Feature Request: Expanded Player Overview Details #221
Description
The current Player Overview displays each player's money, income, shares, locomotive level, and score. This is helpful, but it lacks important context—especially for newer players learning Age of Steam. Adding more detail and breakdowns would make the overview far more informative and reduce rule lookups or confusion.
1. Improve Money Display (Show Expenses + Net Calculation)
Right now, the money column shows something like:
$4 (-$5)
The second number represents what the player would net if the turn ended immediately (income minus expenses). However, this is not intuitive, and it hides the underlying math.
Proposed improvement:
Break the money calculation into explicit components:
- Income
- Expenses (locomotive maintenance + issued share interest)
- Net (Income – Expenses)
- Resulting money after net
Example:
Instead of:
$4 (-$5)
Show something like:
- Money: $4
- Income: $5
- Expenses: $10
- Net: –$5
- End-of-turn money: –$1 (or “needs $1”)
This makes the financial situation immediately clear.
2. Expand Score Breakdown
Age of Steam scoring is derived from:
- +3 points per income level
- –3 points per share issued
- +1 point per track in a completed link
Right now, the overview only shows the final score number. New players often don’t know how that number is produced.
Proposed improvement:
Add a tooltip or expandable breakdown showing:
- Income points:
income × 3 - Share penalty:
shares × –3 - Link points:
# of track in links × 1 - Total score
This helps players understand how their actions affect long-term scoring.
3. Show Bidding Impact in Money Calculation (During Auction Phase)
During the auction phase, a player’s bid affects their money, but the actual cost depends on how many players have passed and the final auction order. This makes it difficult to understand the real financial impact of a bid.
Proposed improvement:
When in the bidding phase, show multiple possible outcomes based on pass order:
- Full cost (if the player wins the bid outright)
- Half cost (if they win but benefit from pass discounts)
- Free (if they end up in a position where the bid is refunded)
This could be displayed as:
Bid impact:
- Worst case: –$X
- Likely case: –$Y
- Best case: $0
Or visually as a small table or tooltip.
This would dramatically improve clarity during one of the most confusing phases for new players.
Summary of Benefits
- Makes the game more accessible to new players
- Reduces rule lookups and confusion
- Provides transparency into scoring and finances
- Helps players make informed decisions during bidding and building