TripleA Design

[xxXEddieXxx]

Hey guys,

I hope you’re doing well!

I’d like to use this post as a little introduction and the starting point for a feedback series about TripleA’s current design and how it could develop in the future.

Some of you may know me from my mobile port or my small contributions to the desktop version. I’m a full-stack software developer with some design knowledge. TripleA has given me a lot of enjoyment over the years, and this is my way of giving something back.

I know TripleA has grown over a long time, and its history helps explain why things work the way they do. The codebase isn’t always easy to work with either I ported it to mobile , so I’ve had my fair share of experience with that . I also know redesigns have been attempted before without really taking off.

Still, being used to something doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t room to improve it.

One of my biggest concerns is how accessible TripleA is to someone who hasn’t used it before. By accessibility, I mean both accessibility for people with disabilities and making the software understandable for people with different levels of knowledge and experience.

The current interface assumes quite a bit of prior knowledge. At the same time, experienced players have built up habits and knowledge that we should respect. A redesign should make getting started easier while keeping familiar features easy to reach.

The first thing I’d like to discuss is a possible new main menu.

PROPOSAL:

OLD:

What should the main screen do for a first-time player? I think it should help them understand what they can do and give them a clear next step without requiring them to understand every feature immediately.

Here’s why I think this proposal could improve that experience, for both new and experienced players.

1. Clearer choices about where to start

The current screen gives “Play Online,” “Start Local Game,” “Play By Forum,” “Play By Email,” and the network hosting and connection options similar visual weight. Each serves a purpose, but a new player has to interpret several different ways of playing before knowing which one to choose.

The proposal gives “Multiplayer” and “Play locally” greater prominence, with short descriptions explaining them. In particular, mentioning the computer under local play helps someone looking for a single-player game understand where to go.

For experienced players, the main actions are easy to spot in a consistent navigation area. However, grouping options only works if the next step is clear: forum, email, and direct network play would still need predictable places, without making frequent tasks unnecessarily longer.

2. A more organized reading order

In the current design, game selection and setup controls sit on the left, play modes sit in the center, and another “Play” button sits at the bottom. A newcomer has to work out how those areas relate to each other.

The proposal gives each area a clearer purpose: navigation on the left, a featured map in the main area, and community activity and updates below.

Different text sizes, spacing, and emphasis help distinguish primary actions from supporting information. “Load game,” “Maps,” “Settings,” and “How to play” remain clearly visible without competing equally with the main play options.

This should make the screen easier to scan, although the full setup flow still needs to make the relationship between choosing a map and starting a game clear.

3. Information that matches the task

The current menu immediately displays details such as the Java version, engine version, game round, and loaded savegame status. These can be useful, but several are more relevant to troubleshooting or game setup than to deciding what to do first.

The proposal keeps the application version available while giving more space to actions and game content. Other technical details could remain accessible through an About or troubleshooting view.

For newcomers, this means fewer unfamiliar details to interpret. For experienced players, it should mean a more focused starting screen as long as selected-map, savegame, and configuration details remain easy to check during setup.

4. Maps become something players can discover visually

The current “Download Maps” button provides access to content, but the main screen doesn’t show what that content looks like.

The proposed featured map shows an actual map preview alongside its name, installation status, download size, and an install button. This provides more context before a player decides to download it.

For new players, it introduces what a TripleA map looks like. For returning players, it creates an opportunity to discover something beyond the maps they already know.

A featured map is not automatically suitable for beginners, though. A complexity indicator or beginner recommendation could help people choose a manageable first game.

5. Useful context before entering multiplayer

The proposed multiplayer entry shows how many players are online and how many games are open.

That gives new players an indication of online activity before entering the lobby. Regular players could use it as a quick check when deciding whether to play online.

It doesn’t guarantee that an open game is suitable or ready to join, but it provides more information than a “Play Online” button alone. The implementation would also need to distinguish between no activity and an unavailable connection.

6. Better visibility for the community

The forum and update panels bring community discussions, application releases, and map updates into the main screen.

New players get a visible route into the community. Experienced players can notice updates or discussions without separately checking the forum every time.

Keeping these panels below the main actions gives them a supporting role. They should be useful to browse without becoming something players have to deal with before starting a game.

What should we preserve from the current design?

The current menu has strengths: it’s compact, exposes many functions directly, and is familiar to existing players. Those are qualities worth keeping.

