Hi!
I really like the game, but for someone used to a comfortable and modern MMO UI from another game the UI of LOTRO really feels like there needs to be a lot of changes, especially to the raid-ui and inventory-ui (all ideas listed below are taken
from actually running UIs in another game... I can provide screenshots if needed!)
Here my suggestions to change... and please, when thinking about new UI, check some examples of existing UIs on cursedgaming and steal some ideas from there !!! There are really great UI Ideas out there! Or even better, try to hire some of the UI people behind the ace UI mod library ;-)
I think most work is needed on the raid UI.
When I first saw the raid frames in LOTRO I was pretty shocked. In a 24-people raid you feel like a submarine captain looking out. I originally come from a different MMORPG where this is solved much better, and I would like to make some suggestions to Turbine how the raid frames could get enhances.
(A "Raid Frame" is the part of the UI showing class/health/power/etc. of a singular character/mob)
Example of "good" Raid frames:
http://media6.curse-gaming.com/image...35984/Main.jpg
- In this example it is possible to sort by class number or group (and of course to display only some classes like it is possible now in lotro to only display some groups)
- it is possible to only display health, and not power
- It is possible to either display your personal group together with the
raid frames or not. If yes, this is shown by colored border of the frames
- it is possible to display buffs/debuffs from other groups in raid frames or not
- it is possible to display the class image (for your own group) or not. If
not visible the class is visible by the color of the name (white means priest,
in this example, for example)
- all elements of the frame can individually be enabled/disabled by settings
- Your "personal group": Location of all frames (the individual people) can
be moved by drag-and-drop
- raidframes for players and mobs are the same
- this is no fullscreen screenshot. Actually the raidframes only fill a VERY
small part of the screen.
1. Resize: Currently you can resize the raid frames. Unfortunately you can either make them small (then the text of the names is not readable anymore due to being too small) or resize (then the text is readable, but again they are big and place-wasting).
Idea: Make it possible to resize the text of the player names independently of
the raid frames (Morale/Power Bar etc.)
2. Character Class identification: To save extra place you could specify the
character class in a raid frame (instead of by the class symbol) by the color
of the character name. For example Minstrels white, Champions black, Guardians red,... This would save extra space.
3. Target of Target
Currently it is not possible to see the class of the target's target, unless you click it. In Random Raids this is a big issue. Suggestion: Again color the name in the "color of the class". This simplifies things especially for Guardians a lot.
4. Customizable Raid Frames: Make it possible to define all of a raid frame through an XML file. Let people specify their own Morale/Power Bar etc.
I also feel that between two players in the raidframe too much place is
wasted. They could be put more tightly together (look at
http://media6.curse-gaming.com/image...35984/Main.jpg how raidframes in another game do this). Also making it possible to disable the powerbar (while still showing the morale bar) would be interesting for many cases. About customization I could provide some links to addons of a different game, where you could look what sort of things could be achieved there.
5. Sort by Class: In other games you can choose by "Sort by Fellowship" (as it is in LOTRO now) and "Sort by Class" in the Raid UI. Especially for tanks and healers often "Sort by class" is much better.
6. Assist Window: Like with the other windows: Save space !!! When resizing the text should stay big enough to be readable, but the BARS should get small. And remove all empty space around the window. Adding Target's Target's Target as option (disable-option by a small button) might be interesting. I can provide a screenshot of the WoW-Addon xPerl if you want which shows how this can be done at really minimal place.
7. Make the bar's smaller: The bar's can be really extremely thin lines, and positioned directly under the name of the character.
8. Debuffs: To make it easier to keep track of people's debuffs, add a "big version" of their debuffs (best with NAMES of the debuffs under the debuffs)
slightly left of the minimap. In fights with "deadly debuffs" this might help people a lot.
9. SmartDebuff-like Window: It might be an idea to add something like the
WoW-Addon SmartDebuff, which will show a number from 1 to 24 in a small matrix (each for a player), and when one of them gets a deadly debuff (or something else, open to configuration) the number changes color (according to type of debuff). By clicking of the number the player in question would be taken into the targeting. To save space: optional window.
10. Information Displays for raidleaders:
- An optional display showing how many people target a mob (below the target frame) to check if everybody assists
- A special command to check how many of a special item kind (for example Poison Debuff remover potion) everybody has in inventory
- Show (with a special command) the repair status in % (average on all items) of everyone
- Show the average percentage of power and morale everyone has and the number of people dead
11. General way to move the UI: Personally I'd like to be able to move the UI "in action" instead of strg+# where you only see a "border" looking like the ui. A option to lock the UI in place could get provided. This is a minor issue of course.
12. Threatmeter (could be integrated with an ingame-damagemeter, I could provide screenshots how something like that could look).
13. Frame Display: Make it possible that only specific fellowships (or only specific classes) will be shown in the raid UI
14. Focus: Add a possibility to set a focus. The focus would be another frame like the "target", and you could put the focus into the target (or the other way round) by a simple command. Or by clicking on the focus (I can provide a screenshot from another game, if needed). A functionality like (taking from the macro language of a different game)
/target focus
/assist
would also be interesting
15. Another pure optical thing for the non-raid-fellowship display: Why can I set a portrait only for myselves, but for the other members of the party only a symbol appears?
16. Healer Mode: Instead of showing the current Morale, show how much someone has LOST. Would be optional of course.
Some ideas to the inventory:
1. Provide a AllInOneInventory (one big bag showing the content of all bags),
support for inventory/bank/house
2. Provide an option to show the inventory contents of alt's (I can provide a UI Example from a different game if needed), though the items there could not get
manipulated of course and would be "read only"
3. Provide a sort option (after armour/weapons/crafter items/recipes/...)
4. Provide a fullstring search (only items matching are shown in the inventory)
About 3. and 4. I can provide screenshots of another game, how this may look.
5. Provide Outfitter functionality (Outfitter is a WoW Addon, I will explain how it works):
- When you click on an equipment slot on your character page, a list of "fitting items" from your inventory is shown left or right of the slot. By clicking one of the items you can equip it, without having to search for it in the inventory
- You can define "outfits" for special occasions (I can provide a UI Example from Outfitter, if needed) and then switch to them by a simple mouseclick.
And map/minimap:
1. Make the map resizable (smaller than fullscreen, so you can fight/move while
checking the map, also show questgivers you already visited - with listing their quest names! - on the map like in the "Cartographer" Addon for WoW)
2. Add a coordinate display to the Minimap (or at least to the display of a G15 keyboard).
3. For Raids: Make it possible to "ping" the minimap. Useful for explanation "you have to move HERE then".
Sorane