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Ideas for User Interface in Multiple Displays Mode
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Kevin Tumatauenga
State War Academy
Caldari State
#1 - 2014-11-27 08:23:50 UTC  |  Edited by: Kevin Tumatauenga
Hi,

I'm a new pilot. Thanks to CCP that I can enjoy flying in the beautiful New Eden. I wish they can redesign in-game UI to enhance better and more immersive experience.

The problem with current UI is that there are too many buttons on Neocom and its menu, columns after sub-columns, sometimes its quite difficult to navigate. For many new players out there, I was one of them not long ago, who would easily get confused, and sweat a bit for the needed one. A bad start for first impression, it made it harder to use than they actually are. It's undeniable that some new players couldn't continue after the tutorial.

Apart from that, there are so many important windows you want them to be "on" constantly in/out of combat. When they are fully spread out, not much room is left. A lot of precious time pre-and peri-combat is wasted on opening/closing these tabs. A lot of veterans in my corp told me they can simply control the tabs "magically" through shortcuts. But I doubt their lives would be any easier when they are under pressure with mixture of combat and UI controls. Some others told me to try to use a,single, big, long and overlaid tab. I still don't find it comfortable to overlay alliance chat/corp chat/ local chat on the left, and drones/scans/cargo/overview all altogether on the right.

An example of overcrowding interface: https://potshot.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/eve-screen.png

When you have so many windows on top, the overall layout is very messy and unorganized. It's very difficult to be multitasking and efficient. I'm pretty sure there will be more troubles when new features are introduced using current UI and controls in the future.

Quite a few players think that the multiple display mode doesn't only increase the game resolution and graphics quality, but it also solve the tabs-space problems by stretching the 1920/1440/1800/2160 horizontal resolutions up to 3-5 times with multiple monitors. After researching in the forum, I found that not everyone enjoys that odd ratios, insanely small texts and separateness in between monitors. In the end, players still have to pull all the tabs closer to the center so that they are easier to reach and read, most importantly, these tabs again cover the awesome graphics in the middle and leaving the sides unnoticed the most of time.

So my question is if there's a way to leave the essential buttons(most keyboard bounded combat skills) and glory graphics in the middle with 1440p/4k monitor, and let other monitors laid out with 150%+ UI for reading and writing purposes only? Something like this: http://imgur.com/BwkcNWo
With some smart design, I'm sure these tabs look as elegant as the projected virtual 3D holographic displays, like the ones in our quarters. Players will be able to control what to be shown at each sector and how big each sector is in setting menu.

If the idea can be adopted, the user can enjoy all the fancy renderings in the middle screen, and getting information through other monitors. Because all "tabs" will be laid out all the time, CCP can add a lot features without switching between Map/Planetary/ISIS UIs, for example, CCP can make map corp/alliance-wide coordinated by CEOs/FCs in real action for any type of fleet; it can also integrate ISIS and fitting menu which make things neater ; an extra window for "EVE TV"/Youtube/Twitch allowing capsulers to watch live battles in distanced zones, and its also a good source for advertising; another tab space for in-game kill reports updates right after massive slaughter without tab-alt and checking 3rd parties statistics; they can also integrate preview and information window for quick and easy glance, that way allows nubs like me to know what ships a frig can shoot, and which shouldn't. Saving time from misclicking, and opening/closing/moving used/useless tabs.

http://imgur.com/rbjeH3s

Even the majority of players dont have or not willing to have dual/tri/quad monitors, but there are also players who want to turn their own gaming room a small eve quarter and make the game more enjoyable.
elitatwo
Zansha Expansion
#2 - 2014-11-27 10:20:29 UTC
Kevin Tumatauenga wrote:
-snip-a-snip-
Even the majority of players dont have or not willing to have dual/tri/quad monitors, but there are also players who want to turn their own gaming room a small eve quarter and make the game more enjoyable.


Not willing??

Here is a prime example why money isn't a problem, too much on the other hand is. People like to assume things they don't know.
Fine, we are all creatures of habits.

And why would we care if the planet goes down in flame, we just wanna play a game, the planet we live on doesn't concern us, we are in space already, amirite?

Eve Minions is recruiting.

This is the law of ship progression!

Aura sound-clips: Aura forever
Kevin Tumatauenga
State War Academy
Caldari State
#3 - 2014-11-28 08:37:15 UTC
elitatwo wrote:
Kevin Tumatauenga wrote:
-snip-a-snip-
Even the majority of players dont have or not willing to have dual/tri/quad monitors, but there are also players who want to turn their own gaming room a small eve quarter and make the game more enjoyable.


Not willing??

Here is a prime example why money isn't a problem, too much on the other hand is. People like to assume things they don't know.
Fine, we are all creatures of habits.

And why would we care if the planet goes down in flame, we just wanna play a game, the planet we live on doesn't concern us, we are in space already, amirite?


WIsh I can tell you the exact numbers instead of generalizing, but I cant.
Iain Cariaba
#4 - 2014-11-28 09:21:56 UTC
There is a staggeringly vast amount of information available in EvE. However, 95% of that information is irrelevant a vast majority of the time.

Using the screenshot provided as an example, I can point out a couple mistakes you made in your layout.

1: Several of the icons displayed on the side panel are totally useless, and some are only there because of currently open windows. The help, tutorial, ship hangar, and calculator buttons are a waste of space. Help is f12 key, tutorials should have already been done, ship hangar can be accessed through the inventory button directly above it, and the in game calculator is a piece of crap that can be outclassed by a piece of paper and a pencil, even more so by your OS's build in calculator. Furthermore, that toon is a member of TNT, and I'm not sure they're involved in faction warfare enough to require a button on the side panel for it, but I could be wrong there. Also, if you hover on the edge of the side panel, you can reduce it's size.

2: Of all the windows displayed on that screenshot, the only ones important enough to be on screen at all times are the comms channels. All the rest of that is part of the 95% that you can ignore most of the time. When you are not actively fitting a ship, shopping on market, or setting up a skill queue, those windows should be closed to make room for the game. Other windows that you should have open at all times are ones that only appear in space, like overview and d-scan.

Part of the learning curve of EvE is learning what information needs to be displayed, and when it needs displayed. Your second screenshot is a prime example of trying to display too much information. Comparison window, market, fitting window, info panel, ISIS, and maps are all things that you only open when you need them. None of those are important enough to warrant remaining on the screen 100% of the time. Only the stuff you use 100% percent of the time warrants this.

Personally, I play EvE maximized in window mode at 90% UI scaling on a 30" monitor with 2560x1600 resolution, and I have more than enough room. The little 19" monitor I have beside it generally only displays my voice comms programs, since none of the overlays want to work for me in window mode.

Bottom line, you need to re-evaluate the priority you put on the information presented to you, for as you can see, the sheer volume of it can overwhelm you.
Dustpuppy
New Eden Ferengi
#5 - 2014-11-28 11:10:18 UTC  |  Edited by: Dustpuppy
I also brought up (two times, no feedback from anyone) the idea to be able to save/load UI details just like it can be done at the moment with the item overview (ships, cans, planets, other structures) where I can save different layouts for different tasks.

For me saving / loading window positions (e.g. drone interface shown/hidden, the size and location of the chat channel) would be a great help and anyone who has moved the display of a client from a monitor to another one with a different screen resolution knows how time consuming it is to rearrange everything after this move.

At the moment it is so frustrating that I don't launch EVE on my laptop to check details on my main char because as soon as I use my workstation again I have to adjust everything again from scratch. Using the monitor of my workstation with the laptop is no option. My wife would kill me if I would bring a 27" display and place it on the bed.