The proposal retains TripleA’s logo, maps, and core activities, but familiarity also depends on behavior. Loading a save, choosing a map, configuring a game, or accessing creator tools should remain straightforward. A cleaner first screen would be a poor tradeoff if it made those tasks harder.

There are also things a screenshot can’t demonstrate: keyboard navigation, visible focus, text scaling, screen-reader support, or usability in smaller windows. Those need to be considered and tested as part of the implementation.

My goal is to make TripleA easier to approach while preserving the depth and flexibility that people already enjoy. This design is a starting point for that discussion, and the benefits need to hold up when people actually use it.

I’d especially like to hear:

• When you first started TripleA, what was confusing?
• As a regular player, which actions do you need to reach quickly?
• Looking at this proposal, what feels clearer, and what seems missing or harder to find?

Thanks for reading! I’d love to develop this further with your feedback.

[ubernaut]

@xxXEddieXxx i like this but a few notes:

the organization of game modes isn't really correct in this new layout. select game and load game are 2 distinct operations you have them combined select game is for new games and load game is for loading saves.

also combining all the multiplayer modes sort of demotes them in terms of attention and forces an additional interaction step to even see them. this is primarily a multiplayer game, all of those multiplayer modes deserve equal treatment imo. also playing locally versus other connection modes is not actually a distinction of multiplayer versus single player.

i think we might be giving too much attention to the updates and developer forum here as well many player use the axisanallies.org forum and never even go to the developer forum. and many players never use any forum. i think lobby chat would mayeb be better here but even that is sort of an assumption and might be better left for people selecting that mode of play. updates should basically just let u know if a map is out of date but again i dont know this belongs on the first screen as you would not typically update a map mid game. i think it maybe belongs on the select map or download maps screen personally.

also be aware that we are working on finalizing a new version of the icon that can be found here:

https://github.com/triplea-game/triplea/discussions/14599#discussioncomment-17315945

someone else made it i just need to make it transparent and package it for @lafayette

[Cernel]

Well, I've already said it in other places, but (just for the record) I'll just write in here too that I suggest splitting Multiplayer and Play locally into three categories,

the first one for online play (lobby and direct connection), called Play Online,

the second one for play-by-forum and play-by-email, called Play by Message (or Correspondence),

and the third one for offline play (solo/hotseat and against the AI), called Play Offline.

[Cernel]

@xxxeddiexxx Yes, this one:
https://private-user-images.githubusercontent.com/293502951/608278175-a2687204-4332-4b8e-aeb4-7d96bf444774.png?jwt=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJnaXRodWIuY29tIiwiYXVkIjoicmF3LmdpdGh1YnVzZXJjb250ZW50LmNvbSIsImtleSI6ImtleTUiLCJleHAiOjE3OTQzMDQ3NDYsIm5iZiI6MTc5NDMwNDQ0NiwicGF0aCI6Ii8yOTM1MDI5NTEvNjA4Mjc4MTc1LWEyNjg3MjA0LTQzMzItNGI4ZS1hZWI0LTdkOTZiZjQ0NDc3NC5wbmc_WC1BbXotQWxnb3JpdGhtPUFXUzQtSE1BQy1TSEEyNTYmWC1BbXotQ3JlZGVudGlhbD1BS0lBVkNPRFlMU0E1M1BRSzRaQSUyRjIwMjYxMTEwJTJGdXMtZWFzdC0xJTJGczMlMkZhd3M0X3JlcXVlc3QmWC1BbXotRGF0ZT0yMDI2MTExMFQwOTU0MDZaJlgtQW16LUV4cGlyZXM9MzAwJlgtQW16LVNpZ25hdHVyZT1mMmE5YzM0NTM4YzVhYmViMzUyZTA4MWM5ZTg3YWFiNDRkYmQ2ZTQyODYyZDc1ZGRhNGMzZThiODllNDZhYTBhJlgtQW16LVNpZ25lZEhlYWRlcnM9aG9zdCZyZXNwb25zZS1jb250ZW50LXR5cGU9aW1hZ2UlMkZwbmcifQ.i9DbZd89AFcormeYPylDqCoKT0C-0i_26IET6YRSZe4

(though I would personally prefer to remove the aircraft from the logo)

[Cernel]

Also I think that the potato masher tucked in the boot was cool. I would have kept it.

[xxXEddieXxx]

Thanks for the feedback!

