It's difficult for me to describe what is so disappointing for me with the new UI. The list is long, and much of it is interconnected. This UI2.0 has thrown out the baby with the bathwater. I wouldn't be as disappointed with it if it had the same level of functionality but just looked different. But that is not the case. With this new UI the user has actually LOST functionality. I dislike it so much that I haven't logged a single drop, as I can't stand using the front end.
By section:
Home:
1) Ok I see a mech. I'm assuming it's the one I had most recently selected. This screen is utterly useless! If it has to be there make it useful. Display full stats for the mech; tonnage, armor, engine rating, speed, hardpoints, loadout, modules, UNUSED MODULE SLOTS, available slots, twist speed, ECM capable yes/no with an indicator for it being equipped, tons of ammo and total shots per each equipped weapon. Allow the user to click on the mech model as before to select that part, and transition directly to editing within the mechlab. There is no reason to have the mechlab be a seperate entity. THE MECHLAB IS MECHWARRIOR!!!!
2) Upper left menu.
...A)[Select Mech] Jumbled and confusing. Eliminate drop-downs entirely from the entire UI. Check-boxes and delineation points are what is needed to clean this up. Check-boxes to display all or just specific weight classes. List the Lights in order by weight as the default option then have a horizontal line below them with the medium mechs in a section below that, etc. Have the option to sort by speed/firepower/cooling factor/alphabetically/whatever. In it's current state this mess is unusable. I like how the mech's info pops up, but it takes too long for it to happen, and the info by itself is again, useless unless I'm comparing it to something. Implement a compare mechs feature for side by side analysis. There's too much info there to be toggling back and forth between mechs when making a choice.
...B ) [Inventory] Close, needs more functionality. Check-boxes for inventory type. It makes sense to show mechs separate from equipment, and weapons as it is currently, but within each section add checkmarks to display only the desired information. Eg...Light/medium/heavy assault. Energy/Ballistics/Missile/Utility. Sinks/ StdEngine/XL engine/Available/Currently Equipped. If an item is currently equipped, show where it is so we can go rob an engine from a mech without digging through our entire stable to find what we are looking for.Modules should have sorting and display options just like they are labeled in the category as you purchase them.
...C)[Statistics] Include them in the client or get rid of this.
...D)[Redeem Code] Put this down by the MC in the bottom bar, as well as C-Bills, along with the total number of each currency we have. This info should not be spread out across the UI.
...E)[Testing Grounds] Put this in the mech configuration screen so we can launch straight into a testing scenario without having to purchase items first. Remove it from this list.
...F)[Tutorials] Don't ask me if I want to launch, ask me which one I want to launch. I can press cancel from there if I need to.
Side note: How do I purchase premium time? I don't see anything on the Home Screen that allows me to make this fundamental purchase. This is one of your prime money makers! Don't make it difficult for me to spend money on your stuff.
Also, the numbers and info can be very small and difficult to read. Where is the UI Scale slider or font size selection?
MechLab:
1) Eliminate the drop-down menus, add check-boxes, and detailed/specific info with comparability features as described above. Allow sorting by different values. This is the most disappointing element of the new UI. It could be so much better than it is that I am lead to believe that PGI does not use their own software prior to it going live.
2) Inventory should be a part of the mechlab not the Home screen. All of the parts that I own are in the garage. That's where I should find them in the UI.
Skills:
1) I don't like calling them skills. They are not skills, they are mech enhancements. Skills implies that as I pilot each mech it somehow dissipates heat faster (or whatever each unlock does) due to the pilot's acclimation to the chassis. That doesn't make any sense. Call them Enhancements or Chassis/Variant Upgrades.
2) As I click individual mechs I am forced to click another box to bring up the screen with the skills info. This is unnecessary. Meanwhile the right half of the screen has a static picture of the mech I had selected from the mech selector on the home screen. Why is this there? Use this space to bring up the skills info for the mech I just clicked on without having to open a new window.
3) Again, eliminate the drop-downs, add check-boxes for consistency across the UI.
Overall thoughts and Other comments:
The UI as a whole seems utilitarian but feels like it is trying to be fancy to the detriment of functionality. Even still it has no flash. I'm not saying add sparkly bits, but some animations to the UI as I go from screen to screen would go a long way...In theory the entire UI experience takes place from within the player's garage. Build the garage environment and have the camera pan around as I move through the menu system to a suitable environment. Just as an example for weapons load-outs show a forklift carrying a crate from a weapons manufacturer and a workbench with some spare parts and tools. For Chassis selection make roll-up doors that open when I have selected a mech that brings it out into the mechlab workspace. Allow me to pan around the mech and click on the individual sections to make the adjustments that I need to. Keep mech stats on a small overlay window that I have the option to slide off to the side of the screen and reopen as needed with a single click. The clickable mech paper doll was also very useful in the old UI. Bring it back too.
Edited by ThePhil, 09 February 2014 - 03:12 PM.
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Seelenlos, on 09 February 2014 - 06:13 AM, said:
