One of the primary interface touch-points--the deployment and reinforcement form fields--create an unnecessary obstacle for players.
Problem:
When deploying or reinforcing, the territory dropdown box defaults to a presumptive selection based on the alphabetized list of labels. In effect, the game assumes that we always want to deploy or reinforce to the territory that comes first in alphabetical order. That's very rarely a safe assumption and it often leads to inadvertent (sometimes disastrous) moves.
Solution:
- Add a placeholder option to the top of the dropdown list.
- This placeholder would have a label like "Select a territory" and a null value.
- This would force the player to explicitly make a selection before performing the requested operation.
- If a player clicks "Deploy" (for instance) while the placeholder is selected, a message is presented urging the user to make a territory-selection first, thus limiting the chance of an inadvertent deployment or reinforcement.
Realizing that the map interface is linked to the native browser drop-down widgets via a complex of JS code, I will stop short of saying this is a "simple" feature. However, in principle (if not technically), it does seem straightforward and a more logical approach all around. I would venture to guess most players prefer to interact with the form rather than the map when taking their turns. So, making those elements of the user-experience less fragile seems worthy of priority and inline with the goals of the business.
Thank you for consideration and apologies if this has been brought up before. My searches were fruitless, but I may not have been using the same terminology as others.
