Battle Command Design -PLEASE FIX IT

[Arcell]

Again as an avid gamepad user I have no issue with speed in selecting abilities on the bars, even using all 3. Then again I set my bars up strategically so that at any given time I'm usually no more than a few steps away from the next skill I need. It's not as bad as it used to be when we had manual attacks and you had to return to 1 on the first row every couple of seconds.

As far as seeing cooldowns is concerned, that's never even occurred to me as an issue lol. During a tough fight I generally have quite a bit on cooldown and I can easily tell when it is or isn't available. The only thing that hinders that is the timer sync bug.

[Rydin]

I lol'd. I think the current setup with cooldown timers being integrated into the icon works well and they should stay with that, or the small list of things on cooldown works as well (though might be problematic for people with little screen real estate). It occurs to me that if they do the 3 row icon w/cooldowns, that it might be a bit better for PS3 users as well (since some users may be using 720p or less, and text is kinda shoddy at lower resolutions).

Actually... believe it or not... menu text is fine at even the lowest resolution.. there is no change
Try it... go to the lowest resolution right now... Menu text is fine...
text is text...
Names above your head are bad because they are 3D text
But yea.. as far as your point.. i agree completely

[Rydin]

Again as an avid gamepad user I have no issue with speed in selecting abilities on the bars, even using all 3. Then again I set my bars up strategically so that at any given time I'm usually no more than a few steps away from the next skill I need. It's not as bad as it used to be when we had manual attacks and you had to return to 1 on the first row every couple of seconds.

As far as seeing cooldowns is concerned, that's never even occurred to me as an issue lol. During a tough fight I generally have quite a bit on cooldown and I can easily tell when it is or isn't available. The only thing that hinders that is the timer sync bug.

All true... but it is functionality vs convenience
Do we NEED to see all three.. no.. but some people would really prefer it if we did...
Can you get by selecting all abilities along rows... yes... But who doesn't like more convenience

[Arcell]

All true... but it is functionality vs convenience
Do we NEED to see all three.. no.. but some people would really prefer it if we did...
Can you get by selecting all abilities along rows... yes... But who doesn't like more convenience

I'd support it as an option, however it doesn't really make the act of selecting anything easier. That's why people who play with gamepads should put a little thought into their skillbar setups, taking into account the fact that it's just as easy to switch bars as it is to move along them.

[Brigandier]

Actually... believe it or not... menu text is fine at even the lowest resolution.. there is no change
Try it... go to the lowest resolution right now... Menu text is fine...
text is text...
Names above your head are bad because they are 3D text
But yea.. as far as your point.. i agree completely

No I realize that the text stays fine on PC regardless of the resolution, I just meant some HDTVs and (god forbid) CRT based TVs that PS3s might be on don't handle text clarity very well at all, especially if the game resolution doesn't match the screen native resolution. I would imagine most people are playing over decent HDMI connections though, so hopefully no issues.

[Rhomagus]

I'd support it as an option, however it doesn't really make the act of selecting anything easier. That's why people who play with gamepads should put a little thought into their skillbar setups, taking into account the fact that it's just as easy to switch bars as it is to move along them.

Ya I do that and I like the current system. I also didn't take into account keeping tabs on cooldown timers which I think would be a nice feature as well. I agree with you, give the option but don't force us into it. I see a lot of merit for wanting changes but I'd like to be able to fit the game UI to my preference. I think that's a win win.

[Biggs]

I'm having trouble understanding why no steps have been taken to adjust the UI (if that's what it would be considered) for Battle Commands, such as weapon skills, engaging in battle, initiating a ranged attack, choosing and casting spells, etc.

From the day FFs were released, they've ALWAYS been "console-based" games (maybe a handheld here and there too). And as far as I know, they've ALL clung to the same basic layout of the "Attack; Magic; Ability; Item" categorial design. So, why would they embrace a design that makes it so difficult for controller-using players (future console players) to access and use their battle commands.

I understand that developer's like "change," but this icon/slot crap is just awful. At the very least, I want to see the choice* to go back to the traditional "Attack; Magic; Ability; Item" design. I want a simple, categorized design of my battle commands, not some ridiculous, "oooo pretty," 40-mile-long bar of icons that rely, solely, on picture association to determine what command I would like to access or execute.

Does anyone else feel this way? or even know what I'm talking about? lol

One of the things I always liked aboutthe single player FF"s was that they would sometimes let you customize the UI. I think it would be great if, for 2.0, they provided us with both. The slot system is ok for some, but I would love to be given the option to set up my UI like FF7 (for example) had it. Customization is never a bad thing.

[WillRiker]

3 lines to slot skills in. Arrange your skills so that they fall into the catagories:

Line 1: Attacks Physical/Magic
Line 2: Buffs/Enfeebles
Line 3: Cures/Restores

done.

Only thing missing is items from the traditional setup.

[Buddhsie]

In FFXI, to compensate for the lack of visible UI concerning recasts, people resorted to the windower 'recast' plugin. Without this the player would be VERY disadvantaged, and because the game was so heavily based on damage and DPS competitiveness, it became the standard. The action bar at the bottom eliminates the need for this, it's a perfectly viable option, and it also (arguably) eliminates the need for ability and spell macros.

[Arcell]

In FFXI, to compensate for the lack of visible UI concerning recasts, people resorted to the windower 'recast' plugin. Without this the player would be VERY disadvantaged, and because the game was so heavily based on damage and DPS competitiveness, it became the standard. The action bar at the bottom eliminates the need for this, it's a perfectly viable option, and it also (arguably) eliminates the need for ability and spell macros.

Agreed. The only skill I have on a macro is Sentinel and that's simply for ease of instant use no matter what else I'm doing at that second.