Concept GUI

[Shadowfax]

Well I was bored and after playing around with my info window like some other members, I thought about trying to create my own GUI. This, however, is only a concept screenshot and I haven\'t actually put it in-game. I don\'t expect to actually mod my Planeshift to use this GUI, though, I could probably actually get some of it working in-game. (Ofcourse the minimap is not a real feature of the game)

View

They few things shown are all I have done so far.

[Ecolem]

Ok I?ve seen enough...I\'m going to beg Venge or Talad to stick that compass in

[Karyuu]

Without the map, clearly.

I like the simplicity, though certain parts are missing - # of PPs, FPS (often a rather useful piece of information), and of course one of the most important features, the chat ;) I\'d really like to see the chat window in a similar style.

Many many headshakes at the map, though.

[rosmerelmer]

i think all the windows that are in-game are a bit messy right now, thats why i like it. Like the chat window what you have to pull in-and out the sight of where you are walking. Maybe a permanent chat bar at the bottom of the screen?

[Uyaem]

What\'s wrong with the map?

[Karyuu]

Besides it appearing completely OOC, and being rather useless. As is on the screenshot, it shows far too small an area to be of any real use - you could just zoom out with your camera a tiny bit and see the same thing - it\'s an unnecessary feature. Certainly the design of it is lovely, but it\'s the function that carries greater importance.

There already has been official word that no auto-maps will be in the game, as well. Might as well stick a dragon in there ;)

*edit* I believe the compass directions are a bit off as well. The direction of the library has been described as east, with the Hydlaa exit gates as north. I think this isn\'t reflected on the screenshot, but I could be wrong. It\'s too early in the morning. *sheepish grin*

[Ecolem]

Why would a map be useless?
You would think the Dev\'s would take away the 3rd Person zoom \"zoom out as far as you want\" and max it at 50 meters or so (I hope).
It should show enemy’s maybe with a red dot and guild members with a yellow dot for eg.
If not that then why not a small hand held compass with just N,S,E,W with an arrow?

IMHO I do think that it is a necessity for people, especially the newbs.

[Uyaem]

Originally posted by Karyuu
Besides it appearing completely OOC, and being rather useless. As is on the screenshot, it shows far too small an area to be of any real use - you could just zoom out with your camera a tiny bit and see the same thing - it\'s an unnecessary feature. Certainly the design of it is lovely, but it\'s the function that carries greater importance.

I think it\'s not at all OOC, because it is small. It\'s about the area that you could see by quickly turning your head left, then right. Zooming out a couple of hundred kilometers is far more unrealistic than being constantly aware of what buildings (not people) are around you. If it were connected to a mapping skill, with differing level of detail, I think it certainly would be something

[leji]

me loves it, me wants it, where can I get it ?
As for the map, it can just be used as a compass, which would be very handy, but I dont think living beings should appear on it

[Induane]

This may be a strech, but what about having a compass with just a black background, no map, no living things on it either, and have maps available for purchase.  The maps could be brought up in full screen mode only perhaps to prevent using them as a mini-map - more like pulling your map out of your pocket and frowning at it for a while.  It shouldn\'t show your location on it either - you should have to figure that out based on landmarks

Then magic users could also purchase a spell that has a certain time duration that makes creatures show up on the compass screen.  As magic users might be weaker in melee fighting, it would be useful for journeys so they could avoid confrontation.

[Shadowfax]

Made some small changes. Now it displays PP, FPS, and time. Also the target\'s crystal could change to red or green when a target is selected depending on if it is friendly or hostile towards you. I\'ll add the chatbox etc. later.
View

I like the idea of starting with a blank compass and then having to purchase maps. And then to see people on the map, needing a spell or training in the \"map\" skill. It will be a useful feature for hunter/scout players.  The map is really no more OCC then a the infowindow and chatbox.

[Seytra]

As for the \"no living beings\" on maps... This can be connected not only to a mapmaking skill, but also to a tracking skill. There certainly are different races that can track, using different ways to track.
Dermorians would probably be able to track by sound, Kran by vibration, Enki by sound and semell, depending on wind direction. Other races can also gain some levels of tracking ability through practice using their normal senses.

The information on this would obviously be highly dependant on skill level in the treacking skill, and maybe an additional stat / skill \"sense awareness\" to actually make use of the available senses.

As for the directions... I have seen the gates and the temple being described as \"north\", so it seems that north is really in the directrion of the templa when looking from the statue.

Thus, how about the compass showing the fountain with the statue in it\'s center and the temple as marker for \"north\", like the red end of the needle of a normal compass?
Obviously, this compass would not be available unless you actually _have_ one. Some races might, again, have a built-in but not 100% reliable one, like Elves, Enki, Klyros and Kran. It could also be connected to an \"orientation\" skill, since other races will also be able to learn that, obviously. A purchased one would be available to all, and, depending on quality, be more or less 100% accurate.
Also, it would be really good if you would have \"built-in\" and \"bought\" compass markers if both are available. There\'s nothing like your compass telling you you\'re heading west while your feeling says you\'re heading east. This could also be a peculiar property of certain places, as we have these IRL, too: magnetic ores in the earth cause severe deviation of the compass.

As for the minimap... I\'m not 100% sure about it. Granted, there surely is no way of having a GPS, but OTOH, the camera modes are comparatively limited in their usefulness for orientation, if you consider the unlimited zoom a bug, which I think it is.
I think I prefer a conventional map, though.

As for the general look of the GUI: it is not cluttering things up as much as the current one, but there are some design elements (the crystals) that are rather big but serve no purpose, thus will clutter once the remaining elements are in.

[Shadowfax]

Well the crystals, in my opinion, give the GUI a Planeshift feel. Now I think that you have a good point of there uselessness other than look so why not make them useful. I think that the segments of the info window\'s crystal should become the buttons. The large middle segment could go to invetory. The 7 buttons around it would become communictaions, petitions, group, buddylist, spellbook, quests, and guild. Then the small crystal shaped PP box would be the button for skills/stats, and the other few menus(Quit, Options, Help, Shortcuts) would be accesed from a drop-down by right clicking the middle segment(invetory button). This would really reduce clutter becuase all you would usually have open is your infowindow and chatbox(unless the compass feature is added in the future).

[Karyuu]

My main concern with the minimap\'s OOC feeling was just that - a feeling of OOCness. If it had the appearance of a scroll with environmental features that looked as if they were drawn, it would\'ve been perfect. Afterall, I believe this is the style of map that is planned for the future - not a direct overhead view of one\'s surroundings. This was the biggest problem for me. And as Seytra stated, the location of other living things should involve either the drain of magic or the use of a certain skill - thus it too would not be automatic. I think features such as maps or compasses should look like the actual objects they are meant to represent, within the GUI. So a compass wouldn\'t be just four letters in the corner of the screen, it would have the appearance of an actual compass object (a ton of potential there for interesting designs), since unlike the many other GUI features, it is meant to be used IC.

I also agree that the nearly-infinite zoom feature is unnecessary, and should be taken care of in the future.

[Platyna]

I think a compass without the map would be nice and IC.


Regards.