Skip to content

Character Record/Sheet UI Feedback

FranpaFranpa Member Posts: 637
edited March 2016 in The Road to v2.0
Baldur's Gate EE v1.3: http://imgur.com/fxcFzwi
Baldur's Gate EE v2.0 Beta: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=642060260

Baldur's Gate 2 EE v1.3: http://imgur.com/kn6H85f
Baldur's Gate 2 EE v2.0 Beta: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=642059874

Provide feedback for this UI here.
Post edited by Franpa on
«1

Comments

  • DoubledimasDoubledimas Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 1,286
    Good idea @Franpa!

    I think, apart from buggy parts, my biggest gripe with the new Character Records/sheet is, as @GreenWarlock already put it eloquently in the Inventory discussion, is the lack of 'flavour'. It just misses the same touch the old screens had. It misses a bit of colouring and with that beige colour that is just everywhere in the new version, it looks bland and unattractive.

    Furthermore, with the old screens on the pc you only had to scroll. With the new UI, you have to first click and then scroll, which means one extra operation every time you want to look up something else (this increase in operations is visible throughout the whole v2.0).

    Maybe also, reputation could be moved to the 'Character Sheet' screen, as it is now muffled away under proficiences. Maybe even be displayed under the alignment?

    I find the neon-blue light of the level up bar when filled truly abysmal. There must be a better and less contrasting way to notify the player of the possibility of levelling.
  • AdulAdul Member Posts: 2,002
    I'm okay with tabs, I think there's potential there. Also plenty of room for improvement:

    Remove some of the more annoying scroll bars. E.g. make details being collapsed the default look in the proficiencies and skills tabs.

    Rearrange the tabs in order of diminishing usefulness. My suggestion: character sheet, class, combat stats, proficiencies, skills, ability, kit description, inventory, spells, stats, biography.

    Find a better place for Reputation and Lore. Maybe they could fit on the character sheet tab under the ability scores and above the status effects?

    Instead of XP needed for next level, show the current XP total and the next level XP total near the top of the window. Or make enough room to fit all three. This information should be readily available.

    Rename the "stats" tab to "statistics" in order to avoid confusion with "combat stats".

    Rename the "ability" tab to "ability effects" for clarity and naming consistency.
  • StoibsStoibs Member Posts: 66
    edited March 2016
    I feel like I've already said everything I wanted to say both in the Inventory thread and in the UI survey that I filled out.

    New one not only looks worse and a lot more basic, but functionally it provides less info per screen and requires more navigation and clicks overall.
    I can't see as much or simply scroll down the right hand panel and see what I'm looking for while at the same time still being able to view my stats and other parameters with ease since everything is segregated by it's own category now in the new one.
    Speaking of which these are a bit all over the place. (Apparently Reputation is regarded as a Weapon Proficiency)

    The new character screen as is from those shots doesn't even provide all the categories or information clearly. Indeed if that was a thief character in those screenshots, then their 'skills' heading would actually be below the biography panel that we can see there (Kind of out of the way for something that is pretty important) and is actually hidden entirely from view, requiring a scroll down. This is something that took me far too long to figure out as I was scratching my head wondering where the heck my thief abilities were as I played in the Beta recently.

    Aesthetically the new one is just so plain and basic and doesn't at all fit in at all with the style and what we've been used to seeing for 2 decades now.
    Ultimately and at the end of the day I never had an issue with or even once assumed that these needed replacing anyway, nor did any of my cRPG Baldur's Gate playing friends over the years.
    It all just seems sort of arbitrary and out of the blue to change these 'For the sake of change' regardless of whether they even needed to be changed or without concern for the consequences of culling the amount of information or accessibility that us long time fans appreciated from them.

    All the rep and praise in the world goes to the first modder to FIX what beamdog has BROKEN here, if the devs are still so adamant about not changing it back.
  • FranpaFranpa Member Posts: 637
    edited March 2016
    Adul said:

    Rearrange the tabs in order of diminishing usefulness. My suggestion: character sheet, class, combat stats, proficiencies, skills, ability, kit description, inventory, spells, stats, biography.

    I'd rather they be alphabetically sorted, so that if you need to find something you can easily tell where to roughly move the mouse courser to to access it without needing to look over and really pay attention to & read the tab names. I just feel in this case logical ordering > useful ordering, especially from an intuitive standpoint.

    I don't expect the following suggestion to be implemented but being able to drag 'n' drop tabs to re-arrange them would suit everybody's needs.
  • FranpaFranpa Member Posts: 637
    edited March 2016
    If you're going to provide feedback on multiple facets of the UI, not just the Character Sheet than I think it'd be best for you to create a new topic for it, to keep this topic on-topic.
  • 00zim0000zim00 Member Posts: 267
    Franpa said:

    If you're going to provide feedback on multiple facets of the UI, not just the Character Sheet than I think it'd be best for you to create a new topic for it, to keep this topic on-topic.

