UI Layout

One of the most frustrating things about D2 was that you could only have two screens up at once. This became incredibly tedious when you wanted to switch back forth between multiple screens (especially when you got the horadric cube). People have mentioned that they would like to have more screens up at a time and this a must. There really isn't an excuse for forcing the player to constantly switch between screens.

There was an RTS that came out a few years ago called Supreme Commander and someone made a mod for it that allowed the player to adjust the size and location of every UI element. It allowed players to adjust what information each element showed most prominently and in some cases it even allowed the player to adjust how the information was shown. Most importantly, players could save their UI after they had taken the time to set up their optimal UI layout. It baffles me why games don't offer this sort of basic user customization. I could put elements in places on the screen that were more natural and comfortable to me personally. I could hide information that wasn't important to me and my playstyle and show information that was important.

I don't mean to say that PoE's UI modifications need to be quite so extensive but being able to adjust my UI layout to my tastes and needs was a very liberating experience. Allowing us to customize how big the various pop-up screens are and where they show up on the screen would be a huge step in the right direction. Allowing us to customize the order or layout of information on the screens would be even better. Allowing players to customize the basic on screen UI (health/mana bars, f;asks, abilities, etc) by adding, removing, or rearranging information on it would be a dream come true. I guarantee you that everyone would love the extra customization.

If we look at the screenshot that shows the inventory UI for example. ( http://pathofexile.com/gen/image/gallery/MzNfb3JpZy4x/103f875763.jpg ). It's a pretty UI and I'm sure many people like it. I prefer my UIs to be more minimalist and when I look at this UI, I see a whole lot of space that's simply being wasted (which covers up the action that's taking place on screen). You could easily cut the size of that UI screen by half simply by rearranging the various elements inside it. Why are you showing the exact same flask UI both on the inventory screen and on the main UI? Why are the flasks so unnecessarily huge? The pictures aren't so pretty and the interface isn't so useful that it deserves nearly that much screen real estate. My point is that other people may really like the inventory UI layout how it is shown so giving people the option to customize these sorts of things would be a very appreciated feature. It would help to set PoE apart from all the other rpgs and their notoriously bloated and inefficient UIs.

You can check out the SupCom mod I was referring to here:
http://forums.gaspowered.com/viewtopic.php?t=59
Some pictures of the SupCom mod to emphaise how customizable it made the UI:
http://alcatho.free.fr/layout-mix.jpg
http://supremecommander.filefront.com/screenshots/File/80444/3
http://supremecommander.filefront.com/screenshots/File/80444/2
http://supremecommander.filefront.com/screenshots/File/80444/1

I think such an idea would work against "no real gameplay benefits" approach.

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tormenta wrote:

I think such an idea would work against "no real gameplay benefits" approach.

I re-read the original post and I couldn't see anything mentioning buying the customization in the online store, but having it available for all players to customize their UI how they see fit.

Zephyroth is right. I imagine this as being a standard part of the game that everyone has access to.

I think only a minority of players would actually customize their UI but those that do take the time would also be your most dedicated players. The system could be coded so that any additional processing is handled completely by the client. That way you won't be clogging the servers with any of this added functionality.

What does everyone think? Would you take advantage of this functionality if it were included? I know that I certainly would.

I tend to find that this sort of thing is something that you don't really realize you want until you use it. Like how a lot of people say that they don't need the added functionality of a smartphone but once they use one for a while and realize how convenient it is they never want to go back.

On a completely different note.

My desktop has two screens and I know this is becoming more and more common (as people realize how much more useful it is). Is there any way the PoE can be arranged to take advantage of the extra screen?

I guess you could extend the main screen over both monitors but then the action may get cut in half at a bad spot. I'm not too sure that's the best solution.

You could keep the inventory screen always up on the second monitor (or other screens that players frequently need to open). You could load all the popup windows on the second screen. That way you could have all the screens open at once and not cover up any of the action.

You could have the overlay map on the second screen. That way it wouldn't need to be an overlay and could be more detailed and interesting.

You could have the second screen focus on another character. That way if you and your friend split up in a dungeon, you can still keep track of them and what they're doing in case they get in trouble.

You could do all of these and let the player choose what he wants on the other screen. That would be ideal.

Most games just don't take advantage of having two screens even though in most games the gameplay could definitely be improved by it.

It would be even better if people could save their settings and upload it to this site, so that people who either have no time or are not very handy could use the UI of other players.

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Vandro wrote:

It would be even better if people could save their settings and upload it to this site, so that people who either have no time or are not very handy could use the UI of other players.

I agree. This would be a nice feature.

Just played for a few hours, love the skill tree and the gameplay so far seems nice, the UI however, might be a deal breaker for me personally :(

It's not very practical - the chat window is huge, gets in the way constantly, seems to be moving as you open other interface windows, not sure what for.

Having HP and Mana indicators, as big as they are, in the opposite corners of the screen is not very fortunate either. Playing on a big monitor, it's practically impossible to keep an eye on both, as well as the fight. And while durig normal gameplay, it won't really matter, can't imagine hardcore mode with that setup. If you glance to the left, before you notice your hp pool you see, suprise, the chat window lol.

There seems to be a huge empty space in the middle, that could really use having the flask/option/ability bar right there, so we didn't have to wave the mouse pointer all over the screen,often loosing valuable seconds.

The map overlay, while an interesting idea, is annoying to use. If you happen not to have the best orientation, you end up swiching it on and off constantly - what's wrong with having a mini map?

Quest display - did I miss something?

Lack of ability to right click to sell

Anyhow, best of luck, will be looking forward to some custom UI options in the future.