I would rather have an interface that was well designed in the first place than have to faff around with it myself to make it usable. Haven't these people studied interface design at university? Why hire an expert then do the job yourself?
Users are not homogeneous. We don't all want the same thing.
I would rather have an interface that was well designed in the first place than have to faff around with it myself to make it usable. Haven't these people studied interface design at university? Why hire an expert then do the job yourself?
Users are not homogeneous. We don't all want the same thing.
I couldn't agree more. Some people would like a customisable interface, others would prefer having an interface that they didn't need to customise.
When they announced NWN: EE my biggest hope was more built in good quality stuff so that mod makers had more resources available to make their own stuff.
I guess I'd really like the same out of the UI. A good deal of improvement and the option to improve it otherwise with a modder's work.
I like a UI that gives me as much screen space as possible, while having all the stuff I need there. Using a bunch of UI customisations I can get that in NWN2, even though the UI is certainly still not perfect. I had forgotten how much screen real estate the NWN UI takes up. Open a few windows and you can't see anything else. I can run around and function normally with several windows open in NWN2, because they don't take up much of my screen.
I understand that some people like what they are used to, so allowing customisation may be the best compromise.
I like a UI that gives me as much screen space as possible, while having all the stuff I need there. Using a bunch of UI customisations I can get that in NWN2, even though the UI is certainly still not perfect. I had forgotten how much screen real estate the NWN UI takes up. Open a few windows and you can't see anything else. I can run around and function normally with several windows open in NWN2, because they don't take up much of my screen.
I understand that some people like what they are used to, so allowing customisation may be the best compromise.
Entirely depends on the game for me.
Elder Scrolls, Assassin's Creed, Uncharted, Tomb Raider, The Last of Us. Really anything where I am utterly immersed in the world and the action in that given moment then I want as little UI as humanly possible.
I don't want that visual noise and ever present UI noise... I want the info I need when I need it then I literally want the UI to disappear.
For RPG's, Grand Strategy and RTS games I want nice bold UI's with a lot of artistic flourish that give a lot of chunky information.
I would love to see the NWN:EE's UI be a beautiful gilded affair that adds a layer of artistic presentation.
Elder Scrolls, Assassin's Creed, Uncharted, Tomb Raider, The Last of Us. Really anything where I am utterly immersed in the world and the action in that given moment then I want as little UI as humanly possible.
I don't want that visual noise and ever present UI noise... I want the info I need when I need it then I literally want the UI to disappear.
For RPG's, Grand Strategy and RTS games I want nice bold UI's with a lot of artistic flourish that give a lot of chunky information.
I would love to see the NWN:EE's UI be a beautiful gilded affair that adds a layer of artistic presentation.
Perhaps here it depends on whether your interest is solely single player or whether you like multi-player, which has a lot more in common with Elder Scrolls than it does grand strategy games.
But even SP I don't see what huge inventory graphics, for example, give you over something neater. But then one man's art is another's needless decoration.
14 years of playing NWN and I have yet to finish the OC let alone any of the expansions. I wasn't even a fan of playing modules made by other players.
I was, and still am a persistent world builder, DM, and player (in that order).
During my time with the game I have never found myself in a combat or RP situation where I have thought to myself "I really need my inventory open instead of using a quick slot and it is absolutely imperative that I see 95% of my screen while I press "I" and take the split second required to drop/use this thing in my inventory."
However, I have found myself looking at my screen for hundreds of hours thinking "This UI is depressing... I wish the real estate it took up added some aesthetic value to my experience."
Dragon Age, Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire added so much artistic value to their games presentation and user experience with their UI choices. They helped frame the setting and set the tone for everything you see on screen. Each could have used some usability enhancements (especially inventory) but in comparison, NWN is Kurosawa's Seven Samurai but with all it's subtitles in Comic Sans.
Whatever direction they take, from extreme minimalist and modern to hyper gilded; It will be nice to have a change.
Well you must be a lot more organised than me; I find myself needing to open my inventory because I forgot to put the poison newly acquired scroll or potion on the hotbar and I need it now.
But also I find myself, when trading, wanting my inventory, the shop inventory and several items open at once so that I can compare easily. Can't do that if every window takes up half a screen.
Well you must be a lot more organised than me; I find myself needing to open my inventory because I forgot to put the poison newly acquired scroll or potion on the hotbar and I need it now.
But also I find myself, when trading, wanting my inventory, the shop inventory and several items open at once so that I can compare easily. Can't do that if every window takes up half a screen.
You really can't, but every window shouldn't have to take up half the screen just to not look like an 1980's coffee table.
Good UI design should allow both function and form. Not one or the other. And I think we can both agree that right now... NWN:EE has neither.
