I am curious to know what will be fixed after the battle update, but in an effort to just create some communication for the dev's to hear I suggest that the UI is overhauled next.
I imagine there are already some battle UI updates that are going to be seen. However I compiled a list of several ideas with a description of each in the UI forum section.
That incredibly long post can be found here.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/13378-Overhaul-User-Interface-%28Tons-of-suggestions-included%29
In short, I'll just post the headlines that I'd like to see in a UI overhaul.
- PC and PS3 UI's should be developed separately.
- Focus on more icons/tooltips/drag and drop rather than cumbersome menus and drop downs.
- A comprehensive command list and right click menu needs to be implemented. Ie: /invite /kick /browse /lsinvite /lskick /trade etc.
- The speed of fading in/out animations needs to be significantly reduced or removed.
- The speed of the menus need to be increased (localize the servers so I don't send everything to Japan!!)
- Global chat.
- I want to hover over buffs and debuffs to see critical battle information. Selecting is inefficient. (Partially implemented but not on the party box)
- Several action bars need to be on the screen at one time -- and fully customized with keybinds.
- Addons should be allowed to be created. Future addons could be implemented by SE themselves into the core game.
- Targeting needs to be improved drastically still. I have no desire to tab through targets. I want to click with my mouse on an enemy, then a player, and back to the enemy with ease.
- Camera functions need to be improved so that the camera can be swung in 360 degrees and not always on "follow player."
- Linkshell/Guilds need a massive administration/UI overhaul. We need to kick and invite people from whatever location they are at. Ranks as well.
- Fix the issue when equipping skills and gear that my character stops moving and disappears. Incredibly frustrating.
- The number of trading slots needs to be increased. Four slots is incredibly small. Needs to be increased to at least 10, or don't limit it at all.
- I want to be able to type and communicate when crafting. I know this was looked at earlier but it is still massively broken.
- Search, /who functions, and looking for party features need to be implemented in the game.
After battle update -- Overhaul UI?
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06-14-2011, 07:46 AMTibianAfter battle update -- Overhaul UI?
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06-14-2011, 07:59 AMTessaJalloh
i agree with a few things, but others are completely unnecessary and wouldn't help you in the long run. such as, the PS3 UI being seperately developed, that splits the UI team in half, means everything takes longer to achieve.
They're already going to be working on a few improvements like you've suggested though if i remember right, such as the skill equipping and the buff info. -
06-14-2011, 08:01 AMRenshi
Who knows! That's the fun =D
Anyway, fret no need, since if there's an UI overhaul they'll let us know, and if they're Goodfellows they'll release an old-style Q&A or an old-style Guide for Eorzea about that. Man, I miss those =D -
06-14-2011, 08:05 AMWolfie
I want them to focus all of their resources to fixing the server infrastructure and engine. Half the time we ask for a feature, we get hit with "Core Programming Issue" or "we'll do that after we fix server infrastructure".
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06-14-2011, 08:14 AMkukurumei
Class update though they're all being worked on together.
After the class/job system, most likely the craft systems would come to fruition, after that we are probably looking at economy if it hasn't been snuck in somewhere.
UI is on the back-burner(relatively) if you believe Yoshi's check list. -
06-14-2011, 08:25 AMRowyneYES. This this THIS.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tibian
I agree with everything in the OP, but this really gets to the heart of the issue. This has been a huge point of annoyance for me.
As far back as the beta feedback forums, it's been said that dual UI's need to be developed for this game. One for PC (keyboard/mouse) and one for PS3 (controller). If feasible, they could implement an option so that you could choose which style you prefer (such as for those who want to play on their PC but use a controller). The one-size-fits-all approach is making both parties unhappy.
I want to be able to single-click options with my mouse instead of going through layers and layers of menus. I want right-click functionality. I want my left-mouse-click to manually pan my camera, and the right-mouse-click to pivot my character. I want drag-and-drop functionality when I load up my action bar. And while we're on the subject, I don't want to flip through action bars, I want all of them visible all the time. I want to be able to target NPCs on my screen without having to click my mouse 3 times before selecting them because my nameplate is in the way and it keeps targeting me.
