[1.1.69] Alt icons rendering on top of player / spidertron

[fredsa@gmail.com]

Build ID 9499259

EXPECTED:
- Player and Spidertron are rendered last or "on top" of items they are standing over or in front of
- ALT mode graphics are rendered in the same layer as the items these graphics belong to

ACTUAL:
- When ALT mode is enabled, alt info graphics (such as: chest contents, factory recipes and factory installed modules) render over the player and over Spidertron

PROBLEMS CAUSED by this bug:
- Rendering does not look right
- Player may appear to "disappear" behind ALT mode graphics
- Spidertron may appear to have ALT mode graphics when it is standing over a factory
- The user may have some trouble selecting because of confusing rendering



ATTACHED SCREENSHOT shows two issues:
- Left: Player almost hidden by alt graphics
- Right: Spidertron appears to have repair toolkit, but this graphic is in fact for the factory beneath Spidertron

[posila]

Thanks for the report. However this is not a bug. Alt icons are an overlay which is supposed to be visible over things and not be occluded.
Working as intended.

[fredsa@gmail.com]

Understood that it's "working as intended".

I'd to like add a few thoughts:

1. I'd highly recommend changing the rendering order and giving it a try. I bet it will be feel a lot more natural for the player/spidertron to render over ALT mode graphics.

2. While I can imagine players thinking of ALT mode graphics as an overlay, I think it much more likely for players to view the ALT mode graphics like I did.

a) I think it is common for players who have discovered ALT mode to leave ALT mode enabled while they play. It's soooooo useful!
b) The way that ALT mode is rendered when the player is not directly near an object, it looks like "x-ray vision". That is, it's like ALT mode lets you see into objects to know what's inside. ALT mode icons look like they are part of the item or inside the item, not an GUI overlay layer.

Because of #1 #2, I feel that the user quickly develops a strong sense that ALT mode graphics are part of the items or in fact "holes" that allow the player to see into the items.


3. This bug feels acceptable in the early game when the player is humanoid. However, in the late game when the user might spend a lot of time in Spidertron, it really starts to feel like a bug because:
- The mental model of ALT mode being part of the items is broken
- The user might feel a disconnect between what they expect and


Thanks for such an amazing game!

[FuryoftheStars]

I believe the reason why this is not considered as a bug and is "working as intended" is because of the concept that this is a 2D game pretending to be 3D. There are limitations to what they can do with their game engine (ie, they can't have A render over B which renders over C which renders over A).

[posila]

Unfortunatelly, drawing of the overlay is handled in special way and exploits the fact that it is drawn over all normal obejcts, mainly to optimize rendering of the dark-background outline. The outlines are also rendered first, before the icons are, so that it doesn't occlude other icons that might be close. So "just trying it" is not simple to do.

But in general, it is intended for icons to be visible through trees or other tall entities and through flying bots. It is not a bug.

[fredsa@gmail.com]

Thank you for the follow up and detailed consideration!