I think there are two questions here: how accurately the menu describes TripleA’s features, and how easily a player understands what to do next. Both matter, but a technically accurate distinction isn’t always a useful starting point for someone unfamiliar with the game.

Experienced players already know what each option means. A new player brings expectations from other games and looks for familiar patterns: “start a game,” “continue a game,” “play against the computer,” or “play with friends.” They shouldn’t need to understand TripleA’s terminology or connection methods before they can get started. Our job is to translate the available features into language and steps that make sense to them.

@ubernaut That’s why “Select game” doesn’t need to be a separate action on the opening screen. It can appear after choosing “Play locally”: first you decide what you want to do, then you choose a map and configure the game. Map selection would also appear where needed in multiplayer setup. “Load game” remains a separate entry because continuing a saved game is a different intention.

You’re also right that local play can include multiplayer. That’s a reason to refine the labels and descriptions so players understand where to go. The underlying technical distinctions should help us build a clear interface, but players shouldn’t have to learn those distinctions to use it.

Similarly, putting multiplayer modes together in a submenu doesn’t mean treating them as less important. Lobby, direct connection, forum, and email play could all have equal visibility within that screen, with short explanations. A prominent multiplayer entry gives players a starting point; the next screen helps them choose the method.

An additional click is worth discussing, especially for frequent actions. But we should consider the effort of understanding the screen as well as the number of clicks. A clearly signposted two-step process can be easier than a single screen full of choices whose differences you don’t yet understand.

On TripleA being primarily a multiplayer game: we currently have around 700 players per day, and the majority don’t participate in any form of multiplayer. We should support how those people already play while making multiplayer easy to discover and access.

The forum posts and news are intended to encourage community engagement. Players who don’t currently visit a forum might discover a discussion, map, or update that gets them more involved. Those panels don’t have to focus exclusively on the developer forum, and their prominence can be adjusted. They sit below the main actions so they can support the experience without getting in the way of starting a game.

@Cernel Your three-category suggestion is worth exploring with the same question in mind: would someone unfamiliar with TripleA understand immediately which option fits what they want to do?

I want to preserve the capabilities and respect the habits experienced players have developed. At the same time, we should make the first experience understandable without requiring that existing knowledge. Keeping the screen readable and introducing choices when they become relevant is the aim of this proposal.

[xxXEddieXxx]

One thing I should add: I’ve also tested this with people who had never played TripleA before and had no familiarity with its interface.

That perspective matters because we already know what the buttons mean and how the different features fit together. Someone opening the game for the first time doesn’t have that knowledge. They look for familiar wording and patterns that help them figure out where to start.

This is why I’m putting so much emphasis on understandable choices and context. A label can be technically accurate and still leave someone wondering which button they should press. We need to translate TripleA’s features into language people can connect to what they want to do.

That testing doesn’t make this proposal the final answer, but I’d like us to assess it from a newcomer’s perspective as well as our own experience.

[TheDog]

@xxXEddieXxx

On TripleA being primarily a multiplayer game: we currently have around 700 players per day, and the majority don’t participate in any form of multiplayer. We should support how those people already play while making multiplayer easy to discover and access.

Totally disagree, TripleA has way more solo players; they are even more silent than the PvP players.  Yes TripleA is best when PvP, but most (51%+) players want to strategize in their own time at their own pace.

As a side note, I joined r/AxisAllies 6 months ago, to promote TripleA, they had 4700 readers, now they have 3800.
We need more newcomers, so keep going @xxXEddieXxx

The forums are busy, not as busy as in their hayday 2010s, but still busy, discussions on
User interface
TripleA AI
TripleA releases a plenty
Map making with the aid of AI
New maps

If only more players would engage?

[xxXEddieXxx]

@thedog

I think we’re actually agreeing here: my point was that most players play solo, and we should include their perspective in this discussion too.

We could even add a small notice to the current UI, something like: “We’re discussing a new interface for TripleA. Help shape it by sharing your thoughts!” with a link to this thread.

That could help us reach solo players who don’t normally visit the forums and whose opinions we might otherwise never hear. Making the discussion readable without logging in, if it isn’t already, would also make it easier for them to take a look.

