Suggestions with latest UI update

Ozonshak

Hello. Thanks for the latest UI update! The install was definitely easier! However, I noticed the UI looks exactly the same as before. I saw a screen shot in one of your posts with a side NAV and such. I don’t see that at all. I had installed the previous beta version. Should I uninstall the old one first? The email said this would overwrite the old one, but perhaps it didn’t? if so, can you please provide uninstall directions? I recall this was very manual last time, so just want to make sure I properly get rid of everything to start over.

Here are some things i noticed:

No mouse (Trackball) control in the interface (sometimes quicker to get to things Or as a fallback)
Into screen "how to use a Polycade" - There is no way to close before "Let's go" button shows up. And I often have to press a button more than once to proceed to the game list
no categorization for games - i.e. favorites
no game counts - would be nice to see how many games are there
no way to jump straight to a game without scrolling with joystick
game list does not appear to be in any particular order (not alphabetical). Makes it very difficult to find games
Looks like it might be setup to show instructions Per game, but nothing there yet
no way to exit unless you hit "windows" keyboard button and close out the program
no way to fast scroll. I would expect if I hold the joystick upwards, I could scroll quickly through game list. I have to push the joystick each time to move game by game.
The install process didn't pick up all of my Steam games. I have a bunch on the C drive and overflow on my D drive. The UI didn't pick up anything of mine on the D drive, which is my current default in Steam. Any way to load these in?

admin

Thanks for the feedback Ozonshak!

Some notes:

The new install should just overwrite the old one. Also, the new release looks the same as the previous version, but there are a bunch of underlying changes. To verify that you're on the new build, you should see version 0.8.6 or higher in the bottom left corner of the game selection screen.
We changed how the interface updates, and this is why the new installer is needed. From here on out things should auto-update, but it's possible the final version will need a new installer.
The how-to screen can now be turned off via an option in the settings menu. Press ESC and click on "preferences" to turn off the how-to screen.
Categorization is coming in the next major update! (we'll have a few minor updates in between)
Quick nav will come along with the categorization
Game list sorting will come along with the categorization
Wider support for instructions screens will come at some point - probably a major release or two down the line. We're also getting rid of the 2nd instruction screen seen when launching a game.
an Exit button will show up in the next minor release.
Fast scrolling will come within the next couple of releases
Regarding the secondary Steam drive, this is interesting - thanks for flagging this. Currently, there's no work around here, however, one of our development branches has advanced configuration settings that would solve this issue. We hope to have this integrated into the production software in the next month.
We do not currently have any plans to enable mouse support inside of the interface (aside from the options menu). We believe this can make the interface more confusing/difficult to use, and adding support for this will also complicate development. In general, we feel there are better things to spend development time on at this moment.

Much appreciated for the feedback! Also - if you find certain Steam games that don't launch correctly, let us know which games!

Ozonshak

admin thanks! Can’t wait for the next update!

polycade_adam

Hey @Ozonshak !

It's been a while since you sent your original suggestions over, so I just wanted to follow up and see if we were able to address your big priorities.

Also wanted to see if there's still anything you'd really like us to prioritize or if any other ideas have come up!

Ozonshak

Hello. My biggest issue remains the following:

“The install process didn't pick up all of my Steam games. I have a bunch on the C drive and overflow on my D drive. The UI didn't pick up anything of mine on the D drive, which is my current default in Steam. Any way to load these in?”

This is largely preventing me from enjoying the software because most of my games are missing. Thus, I’m still using Steam for the most part.I know this is on your roadmap, but any word on timing for this update?

polycade_adam

Welp, looks like we might have missed the 1 month deadline we mentioned 😅

The good news is we are testing this now and it's actually supposed to be in our next release!

admin

@Ozonshak the Steam update is live! Please give it a test drive and let us know if the issue is resolved for you!

Ozonshak

admin yes, working now! It is picking up all of my games! Thanks!

admin

Awesome, glad to hear it! Cheers!