Battle Command Design -PLEASE FIX IT

[Irondude]

they are allowing custom UI's and im sure the first design by fans will look like classic ff

[Irondude]

haha here you go even better

[Khal_Drogo]

haha here you go even better

lol <3 -thank you!!

[Khal_Drogo]

No... it is horrid... A menu based system that is admittedly unintuitive. How do you know the system was bad? because no one used it... everyone used Macros...

That's not true at all. I assure you:

~You used the menu system to engage and initiate an attack (unless you really milked your macros and used /a)
~You used the menu system to /check ppl
~You used the menu system to access and use your food/drinks
~And you probably used the menu system to do your ranged attack and several abilities/spells you didn't feel like macro'n (or didn't have room for on your "Job-Specific" macro list)

... in the video game world, YOU HAVE TO CHANGE. Going by your "If it aint broke... don't fix it" logic.. Every game would be super Mario Bros... or Pacman... or PONG....
Back when every RPG was turn based... One man (Akihiko Matsui) said I want FF4 to use an Action time bar (ATB) instead of being turn based... You're welcome

lol, ok, that's a BIT of an exaggeration. No one is asking that EVERYTHING that is "good enough" should be kept the same. And, I seriously doubt that Natabant wants FFXIV to be a carbon copy of XI (as I'm sure you know too).

Granted, there were an innumerable amount of problems w/ FFXI, and I'm glad SE changed some of it up. But this action bar, the horrible party-play for exp'n, the armoury/class system, the market wards, this questing crap planned for jobs, and turning end-game content into focus on crafting rather than hard boss fights and so on...it's all awful. In this case, sorry to say, but "if it ain't broke" logic couldn't apply more.

....I've admitted the action bar can use an overhaul.. but a nested menu is NOT the way...

[With the action bar,] they could just run outside and click the icon on the action bar that says "Vorpal Thrust" #IJS

I'm not saying "there's nothing better out there." In fact, someone MAY eventually design a better UI, but in the mean time, let's at least settle for what works. The "nested, unintuitive" system in FFXI, that you condescendingly referred to, is FAR superior to this abomination they call the action bar. And if anything, it's MORE intuitive. Not only does it list *all your spells/abs/ws, it actually categorizes them, so you can immediately access a specific action.

There's nothing "intuitive" about the action bar. I can't tell you how many times I've smashed "abilities" thinking they were Weapon Skills b/c they have a tp cost associated w/ them.

[Rydin]

I'm not saying "there's nothing better out there." In fact, someone MAY eventually design a better UI, but in the mean time, let's at least settle for what works. The "nested, unintuitive" system in FFXI, that you condescendingly referred to, is FAR superior to this abomination they call the action bar. And if anything, it's MORE intuitive. Not only does it list *all your spells/abs/ws, it actually categorizes them, so you can immediately access a specific action.

by saying we should settle for it... you're implying it isn't ideal.
I definitely respect your opinion... I just can't see how Macro use is different in either case
Macros and an Action bar is no different than Macros and a Menu
You can also arrange the action bar to help alleviate any confusion regarding what you want to use
Lastly... using the actual Menu instead of the Action Bar cause you to spend a lot more time staring at text and not at the action going on... the Character and MOB models look incredible...

[Khal_Drogo]

by saying we should settle for it... you're implying it isn't ideal.
I definitely respect your opinion... I just can't see how Macro use is different in either case
Macros and an Action bar is no different than Macros and a Menu
You can also arrange the action bar to help alleviate any confusion regarding what you want to use
Lastly... using the actual Menu instead of the Action Bar cause you to spend a lot more time staring at text and not at the action going on... the Character and MOB models look incredible...

I agree that the menu system isn't "ideal" in the sense that we can never truly attain perfection. But for all intents and purposes, the traditional FF menu system *is perfection, imo. It's sleak, condensed, and to the point.

And if anything, the action bar is the one that causes players to spend more time staring and scrolling through their actions (instead of the incredible character and MOB design models).

Text is a lot less distracting these big, flashy, primitive flashing icons (faded out when unavailable, colored when available, etc.). So, I'm sorry to say it, but the action bar is an abomination; as is the targetting system. XI is superior to XIV on both counts.

[Jinko]

I hated FF11's menu based system and so glad they changed to action bars for this one.

I normally play with gamepad unless I'm in battle when i switch to mouse and keyboard because its easier and faster to use number keys.

And if anything, the action bar is the one that causes players to spend more time staring and scrolling through their actions (instead of the incredible character and MOB design models).

If you are a noob maybe, it only takes a couple of hours to get used to where actions are placed on an action bar.

Text is a lot less distracting these big, flashy, primitive flashing icons

I think you will find that text is more primitive than on screen graphics.

I'll agree that the targeting system is still pretty terrible.

[Rydin]

I agree that the menu system isn't "ideal" in the sense that we can never truly attain perfection. But for all intents and purposes, the traditional FF menu system *is perfection, imo. It's sleak, condensed, and to the point.

And if anything, the action bar is the one that causes players to spend more time staring and scrolling through their actions (instead of the incredible character and MOB design models).

Text is a lot less distracting these big, flashy, primitive flashing icons (faded out when unavailable, colored when available, etc.). So, I'm sorry to say it, but the action bar is an abomination; as is the targetting system. XI is superior to XIV on both counts.

Im sorry you feel that way because the current team seems to think nested menus are counterproductive to their vision of the game
Also... it is absolutely true that FFXI's UI discouraged MANY new players. It worked for you.. I understand that. But it didn't work for a lot of people. Im not doubting that you enjoyed it... You seem to have enjoyed it very much, unfortunately many did not.
FFXI was known for amazing storylines.... and tons of diverse content. The battle UI is never mentioned in a conversation about what was great with FFXI... and for good reason... I'm guessing we could go with this for hours but the one thing that stands out the most

I'm not saying "there's nothing better out there." In fact, someone MAY eventually design a better UI, but in the mean time, let's at least settle for what works.

this is the best argument for why we shouldn't go for that. Im personally tired of "in the mean time" from this game. I want SE to stop worrying about quick fixes and just get on with what the want to do....

Maybe one day SE will make a turn based MMO with nested menus and random battles....
But for right now... My vote would be no

[Khal_Drogo]

If you are a noob maybe, it only takes a couple of hours to get used to where actions are placed on an action bar....

I wasn't saying that you have to stare at the screen and scroll back and forth b/c you don't know what actions you have equipped. I was saying that the action bar is more distracting b/c you can't help but scroll through the lists to see if your timers are back up.

I think you will find that text is more primitive than on screen graphics.

And I wasn't disputing the primitivity of a text display. I was simply stating that "ooo, pretty" icons are about the worst substitutions conceivable...Plenty of ppl play with controllers, and ps3 players obviously will too; so, to justify the action bar just b/c it's easy to navigate w/ a keyboard and mouse isn't a valid argument. I knew console players who didn't even own/use keyboards.

If FFXIV wanted to appease the PC gamer, rather than the console players, then they should have just said from the beginning that they had NO PLANS to release XIV to consoles, EVER. It would have saved us all a lot of time and disappoinment.

[ShadowCadja]

so, to justify the action bar just b/c it's easy to navigate w/ a keyboard and mouse isn't a valid argument. I knew console players who didn't even own/use keyboards.

Sorry to say but this action bar works seriously well with a controller(much better than with a keyboard for me and many others), so I don't really understand what you really talking about...