Proper Action Bar for PC players

[Nipa]

I just want to be able to scale the whole interface to half its current size.

... and 3 or 4 more optional permanent actions bars.

Let the players play as they want, it doesn't cost much.

Because they don't want an eyesore of hundreds of icons on screen, they want you to see more of the environment.

They should really stop to force players in some mindset. The thing we want the most here is choice. Some want to have 7 actions bars filling half their screen and play in text mode, some want to see nothing at all but their Lala's butt. Let the player chose. Really.

[Rhianu]

I think they should remove the action bar and bring back menu's with all abilities accessible, ala FFXI.

Oh hell no, that long-ass list was all but impossible to use with a mouse. Besides, FFXI did have a Macro Palette, which is essentially the same thing as an Action Bar, anyway.

[Basstastic]

I seem to recall Yoshi-P saying that PC and PS3 versions were not going to be ports one way or the other. I don't remember if it was in a dev letter or one of the interviews. I also seem to recall him saying that while they had a version of the PC client working on the PS3, that they were going to develop a PS3 version specifically for the PS3. Which needs to be done.

Well then why does the PC one feel like a port from a PS3?

That being the case (and as I can't remember where/when it was said, so please take with a grain of salt) there is absolutely no reason to have separate UIs for the two that are optimized for the two.

Rather there is absolutely no reason to NOT have separate UIs for the two that are optimized for the two.

[Basstastic]

They likely plan (planned?) to use the exact same UI for both PC users and PS3 users. And that's just lazy. There are so many possibilities when playing with a PC, and MMO players (who are accustom to playing on the PC) expect a functional UI.

It is not lazy it is dumb rly rly dumb. They are not doing it to be lazy they are doing it for your next point.

There doesn't have to be any tactical advantage over the PS3 UI.

Well a keyboard and mouse will always be better so they have to have them the same or PC will always be better. I would say though that since it is out of the PC then it should be the focus and this whole D-pad BS should only be optional. People keep thinking that this game should only be made for FFXI players and FF fans when that is a much smaller market than the MMO market.

[Souljacker]

I'm not a fan of many of the ideas proposed here. One of the things I like most about of the UI is that it stays out of the way. I really, really don't want a bunch of stuff cluttering up my screen that I simply don't need.

Right, but you don't speak for me or everyone on this board with that statement.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room - the best way for SE to handle it is to.... Not handle it at all. Embrace the world of player-created mods and the issue becomes a non-issue.

They aren't going to please everyone no matter what they do. There will be people like me, who have abilities strategically placed on the screen in various areas so that I can maximize my efficiency (obviously speaking of another game), and there will be folks like Dreamer who prefer a minimalist approach so they can enjoy the magnificent scenery FFXIV has to offer. What looks like clutter to you is really my way of organizing things, and what is clean and crisp to you, makes me feel like I don't have enough control over what's going on. Neither approach is wrong, and no matter which SE tries to please the other will hate it.

Open it up to player modification, and take the same approach other companies have. Then just steal our best ideas and implement them into the game. It really does work.

[RyoFujo]

Fully agree that making the "active mode" interface fully customizable would be highly desirable.

Their customization tool would need to include the following to fully support controllers:

1. Ability to indicate current action/location.
2. Ability to navigate to other actions/locations using directional input.
3. Ability to toggle layout, layer, or icon group when a button is held down.
4. Ability to change layout, layer, or icon group when a button is pressed.
5. Ability to navigate multiple layouts, layers, or groups of icons simultaneously using the same controls.

Many of these capabilities would also greatly enhance keyboard and mouse play as well, but it isn't as simple as just having an invisible grid which allows actions to be placed anywhere on the screen.

Does the interface customization for other games allow for all of this?

[Souljacker]

Fully agree that making the "active mode" interface fully customizable would be highly desirable.

Their customization tool would need to include the following to fully support controllers:

1. Ability to indicate current action/location.
2. Ability to navigate to other actions/locations using directional input.
3. Ability to toggle layout, layer, or icon group when a button is held down.
4. Ability to change layout, layer, or icon group when a button is pressed.
5. Ability to navigate multiple layouts, layers, or groups of icons simultaneously using the same controls.

Many of these capabilities would also greatly enhance keyboard and mouse play as well, but it isn't as simple as just having an invisible grid which allows actions to be placed anywhere on the screen.

Does the interface customization for other games allow for all of this?

Yes and no. For other games the default UI is customizable in that you can activate and deactivate action bars that are placed in specific areas by default, but the true beauty is in player-designed mods such as my personal favorite - Bartender. With it, you can literally move the action bars wherever you want, change the size and shape (not all across, some down, bigger, smaller), cause them to have a percentage of "fade" on all or some and when you mouse over it will brighten...

To illustrate my point here is a screen shot of my current UI in a popular game.

UserInterface

Now this may be "clutter" to another user, but to me it's perfect and maximizes my performance. My chat window is in the corner, my "most used" abilities are in the "numberpad" format for me to be able to mentally match up with my Naga's number pad, some lesser used abilities along the right hand side and on the very bottom my bags, general menu and stance menu all fades to a nice 20% transparency so it's out of my face unless I mouse over it. (I moused over the stance bar so you have some perspective on the difference)

That kind of customization really makes one game stand out versus another, and 1 size does not fit all when it comes to the user interface. Best way to handle it is to either implement a customization feature with this level of flexibility (which would be hard) or let players create mods themselves to take care of the problem.

[Demacia]

I'd just like macros to be a little more streamlined. I don't like having a ton of icons cluttering my screen.

[MysteryG]

I use macros more than I poke commands at the hotbar, but you're right. It would be incredibly nice to be able to see my abilities more clearly; maybe even the ability to set various macros to the bar would be nice.

At the end of the day though, I prefer to play with a controller, so macros will be my mainstay over clicking a hotbar. If I could swap my hotbars for the "macrobars".... Oh jeez, now I'm gettin all hot and steamy.

[Felicia]

I'd like to see active mode = action bar always visible, passive mode = action bar the way it is now.