User Interface Update?

[Fusionx]

Any word on the new User Interface?

Back at Vanafest we were shown a tiny sample of what was currently in development and that they hoped it would be ready for Seekers of Adoulin.


Is it looking like the UI will make SoA launch? An update on this would be nice, maybe a few new images too /nudgenudgewinkwink

[odericko]

Is it looking like the UI will make SoA launch?

I hope so.

[Alhanelem]

There hasn't been any news on it, but supposedly it will be on the test server sometime before that.

[Limecat]

I'm going to guess "no" on principle. It's such a huge change I can't imagine they wouldn't have said something recently if it were getting close to completion. Also, if I'm not completely remembering wrong they had originally given a very rough guesstimate of closer to next November for SoA. Take that for what you will in wondering about whether the new UI will be ready to go or not.

[Dazusu]

Also, if I'm not completely remembering wrong

You are remembering wrong. They made no such estimate.

You'll have to source this. Never heard anything of the sort. I don't think they'd ever give us alliance TP/MP because it's not fair to the console players.

They have said several times that they are looking into doing this with the new UI. Start weeping console players.

Not like PC users can't already do it...

Trust me, you playin on PC on an SSD with a very fast connection is a BIG advantage

Not in this game it isn't. Zoning is no faster on SSD than it is on a regular mechanical SATA drive. That's what happens when you use shitty low quality textures. Remember these zones were made to load mainly into what small DRAM/RAM a PS2 has available. If your PC can't pull those textures from a mechanical drive in a hot second, you've got bigger things to worry about.

[Zhronne]

Zoning is no faster on SSD

It is? Test it with a low-end 5400 RPM UDMA33 hdd like the PS2 one and then an SSD and you'll clearly notice the difference.
Altough of course it's small, tbh it's barely noticeable (I have FFXI on my SSD and on my Caviar Black as well), but it's there.
There's a bigger difference with connection speed, the quality of your connection. You can easily test it by connecting with a low-end GPRS/EDGE/PSTN connection and then comparing it to a high quality cable line like those available in some countries.
There's also another difference in the overall latency if you play FFXI at your place or in Japan.
Have you ever been in Sekigahara? There are bars there where you can play FFXI for free. Have you ever noticed the huge difference there is when you use a JA and when the JA really goes off in the screen? When you interact with an NPC and the options are loaded up, when you zone and the time it takes for the items in your inventory to load up, the time it takes to sell/buy items from an npc, the time it takes to move an item from your inventory to your mog house.
There's a very noticeable difference and if you've been there and tested it you would know what I'm talking of.

Of course I'm not saying there is something exagerated like, say, 5 seconds difference lol, it's very small! But at the same time it's also clearly noticeable and I think it has a big impact when you play this game 4+hrs a day.

[Zhronne]

I wonder if the new UI will be just for aesthetics or if it's gonna have functionalities too.
They mentioned being able to have two separate Chatboxes, but what else?


1) Will there be more accurate/detailed chat filters?
2) Will you be able to see additional information about your character? (Accuracy, Ranged Accuracy, Ranged Attack, Magic Defense, Evasion, etc)
3) Will you be able to change the font SIZE inside the chat box? Would be useful being able to reduce it a bit.
4) Will there be additional information concerning your buff/debuff? Like an accurate timer that displays how much time it's left before it wears off?

[Alhanelem]

I wonder if the new UI will be just for aesthetics or if it's gonna have functionalities too.
They mentioned being able to have two separate Chatboxes, but what else?


1) Will there be more accurate/detailed chat filters?
2) Will you be able to see additional information about your character? (Accuracy, Ranged Accuracy, Ranged Attack, Magic Defense, Evasion, etc)
3) Will you be able to change the font SIZE inside the chat box? Would be useful being able to reduce it a bit.
4) Will there be additional information concerning your buff/debuff? Like an accurate timer that displays how much time it's left before it wears off?

Chat filters dont depend on the new UI- they could change them without it.

The UI isn't going to give any new information, it's just going to mean better configurability of the UI with the draggable windows and such- also mouse input is supposedly going to be better (e.g. not useless).

It can't give us new info (e.g. show us stats that aren't shown now) because it wouldn't be fair to xbox/ps2 who cant use the new UI.

[Zhronne]

The UI isn't going to give any new information

Actually they already mentioned there will be new stuff.
The double split chat box that I mentioned, but also PT/Alliance TP/MP data (that you can already see if you use Windower or similar tools).
Going by these lines, I was just wondering if there will be more or not.

It can't give us new info (e.g. show us stats that aren't shown now) because it wouldn't be fair to xbox/ps2 who cant use the new UI.

This is the way they wanted us to believe for the past 10 years, but it's a way of reasoning that has serious flaws, and they're the first who started to acknowledge that by starting to work on a new UI.

Being able to play at 1920x1080 instead of 540xXXX (PS2) is already an "unfair" difference if you want to see things that way.
If you consider these things unfair, then there are many already, some of which are way bigger than being able to see your Ranged attack would be.
Because seriously, how really "unfair" would that be? How big of an advantage would it create compared to PS2 users?

This just isn't the correct way to see things, because the next step would be to consider unfair the fact that some PC users can load zones faster thanks to SSD hard disks, better cable connections etc.
Let's just make everyone play at 800x600 with bad textures because otherwise that would be unfair towards people who still play with a 2004 PC with Windows 98 installed on it.


The "unfair" thing was just an excuse, plain and simple.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

I wonder if the new UI will be just for aesthetics or if it's gonna have functionalities too.

If I remember correctly, they mentioned changes up to and including an exposed API for legitimate Windower-style plug-ins.