Building The Torpedo Data Computer, And What I Learned From The Battle of Helm's Deep - Atlantic '41 by StephanRewind
We’re now down to the last two major building blocks comprising the combat gameplay: the torpedo data computer (TDC), allowing the player to set up attacks, and the end of turn sequence, which closes the loop. The end of turn isn’t mocked up yet, but I envision it as a non interactive succession of animations showing the resolution of every event, from ships movement to U-boat actions, like diving, and of course attacks.
The amount of information communicated by the TDC may look intimidating to the new player. My main concern was to communicate well the computer’s function, and to make the UI simple and effective.
The top half of the screen is the computer itself. It gives all the measurements relative to the selected target. The idea is to use the TDC gauges to find the target with the best odds. It’s simpler than it first looks. All gauges are broken down into three zones (white, grey, and black), showing how to read them, from most favorable to least favorable value. I owe this idea in part to a comment made by someone on itch.
In 1-bit, three distinctive shades are more legible and easier to achieve than a smooth gradient, but under the hood odds decrease linearly, or follow a mathematical equation. For instance, looking at the angle on bow, the most favorable configuration is when the needle is horizontal, on either side, when the target is perpendicular to the bearing.
