If you're interested in UX design, you will definitely want to keep up with what Microsoft is update to.

https://www.microsoft.com/design/fluent/#/ 

Fluent is the name of Microsoft's new design language for Windows.

Here is an example of Fluent design in action.

As we get up for a major WinCustomize revamp, we are going to be taking cues from this design language to make the site more accessible, faster (much faster) and more modern.  Stay tuned.

If you like animated backgrounds we have good news for you.  Stardock is in the process of updating its DeskScapes dream files to support MP4 (previously MPEG2) which should result in far lower CPU use and no additional codec downloading for Windows 10.

You will be able to see the updates here: https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/dream/search/Stardock+Design

## Contents ##

• Editorial: Recruiting in Michigan
• Surface Pro and TouchTasks
• The right device for your trip
• Hunter Prey
• The Object Desktop 2020 wishlist thread

by Brad Wardell

## Editorial: Recruiting in Michigan ##

It’s 9 degrees (-13C) outside, there’s 6 inches of snow on the ground, and it’s only November. I’m pretty sure my beehives aren’t going to make it. We're hiring up on engineers and artists here, but my lies about Michigan weather aren’t going to suffice this time. 

The best weather lies always have a little truth in them, like: Did you know that Southeastern Michigan is the same latitude as Northern California? So…in a way, it’s like being in California but way less expensive…! Yeah, that’s not going to cut it.

So…move to Michigan for the fun and the snow to work on amazing new stuff! Visit www.stardock.com/jobs to join us!

## Surface Pro and TouchTasks ##

I love my Surface Pro. Unfortunately, I had a problem with my type cover which forced me to use it as a tablet for awhile.  It was not a great experience.  It takes too many taps to get to the things I want to do compared to, say, my iPad Pro. The Stardock team had a great solution: let’s take advantage of the Surface’s bezel area.

It’s not commonly known that the touch-sensitive area of a tablet extends a bit beyond the visible screen. As a result, we were able to make a program that lets you assign functionality to taps just off screen.

What a game changer this has been for me - both when I’m using my Surface as a tablet, as well as just normally.  For instance, changing brightness is just a single tap away. I have Chrome set to come up with a single tap in the top left.  I even have a quick launcher come up when I tap on the left, which only has my most frequently used apps, shown nice and huge:

While it’s definitely a niche program (you need a touch screen), if you have a Surface Pro (or really any touchscreen), it’s a must have. 

It’s been interesting watching how people use it around the office (we have a lot of Surface Pros here). While not something we’d boast about on the website, one of the most common uses for it is to simply have 3 of the touch areas reserved for launching a specific website (for instance, Office.com (https://www.office.com/launch/word?auth=1), Google Drive, or Outlook) or a specific app (Zoom, Skype, Teams, etc.).

Anyway, if you have a touchscreen this really is something you should get for yourself.  It’s literally the first thing I installed when I got the Surface Pro 7 (and we’re working on a Surface Pro X version too for ARM64).

www.touchtasks.com

## The Right Device for a trip ##

Among the multitude obsessions I have is a fixation on trying to travel as optimally as  possible. I try to travel as lightly as possible without sacrificing utility. If there’s a popular piece of travel luggage for business people, odds are I have it.  The same is true for mobile devices.

Back in my OS/2 days, my kit included a ThinkPad T series (oh ThinkPad 760, I loved you so much even if you weighed 6lbs) and my trusty engineering pad. Later, I switched to the MacBooks (Pro and Air) because they were lighter and still let me get the job done.

Once I could merge my engineering notepad with my laptop, I switched to a Surface Pro until the iPad Pro 12.9 came out.  The Apple Pencil is, indeed, slightly better than the Surface pen (even if the pencil is missing the bloody eraser!), but the real difference is the available software.  The iPad Pro had two world class note taking apps – Notability and GoodNotes 5.

I’ve been surprised that Microsoft hasn’t put more effort into investing in developers making Surface software.  I know Stardock would love to develop an app with the best of Notability and GoodNotes 5, but for Windows (X86/Arm64). It’s a chicken or egg thing – there isn’t enough of a user base for us to fund such development ourselves.  So when it comes to note taking, it’s the iPad Pro.

Having picked up a Surface Pro 7, I am delighted to say that the new Intel CPU in it really does nail instant on.  It’s as fast as the iPad Pro for me in coming back to life.  They also nailed the power management with Icelake (the code-name to the new Intel CPUs). 

While reviews fixate on battery life in use, most people who use these know that the real killer for these devices is the battery drain when it's just sitting there.  My previous Surface Pros would always lose a ton of battery over night.  Not so with the Surface Pro 7. I have it sitting around and when I come back to it after a weekend and it’s ready to go (and no hibernation needed).

I tried the Surface Pro X.  In short, I didn’t find it ready for prime time yet.  It’s no better at instant-on than the Surface Pro 7 (which is more a credit to the new Intel chipset) and the battery life is comparable.  They weigh the same and the Pro X lacks a SD card slot, which means I can’t get a cheap 512GB SD card with demo assets or whatever to quickly put on.

