Came up with a new UX idea - would love some feedback

[Scott2933]

Here is my latest idea for the improving the select screen (for the ship view). I explain it in detail here. Would love to start a discussion about how to make the game more inviting for new players. Hopefully if we come up with some good ideas they might get used in future versions.

New command Center UI.jpg (548.27 KiB) Viewed 898 times

[WiZz]

I think order buttons should be in 1 place.

[Scotias]

Big + on the ship select screen changes. I wouldn't worry about an extra click to leave fleet or one or two other commands I don't use constantly / could do with multiple ships together, it's a small trade for a more user friendly info panel. The colour changes for fuel etc made more of a difference than I thought, and I agree its better to have quick orders next to their relevant info, like refuel next to the fuel count etc. Again a small trade for all the extra space when those icons are no longer walling off the bottom of the panel.
If needed, something to make it very obvious which icons are actual commands would be good, like maybe put refuel, retrofit etc inside a small grey border with yellow stripes, like they are ship controls or something. That way there's no chance of missing that these buttons are available from the screen, this with new players in mind particularly.

The live ship pic inside the shield would be a cool touch and I would definitely like to be able to see what kind of weapons the selected ship has on from the quick info panel like shown, even if it was limited to 6 or 8 representations for primary weapons for example.


Of the new colony screens proposed, I do like the second one better without being able to play with both. Maybe just because its not too far off the existing one, with the tabs etc. A lot of text without icons scares my monkey brain :p

[Scott2933]

Big + on the ship select screen changes. I wouldn't worry about an extra click to leave fleet or one or two other commands I don't use constantly / could do with multiple ships together, it's a small trade for a more user friendly info panel. The colour changes for fuel etc made more of a difference than I thought, and I agree its better to have quick orders next to their relevant info, like refuel next to the fuel count etc. Again a small trade for all the extra space when those icons are no longer walling off the bottom of the panel.
If needed, something to make it very obvious which icons are actual commands would be good, like maybe put refuel, retrofit etc inside a small grey border with yellow stripes, like they are ship controls or something. That way there's no chance of missing that these buttons are available from the screen, this with new players in mind particularly.

The live ship pic inside the shield would be a cool touch and I would definitely like to be able to see what kind of weapons the selected ship has on from the quick info panel like shown, even if it was limited to 6 or 8 representations for primary weapons for example.


Of the new colony screens proposed, I do like the second one better without being able to play with both. Maybe just because its not too far off the existing one, with the tabs etc. A lot of text without icons scares my monkey brain :p

Glad you liked it! Totally agree on better buttons (I just grabbed theirs and copy and pasted) - same with the retrofit. So something consistent feel to match the rest of the game would have to be designed. And finally - I'm leaning toward the tab view as well (with maybe less info on the static top half so there is less scrolling and more info in each dynamic panel). Thanks again for your input!

[MichaelJ007]

Very nice. Like the colour variation.

I think I also would prefer the ship/fleet commands to be in one place. (refuel, retrofit, leave, join, etc.). Almost a simulated 'bridge' for the ship/fleet.

Personally, I think the tactical options can be reduced to a set of behavior toggles with mouseover descriptions.

Fleet Controls.png (167.58 KiB) Viewed 721 times

[maggiecow]

Like the individual ship mock-up, the cluttered colony box less so. If you try to put too much information in one box, you're making it more difficult to mentally parse the information that's there, and it's unlikely you need ALL the information at any particular time. ie Who's managing their colonies from the colony selection? You do it from the colony list 99% of the time, I imagine. 10x easier if you want to eg do a bunch of troop recruitment or build facilities on several worlds.

From memory (haven't properly played for a while except to check UI stuff really) if selecting a colony from the map gave you access to the second screen you get from making a selection off the colony list, that would be all you need and should probably be the only way to do this manually. I've already loaded up DW:U and DW2 a bunch today to check the UI and can't be assed doing it yet again, but I don't think it's an option, but using the same screen you get from the colony list would be so much better than those little nested selections you get eg click troop management, then add or remove troops from the bottom line of the colony box. Bleurgh. Doing the same thing two different ways is stupid.

Anyway, I was just checking in to see if the game was worth playing yet and it clearly isn't so I'm peaceing out for another few weeks.

Perhaps when the game is opened to modding UX/UI will be moddable. Lol.

[MichaelJ007]

The Selected Fleet Panel contains very good information: status, fuel levels (critical), home base, strength, troops. I wouldn't change it drastically, except for one thing.

I would replace the Fleet Tactics button with a Fleet Details button which would open up a new Panel (see mockup below).

Fleet Details Mockup.png (308.63 KiB) Viewed 612 times

It can combine fleet tactical controls, leadership details, summary of bonuses, and an individual ship listing with ship specific orders, in one screen. Maybe some other pertinent info. Maybe jazzed up a bit (my drawing skills suck). But I think the concept is clear.

[Scott2933]

The Selected Fleet Panel contains very good information: status, fuel levels (critical), home base, strength, troops. I wouldn't change it drastically, except for one thing.

I would replace the Fleet Tactics button with a Fleet Details button which would open up a new Panel (see mockup below).

Fleet Details Mockup.png

It can combine fleet tactical controls, leadership details, summary of bonuses, and an individual ship listing with ship specific orders, in one screen. Maybe some other pertinent info. Maybe jazzed up a bit (my drawing skills suck). But I think the concept is clear.

Great job Michael - some good ideas!

[Scott2933]

Slightly different take on showing the shields and armor.

In addition, the ship would show damage as it lost systems (maybe even red or blue [ion] exclamation points you can hover over when they components get damaged). Another option is to have the ship image act like the design screen ship image (center of design screen)- so you can hover over hard points to see each weapon, engine, sensor, etc.

LargeShipSelectView.jpg (377.5 KiB) Viewed 555 times