[TheDog]

@xxXEddieXxx
Yes our intent is the same

On the new front end, a variant on the message is one or both of these links.
https://forums.triplea-game.org/recent
and
https://forums.triplea-game.org

I prefer the top one recent as it is dynamic where as the other one is static Categories. unless you click on a Category

[ubernaut]

@xxXEddieXxx said:

the majority don’t participate in any form of multiplayer

what do you base this claim on?

i do not believe introducing an extra click makes sense actually. we can argue if the terms used could be improved but im not personally seeing how the ux is actually improved with these changes.

i also agree that there could be more ability to connect to the community aspect of the game but i think that should be tied to the game mode since folks typically will be playing one type of mode most of the time.

at any rate, the single/multi/ai player assignment happens in the team assignment screen so presenting an incorrect multi/single player “choice” on the screen before that is contradictory.

[Cernel]

@xxXEddieXxx If I understand it correctly, the top-right screen shows the map preview on a random map in the repository which the user has not downloaded yet (if I'm not misunderstanding and have not missed some explanation which you wrote about this).

Maybe for the first time opening TripleA that would be OK, but it will start becoming bothersome soon having most space occupied by something random the average not-new user will almost certainly not care to take a look at.

Just show the map of the currently/latest selected game. In case TripleA has been just opened, that would be the map of the game which was selected the last time TripleA was closed.

The first time for which TripleA is opened, or anyway when there is not a preselected map, I would rather suggest having on main screen the most downloaded map of the day, meaning the map in the repository that in the last 24 hours got more downloads (better net of deletions if feasible) except in case a new map was added to the repository in the last 24 hours, in which case that would be shown as the new map of the day (if more than one, the latest). At least that would give the user some information about what's being played or added recently instead of being a random map in the repository. (However, I've no idea if this is feasible, so just go with a random map if not: it's just for when the user did not select a game yet.)

Actually, maybe better showing the Tutorial (as a map to download) the first time TripleA is opened. However, I don't know if that is up to date: I've not tested it in years.

[pgsquig]

@TheDog
I appreciate you promoting TripleA on the subreddit! I have been thinking that a great TripleA explainer post on r/AxisAllies would go a long way towards getting more players to start using TripleA. I moderate the community and I've seen numerous people who struggle to get TripleA up and running as well as a huge group of people who play A&A on the board and have never heard of TripleA. Ideally this explainer post would include how to instructions on installing the game, downloading maps, basic controls, and advanced tips (I have been playing on TripleA for about 15 years and I only just learned recently that you can hover over a territory and press ctrl + A and it will add the territory's units to the attacking side of the calculator). I suspect there are other tricks and tribal knowledge that I still don't know. Perhaps a text post as well as a video would be the best way to reach people.
Any improvement to the interface would certainly be a huge help to these folks who haven't seen the light of TripleA in their lives yet.
We have 10.9k members (people subscribed to the sub). The displayed number of 'readers' fluctuates as it is a monthly average of subreddit visits. I expect the number to rise during the (Northern Hemisphere) winter as people will hopefully spend more time inside gaming.

[TheDog]

@pgsquig said:
We have 10.9k members (people subscribed to the sub). The displayed number of 'readers' fluctuates as it is a monthly average of subreddit visits. I expect the number to rise during the (Northern Hemisphere) winter as people will hopefully spend more time inside gaming.

Phew that is good news. Im glad I did not understand the stats.

I am not your man to do what you suggest. My natural style is terse and some may interpret it as rude. So I pass the ball on this one.

[xxXEddieXxx]

@ubernaut

What do you base this claim on?

Well we know how many people open the Game every day and that number is way higher then i see people in the Forum or in any Multiplayer lobbies.

But that’s also why I want to bring this discussion into the current UI. We’re discussing what players need while only hearing from the people who already participate here.

I think that should be tied to the game mode since folks typically will be playing one type of mode most of the time.

This is exactly one of the things I’d like to address. If everyone only sees their usual community, they keep seeing the same discussions and miss what’s happening elsewhere. New players also need an easy way to discover those communities in the first place.

Showing some shared news and discussions gives people a chance to find something they wouldn’t otherwise see. Mode-specific content can still exist, but I don’t see why everything should be separated by game mode.

The single/multi/AI player assignment happens in the team assignment screen, so presenting an incorrect multi/single player “choice” on the screen before that is contradictory.

That’s how the current interface works, but it isn’t a reason why it has to stay that way. The team assignment screen is a design decision too.

Why should every setup flow look the same? Depending on how you want to play, some information is relevant and some isn’t. Choosing that earlier gives us an opportunity to tailor the following steps instead of presenting the same setup to everyone.

