Mynxee
Noir.
Noir. Mercenary Group
   |
Posted - 2010.05.29 02:08:00 -
[1]
Edited by: Mynxee on 29/05/2010 02:10:03
 Originally by: Ankhesentapemkah
I would like to ask CCP to just revamp the whole UI once and for all.
I agree the UI is often cumbersome, annoying, quirky, non-intuitive, difficult to use, irritatingly fiddly, and unnecessarily redundant. I agree it needs work to correct those things. However, "revamp the whole UI once and for all" is too nebulous to support. That nebulosity is reflected in your "Needed" list, which ranges all over the place from redesigning global elements (menu replacement with buttons) to new features (customizable UI and clipboard-like lists) to changes to specific features (hot keys support, font, redundancy on menus) to things CCP has already said cannot be changed (differentiating BPO icons from BPC icons) and yet is not a comprehensive list by far. A revamp of the whole UI would need to cover much more territory. Furthermore, the categorical changes you suggested don't address the need to streamline all those cumbersome tasks in Eve that involve too many clicks, too many steps, and too many show-stopping obstacles that are completely unnecessary--which I believe any comprehensive UI overhaul would need to address to be truly beneficial.
For those reasons, I suggest it's better to break out UI fix proposals in a more modular way, with each proposal covering a given area (Global Fixes, Market Window Overhaul, POS Management Overhaul, Contracts Overhaul, etc.). Focused discussion for a given area of the UI is not only likely to yield a more coherent, on-track discussion, it is more likely to attract experts whose feedback is very valuable.
Of course, all that involves some hard work. First, it makes sense to find related proposals so you don't duplicate effort. However, finding them in the turbulent quagmire that is AH is a chore. Then it makes sense to research EVElopedia to see what CSM has already proposed and what has disappeared into the the Mystical Backlog of Infinite Holding. So a good, well-researched, informed proposal takes a lot of effort. But without that effort, all we do is end up doing is spinning the same old **** in non-specific threads like this.
CCP demonstrated with the Fitting Window that they are capable of wonderfully functional UI design that also looks cool and is fun (or at least non-frustrating) to interact with. I'd love for the whole game to reflect that same quality. But doing so would be a monumental task and in lots of cases, require touching code that no one wants to go near. Not really an excuse for avoidance but given the crushing weight of other stuff in the fix list, understandable. "Status of UI Fixes in the Backlog" will be on the discussion list for the CSM5 Summit in June. If we can get some insight on that, I think we have a better chance of assessing a realistic approach to proposing comprehensive UI overhauls. Meanwhile, there are a lot of smaller fixes already proposed and active in AH that could use and should get support (many related to the list provided in the OP).
Life In Low Sec |