It is far from impossible for the developers to make adjustments to the UI based on feedback from their customers. As far as it being a waste of time, I would argue that it would be very much worth their time to make adjustments to their product if their customers are not satisfied.
It IS a waste of time to expect SoD to be tailored for 1.3.
UI is my main concern, yes. Some new changes are not all bad. But UI is just terrible. Ideally, it should be reverted to the one from 1.3. Why there was ever decision to change it into something like this is beyond me.
For your information, there are bits and pieces in the new user interface that are more convenient than the old user interface. Stalling UI progression because there may be some people that don't like some components is silly. You never get to improve anything that way.
Thus, saying "I don't like this, get it back the way it was in 1.3" for the UI as a whole is just not helpful at all. Share what specific elements about the new UI are problematic and why, and the dev may listen.
@MagpieRandoms: I'm also a bit surprised that, when installing SoD, you're stuck with the SoD UI. Don't get me wrong, I actually like the looks of those dragon scales, but it would've been nice if we'd kept the blue interface for BGEE and then the dragonscale interface for SoD. Then the UI alone would make the new campaign already feel exciting. Now, by the time we arrive to SoD, we've long gotten used to the UI.
I'm on Sophiel's side but even I know this is technically impossible and ultimately a waste of time and development effort.
sometimes you just gotta let go.
It is far from impossible for the developers to make adjustments to the UI based on feedback from their customers.
Some customers. Whilst I have no objection to a reverted interface being released as a mod, I would be extremely annoyed to have my much improved interface taken away because some people can't cope with change.
I'm on Sophiel's side but even I know this is technically impossible and ultimately a waste of time and development effort.
sometimes you just gotta let go.
It is far from impossible for the developers to make adjustments to the UI based on feedback from their customers.
Some customers. Whilst I have no objection to a reverted interface being released as a mod, I would be extremely annoyed to have my much improved interface taken away because some people can't cope with change.
I’m assuming you mean the changes that you and others who personally like those changes, approve of?
In answer to your concern that you might lose the new interface that you like, I would say two things.
First, I would ask how is it that your preferences are so much more important than those of others, that you feel justified in making dismissive, insulting comments like “they just can’t cope with change”?
Second, I do not want to take anything away from you personally. I do want changes made to the UI so that it is even possible for the people who liked the old UI to have something that resembles what they have liked and played for the last 15 years or more.
In it’s current state, the UI can not even be modded to resemble the old.
I just took a quick stroll through the UI Modding discussions and don't yet see one that screams, "Get yer 1.3 GUI here!"
I am a proficient coder, but have never tried modding. What are the challenges that make replicating the 1.3 GUI so difficult?
For the record, I'm happy with the Beamdog GUI and the other mods available for the 2.x GUI. I just want everyone to be able to play the best games ever with a GUI with which they are satisfied.
@bleusteel - I guess it's just purely down to desire of the UI modders, people are still getting to understand what's possible, and there are changes 'under the hood' which prevent certain things...
I've very little experience with coding but LUA is very easy to get to grips with.
I just took a quick stroll through the UI Modding discussions and don't yet see one that screams, "Get yer 1.3 GUI here!"
I am a proficient coder, but have never tried modding. What are the challenges that make replicating the 1.3 GUI so difficult?
For the record, I'm happy with the Beamdog GUI and the other mods available for the 2.x GUI. I just want everyone to be able to play the best games ever with a GUI with which they are satisfied.
There are many parts of the new UI that are still hardcoded. I look forward to meeting the hero that can crack that new dialog box. Roses will be thrown.
I just took a quick stroll through the UI Modding discussions and don't yet see one that screams, "Get yer 1.3 GUI here!"
I am a proficient coder, but have never tried modding. What are the challenges that make replicating the 1.3 GUI so difficult?
For the record, I'm happy with the Beamdog GUI and the other mods available for the 2.x GUI. I just want everyone to be able to play the best games ever with a GUI with which they are satisfied.
There are many parts of the new UI that are still hardcoded. I look forward to meeting the hero that can crack that new dialog box. Roses will be thrown.
It might be possible to mod in the current code. Personally, I haven't figured it out, but I'm no expert on lua.
I'm on Sophiel's side but even I know this is technically impossible and ultimately a waste of time and development effort.
sometimes you just gotta let go.
It is far from impossible for the developers to make adjustments to the UI based on feedback from their customers.
Some customers. Whilst I have no objection to a reverted interface being released as a mod, I would be extremely annoyed to have my much improved interface taken away because some people can't cope with change.
I’m assuming you mean the changes that you and others who personally like those changes, approve of?