We also can’t reliably tell how people are playing just from their human/AI assignments. Two people might play Axis together on one computer against the AI. To them, they’re playing together. They don’t care which technical category that fits into; they want to know where to click to set it up.

The labels “Multiplayer” and “Play locally” do overlap, and we should improve them. But that doesn’t invalidate the idea of asking people how they want to play before showing them the relevant settings.

And about the extra click: fewer clicks don’t automatically mean better UX. If someone has to stop and work out what several buttons mean and how they relate to each other, that’s effort too. We’re used to the current screen, so we don’t have to think about those things anymore. New players do. That’s why I tested with people who had never played TripleA.

I’d be interested in whether you see any pain points in the current design yourself. Which parts work well for you, and what would actually become harder with this approach? That would help me understand what needs to stay easy to reach.

@Cernel

This is a really good idea! I think it’s a better approach, and we should definitely look into it.

The map preview is only intended to be visible in the largest layout. If you prefer a smaller window, it disappears. I’m also open to a setting that disables it completely.

In general, I like giving people ways to tailor their experience. I know people who struggle with animations or bright colors, so being able to turn those off or adjust them would help too.

@pgsquig

I would love that. Part of the proposal is making the game and its controls easier to understand.

I talked to some of the other devs, and this was definitely one of the points we discussed. Even having a visible settings page for key bindings would help people discover that those shortcuts exist, as well as letting them change them.

One of the highest wins in my opinion would be a better how to section here some sneakpeak i would propose(just a scrabble not finished by any means):

[ubernaut]

@xxXEddieXxx said:

Well we know how many people open the Game every day

how do u know that? and even if u do wen i am playing the game i might open it dozens of times per day and im just one person

@xxXEddieXxx said:

isn’t a reason why it has to stay that way.

without completely reworking the ux yes i dont see any problem or room for improvement on the player alignment screen in terms of ux

@xxXEddieXxx said:

Why should every setup flow look the same?

not actually saying that. ux and ui are related subjects but they are not the same

[xxXEddieXxx]

@ubernaut

how do u know that? and even if u do wen i am playing the game i might open it dozens of times per day and im just one person»

As far as I know, we only count unique devices, so it doesn’t matter how often you open the game.

without completely reworking the ux yes i dont see any problem or room for improvement on the player alignment screen in terms of ux»

There’s plenty of room for improvement on the player alignment screen and I will share those soon. In terms of main menu.

What would you improve to address the feedback we got on Reddit, as @pgsquig mentioned? I can confirm that feedback too, because I’ve seen the same issues myself and my testers told me the same.

[ubernaut]

@xxXEddieXxx said:

we only count unique devices,

where are you getting these numbers? and again if i am playing against another person i will plan my turn out locally but the “game” is still a multiplayer game. i think most people play this way. i would need to see some kind of proof of this claim that the majority of games played are local human versus ai as i do not believe that is the case.

ubernaut said:

player alignment screen

assuming you mean player assignment here, but yeah im saying maybe we can improve the look of these screens but the logic and ux itself seems pretty solid as is. at any rate if the top home screen logic is incorrect as it is currently in your proposal any subscreens would be invalid to begin with

@lafayette @panther either of u care to chime in here?

[Cernel]

@ubernaut said:

@xxXEddieXxx said:

we only count unique devices,

where are you getting these numbers? and again if i am playing against another person i will plan my turn out locally but the “game” is still a multiplayer game. i think most people play this way. i would need to see some kind of proof of this claim that the majority of games played are local human versus ai as i do not believe that is the case.

You mean Play-by-Forum/Email or hot-seat? I think (not sure) he/she has the former under the Multiplayer main selection (not the Play locally one).

[Cernel]

Actually, maybe better showing the Tutorial (as a map to download) the first time TripleA is opened. However, I don't know if that is up to date: I've not tested it in years.

If the tutorial is working and up to date, I definitely think that should be offered as the first map to download for anyone who opens TripleA for the first time. @zjelcop did put some serious effort into making it. I'm going to play it a bit right now to see if this is the case.

Pact of Steel can be a good map offered for download after the Tutorial for new users.

EDIT: Nevermind, I've tested the Tutorial, and it is outdated. It refers to the Notes being in the right tab and 3 out of 5 tabs shown there (them all except "Action" and "Territory") are different or differently named. Unless someone is going to update the Tutorial soon, forget about my proposal to have it as the first suggested download, I guess. However, I played it a bit, and the rest seems OK for what little I've tried.