This brings the right device for my trip down to either the iPad Pro 12.9 OR the Surface Pro 7.  The winner turned out to be the Surface Pro 7, but not for the reasons I expected.  The Pro 7’s integrated kickstand (with any variation in angle) and much better keyboard/trackpad support won the day. iPadOS helps, but it’s still not an effective productivity device for me. 

So there you have it: the closest to ideal travel device I’ve used is the Surface Pro 7. 

## Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation - Hunter/Prey ##

Stardock’s massive real-time strategy game is getting a new expansion that goes out shortly after I write this.  It’s called Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation - Hunter/Prey and includes a bunch of new units (for the Substrate), and a bunch of new defensive structures (for the Post-Humans).

The way the new defensive structures are implemented is something I found interesting. They’re done as upgrades to existing structures.  For instance, the Artillery Post can be upgraded into a Nova cannon which wipes out the shields of Substrate units.  This means you wouldn’t build it against a PHC unit because they use armor instead of shields.  This sort of dichotomy is something I think players will enjoy because it makes the weaponry more specialized.

My favorite new Substrate unit is the Clutch of Eggs.  When destroyed, it turns into a bunch of robotic spiders that swarm over the player.

If you already have Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, this is a must-have expansion.  If you don’t already have the game, then I’d say if you like RTS games you’ll like it.  If you liked Total Annihilation, you’ll love it.  But it’s definitely aimed at the core PC gamer demographic.

https://www.ashesofthesingularity.com/store

## Object Desktop 2020 wish-list thread ##

Many of you reading this are familiar with Object Desktop already.  We’re currently planning the biggest update we’ve done to the suite in many years for 2020.  We’d like to hear from you on what you would like to see changed, added, and improved.

To join the discussion, go here: https://www.stardock.com/news/497581/object-desktop-2020-wishlist-thread

This past year we've been recruiting developers to begin doing some major updates to Object Desktop over the next year.  

First, I'm going to post what our thoughts are on what to focus on but then we want to hear what you would like to see updated.  As always, our choices are determined by a combination of factors including technical challenge and market demand.

Definitely getting big updates next year

Fences

CursorFX

SoundPackager

Keyboard LaunchPad

DeskScapes

New Apps

We have three new programs for Object Desktop slated for release next year

Maybe getting big updates IF there's demand

Multiplicity

Tiles

Start10

On the bubble (for getting major update)

WindowBlinds (usage of desktop skinning is becoming less common and skinning  has gotten more and more complicated). What would go into v11?

IconPackager (making icons today is a lot of work due to resolution and most people don't bother changing them anymore)

What are your thoughts?

What do you use Object Desktop for and what sorts of things do you want to see updated as well as what new things do you think people would like to see?

Let us know in the comments area.

Version 2.9 of the award-winning massive-scale RTS, Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation goes out this week.

This version is the biggest AI update since the original release.  It also has numerous visual improvements including higher resolution textures.

Let’s take a look…

This is one of the Hunter / Prey expansion turrets.  In v2.9 you can rapidly drop down Emergency Turrets.  They can now be upgraded into a Machine Gun Turret (pictured here) or a Shotgun turret.

You may also notice a general refresh on the terrain in this shot.

This shot is mainly to just show off the updated terrain texture.

Same here:

Structures blend in more nicely and the terrain itself has a bit more punch.

Here I have a bunch of the new Nova Towers and Minos Cannon towers.  They are very vulnerable to air but are great anti-turtle siege weaponry.

Subtle but important new feature in v2.9: Hold position.   The previous command “Stop” did indeed stop.  But you still ended up with the unit AI occasionally wandering towards unwanted objectives.

Version 2.9 will be released on November 14 at 1pm EST.

Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes is getting an update.

Changes include:

• Unit movement engine optimizations
• AI update to be more greedy about getting goodie huts
• Early game technology costs reduced
• Default unit movement increased from 2 to 3 tiles.
• Sovereign default combat speed increased from 22 to 32
• Sovereign default HP increased from 20 to 28.
• Several bug fixes to late game instability

Release date: Now!

Screenshots (at 5K)

The first impression of gameplay in a 4X strategy game tends to be what the opening choices are.  And this is something we have tried our best to optimize in GalCiv III.

In version 3.96, we are giving players the shipyard again by default (which we used to have back in 1.0).   The presence of the starting shipyard has everything to do with having meaningful starting decisions.

For example, here is v3.96 without the shipyard as an option now:

We added a new build-once project called Industrial Center (retribution) that is the equivalent of the Computer Core except for manufacturing.  Combine that with trade resources and (in Retribution) artifacts and you have some interesting options.

Then you go over to the shipyard and you have a 4 obvious choices:

Note that we no longer have any weapons at the start of the game (retribution). Your ships are unarmed.  So this allows us to clean up the first impression a little bit so that weaponizing ships makes an obvious difference to your shipyard choices.

Also, having the shipyard combined with the recent increase in starting funds means players can move out a bit faster than they could before.   This gives a little more room, especially for new players, to not get economically over their heads.

