True, I agree. Of course, there will be players playing FFXI for as long as it lives & for that, I apologise. Was premature of me. It's just I don't want the UI we have currently to disappear for good as so many players have got used to using it in certain ways over the years & a new UI can slow the speed of commands players activate while we get used it. I am expecting another world merge soon, though.

Looking at the announcement again, I believe we can toggle between the new & old UI:

"Activating the New User Interface

To activate the new user interface, you must first update your Test Client to the latest version and check the box next to “Activate New UI” in the “Misc.” tab of the FINAL FANTASY XI Config program." ... phew In that case, if we leave this unchecked, will the old UI stay where it is? Can SE leave this feature in the live version please?

I'm sure there will be skins added to help the players but testing won't be able to cover everything (will old cutscenes with certain options to select work alright? for e.g.). I'm sure they'll iron out most of the glitches before it is released.