Lets talk about GUI. Critique mine or post your own!

[Junker]

I know this topic was covered with some degree of vigor in update #54 but I feel like it's something that warrants more chat. I know the GUI is a hot topic with a wide array of tastes and opinions and we know this about Obsidian's viewpoint: 

 

"Tim and I have been talking about our user interfaces recently. We want to make sure that we improve the functionality of the original designs without completely losing the feeling of those interfaces. One thing we want to avoid is making the UI too "minimalist". We don't want it to feel bloated, of course, but we also recognize that the IE games had "solid" interfaces. They looked like they were made of materials -- wood, stone, and metal -- and had substance to them. When you look at the interfaces for the IE games, they help immerse you in each setting. We'd like to do the same for Project Eternity."

 

One of my major beefs with those old Infinity Engine games is the ugly, bloated, non intuitive GUI'S. They had buttons and windows everywhere, running up the sides of my monitor and not a single obvious picture to tell me what they did. Why do I need a big button to pause the game when one of the first things I learned was... space bar pauses the game? Why is a ton of tiny, unread text flowing past me in a horrible window that is using half of my interface real estate?

 

Anyways, enough with that. I tossed this together for fun using graphics off the internet. I took into consideration Obsidian's goals and tried to keep it old school while infusing some modern day innovations. Some new ideas including an updated formation system is included. Feel free to respond with your thoughts or post your own vision of the perfect GUI if, like me, you have fun doing it!

 

[Bartimaeus]

Well...the use of those Warcraft 3 icons pleased me. Does that count for anything?

 

One thing I notice right away is that it's just too big...the largest piece, (the minimap) takes up more than 1/4th of the screen vertically, while the smallest takes up almost 1/5th. In comparison, Baldur's Gate 2's bottom bar took up 15% of the screen, (and at 1024x768). With the advent of widescreen, (particularly the 16:9 brand of widescreen), I feel like taking up side space makes much more sense than taking up top/bottom space.

 

XP bar seems silly - presumably we won't be leveling up often enough that we need a bar to see how fast we're progressing. Animated portraits? Eh... Minimap? I...actually wouldn't mind this too much...needs to be smaller, though, and there should, of course, be a larger, full-sized version somewhere else.  Three things that really get me about this, though: how much space is wasted for those "other screen" buttons: stronghold, journal, etc. I feel like much smaller buttons with no text combined with simple tooltips that would explain what the buttons do as well as what the buttons assigned for accessing them are for new users would more than suffice; how much space is wasted for portraits: get rid of that "selected character" portrait, in my opinion, and just highlight the currently selected character's portrait. The other portrait stuff can stay, I guess, but it seems a little janky, although perhaps not quite Torment levels of jankiness; and finally, where are the ability/skill buttons? With how you currently have it set up, you have basically no room to speak of for even BG1 cleric/mage-level amounts of abilities, (though with the whole "grimoires" I don't think we'll have that many spells, but nonetheless). Simply not doable. 

Edited October 21, 2013 by Bartimaeus

[SophosTheWise]

I like its simplicity. There's really no need for complicated symbols, I'm glad you left that out. I also like the buttons for the stronghold etc, but I think there are a few buttons lacking, or rather, some things would be too complicated to be reached. How do I get to spells/inventory etc? I think you want to do this via party, but really, I think those "pathways" are too long then. I know you want to make it fully customizable

 

I also dislike the minimap, I'd rather have a see-through-minimap at the top, like in Diablo or Arx Libertatis. I know it's not really beautiful but it does the trick much better. Also it doesn't make the bottom of the screen as crowded as it is now.

 

Lastly, I would put the portraits to the side of the screen, basically the way it is done in BGEE. It leaves much more space for the selected character to be at the bottom.

 

I'm at uni now, so I only have my Netbook with me, but maybe I'll do my own when I get home.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I like making the main character more prominent.

 

Things like formation are a bit too situational to be a permanent fixture, they should be something that pops up in a small window when you hover over the word formation (it should be there next to journal, stronghold, etc.). Also, icons > words. Not only do they take up much less space, but your mind just 'reads' them faster (this goes especially for inventory management). I would replace stronghold, journal with icons of  a tower, diary, etc.

[Junker]

Thanks for the feedback, fellas. I'll make some changes when I find some time and perhaps make a new GUI using only the bottom corners of the screen. A certain degree of imagination is required when looking at a static image. For instance, character details including known skills and spells would be accessed by 2X clicking the portrait. Good points on the icons + tooltips over button + text. I think I will seriously shrink the minimap so that it centers the selected character and only displays the perimeter within that characters LOS distance.

 

What would you consider an acceptable number of hotkeys per character for spells and skills?

 

Should we have full view of every party member's portrait at all times?

 

What do you think of animated portraits to give physical personality to characters and provide status information, injury, etc.?

 

Any more GUIs to be posted? I bet the devs would appreciate feedback on our concepts so they have something to reference when it comes time to make their own.

[jamoecw]

you need weapon configurations, at least two, though on fighters and classes without many abilities you might have more.

 

having those selected be in a different spot means the portraits change positions based on who is selected, which isn't that great

 

i don't see the need to alter formations on the fly (though it is a nice thing, it might not warrant the space) as you generally don't change formation frequently, instead in combat you'd hand place people to make use of the environment and circumstances.

 

animated portraits are only good if you can still import your own (normal inanimate) pictures.

 

everything else i have noticed other people have already commented on.

