[zookeeper]

Seriously, having either a command-line argument or an in-game options item for something like dual scanlines is just plain laughable. Something like that belongs in a table or nowhere at all.

[Goober5000]

If you consider it a mod option, sure.  But some people consider it a user preference option.

EDIT: It would be worth taking a poll on how many people consider it one versus the other.

[Admiral Nelson]

There are many things one can do with that targeting box -- specify a shader, or display wireframe vs. modelled, etc.  It is odd to say the least, that dual scanning lines is a command line option whilst none of the others are.  One might 'prefer' wireframes, or a scanlines shader in there too, but these can only be done through table edits.

[z64555]

Queue Menu UI Overhaul! 

[zookeeper]

If you consider it a mod option, sure.  But some people consider it a user preference option.

Without consideration either way, really. It's kinda on the same laughableness level as including an option in Super Mario Bros for whether fireballs should rotate clockwise or counterclockwise, because you know some people really might prefer it the other way. There's an infinite number of small details like that that could have a user-visible option, and the (good) reason they don't all have one is not just that no one did it.

That said, I'm not really against the existence of any such option no matter how meaningless, only that they should be tucked away somewhere far enough. An equivalent of an about:config or something. An option alongside with all the "meaningful" ones, implying that it's worth the average user's time to think about? Not such a good idea.

[Macfie]

You could actually cleanup a lot of the stuff in the command line by getting rid of the developmental and troubleshooting section and put that in a table.  Those that normally use it would be well able to modify a table to use it.  That would get rid of about 37 items.

[Mongoose]

Seriously, having either a command-line argument or an in-game options item for something like dual scanlines is just plain laughable. Something like that belongs in a table or nowhere at all.

I don't know that I agree myself.  I play a lot of Team Fortress 2, and as Valve has tweaked its menu layout over the years, they've wound up with a specific advanced options menu that covers a bunch of minor UI elements that are essentially equivalent to the features we're talking about here.  (Things like seeing damage numbers appear over the heads of people you're shooting, or a little indicator over your healing target when you play as the Medic, to give a few examples.)  They don't affect gameplay in any significant way, but they're easily accessible to anyone to provide some level of customization over the basic game interface.  Granted the specific example of dual scanlines is something that I've always seen as kind of silly, since it's hard to picture anyone out there saying "RAWR I WANT ONLY ONE ALWAYS AND 4EVAR," but I do think user control over this general class of features has a valid place.

Aet's not forget that if we go all the way back to retail, the game allows for full control over which HUD elements display, and when they appear.

[Dragon]

Maybe the HUD customization menu could be expanded to include those options? I don't think it was touched since retail, it doesn't seem to display custom HUD graphics and nor any new additions.

[Mongoose]

If it hasn't been touched for that long, I shudder to think what that tentacle of Codethulhu looks like.

But yeah, in a perfect world, that'd be an ideal place for most of these options, since they're pretty much all HUD-related.

[Dragon]

Chances are, it's still original code. As such, it shouldn't be too bad, at least compared to parts everyone had dabbled with at some point...

[General Battuta]

Chances are, it's still original code. As such, it shouldn't be too bad, at least compared to parts everyone had dabbled with at some point...

Original V code is some of the worst.

[Goober5000]

Also some of the best.  It depends on where you look.

[General Battuta]

Post the nebula sauce Goob

[Goober5000]

Mmm, nebula wing sauce

[Mongoose]

That just screams, "It's crunch time and none of the team have slept for three days and teehee I'm punchy as hell."