Jared Tobin
Bloodstone Industries
B.S.I.
216
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Posted - 2015.01.14 01:01:28 -
[1] - Quote
JAN 2015: NEW/EXISTING "UI" ISSUES & FEEDBACK:
OK, I'll give it a try and add my .02 ISK's worth..
FYI: USING "CARBON", 0 Transparency, NO Window Blur, NO Match Theme
NEOCOM ICONS STUCK AS "TRANSLUCENT": The Neocom panel is unable to be made opaque. Disturbing considering its top "E" (EVE) symbol, avatar pic, training graphic and bottom clock areas are opaque. PROBLEM: Hard to distinguish icons from bright graphics in background. Good example: when using "Carbon" theme with TRANSPARENCY=0. The icons are difficult enough to distinguish, but especially in a Caldari station with bright/reflective backgrounds (or in space with a bright star) "underneath" the Neocom.
ICONS: Icons would be more visible and efficient if we could "color"/"tint" certain icons to help visually distinguish (example) what are industrial icons versus inventory icons versus business icons, etc. Especially considering "Grouping" icons does not seem to function as intended.
NEW ICON VISUAL/INTERPRETATION: The "Symbology" could benefit from some color (should those wish it). I rely on color to help differentiate options - that is in addition to shapes. Now I'm mentally taking more time staring at all the new icons and not having any clue as to "what is what". Problem is: lack of color, which seems odd, considering your example of the "works in progress" and example pics shown/shared in your "a new look for EVE's UI" blog: the pictures show a colored glow. Problem with current set up: it's purely black and white. This gets even more confusing when you have NO option to set the "background" of the Neocom to something NON-transparent.
OVERVIEW NAVIGATION ICONS: It would help if the warp/approach/jump/etc symbols above the Overview were larger. Though they appear to be bolder, they have then been reduced in size, with no ability to resize them (like one can with in-station icon sizes).
DARKENING/REFOCUSING CLIENT: Constant color shade "refocusing" is distracting. Example: When trying to split-drag (CTRL+drag) an item from one place to another, the center window will pop up asking how much to move, but the entire screen darkens. Gets a bit distracting when split-dragging 50 items "quickly" and not able to see the rest of your inventory. It's behavior is almost identical to when one hits the ESC key.
TAB VISIBILITY: "Tabs" are not clearly distinguishable. They are simply words. Providing dividing lines to help discern/define where you can drag to/select would help.
WINDOW CORNERS/BORDERS: The window corners visually do not always "line up" next to each other. On some instances, when windows do line up next to each other, the 1 pixel line merges adjacently, forming a more visible 2 pixel line. But when they do not merge, you can see the background between a 1-2 pixel gap, even though the client insists your windows are "snapped next to each other".
CLUTTER REDUCTION
I've noticed months ago all EVE DEVs and CCP associates stating the phrase of intent to "reduce clutter in the interface" - a common DEV-spoken/typed "theme" and "token sentence" associated with every change since changing the in-game typeface several years ago to make more "screen real estate" yet the Industry UI is still one of the biggest steps backwards I have ever seen regarding this statement since, and the following issues are still unaddressed:
INDUSTRY UI: The Industry UI is too bloated visually, taking up to 50% of a windowed active cient, and does not allow resizing to a "managable" size when dealing with other opened windows - as usually many of mass manufacturing and industrial corporations have open at any one time when docked/working. The Industry UI needs a more compact way to list the jobs. Each "job row" takes up about 2 "normal rows" when in "LIST MODE" in ALL "INVENTORY UI" windows. Industry's UI is a waste of space, and the pulsating "Tron-meets-Georgia-O'Keeffe's vaginal-esque" blueprint graphic area is a tremendous waste of space which cannot be made smaller or even vertically "squished" to allow a longer, more intelligible view of the jobs listed.
A SIDE NOTE: Interestingly, with such fervor to make the Neocom/Icon-ography of the game stripped of color and "simplified", it is not without its irony that the Industry UI is now the most colorful User Interface in the game now.
One last thought:
MINERAL SYMBOLOGY: It has become incredibly frustrating to visually (quickly) understand amounts of "minerals" used in an Industry "job" without unnecessary waste of time "mousing over" each symbol. The iconography-only of minerals is terrible. The client/UI lacks any option to textually show what minerals are when listing manufacturing amounts/needs, etc. Perhaps allow a "LIST" mode for all mineral-oriented iconography as an alternative.
- ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION: Simply abbreviate TRI,PYR,MEX,ISO,NOX,MEG,ZYD and MOR - all would easily be appreciated and could be positioned conveniently "above" the mineral symbols.
Win7Pro64-bit - USING "CARBON", 0 Transparency, NO Window Blur, NO Match Theme |