In answer to your concern that you might lose the new interface that you like, I would say two things.
First, I would ask how is it that your preferences are so much more important than those of others, that you feel justified in making dismissive, insulting comments like “they just can’t cope with change”?
Second, I do not want to take anything away from you personally. I do want changes made to the UI so that it is even possible for the people who liked the old UI to have something that resembles what they have liked and played for the last 15 years or more.
In it’s current state, the UI can not even be modded to resemble the old.
I'm sorry, but I was under the impression that YOU where the person who felt that your "opinion is shared by everyone".
Given that I can't find anything wrong with the new interface, and those who object to it don't seem to be able to explain what is wrong with it either, change-phobia is the only explanation I can see for not likeing it. It's not intended to be insulting or dismissive, I just can't see any other explanation.
I agree that having the black dragon scale background isn't ideal for BG1, but that's it.
There are many parts of the new UI that are still hardcoded. I look forward to meeting the hero that can crack that new dialog box. Roses will be thrown.
I'll confess my way is messy and not pleasant - but if it is possible, which it is... then it's a case of asking Beamdog to make it work WELL and integrate it back in.
I do want to dispel a misconception, here--v1.3 and earlier used an entirely different system for the UI. v2.0 and later uses a new system, which is much friendlier to modification. (Much friendlier. Much much friendlier. Take a look at some of the wonderfulness that's been done in the UI Modding section, and you'll see what I mean.)
So when we talk about "reverting" changes, we're not actually talking about rolling things back to how they were before; we're talking about implementing new changes to match the old functionality.
That's not to say you shouldn't ask for that old functionality where you feel it's necessary, but I think it's important to frame those suggestions appropriately: if you're asking to "revert the UI to 1.3", it's not a matter of undoing code changes; it's writing new code to mirror the old system.
Exactly that @Dee - I had to build new functionality for only one scrollbar in the 2.0+ UI to mimic the 1.3 behaviour. So it's not 1.3 but it's 2.0+ made to feel like that... or as best as I can do, anyway.
I think that is also the major gist of people: wanting 2.0 to look as 1.3 by using 2.0 (precisely as @Mr2150 has done). I guess that many people wondered why 2.0 did not look more or less the same as 1.3 even though there are much more things possible from a technical perspective.
Comments
Thus, saying "I don't like this, get it back the way it was in 1.3" for the UI as a whole is just not helpful at all. Share what specific elements about the new UI are problematic and why, and the dev may listen.
@MagpieRandoms: I'm also a bit surprised that, when installing SoD, you're stuck with the SoD UI. Don't get me wrong, I actually like the looks of those dragon scales, but it would've been nice if we'd kept the blue interface for BGEE and then the dragonscale interface for SoD. Then the UI alone would make the new campaign already feel exciting. Now, by the time we arrive to SoD, we've long gotten used to the UI.
In case you think that your opinion is shared by everyone, may I direct your attention to this thread.
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/59771/rant-sad-state-of-the-ui-and-the-ees-in-general/p1
In answer to your concern that you might lose the new interface that you like, I would say two things.
First, I would ask how is it that your preferences are so much more important than those of others, that you feel justified in making dismissive, insulting comments like “they just can’t cope with change”?
Second, I do not want to take anything away from you personally. I do want changes made to the UI so that it is even possible for the people who liked the old UI to have something that resembles what they have liked and played for the last 15 years or more.
In it’s current state, the UI can not even be modded to resemble the old.
I am a proficient coder, but have never tried modding. What are the challenges that make replicating the 1.3 GUI so difficult?
For the record, I'm happy with the Beamdog GUI and the other mods available for the 2.x GUI. I just want everyone to be able to play the best games ever with a GUI with which they are satisfied.
I've very little experience with coding but LUA is very easy to get to grips with.
Given that I can't find anything wrong with the new interface, and those who object to it don't seem to be able to explain what is wrong with it either, change-phobia is the only explanation I can see for not likeing it. It's not intended to be insulting or dismissive, I just can't see any other explanation.
I agree that having the black dragon scale background isn't ideal for BG1, but that's it.
Edit: You would not be so cruel as to tease a poor lass…..
Have you found a way to revert the dialog box to a single scroll bar, as was the case in ver. 1.3? @Mr2150
Sometimes roses are just not enough...
So when we talk about "reverting" changes, we're not actually talking about rolling things back to how they were before; we're talking about implementing new changes to match the old functionality.
That's not to say you shouldn't ask for that old functionality where you feel it's necessary, but I think it's important to frame those suggestions appropriately: if you're asking to "revert the UI to 1.3", it's not a matter of undoing code changes; it's writing new code to mirror the old system.