeah, I’m not sure. I think I may be closer to 50/50 between changing type and quantity.

What if it depended on which mouse button you clicked with? One could bring up the current UI, while the other brings up the quantity only selection? And of course MMB clears.

In game right mouse button clears/deletes…

Whoops. The toolbar is MMB iirc, though, right? So maybe they should change the logistic request clear to MMB for consistency, then that frees up RMB.