Comments on: MMO Rant #11: Custom User Interfaces

By: Ryan Shwayder

Ryan Shwayder — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:47:02 +0000

I apologize, brent. It’s too easy for me not to use profanity when typing as compared to thinking or speaking. There was a lot of profanity in my head though, if that helps.

By: brent

brent — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:59:47 +0000

The only way you could have improved on this rant is through the gratuitous use of profanity.

By: Killzum

Killzum — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 09:27:59 +0000

Praise the Lord for those clever independant programmers who rally together to solve our UI woes. Hip Hip Hooray! My hats off to all you folks who know what you are doing. I don’t know how you do it…but it makes my MMO life a hell of a lot easier..no thanks to the actual in house UI developers usually!

By: Bhagpuss

Bhagpuss — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 07:51:04 +0000

� ‘Holy crap, how on Earth could the Grouchy Gnome rant about Custom User Interfaces? They are God�s gift to gamers!� Yes, I did just quote exactly what was in your head when you read that title. I am a seer’. ”

Not exactly. I’ve never used a custom interface and never intend to. Far from being God’s gift, they’re an annoying, gimmicky nuisance.

I use the default interface and if that’s not comfortable to use I don’t play that game. I preferred it when I at least had a reasonable expectation that the information I was seeing on my screen was there or thereabouts the same as what each member of my group was seeing.

Custom interfaces and the accompanying haemmhorage of stats and “essential” info have been instrumental in moving me away from group play and into solo/duo play, where at least I can have a conversation on strategy based around only what my character can be imagined to see.

As for moving the windows around, I massively preferred it back in the old days when that simply wasn’t an option.

Design the default interface properly and there should be be no need to drag bits of it about.

By: Shalkis

Shalkis — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:12:56 +0000

Actually.. Blizzard is still doing that. Enemy cast bars, raid frames, target markers, focus, scrolling combat text, target of target, ready checks, reputation tracking, autoloot, damage/healing meters, AH sorting, multi-item mails, BoP warnings, cast sequences, #shoptooltip, conditional casts, LFG interface.. All of those have been borrowed from user-made UI mods. According to initial reports, threat meters will be next and are scheduled to be integrated into WotLK.

By: Yeebo

Yeebo — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:02:41 +0000

One thing that impressed me about the early days of WoW was how they stole elements from popular UI mods and stuck right them into the default UI as options. For example, the game didn’t ship with multiple hot bars. Not sure why Blizzard stopped doing that, or why other developers don’t do that.

When you get right down to it, no single design element of your game is probably as important as the UI. That’s the link between the user and your game. Why is it the the tendency seems to be for developers to get default UI to “good enough” and then ignore it?

By: Redrik

Redrik — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:15:39 +0000

The WoW interface is the best default interface minus your obvious complaints. I agree that it’s incomprehensibly stupid to not have things like movable windows in the UI by default. There are also things that are pretty much hidden like being able to loot all of a mob’s gear immediately that should be exposed by a button.

By: Grimwell

Grimwell — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 03:53:52 +0000

Good show! Hiding conveniences from the players, or waiting for someone else to do it is the wrong answer.

By: Defect 9

Defect 9 — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:26:18 +0000

Yet another reason why I like EQ2. Theres only one mod (that I feel is) needed (MAP Interface), and the devs fully support it, going as far as to make sure any UI updates don’t screw up the compatibility. That, and when people copy the EQ2 UI for other games (*cough*Vanguard*cough*) you know theres at least /something/ right about it.

By: Kendricke

Kendricke — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:27:44 +0000

Fan-freakin-tastic post. No, seriously. Right on the money.

I hate the fact that I’m required to use a custom UI just to have basic functionality that doesn’t exist within the current UI.

Why do I have to download a UI just to get rid of tabs and dead space from the clunky UI that came with the game?

Why do I need a new UI just to fit all my bags on my window - not everyone’s playing on a 30″ widescreen.

Why do I require an add on just to include basic maps that may or may not be accurate because the basic game doesn’t give me ANY POSSIBLE WAY to ever get those maps otherwise?

Why do I have to spend 2-3 hours of my time every few months just fixing the code in my UI because I dared to use a custom UI which may or may not be supported any longer because the player who was building the code stopped playing the game? Is that 2-3 hours of quality time with the game…or 2-3 hours spent working on code for the game’s interface?