I'm seriously tired of feeling like I'm playing a console port, and that the keyboard/mouse players are an afterthought.
FFXI was near and dear to my heart, and I played for 4 years. I've considered playing again, but the fact that it is purely a console-style menu driven interface with zero mouse functionality is the single biggest thing that's keeping me from doing it. I only put up with it back in 2004 because it was my first MMO. But I know trying to pick it up again would frustrate the heck out of me.
Ease of use and UI design is an important issue to many gamers, especially MMO players and even moreso for the PC crowd. -
06-14-2011, 09:55 AMKilta_Firelotus
"I want to be able to single-click options with my mouse instead of going through layers and layers of menus."
not to be mean, but name an mmorpg or an rpg in general that does this.
most games in general have menu layers only fix is making it dynamic like Fable 3 or the soon to be released Skyrim ( e3 showcased the dev demo on the 360 ^^ i thpought it was the pc graphics are AWESOME~~~ ) -
06-14-2011, 10:05 AMRowyne... Wow? Aion? Warhammer? Pretty much every PC game that you can directly access things with a single click of your mouse?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kilta_Firelotus
I'm really starting to think you've never played any of these games you claim to be such a veteran of.
Let me see if I can explain it to you.
If this game were set up with a PC-interface, when you approached an Aetheryte, you would right-click on it and it would slide out a list of available options to directly access.
Instead, when we approach an Aetheryte, we have to open up our activation menu, go to Aetheryte, and then go through layers of menus that open and close, progressing and backtracking, until we find what we want.
This is due to the PS3-interface limitations. -
06-14-2011, 10:10 AMMackOH no......Quote:
Originally Posted by Kilta_Firelotus
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06-14-2011, 10:16 AMRauYou're comparing the menu of an MMO to the menus of Action RPGs?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kilta_Firelotus
Even Bethesda is trying to simplify their menus to reduces amount of clicks/presses. -
06-14-2011, 10:29 AMRedAffinity
I can tell you that coming from FFXI with the PS2 and PC versions, Square-Enix believes firmly in equality and everything being even. So if there are any differences, it'll likely be subtle, but don't expect a drastically different UI for PC giving any one platform an edge over another makes for an unfair balance.
With that said, the menu system does need to be overhauled. While somewhat fixed, it's still VERY slow, and unnecessarily complicated. The on-screen hud looks perfectly fine. there's room for improvement so I can't say it's perfect, but it's been a highlight being able to custom make the way my main screen looks. -
06-14-2011, 11:47 AMRowyneTanaka, of all people, admitted there should have been dual UI's. And that the reason it didn't happen wasn't due to limitations or balance, but simply time constraints:Quote:
Originally Posted by RedAffinity
SourceQuote:
As Tanaka put it, many of the issues boiled down to the team's inexperience with catering to the PC audience ahead of the console market. "FFXI started on the PlayStation 2 and then got released on the PC half a year later, which was a pretty smooth process," he said, "but we're going the opposite way and starting with the PC this time, which created new problems. We placed too much emphasis on making the game compatible with console controllers, so it's just not suited well for mouse control -- that was a huge issue with PC gamers. There really needed to be two different control schemes for console and PC, since both users interfaces work so differently from each other, but our development team didn't get around to that. Fixing this is one of the top priorities we'll be dealing with."
I could have sworn Yoshi-P also mentioned this may be in the list of future plans, but I'm still combing through interviews and old Producer Letters trying to find it.
Regardless, I know that Yoshi-P said they plan to deliver on the promises made by the previous dev team (and Tanaka said that fixing this issue was one of their top priorities). So I'm not giving up on seeing this come to fruition. -
06-14-2011, 12:16 PMRentahamsterYes, right-click functionality is sorely missing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tibian
I made a few visual mockups (with epic boobage in the chat log thread) of proposed right-click interface improvements in these two threads:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...g-Improvements
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...ockup-Included
Direct links to the samples:
http://i.imgur.com/nsApD.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/O29Mr.jpg -
06-14-2011, 01:41 PMTibianA rough example but it does its job. Right-click commands could make this game about 50x better in the current state. If anything they at least need to address remaking the UI or parts of it each patch.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rentahamster
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06-14-2011, 02:36 PMSeif
I'm so sick of people wanting more PC user tweaks when the GAME CANNOT BE PLAYED COMPLETELY ON A CONTROLLER YET!
