Fear: UIv2

[Hassat Hunter]

No wonder they looked so bright and out of place... a big overload of color... too much.

[John Forseti]

I don't use hot-keys, except perhaps WASD, ESC and SPACE. So I want a pretty interface with legible text that has room for plenty of actions, functions etc and ways to get to the various screens quickly and conveniently. AND I would like for it to be as small and unintrusive as possible while delivering that.

 

Shouldn't be too hard right?

[Sensuki]

That must have taken a while.

 

Since everyone (including yourself) knows that the PE pack will be a full screen menu what you have actually done is this

 

 

Which is essentially exactly the same UI style you proposed before.

 

I would not have decorative elements on the UI like that as they create too much dead space, those skeletal pillars and woodwork on the edges is pointless, though it looks well drawn.

 

The icons are smaller than 32x32 (I think), you could eliminate many of the pixels in the top bar to make them bigger.

 

The adra orb clock is a cool idea.

 

The three buttons under it I assume are select all, formations, and guard? I don't think any UI designer would have clickable buttons that small on the UI.

 

I don't see anything for Animal Companion or Monk/Cipher resources.

 

Swap weapon button will probably be individual weapon icons because players will be able to buy more weapon slots with talents, so I wouldn't be surprised if they are represented as individual buttons.

 

Quick item icons menu is too big, I would assume it will only be three slots (like the IE games).

 

And yeah the left side is just dead space as the pack menu will be a fullscreen UI.

 

So yeah not really a "Sensuki-style" UI besides taking up the full width of the screen. Better functionality could be provided with the full space, but I guess you were nearly able to grasp the concept.

[Karkarov]

So yeah not really a "Sensuki-style" UI besides taking up the full width of the screen. Better functionality could be provided with the full space, but I guess you were nearly able to grasp the concept.

 

It sure would be nice to see a link to where you are getting your info about the "main menu" buttons not even being on the UI at all.  If that is the case that actually points to a more minimalist design idea as that is taking functions that used to be on the UI off of it.  Meanwhile, no, I would never design a UI that looks anything like what you just posted as the layout would be crap.  What I posted is designed as a full bar, not a partial, not windows.  I would do it much differently if it weren't going to be full bar.

 

Additionally, my UI does every function you could want.  I took too long getting to the FAQ for it explaining what everything is but I am posting that now.  I appreciate the compliments but a few hypothesis you made (and others) are off.  You are right though, the Adra Orb is the pause button.  I made sure the design would include every function the BG UI had, and or more besides.  To do less would have been to fail at the whole point of making the full bar UI design in the first place.

 

That out of the way...  Here is that FAQ I was talking about in image form that explains what every part of the UI would be and or do.  I will add some additional detail and say the Portraits are 80 wide by 90 tall, the buttons are all 40x40 or larger save a few random ones like the selection buttons.  It is funny how small they look at a non shrunk resolution.  Again I advise people look full screen, not at the small version, it is a 1080 pic if you are looking at it at anything other than 100% zoom you are not seeing it as it is intended.

 

Picture FAQ for UI

 

Also here is a collection of pics with the UI on different backgrounds.  I am doing this just to show that... actually it does look pretty good despite seeming to be a weird color choice.  I also always thought of it as odd brown stone not necessarily wood.  Maybe I am weird. 

 

UI set against possible Animus Laboratory

Battle scene at the docks (note this BG had to be upscaled a little so it suffers some quality loss)

Foggy night in what is possibly Defiance Bay

Monsters planning ambush in cave

Entrance to a cave

Everyone's favorite classic Eternity background

Edited December 30, 2013 by Karkarov

[BillyCorgan]

I hope something like that :

http://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=680513POE13.jpg

Sorry, i do that in 10mns... but the (my) idea is here (plus radial menu by clicking on a character in the screen to get shortcuts to inventory, etc...).

 

Karkarov, what you do is quite good for me too. Great job.

Edited December 30, 2013 by BillyCorgan

[IndiraLightfoot]

 

Also here is a collection of pics with the UI on different backgrounds.  I am doing this just to show that... actually it does look pretty good despite seeming to be a weird color choice.  I also always thought of it as odd brown stone not necessarily wood.  Maybe I am weird. 

 

UI set against possible Animus Laboratory

Battle scene at the docks (note this BG had to be upscaled a little so it suffers some quality loss)

Foggy night in what is possibly Defiance Bay

Monsters planning ambush in cave

Entrance to a cave

Everyone's favorite classic Eternity background

 

 

I retract my previous statement about it popping too much against the background, as you clearly demonstrate that this eggplant colour actually works pretty darn well. And a closer look makes me indecisive too about its material. Is it some weird and relatively soft stone and not wood at all?

[Sensuki]

dp.

Edited December 31, 2013 by Sensuki

[Sensuki]

After playing around with Karkarov's UI trying to organize the features that I think should be in and elsewhere I actually realize that due to the portrait and icon sizes and the fact that the portraits will almost certainly be left-aligned on the screen - that there is no way to center the amount of space the portraits take up with other elements of the UI.

 

The UI is no doubt going to be symmetrical and in order for it to be so, the combat log is going to be as large as the portrait area of the screen plus whatever other menu they have to it's right. There will then likely be a centrepiece of the UI with the main menu section and whatnot.

 

 

Here is how that works out.

 

As you can see the dialogue window is waaaaay too wide. If the dialogue window is made any smaller at all, the other side of the screen has to be compressed as well to be symmetrical.

 

I think there is almost zero chance that Obsidian will not have the portrait and action bar section of the UI left aligned, so this makes the full bottom bar almost impossible due to this design. I think this is evidence enough that the UI will in fact be a centered bar, rather than taking up the full screen width - because otherwise the design would have to be changed, such as action buttons being grouped on the left of the portraits and UI buttons going a long the top of the character portraits (such as skill use, weapons, items, guard etc).

 

You can only do a full screen width UI keeping to the UI design principles that Josh Sawyer mentioned in Art Update 54 with action buttons on the left of the portraits and portraits more centered. I think that design is unlikely, so I'm going to guess there will be around 240px width free on either side of the UI.

[warg]

An idea: it would be great if we could upload our own portraits during character generation. What do you think?

[Karkarov]

An idea: it would be great if we could upload our own portraits during character generation. What do you think?

It was possible in the IE games I am sure they will figure something out.