These changes, along with the visual update to the planets (you can see the visual update in the first screenshot) will be in v3.96.

I love my Surface Pro.  It doesn't always love me.  This Summer, a firmware update caused the keyboard cover connector to not work anymore which forced me to use the Surface truly as a tablet.  It wasn't...a good experience.

While I wasn't a fan of Windows 8, it was a pretty decent touch OS.  Windows 10...not so much.  A big part of the reason Windows 10 isn't good for touch is that it doesn't use the screen edges well.

Windows 10, by default, has these touch-based shortcuts:

1. Swipe from left: You get a very cluttered desktop / app manager (3 x 3)
2. Swipe from bottom: nothing (no standard use in apps)
3. Swipe from top: Nothing (will close apps if they're running)
4. Swipe from right:  Notification Center

That's pretty weak.

Compare that with an iPad:

1. Swipe from left: Brings up your gadgets / reserved for apps
2. Swipe from bottom:  Return to home screen OR bring up a nice 3X2 list
3. Swipe from top:  Notification Center
4. Swipe from top right:  Quick settings
5. Swipe from right: (reserved for apps)

The Surface Pro, like all touch devices, has an interesting, not well known feature: The touch sensitive area is bigger than the display area.  You could assign areas outside the display area to have functionality.

...Enter...TouchTasks...

TouchTasks lets you define zones at the edge of your touch screen to do things.  Stardock even includes a few custom applets as examples but it's purpose is to let people decide what they want to do with it:

For example:

Here I have it set up so that if I tape in zone 4, it will bring up a big friendly quick launcher.  But I could just as easily have set it up so that it just launches say OneNote or define a custom hot key on Windows or bring up the Windows start menu or bring up recent documents or basically anything else you might want.

For my use, I have the Start menu to let me go through all the stuff I might need so I have begun to clean up my Surface Pro a bit:

For v1.0, we are mostly testing the waters in seeing how much interest there is by Windows users to make Windows 10 work better as a touch only device.    A lot of other accessibility options could be added in here such as Search or Cortana or a Widget panel.  

I suspect I'm not the only person who would like to see Windows 10 made into a better touch-based OS.  

You can download and try TouchTasks yourself for free.  Just remember to touch outside the display area!

www.touchtasks.com 

We're working on a wide range of things including one thing that has bugged me a long time: The way planets look.

Ugh.  These just look so bad.

Now improved to:

These will be part of an upcoming free update later this Fall.

We are also going to release a DLC with a bunch of new planet types (with really cool looking surfaces made from scratch to support the new system) that give worlds a little more character both visually and in terms of bonuses/penalties.

We're putting the finishing touches on GalCiv III v3.95 which includes both balance changes and new game options and some quality of life updates.

Originally we were going to go right from v3.6 to v4.0 but we've broken the tasks down into smaller chunks, hence v3.7, v3.8, v3.9, v3.91 and now v3.95

But we've also been working on v4.0 which has a heavy modding emphasis. Now that the major expansions to III are over (we will still be releasing DLCs, but all new FEATURE changes will happen in the base game) we are focusing more on content management, quality of life and helping make sure GalCiv III is the best GalCiv game we've ever done.

So how do we imagine enhanced mod support looking?

Here's what we have in mind:

From the main menu you click on Mods.  This takes you to the Mod Manager.

It has 3 pages:

1. Installed
2. Available
3. Create

The Installed mods simply let you enable and disable mods.

When you click on Available it takes you to a page that has a bunch of categories of mods.  These are just glorified Steam tags.

The idea here is that you can press a button and it will launch the Steam workshop browser with tags set up.  Just makes it a bit easier for players to go directly to the types of mods they're looking for.

The last page is Create.

Now, this isn't a tool.  Modders will still have to actually to the mod like they do today.  The difference is adding support for what expansions the mod requires to work and what tags your mod requires.

Based on these settings, it'll create a folder in the documents\my games\gc3crusade\mods\ directory with the proper directory structure worked out.

The directory structure in which GalCiv is setup is a bit complicated.  That was because we didn't want to change the gameplay experience for everyone when an expansion came out.  Only those who voluntarily bought the expansion would have the changed game play and those who didn't want that gameplay changed could effectively opt-out.   This decision has a lot of advantages and disadvantages but one disadvantage is that makes modding much more error prone.

For example, for the Retribution expansion we have our various data files in a directory like this:

GalCiv3\Game\DLC\EXP4_Retribution\Game

If you have Retribution installed, then it uses the files in this directory instead of the files in say

GalCiv3\Game\DLC\EXP3_Intrigue\Game

With mods, we will need to know which files you plan to "replace" which means knowing which version of the game you want your mod to support (i.e. Retribution vs. Intrigue).  So for instance, let's say you want to replace ImprovementDefs.xml.  We need to know WHICH one you want to replace.    But let's say you want to create NEW planetary improvements.  We still need to know which set of improvements your planetary improvements are going to essentially append to.

For those of you who are already experienced at modding GalCiv, let us know what you think along with any improvements to how we are looking to do it that might make it more robust.