I'm literally hoarse trying to explain how the game is BROKEN for controller users at the moment. And no not "broken" in the sense it's bad but actually broken in a way that many of the key features can not, I repeat CAN NOT be accessed via controller.
I'm not saying the mouse controls don't need work but at least you can access all the menus currently. -
06-14-2011, 03:45 PMEvangelus
ps3 usb port = mouse and keyboard in ps3 signature series collector FFXIV box ! That a solution !
(is the most simple and fastest :p) -
06-14-2011, 03:46 PMTibianJust another reason PS3 and PC UI development should be separated. Furthermore, PS3 development is on hold indefinitely right now. Why develop for a controller if nobody is using it? Clearly you are using it, but I really have no idea why considering a keyboard and mouse give you more options.Quote:
Originally Posted by Seif
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06-14-2011, 03:50 PMEvangelus
but if PS3 user need to talk to other, they will need a keyboard for speak no?
they speak with the controller ? -
06-14-2011, 03:50 PMGramulWait. Like what? I've been using the controller this entire time. What have I been missing?!Quote:
Originally Posted by Seif
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06-14-2011, 03:50 PMTirionCrey
UI fixes should be something that are worked on while they fix the other shit. Overhauling the UI is no rocket science. Just change it and make it client based!
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06-15-2011, 03:39 AMTrigger
Just some general thoughts on this, I'd like to be able to change how certain things are grouped for instanced, Hp Mp and Tp are all side by side I'd would love to be able to stack them and maybe be able to view stacked bars like party list into a row.
They also need to show an enemy group list. It basically would just be a party list of enemys of above your currently enaged mob. In a levi or behest you can easliy click on any mob with something like this. -
06-15-2011, 03:46 AMPerrin_Aybarra
I agree with most of the things in the OP, the only thing that I need convincing is the addons part. I think allowing addons can ruin a game experience and is not always a good thing. If you allow addons to be created and used by the mass, then some addons will become mandatory for game-play and will be looked over when seeking a group if you don't have this or that addon to make the game even more easier than it is now.
I'll say no to addons for now. -
06-15-2011, 08:27 AMTibianAddons are the reason why the WoW interface has been updated. If you have an entire community working on improving the game, the dev team can work on other things and just take the ideas and implement them later.Quote:
Originally Posted by Perrin_Aybarra
Addons are important and improve games. -
06-15-2011, 08:52 AMNayliaThe ability to "Use" items from the controller.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gramul
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06-15-2011, 09:17 AMRowyneThat's an issue I'm really split on. WoW's UI wouldn't have half the options it does now without community-developed addons. oRA gave us raid management. Outfitter gave us the equipment manager. Omen gave us threat display. Grid was definitely what inspired the new raid frames.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tibian
But there is a dark side to addons. Recount made it so that party and raid leaders know exactly how much DPS/HPS their group members are putting out. Sometimes the numbers are all they're looking at, and they don't take other things into account (backup healing, dispels, etc). People get kicked if their numbers are low. And then there was Gearscore. The addon that calculated how accomplished and 'raid ready' you were based on gear item level, enchants, gems, and raid achievements. You didn't get invited to groups if your GS was too low. Blizzard let this run rampant before being forced to make it null and void by implementing an in-game gear check. If your item level was too low, the dungeon finder would not let you enter heroics.
Not to mention that raiding guilds make certain addons mandatory, or you cannot raid. And, yes, there are ways to know. Some addons have the functionality to check the version everyone else in your raid is using.
These experiences have made playing addon-free games feel like a breath of fresh air. I get tired of only being as good as the next guy's addons. But at the same time, I know that development in some games really benefit from them.
I have to begrudgingly admit that since SE is a little out of touch with the modern MMO market, they could learn a lot from community addons. BUT... I would like to see them more tightly controlled than WoW's.