GUI

[Mjollnir]

I'm going to miss the menu-driven commands that are present in the rest of the FF series (it's been an iconic staple of the JRPG in years past), but I guess to make the game a success it has to fall in line with the majority of Western MMOs.

FFXI had a cumbersome UI, sure, so I wouldn't advocate that; but I'd prefer an upgrade of it rather than what was seen in the Alpha.

Macros in XI were mainly for gear-swaps. Hopefully ARR will have a completely different way of dealing with this aspect of the game (an enhancement on the gear set idea).

[ShinMetsu]

Personally I'd prefer one similar to FFXI, I think it gives a nice trtaditional JRPG feeling.

Also, I like having my 80-something spells available to me, instead of like 10.
This is something i really dislike about XIV compared to XI, when I'm playing a mage class.
To me, being so limited on the spells part feels like missing out on something.

It doesn't -have- to be like ffxi, but it should be comfy to use and still give us full options.

[Wicka]

I think a menu heavy interface is a bad idea. They work fine for console games of the 80s and 90s. but in a game released in 2013, designed for real-time combat for thousands of players at once, menus are just archaic. Menu based interfaces are not "traditional", they were a necessity, and developers are moving away from them for a reason. They are clunky at best, and when they encompass a level of data involved in an MMO they become a mess. Menu based interfaces bombard the player with tons of unnecessary information (all a available options in a given menu that are not part of a player's current choice path). The player should not be required to bypass the interface with macros in order to feel unencumbered. An interface should be smooth and simple and intuitive. Menus are a thing of the past. Sure they bring a certain nostalgia, but such a system is inferior to many other designs commonplace in current development processes. You may miss the soothing clickety-clack of a train on tracks, but that doesnt mean a train is the best way to travel.

I really like the design and mechanical direction the interface seems to be taking. With a little more work, I think the alpha interface would work quite nicely.

[AmandaHuggenkiss]

Remember this:
After launch, we will be able to make custom UI mods.
The UI will be able to look like whatever your little heart desires.
If you really want to have 11 like menus (ewwww!)
Then more power to you.

[Legado]

I think they should keep the easy of use of a WoW action bar, but do it in such a way it looks very stylized and fitting for an FF game. If they cleaned up the action bars a little bit and got rid of or made some of the on screen buttons a little more stylized I would be more happy. Or just give the option to hide things and have the ability to make UI mods.

Edit: Can a taru get a resizing feature?! Would be nice to be able to resize all UI elements.

[AmandaHuggenkiss]

Um...

We will be able to make UI mods.
But it will be about 6 months after launch before the tools are released.

[nibelunc]

I just want a Final Fantasy UI.

If you want then FFXIs.

But what I really want is just:

Attack
Magic
Skills
Item

...and get rid of that action bar.

[Legado]

Um...

We will be able to make UI mods.
But it will be about 6 months after launch before the tools are released.

umm...

Good I thought they mentioned that they would be.

[AmandaHuggenkiss]

Action bar is here to stay <3

[Pseudopsia]

Action bar is here to stay <3

The action bar from alpha videos looks nice.

I would like to be able to customize how many actions are in each row.

E.g. Instead of a fixed row of 10, able change it to two rows of 5. And add additional rows instead of a separate action bar.

Not sure if we can do this or not.

This is my personal preference when using a keyboard and mouse. I don't like pressing keys from 6-0 because they are out of reach and I have to look at my keyboard to make sure I press the right one. I have a habit of using the mouse to click on actions 6-0. I rather press alt+1-5 than 6-0 using a keyboard because I don't have to look at keyboard to press the correct keys. Being able to rearrange the rows looks a little better.