 

you could have icons instead of words, and then use tool tips to say what they are, that way you can get more buttons in.

putting portraits on the side will also free up more room, and enlarging the selected portrait/s to fit a certain space (so that multiple selected doesn't take up as much individually, after all you only have so much room) could work instead of rearranging your portraits every time you want to select someone.

Edited October 22, 2013 by jamoecw

[Junker]

I think support for animated portraits would be awesome. It would require circumstantial coding within the context of the game/conversations (ie: more work) but it could add so much to the atmosphere of the game. Even if it's just 3 "moods" for each portrait and the rest could be universal overlays such as a semi-transparent green bubbly liquid for "poisoned" or a layer of stone for "petrified". Maybe a slight shaking with the "angry mood" anytime damage is taken.

 

I was thinking the "on the fly" formations could make your frequent individual character movements much easier by confining your mouse movements to a 1" square rather than across the entire screen. Maybe it can be tied to the minimap, killing two birds with one stone. You would get the overhead perspective, visual representation of objects/cover and a dynamic formation system all within the confines of a minimap. Could really add to the tactical aspects of the game!

[Messier-31]

I think support for animated portraits would be awesome. It would require circumstantial coding within the context of the game/conversations (ie: more work) but it could add so much to the atmosphere of the game. Even if it's just 3 "moods" for each portrait and the rest could be universal overlays such as a semi-transparent green bubbly liquid for "poisoned" or a layer of stone for "petrified". Maybe a slight shaking with the "angry mood" anytime damage is taken.

 

Animated portraits? For me that's a waste of effort, a superfluous trinket. Also makes the custom portraits more difficult to do. A static portrait of BG / IwD type feels more art-like, and better works on your imagination. As for the GUI, plain and simple - which is a good thing and bad at the same time. Hard to give a unequivocal opinion.

[FacelessOne]

The UI is one of the most important systems in the game in my opinion, it is very hard to provide optimal solution for everybody...

 

For me one of the best UI in RPGs is UI in Neverwinter Nights 1, it is beautiful!! Very simple and complex at the same time, not to mention the aesthetics and ergonomics! But UI design from NWN 1 won't "fit" into Project Eternity style. What I like also in NWN 1 UI is the same art style for skills and spells, which is very transparent!

For example:

1

2

 

"A static portraits" are great for this game, they are simply adequate for graphic design. There is no need to animate everything... and I really love this little master pieces.

[Karkarov]

Just to play along I will repost the final version of the UI Mockup I did for the actual UI update from way back.  The idea was to do something with a "medieval/fantasy" feel using graphics and such to highlight the UI but also be highly functional and minimalist.

 

http://i1.minus.com/iMaaVYAinXEqY.png

 

The image is pretty large and my thumbnail code isn't working for some reason so just follow the link.

[DCParry]

While a completely different game and set up, I was recently playing AoW2 for some good ole nostalgia, and I came to remember that I utterly hate large block UI's that take up so much real estate no matter what the screen resolution. 

[Messier-31]

Just to play along I will repost the final version of the UI Mockup I did for the actual UI update from way back.  The idea was to do something with a "medieval/fantasy" feel using graphics and such to highlight the UI but also be highly functional and minimalist.

 

http://i1.minus.com/iMaaVYAinXEqY.png

 

The image is pretty large and my thumbnail code isn't working for some reason so just follow the link.

 

Blank page reporting in.

[JFSOCC]

Just to play along I will repost the final version of the UI Mockup I did for the actual UI update from way back.  The idea was to do something with a "medieval/fantasy" feel using graphics and such to highlight the UI but also be highly functional and minimalist.

 

http://i1.minus.com/iMaaVYAinXEqY.png

 

The image is pretty large and my thumbnail code isn't working for some reason so just follow the link.

I like that this leaves you with a lot of screen real-estate.

[Karkarov]

 

Blank page reporting in.

 

????

 

Are you saying the link isn't working for you?  It definitely works when I click it.

[Messier-31]

Are you saying the link isn't working for you?  It definitely works when I click it.

 

Unfortunately yes, I see nothing but pure white nothingness 

Edited October 30, 2013 by Messier-31

[Lephys]

Unfortunately yes, I see nothing but pure white nothingness 

DON'T GO INTO THE LIGHT! FOLLOW MY VOICE, MESSIER, AND I SHALL LEAD YOU TO THE BACK BUTTON!

 

Edited October 30, 2013 by Lephys

[Remmirath]

Really, so far I've liked the UI mockup in update #54 the best of all the ones I've seen proposed here. It looks good and seems to have everything that I want to be there. I don't need a map most of the time in an isometric game; if this were a 3d game, I'd feel that was necessary, but not here. I do, however, greatly enjoy having the feedback window, because I like to know about hits and misses and that sort of thing.

 

I am fond of larger and more solid interfaces in general, and those of Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale are actually some of my favourites. I don't have any real problem with them (save that in Icewind Dale, the 'select all' button is a bit too close to the 'rest' button).

 

As for animated portraits, I'd worry that it would cause a lot of pain for adding custom portraits, and custom portraits are pretty important to me considering how many characters I usually go through in any given playthrough (and how many times I play games through). I wouldn't even prefer the default portraits to be animated, because I would find it a bit distracting and a bit odd. Animated portraits wasn't my favourite thing about Planscape: Torment, and although it was sometimes kind of neat there, I don't think it would fit with most other games.

 

I don't like having the experience bar there, but I do like the rectangular format you have the portraits in instead of the square ones. I've always found that a bit more pleasing to the eye.