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Mechlab Ui Feedback


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#1 Project_Mercy

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Posted 11 May 2015 - 05:36 PM

Missing/Requested Mechlab Functionality
  • "Strip all Mechs" button. A button that can strip all modules or all cockpit items. It's still not there and it seems pivotal as the number of mechs we have spirals. A lot of us have over 100 now, and every mech pack drops another 10-20 in our inventory.
  • Only show valid mechs. While the "Select Mech" screen (besides the previously mentioned part of it being too small can filter on clan/IS mechs and owned/trial mechs. For me though, I can't imagine really every using those filters. The only filter I'd actually want to use is one where it only shows the mechs I have with a valid configuration. This way I can only show my "active" mechs at any given time. Double points if you allow the flamer to get stripped from the Adder so it can also be filtered out (instead of me dropping with a mech with nothing but a flamer on it)
  • Mech Inventory. Right now there's an Inventory tab in the main submenu. With mechlab 3.0 and the Select Mech screen, it's somewhat unnecessary. By adding a right-click option into Select Mech and MechLab with a "sell item" in it, you would be able to intuitively get rid of them instead of having to drill down and find them. This is especially true for selling Mechs, since currently it's hard to know which mech you're selling (in the case where you have duplicates) unless you choose to rename it before hand.
  • Select Mech Dialog keyboard Cancel. My expectation when I'm in the Select Mech screen, that when I hit the ESC key, it should perform the same functionality as hitting the Cancel button; but right now it does nothing.
Mechlab Usability Feedback

Posted Image
  • UI Placement/Scaling on larger resolutions. I realize this has been mentioned previously, but I just wanted to show some screenshots for my resolution at 2560x1600. The UI is really terrible. The text is tiny and hard to read. Clicking and dragging things involves better aim than actual gameplay, and most of the screen size/space is useless. All the UI components are crammed into both sides of the screen.
  • Loadout Warning/Error Dialog. As you can see in the screen, the loadout dialog sorta just.. pops up over the top of the left. There's 70% empty screen, and it shows up off on the side over one of the few items I'd care to see. I'd like to see it either pop up in the center like the other dialogs, or somewhere away from covering up the paperdoll.
  • Owned Items Checkbox. Kind of a small thing, but it would be nice if the state of the checkbox was saved on a tab-by-tab basis. I generally want to see the engines I have, conversely I mostly want to see all ammo options available for the weapons I currently have equipped (which means select all the ammo types), and I'd like to see all the weapons I can possibly equip. I'm sure others have different opinions, so making the checkboxes state save per tab would improve this.
  • Mech Section Selection. So, when you're in the normal layout, the UI does a decent job of showing which section (Like Right Arm) is selected. When you're in the Expanded layout, there's only a small line beneath the section to determine which one is selected. It would be nicer if the whole section title box changed somehow, either popping out, or setting it to green (I'm not sure how this would effect color blindness) For now, it's not a huge deal, but it segways into some other feedback options
  • Adding Components to Sections. Right now the only way to add an item is to select the item from the Warehouse and drag it to an open slot, which on the tiny tiny UI is pretty annoying. A.) You should be able to just drag the item to the section and drop it anywhere, even over a current component B.) Double clicking on the item should add it to whatever section you have selected (with the exception of engines).
  • Adding an Engine. Double clicking on an engine in the Warehouse should add it to the mech and swap it with any currently configured engine.
  • Adding Heatsinks to the Engine. Right now you have to drag the HS into the tiny heatsink line. You should be able to drag it to any spot on the engine box.
  • Available Slots. A nice metric in smurfy that's easy to see that's harder here is the total free slots. While it's available in the Mech Specs screen, it would be nice to also show up next to the total tonnage in the upper right corner of the loadout section.
  • Mech Upgrades. I feel the difference in mech upgrades on mechs that have the option (IS Mechs) and mechs that don't (Omnimechs) isn't intuitive (The difference being white or black text). I think adding in text (like LOCKED) or possibly a lock Icon would improve the layout some. In fact, adding in a Lock icon into components that are locked on the Omnimechs (like Engines and such) would be a nice change for newer players that don't understand the Omnimech rules.
  • Cockpit Items. The old way seemed better. You had three submenu items for each section. Now you just have the small flashing boxes. If you don't know you're supposed to click on the box, you may not know there's anything other than hanging items. Putting the submenus back in would be preferable.
Skills Usability
  • 'Mech Trees skills. While this is a separate tab right now, I think they really should be integrated. In the mech lab, just have an additional menu item for skills. It would make the mech XP be more sensical. You can't earn mech XP without having a chassis anyway (outside of trial mechs, which require you to buy it to redeem that hidden XP). If this isn't possible, then make the skills screen automatically open up the tab for your current mech.
  • Pilot Tree skills. The cooldown/range split is not optimum. It doesn't filter the list enough to be super useful and I think it would be easier to filter by weapon. Filters that would be handy would be Clan or IS and Laser/Ballistic/Missile.


