sburke Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Hello: What I think would be good is for Battlefront to provide 2 interfaces and we choose which option we have running. Option A could be the current one (even though Steve said it would change I am not sure how much) and Option B would be something like Clark's suggestion. Seems there are different player preferences in terms of how people want data displayed or how they collect/see the data. Instead of trying to satisfy everyone with one UI, why not have 2 variations? I am sure some will say that then there will be a need for a 3rd option, etc. But a choice of A and B above would probably satisfy most!? Gerry Okay now you guys just went off the deep end , develop and support two UIs? I can see providing input into trying to make a UI that would make commands context sensitive and have a fresh look at what might be the best and cleanest way to present situational info, but we should also want something that requires less maintenance from BFC, not more. If not we may never see the Eastern front. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slysniper Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I am amazed at the effort to show a sample of what he would like. Too bad, that to make something like that in the game takes much, much more effort than that. I agree with the side that would like more useable information given that can be done with a glance at a bar instead of having to click on each unit independently. And really there should be no one that should not appreciate that type of ease of understanding what is going on. So counter agreeing with it seems foolish. But to have something like that, takes it to be part of the programming goals. I do not know if that much change could be done now, but i really do not know. It reminds me more of what close combat UI developed into. This company would know what it was like, and have never went down that similar path. So I figure it would be amazing to see them change to it now, even if in some ways it was better. But keep in mind, in that game system there was never more than 15 units. Where as in this, you can be in the hundreds. So it might not be the same type of challenge to overcome. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Like Clark and others I am a dedicated WEGO player for all but the smallest scenarios, and I like his UI ideas as I find that the CM2 system seems to require a lot more "clicking" to get the info one wants or to make something happen than "good ol CM1." Like many I also find my mental capacity/memory frequently overloaded by CMBN (more so than even CMSF for some reason). This additional workload/complexity means that I seem to be playing slower and slower than previous CM games. A more intuitive UI that presents info visually with shapes and colors would help a lot. Unfortunately, I also suspect/agree that it may not be practical to program these great new UI ideas into the existing system. But, maybe for CMSF2? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
von Kleist Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Well, I obviously couldn't disagree with you more. Fair enough! I don't mean to come off as unappreciative of the example you provided! On the contrary I think it's fantastic! Having all of that at the side so I could tell at a glimpse if I needed to look somwhere in more detail would be very helpful. No, I cannot say that I've never had a granade issue, an artillery control issue, etc. I see now that I don't make my point very well. I was intending to comment on playstyles. I can see that I'm the oddball, but I actually like what I consider to be a fog of war element, in that you don't always have total knowledge or control of whats happening at the ground level. I like the fact that I rely on the video for what's happening. For me it creates emmersion. If I miss something, I think of it as my own fault. I think BFC has said their priority is to improving the UI, something we are both looking forward to. I think you and others more than I? I just thought it interesting that what seems to be an issue for the majority of players, is not that big a deal to me. So I guess I'm a little more educated now. Thanks for the reply. Regards, vK 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monTarakid Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I wish to cast my opinion in favor of almost any improvement BF is willing to do to clean up the mess that is the UI. A one glance information panel and reduced <clicking> would be a great place to start. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnart Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Nice concept ClarK, and always a more clear presentation using graphics. I have had many CM photoshop creations myself. A collapsable/expandable vertical menu like this would be nice. Like a "roaster". I do not see it replacing the horizontal GUI, but would be an addition that gives more overview situational awarness especilly for the RT player. Seeing at a glance C2, and status is useful and efficient. Double clicking on the unit in "the roaster" could take the camera to that unit as well There have been many good GUI situation awarness impovements on this forum beside the one in this thread. I really do hope BF considers them, and experiments with them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StellarRat Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 I don't really care the fancy unit status. What us RT players really need is a way see all the spots that a unit can see from a tile instantly. Its REALLY hard to move units quickly if you don't know what LOS is without having to zoom in to ground and scroll around to see what's up. This info would nearly instant for anyone actually standing on the ground. When you have command dozens units in RT its simply too cumbersome. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal_Mother Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Couldn't this just replace the present bottom UI when no unit is selected? Right now it's blank if you don't select anything. Good idea though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClarkWGriswold Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 Couldn't this just replace the present bottom UI when no unit is selected? Right now it's blank if you don't select anything. Good idea though. That was the idea I was going for. Nothing down at the bottom when you don't have anything selected. When you do select a unit, the rest of the info could be displayed. Most of the current UI wouldn't be needed though. If you cut out all of the redundant information, package things a little nicer, and get rid of unnecessary stuff (Like the VCR controls during command phase) you could probably cut what's displayed down at the bottom by 40-60%. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childress Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Here's the bright side: CMBN, if I understand correctly, has more or less the identical UI as does CMSF + modules. I don't recall a similar s**t storm on those forums on the subject. Therefore, CMBN must be vastly more popular than its immediate ancestor! . 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal_Mother Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Here's the bright side: CMBN, if I understand correctly, has more or less the identical UI as does CMSF + modules. I don't recall a similar s**t storm on those forums on the subject. Therefore, CMBN must be vastly more popular than its immediate ancestor! . As for me I haven't even played CMSF, was still playing CM1 and waiting for CMBN. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner14 Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Seems to be a very useful enhancement. Not only for CM-experts, but i think even more for newbies, trying out the game. Often new players are lost (the ego-shooter-culture doesn't make that better over time) and turn away because of the complexity. This suggestion would project lots of infos into a grapical representation and therefore reduce the felt complexity. Could result in a bigger customer base. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
para Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Like this suggestion Clark 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdogg Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I like the idea as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StellarRat Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Yea...but the only opinions that matter are at BFC. These types of threads are pretty much a waste of time unless BFC is participating and I see nothing from them here. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClarkWGriswold Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 Well, to be fair, they HAVE said that they are planning changes for the UI in future games (but probably not modules). I'm just hoping they take my ideas, and the ideas of others, and work to incorporate them when possible. I really hope that they communicate during development and solicit feedback early in the design phase, before things are locked down and we're stuck with stuff that can't be changed. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.