    Me? The post I linked is 99% about the Character Sheet so was relevant. And when I write a proper reply here i planned to only keep it related to the Character Sheet. :) Thanks for the heads up anyway
  • AdulAdul Member Posts: 2,002
    edited March 2016
    Franpa said:

    I'd rather they be alphabetically sorted, so that if you need to find something you can easily tell where to roughly move the mouse courser to to access it without needing to look over and really pay attention to & read the tab names. I just feel in this case logical ordering > useful ordering, especially from an intuitive standpoint.

    Two reasons I want them in order of usefulness:

    1) When I scan a list, my gaze tends to go from top to bottom. The closer the tab I'm looking for is to the top of the list, the faster I'll find it. In case of alphabetical ordering I'd need to remember the names of the tabs from memory, and I'd rather just scan for the one I need.

    2) The scroll bar usually hides a few tabs on the bottom of the list. The less useful these tabs are, the less often I'll need to scroll the tab list.
    Franpa said:

    I don't expect the following suggestion to be implemented but being able to drag 'n' drop tabs to re-arrange them would suit everybody's needs.

    That would be great! (As long as the game saved your preference.)
  • GreenWarlockGreenWarlock Member Posts: 1,354
    I hate to say it, but these screens may be reason enough for me to not upgrade when the patch comes out, although there is still time for progress. Main problem is they look as bland as playing Excel, emphasized by the character portrait, looking out of place in such a screen. It does not help that the examples above picked a portrait that least matches the new color scheme - what would it look like with the Edwin portrait?

    When I saw the SoD previews, I had assumed there would be a way to see total xp earned, but this is not the case? That is important information when deciding when to dual-class, especially in the first game, when you need to be sure that sufficient xp remains within the cap to regain your abilities.

    For some reason, the alignment of Strength stat relative to character name is bugging me. Partly, it looks like they don't line up properly, but are close. That is exacerbated by the Strength appearing slightly higher than the Char name, which goes against a (Western) intuitive glance of left->right, top->bottom. With the amount of space available in the new layout, I might put the char-name above the stats, and make space for another row on the page-selector.

    If we are looking to save space, it might be interesting to incorporate the level-up button into the xp/level area itself.

    Can anyone show a screen-shot of a triple-class character? I am guessing the xp row will still be a single row, depicting total xp required for the nearest level, but am curious how it might indicate which of the 3 classes is next in line. 3 xp bars might be preferable, but harder to display.

    Taking one last look, I think the most glaring thing is the color shift from the frame to the contents. If we had a similar blue background for the content as used by the frame, rather than the jump to beige, it would be a lot less jarring.
  • TorinTorin Member Posts: 229
    I seen more than once newbies being confused with 1.3 character sheet UI, not able to find relevant info and such. Or not even knowing what is relevant.
    So a change of UI for new players to understand the game easier is logical.
    But does it need to be this ugly and bland? Beamdog please, make it look prettier.

    Where in this sheet do status effects go?
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    @GreenWarlock even if you don't have access to the beta, if you have strong feelings based on the screenshots you've seen or the gameplay videos you've watched, please do fill out the survey (if you haven't already).
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    Torin said:

    I seen more than once newbies being confused with 1.3 character sheet UI, not able to find relevant info and such. Or not even knowing what is relevant.
    So a change of UI for new players to understand the game easier is logical.
    But does it need to be this ugly and bland? Beamdog please, make it look prettier.

    Where in this sheet do status effects go?

    Status effects are on the first tab, below ability scores.
  • GreenWarlockGreenWarlock Member Posts: 1,354
    Thanks @Dee - I was not sure if I could fill in that survey as it requires me to create a Google account before I can even see it and its terms of use!
  • GreenWarlockGreenWarlock Member Posts: 1,354
    Also @Dee - why are you working at this crazy hour of the morning?! At least I get to post this /before/ heading into work today!

    (rephrased - the effort you folks are putting in is very much appreciated, despite my poor reaction to the initial results)
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    Sinus infection = no sleep for Dee. :(
  • antimatter3009antimatter3009 Member Posts: 24
    I'm only looking at the pictures here, but I think, like the inventory changes it looks like a decent change overall but the flavor is bland. And clearly there are some organization issues, but those are just cleanup IMO, not substantial issues.

    As for the flavor, I think it would actually look a whole lot better with the old darkened background used in the current screen rather than the tan scroll look. A big, tan rectangle with stuff laid on top of it in the middle of your screen is about as flavorless as it gets. I think it would be vastly improved just by reapplying the existing "theme" to this new screen. Change the background and the selection/highlight colors to match, add some nice looking borders between the three columns and between any subdivisions, and put a border around the portrait, and I think you'll have a decent looking screen.

    To be honest, I really like the one that @00zim00 mocked up in that other thread. It still suffers from the fact that its left column is still just a text dump, but that could be cleaned up just by turning the headings (Level, Proficiencies, Saving Throws, etc) into clickables that show/hide the details on click. Other than that I think it's really nice, and it's my favorite concept that I've seen or heard. That said, I don't hate the current beta screen, it just needs some artistic love and (apparently) some cleanup.