Thank you for reading.

#2 Johnny Z

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Posted 11 May 2015 - 08:57 PM

With expanded view I cant use the warhouse properly with the resolution I use. Good point at the top.

#3 SenkaLupita

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Posted 12 May 2015 - 05:47 PM

My goofy gods, why don't you just admit UI 2 Sucks potatoes already. Then go and design a UI that doesn't need to rip off 2D bits from Websites to try and make its self look half competent. Rather than wasting time spit patching a UI: most people I have spoken to think looks worse than UI:1.5

PGI was told during the First UI:2.0 testing and making that half of what they were doing was looked bad, and they chose to ignore 90% of feedback.

I distinctly remember people complaining about having to look at all 40 engines to figure out which one they had 2 years ago.

Double click to Select/Equipped. WTH? A proven A+ method of selection or equipping for 15 years in Benign to this game?

Scale Form. FFS again have you no concept of this again in the last 10 years scaleform in UI is almost a must have.

I,m sick of seeing micro 8pt print on a 24" 1080p monitor, because you only designed something for what appears 1024x1280.
I can't even talk about 3240x5760 resolution problems with this game, yet I will say if you PGI are going to tell people to get better monitors at least support the regular 1080x1920 properly then this half potato job your doing.

In short UI2. (whatever) still looks Meh!

Edited by SenkaLupita, 12 May 2015 - 05:55 PM.


#4 Project_Mercy

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Posted 13 May 2015 - 10:38 AM

View PostSenkaLupita, on 12 May 2015 - 05:47 PM, said:

In short UI2. (whatever) still looks Meh!

I'm not sure if you're replying to me or PGI, but I'm going to assume the later.

I view Mechlab 3.0 more as a work in progress. While I'd love to see a really snazy UI, this one is better than the current 2.0 and it provides forward movement towards some future "perfect" UI. Some smaller changes would just make it more useable for people with non-traditional resolutions and controls.

Bascially, it needs to compute the available space and scale out, much in the same way a web browser does it. It's not as simple to do as you would think, but in this case it's allowed to keep the design elements consistently sized, so mostly it's just a x/y lock scale, so it should be doable.

#5 Vlad Striker

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Posted 13 May 2015 - 11:06 AM

UI 2.0 have clicking and menu poping too much. Save our clicks for battle. And make comfortable module manager please!
I would like to use simple drug'n'drop interface.

#6 SenkaLupita

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Posted 13 May 2015 - 05:56 PM

Sorry Project_Mercy I was talking more or less to/about PGI.

However I still not convinced this as anywhere near being able to be called a UI.3 there just reshuffling 2.0 into 2.5 or something. Even the Mechlab 3.0 to me looks horrible. I love Smurfy Mechlab as a Website/Flash App. But to think someone is being paid to primarily rip off someone else's design and clear format from a website, for there game is mind boggling.

If they want a cheat sheet look at the previous MechWarrior games 3 & 4. Smurfy's is fantastic compared to what we have but just doesn't belong in a supposed AAA game; when wasn't there supposed to be a company staff of 45 - 65 members brimming with ideas.
I still think UI 1 - 1.5 was better, the loudest complaint I heard was no full screen but I honestly always ran it in full screen with Alt+Enter anyway.

As for there 2.0 being pushed for more store application features I think it has to be the most unused tab in the hole UI.

UI.2 has in reality given us very little if nothing that couldn't have been put in UI 1.5.
Btw wit the resolution that Mechlab screenshot was taken in but damn that's a lot of empty wasted screen space. with a bit of luck PGI wont tell you to upgrade monitors anytime soon. I wish they would think about ScaleForm.

PGI, it's time to sit down and really work on UI 3.0 properly and stop spit patching a UI.2.0.

Edited by SenkaLupita, 13 May 2015 - 06:08 PM.


#7 Project_Mercy

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Posted 14 May 2015 - 09:25 AM

View PostSenkaLupita, on 13 May 2015 - 05:56 PM, said:

PGI, it's time to sit down and really work on UI 3.0 properly and stop spit patching a UI.2.0.


I see your points now. Thank you for the clarifications :)

#8 Hawk819

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Posted 14 May 2015 - 02:02 PM

basically with all the suggestions made,

the only two changes I'd like to see is:

1) The current `MechBay Grid display we have.

2) changes to the top portion of the `MechBay. Where the store tab is moved to the home section, and replaced with the following: Home-`MechBay-`MechLab - Faction - Skills - Play Now.





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