Well you must be a lot more organised than me; I find myself needing to open my inventory because I forgot to put the poison newly acquired scroll or potion on the hotbar and I need it now.
But also I find myself, when trading, wanting my inventory, the shop inventory and several items open at once so that I can compare easily. Can't do that if every window takes up half a screen.
You really can't, but every window shouldn't have to take up half the screen just to not look like an 1980's coffee table.
Good UI design should allow both function and form. Not one or the other. And I think we can both agree that right now... NWN:EE has neither.
- Jamie
IMO both NWN and NWN2 interfaces are lacking in both style and function. But whilst NWN is poor in terms of style, NWN2 is horrible.
The NWN UI was a direct reaction against the Baldur's Gate UI, which obscured a large amount of the gameplay screenspace with heavily textured elements. For NWN I wanted a minimalist UI which was there when needed and hidden when not needed. I also wanted the panels to be transparent so you could play with them up. While we did OK in some areas, we missed in others. I think game UIs in general have come a long way and I also think I'm a little less singular in my UI belief system.
I think game UIs in general have come a long way and I also think I'm a little less singular in my UI belief system.
For it's day NWN's UI was very slick and stylized. You can see a screenshot and immediately know it's NWN because that UI is that distinct. But viewing NWN with 15 years of GUI design advancements has not been good to it.
Sorry for saying your GUI looked like a 1980's coffee table.
I much prefered the BG interface. I wasn't bothered by obscured screen space.
You could at least tell what game you where playing by looking at the screen. These days all computer games look the same, and have no soul.
LOL. The perennial complaint of those getting older, "It was better in my day".
Ah, the good old days of editing the Config and Autoexec files to squeeze out every last byte possible of the lower 640K RAM. It was a game in and of itself.
I much prefered the BG interface. I wasn't bothered by obscured screen space.
You could at least tell what game you where playing by looking at the screen. These days all computer games look the same, and have no soul.
LOL. The perennial complaint of those getting older, "It was better in my day".
Ah, the good old days of editing the Config and Autoexec files to squeeze out every last byte possible of the lower 640K RAM. It was a game in and of itself.
And editing the registry, a necessary skill. Windows experts always had that look of "oh god, don't jiggle it!" on their faces. I used to charge an extra 20% to my hourly rate for developing for Windows software.
Ah, the good old days of editing the Config and Autoexec files to squeeze out every last byte possible of the lower 640K RAM. It was a game in and of itself.
I'd actually forgotten about that; it was not only an art, it was a damn necessity with some games (I seem to remember Ultima Underworld being particularly demanding).
Comments
I guess I'd really like the same out of the UI. A good deal of improvement and the option to improve it otherwise with a modder's work.
I understand that some people like what they are used to, so allowing customisation may be the best compromise.
Elder Scrolls, Assassin's Creed, Uncharted, Tomb Raider, The Last of Us. Really anything where I am utterly immersed in the world and the action in that given moment then I want as little UI as humanly possible.
I don't want that visual noise and ever present UI noise... I want the info I need when I need it then I literally want the UI to disappear.
For RPG's, Grand Strategy and RTS games I want nice bold UI's with a lot of artistic flourish that give a lot of chunky information.
I would love to see the NWN:EE's UI be a beautiful gilded affair that adds a layer of artistic presentation.
But even SP I don't see what huge inventory graphics, for example, give you over something neater. But then one man's art is another's needless decoration.
I was, and still am a persistent world builder, DM, and player (in that order).
During my time with the game I have never found myself in a combat or RP situation where I have thought to myself "I really need my inventory open instead of using a quick slot and it is absolutely imperative that I see 95% of my screen while I press "I" and take the split second required to drop/use this thing in my inventory."
However, I have found myself looking at my screen for hundreds of hours thinking "This UI is depressing... I wish the real estate it took up added some aesthetic value to my experience."
Dragon Age, Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire added so much artistic value to their games presentation and user experience with their UI choices. They helped frame the setting and set the tone for everything you see on screen. Each could have used some usability enhancements (especially inventory) but in comparison, NWN is Kurosawa's Seven Samurai but with all it's subtitles in Comic Sans.
Whatever direction they take, from extreme minimalist and modern to hyper gilded; It will be nice to have a change.
- Jamie
But also I find myself, when trading, wanting my inventory, the shop inventory and several items open at once so that I can compare easily. Can't do that if every window takes up half a screen.
Good UI design should allow both function and form. Not one or the other. And I think we can both agree that right now... NWN:EE has neither.
- Jamie
Sorry for saying your GUI looked like a 1980's coffee table.
...It was thoughtless and unkind.
You could at least tell what game you where playing by looking at the screen. These days all computer games look the same, and have no soul.
God damn boot disks.