dev1156 New UI feedback

[Catmato]

I'm wondering if the following things are intentional:
-Macro bar is always present and unmovable
-Any typed commands what would open a window (/map, /search) can't be used at all
-There are no keyboard commands to open any windows (items, equip) despite being listed in keyboard config
-The dock is unmovable
-Mouse doesn't work to change support job
-Log2 turns itself on after zoning

[Catmato]

Actually, I'm just wondering if it was intentional to release this mess onto the test server in its completely broken, mostly untranslated form.

[Alhanelem]

the macro bar / hotbar / w/e you want to call it is moveable. Mouse over it, hold shift, and click + drag. But for whatever reason it seems to be glued to the edges of the screen.
The same applies to any other element you thought you couldn't move.

Actually, I'm just wondering if it was intentional to release this mess onto the test server in its completely broken, mostly untranslated form.

That's why it's called the "test server". Because you know, it's for... testing. Though they could at least have gotten all the new buttons/commands translated so we know what the heck the things we're clicking on mean.

Anyway, on to my feedback.

On a conceptual level, I like the new UI. Being able to move the game windows anywhere on the screen, being able to hold them on the screen at all times, and having multiple windows open are all great things. Due to the way my eyes work FFXI was always a little annoying to play because everything is shoved into the corners so I have to pan my head around to look at UI elements. With the New UI, I can move important elements away from the edges so I can see everything without shifting my focus all around.

That said, the thing that kills it is the control. For some reason it feels just as clumsy to operate with the mouse as before. The camera controls need a revamp to go with the new UI- The current mouse camera control is sluggish and feels awkward because it only moves the camera in 8 directions instead of any direction and the speed of the movement needs to match the speed of your mouse movement. Until this is adressed, the mouse is still as useless as before.

In FFXIV they added a feature to make individual UI elements larger or smaller. I'd really appriciate something like that because the font currently being used is very small at high resolutions. If I could scale up/down individual elements instead of only the entire in terface in the pre-game config that would be great.

For the macro bars, we have a choice of two sizes at the moment: Tiny, and ginormous. Can we get something in between that?

One other thing I'd love (New UI or not): an option to have self target abilities skip the step of choosing a target. It feels particularly odd with the new UI where if you click on / select an ability from the abilities window, the window briefly disappears while you choose your target.

@ OP: I would wager that the text commands for windows not working is a temporary thing. The New UI probably hasn't been made to respond to those commands yet. After all this time I would have hoped that it would be farther along than it is, but at least it has some things going for it.

TL;DR: It has some nice potential with some good features, but it is so barebones/unfinished right now that i hope its still got a while before release.

I also hope the general appearance isn't final either, it looks so sterile.

[Crevox]

After messing around with it a bit, I wish some elements (chat log, macros) were resizeable. It seems they intend on macros to be a "hotbar", as they bind to 1-9, ctrl1-9, and alt1-9. If it can autohide, or be made smaller, this could actually happen.

There's also some random window that is just black; not sure what that's for.

The UI is definitely snappier and displays a lot more information at once; a functional improvement is always a welcome one. It needs polish, but it has potential.

[Crevox]

I recorded a video of the new interface just so everyone else can see what it looks like without having to download and install the test client.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioxZShuCvMg

[Alhanelem]

After messing around with it a bit, I wish some elements (chat log, macros) were resizeable. It seems they intend on macros to be a "hotbar", as they bind to 1-9, ctrl1-9, and alt1-9. If it can autohide, or be made smaller, this could actually happen.

There's also some random window that is just black; not sure what that's for.

The UI is definitely snappier and displays a lot more information at once; a functional improvement is always a welcome one. It needs polish, but it has potential.

I do like how you can now bind things to plain 0-9. I do hope they make that available to everyone though.

[Trumpy]

That could happen Tahn but way way way long time ago i think they said a 3rd macro bar would be only for the new UI.