Synthesis UI process

[Altena]

Hi,

So I would like to begin by saying I actually enjoy the synthesis and gathering mini game in comparison to your older versions in FFXI - the concept is good however the UI has a few flaws that I would like to make aware, for either 1.xx or 2.0.

Choosing abilities through the menu

Ok to begin with, having all the same logo's on all classes makes it very difficult to actually track which ability comes from which class. So to make it a little easier to track what class's abilities I am using, perhaps changing the icons would be beneficial. So instead of having that icon (whatever it's meant to be) displayed, perhaps having each classes icon displayed on those little graphics.

The next suggestion I would like to make in this, and I am unsure if this is possible, but certain customizable "profiles" would be a nice touch. It is currently rather frustrating to change from a "rapid production" or "normal quality" ability setup, to a high quality setup, as abilities suddenly become very opposite. Adding a few customizable profiles, where you can quickly switch between a number of different abilities instead of manually searching and selecting them, would be a very nice touch.

The Synthesis Process

Ok so I have to ask to begin with-
a) Why was the original menu designed in a vertical list? This makes it difficult and annoying to spam or select an option while crafting for either rapid production or experience.
b) Why was the vertical list not re-sizable? The most annoying thing about this vertical list (in my opinion) is when you are using the mouse to craft as fast as you can, quite often if you are quickly selecting an ability then going back to "Standard" or "Careful", due to the list auto-resizing and all your abilities moving around, you occasionally hit an ability or skill that you did not intend, potentially wrecking the synth. (Evil Rapid Synthesis I am looking at you!)

I have 3 suggestions that would potentially alleviate these issues.

1) Get rid of the whole "vertical list" system and replace it with an action bar - like on any Disc. of War/Magic/Land class. I understand that Disc of Hand needs a means of defending themselves (rock throw) but perhaps allow this "synthesis" action bar to be seperate and only appear during synthesis. This is personally my preferable solution - as we have all become quite accustomed to the action bar setup. Would allow less silly "auto ability shuffling" messing up synths, increase the ability to craft at a faster pace, and simply making it easier to use. Also in regards to this - please don't make the actions that have just been used "disappear" and shuffle everything across. Grayed out as if you don't have enough TP/MP to do it would suffice.

2) If the previous is not an option, however changing the menu system is - then I would suggest a "Radial" menu rather then a "Vertical" menu. If you are unsure what this is, you can see an example and description on the following wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radial_menu
Vertical menu's in general are very messy and awkward for a human to navigate at a fast, repetitive rate.

3) Finally if these can't be done, simply allowing us to resize the synthesis graphic to a "longer" list to display our 5 abilities without the vertical scroll bar, and also instead of making the abilities "vanish" from the list, simply grayed out would be nice. We don't want things to be reorganized for us (aside from our inventory ), we want some form of consistency. Especially doing a repetitive task such as crafting.

[tymora]

Vertical menu's in general are very messy and awkward for a human to navigate at a fast, repetitive rate.

Hi to you from Keyboard user.

[Altena]

Hi to you from Keyboard user.

FYI I also play with mouse / keyboard. Why you would scroll on a keyboard for every option is beyond me, as you are effectively slowing your speed down by half again, but if you wish to still use this, the action bar solution or radial menu's would still have more benefit.

Action bar would allow you to use numbers (like in combat) without the need to scroll.
Radial menu would work in a similar way to it does now for a keyboard user - only difference would be having to navigate around the circle instead.

Also - you should try crafting with a mouse. It is much faster then scrolling through that clumsy list.

[Rau]

tl;dr instead of pressing up and down, i want to press left and right

[Aegishjalmr]

great idea seriously rapid synthesis makes me want to grill newborn kittys when i accidently hit it due to list shifting XD

[Skies]

It has been at least partially confirmed that in 2.0 they will be doing your option #1. At least, that's what the screenshots look like.

I... Will be sincere, I don't think they can change the current system too much without entering into the 'this is 2.0' territory, and among the changes I don't think they can make is the basic UI layout of crafting.

Also, a little while ago there was an announcement "In 2.0 you will be able to resize UI elements". Do you know what implicates? That they cannot allow you to resize UI elements on the current version. Hell... I'm even having a moment and thinking "Oh god are those menus fixed size in such a way they can't fix it on THEIR end either?!" but...

[Jinko]

Isn't crafting using the action bar in 2.0 ?

I like the idea of quick switching presets for skill, I'm sure this could be done through macros, but would be super handy if you didn't need to stand up to change skills and could just click a button.

[Okipuit]

Good evening!

Jinko, indeed it is! As some of you might have noticed already by looking at the E3 screenshots, crafting commands as well as abilities will be managed via the action palette in version 2.0. We are also planning to change the names and effects of crafting commands. We will be introducing more information on this in the future. Please hang tight!

[Antanias]

Good evening!

Jinko, indeed it is! As some of you might have noticed already by looking at the E3 screenshots, crafting commands as well as abilities will be managed via the action palette in version 2.0. We are also planning to change the names and effects of crafting commands. We will be introducing more information on this in the future. Please hang tight!

Getting paid to make us wait, eh?

[Alhanelem]

Good evening!

Jinko, indeed it is! As some of you might have noticed already by looking at the E3 screenshots, crafting commands as well as abilities will be managed via the action palette in version 2.0. We are also planning to change the names and effects of crafting commands. We will be introducing more information on this in the future. Please hang tight!

Haven't the abilities already been renamed and revamped enough? lol