    I also have to say, in general, I think it's great that there's effort going into the new UIs. There seem to be a lot of veteran players who like the old screen, but I've been playing for a long time myself and I think those old UIs are and always have been terrible. A long, scrollable, jumbled text dump for your stats and everything else is barely even a UI at all. Yes, we've all gotten used to it, but that doesn't mean it's good.
  • cmk24cmk24 Member Posts: 605
    I really like the direction the new character record is going, but a few things can be improved.

    1. Higher contrast font for the tab list. Having dark text on a dark background is not good for visibility.
    2. It would be nice if the character record remembered what tab you were on last, that way you can decide what info is available when it is first opened.
    3. Remove the "inventory" tab, this is redundant information (we have an inventory screen for this).

    Also I am very glad they did away with the "wall of text" that the character record used to have, I can actually find the information I am looking for now.
  • TalarashaTalarasha Member Posts: 62
    edited March 2016
    1. Cheap red highlight - I have ho words to express how I insulted to see this, look at this ridiciosly small left padding, it is not a fantasy game anymore, it some cheap web homepage.
    2. Expirience progress bar is pretty, but it's nonsensical that it not dispay "current/total". Where did you get that 'xp left to lvl up staff', from some MMORPG? This bar is on the screen all the time when charsheet open and this bar shows absolutely useless information (hint: how many players ever asked for this in last fifteen years?). If it's on the screen all the time than I want current/total score, it's more important and informative and useful. I believe I can handle substraction pretty well, and If I'm suddenly drunk and can not than progress bar itself is enough for me. And don't tell me that you did it just because nobody in your team knows what to do with double/triple classes.
    3. Inventory part - why is it even here? Seriously guys, for what purpose I come to that screen when a have normal inventory screen? What I suppose to see here?
    4. Overall on graphic part UI is a major step back. It was rich, it was eerie, and now it's just some accounter log book. Look at the old BG1 screen, at at old BG2 screen, at prev. version BG:EE1/2 screens. Guys, you supposed to 'enhance' things. Not broke them.
  • MythrantarMythrantar Member Posts: 7
    edited March 2016
    This is my third post ever in the forums but I have been lurking since the time before BG:EE was released; however I do feel the need to speak up now. The new character record screen looks absolutely out of place and a big step backwards in terms of flavor, "BG-ness" and information provided at a glance. The 1.3 version of the screen is much, much better - however, if a compromise is needed, then I would also advise the developers to take a look at @00zim00 's mock-ups. They retain the flavor and "BG-ness" of the character record screen, while requiring far less clicks (just scroll up or down) to access the information available, when compared to the new screen.
  • gus100gus100 Member Posts: 10
    stop complaining Im 31 years old and i played the original game a lot. We need some change from time to time yo should be happy that the game that you love so much like i do is receiving updates almost 20 years later its release. im so happy receiving this changes that are good looking is nice. its refreshing im gonna play like crazzy now just like i did when i was young.
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    I agree. We want the open discourse. If there's something you don't like, and you don't tell us about it, we won't be able to do anything to remedy it.
  • agrisagris Member Posts: 581
    Dee said:

    I agree. We want the open discourse. If there's something you don't like, and you don't tell us about it, we won't be able to do anything to remedy it.

    Good on you Dee. What did you think about my hybrid suggestion for the inventory screen? It's a few topics below this one.
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    I'll respond to it there. In general, though, unless it comes to balancing changes (particularly ones that I had a hand in creating), I'm going to try and stay out of the discussion in terms of offering suggestions or taking sides on proposals. Not because I don't like your ideas, but because I want to encourage the back-and-forth.
  • agrisagris Member Posts: 581
    That's reasonable, but surely you see the community's response to the screen's changes and have your own opinion regarding the pros and cons. If you see obvious benefits of the beta-current inventory screen that we as a community are missing, it's helpful if you point them out to us. It improves the discourse.
  • craymond727craymond727 Member Posts: 208
    In my opinon, I like the new idea of deaggregating the various character screens/attributes. The current system is very clustered, with small scrollable boxes, something I don't particularly enjoy. I'd rather have a larger scroll menu, separated as V.2 has proposed. I feel the initial screen (with stats/status conditions) is bare at the moment, but I also haven't played around with various status changes. I like menu spacing, and this build is much less over-stimulating.
  • StoibsStoibs Member Posts: 66
    Just saw 00zim00's post and mockups.

    Yeah, if for whatever reason Beamdog is adamant about making change for something that doesn't even need change nor was ever asked for in the first place; then do precisely what they did and posted in those bloody amazing looking mock-up screenshots.
    Still has the big Info panel with everything in one familar place in the same familiar order that I am used to and prefer, ontop of the categories tabs that other new players might want. Caters to everyone.

    Most of all it actually still fits aesthetically and looks exactly like something from Baldur's Gate.
    Think that's a winner.
  • dluxdlux Member Posts: 13
    It is garbage. The worst thing they could do is release Dragonspear with this "new and improved" UI, which is only a MAJOR step backwards and nothing else. I see no reason to buy this game if it has a completely broken and unfinished UI.
Sign In or Register to comment.