Official "Your HUD sucks and you should feel bad" Thread

Discussion in 'Art' started by Devourawr, Jun 18, 2016.

  1. complete_

    complete_ lamer

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    ok i want to post before i forget.
    i think the f image thingy is useless. i didnt even know what it meant and i dont think it'll help people
    i dont get the stamina bar being divided in 14, let alone at all. it regenerates pretty quick, no need for people to know when its 1/4 or 2/14 full.
    f menu among other things is way too transparent but i think you know that
    some problems with ammo count in things like nades but its probably known

    i dont get the point of glows but i like the nade icons
     
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  2. Lazybum

    Lazybum :D Staff Member Moderator

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    The divisions are suppose to relate to how you need 3 of them to jump without running out of stamina. On that note maybe it would be best to simply have just one line to show how much stamina you need to drop. You can even have it look ok by making that last chunk of stamina a different color to show that you are running out of stamina and will run out if you jump.

    As an aside is there anyway to show different colors on the hud when something happens? It would be nice if that dna looking thing in the health bar turned green when you get bioed.
     
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  3. Devourawr

    Devourawr Member

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    Alright, after a couple hours of messing around with ideas here is my new Revive icon in-game.

    Be as harsh as you want - whatever style we decide here will be extended to every other HUD graphic request - heals, repairs, ammo, etc. So be harsh NOW rather than whine later. Yes, even you can say some things BlackRedDead and I might read them.

    I went for something modern but highly visible without being too annoying - you still want to be able to see the battlefield if your squad has just been gangbanged. Please give any and all feedback EXCEPT transparency stuff at this time. It works in a variety of light environments but only some playtesting will confirm that. Thanks!

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2016
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  4. Devourawr

    Devourawr Member

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    Special post just to say I'll be removing the F menu icon in the next patch. I think everyone has seen it enough. Thanks for suffering through it but hopefully it helped the new players be less clueless.
     
  5. Trickster

    Trickster Retired Developer

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    I think it was a really smart addition and should stay. It reminds people to use the F-menu more even if they know it exists.
     
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  6. blizzerd

    blizzerd Member

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    this is a bad call...
     
  7. flasche

    flasche Member Staff Member Moderator

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    because you expect no new players? leave it be.
     
  8. Tama

    Tama Developer Staff Member Web Developer

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    I like the F-menu icon - it doesn't even bother me since it's so small, and I'm sure it helps newbies a bunch. We could add an option for it, just like the building hints, so the whiners can just turn it off?
     
  9. Ranger

    Ranger Member

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    Targets, attack orders etc are too big and hide the targets and even tanks at long distances. Need option to control transparency as well. Can you work on them?
     
  10. Xyaminou

    Xyaminou Member

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    What's wrong with the old revive icon?

    Yes, giving squad targets in "wall wars" can actually be detrimental to your squad's performance because you more often than not end up targeting the wall which leads to obstructed vision of the enemies.
    A new mechanism for targets is needed, transparency, smaller outlines, invisible after a certain distance... You're free to chose but this is a very important part of gameplay that needs to be re-done.
     
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  11. Devourawr

    Devourawr Member

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    [​IMG]

    It's a low res screenshot but it does the job. I'll roll it out to the other icons soon. Everything gets it's own colour.
     
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  12. BlackRedDead

    BlackRedDead Member

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    looks good so far, keep size of the old one and maybe play a bit with transparancy (so the actual icon will consist of the red ring and the "heartbeat meter" with some decent "glow" to improve visibility ;-)
    (idk, inner or outer glow - both could look good)


    lol... i try to give more critic if you want, you doing a good job so far! :) - it's just not much to my likeing(/style) but that's subjective view!^^
    the only things that bug me out (on the objective view) is
    - minecounter pos (left instead right above the ammo counter)
    - bolding behavior (the ammocounter punchs me in the face xP, but you know that i just liked the old one and miss it - so that could be influenced by my personal likeing and also might have to do with the next point...)
    - sizing issues (at different resolutions, i think thats already on your list^^)
    - weapon/vehicle/equipment icons missing contrast (your previews compared to the old ones!)
    - some missed coloring (the health&stamina icon and bars, they could be made better visible)
    but i have to say that i need to review it precisely again, i might not be totally aware of the recent changes - played two seasons yet since 2.10!^^

    other than that i have to say TOUCH THE MAIN MENU SCREEN AND I KILL YOU!!! xD
    (seriously, i still have no idea from wich map that great ancient greek background was shot - but in combination with my beeloved earth font it's the greatest moment when starting the game <3)


    About th pointless "F"/ComRose menu icon:
    it is indeed small enough so it doesn't really anoy to much, but it would be great if it would actually show the correct/exact keybind and/or can be disabled just like the oher ingame hints ;-)
     
  13. Caelo

    Caelo Member

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    This, it really helps new players and even though we don't get enough of them (to stick around) we really should keep the stuff that will help them. Personally I don't really like it sitting there, so an option would be great. Doesn't even need to be in the menu (if it's hard to do, which it probably isn't), it can be an ini entry as well.
     
  14. complete_

    complete_ lamer

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    i dont get the problem with the old icons? they seemed pretty professional, they scaled to a low size and were clear.

    your revive icon looks like it should be in a zombie game. the heart pulse style doesnt really work since they're technically dead (it should be a flatline). i dont think its very clear due to it hugging the ends of the circle, its very little open space so that a person can infer what symbol it is
    and im not really a fan of the glow

    exactly. needs to show the correct keybind or be disabled.
    i think its useless because i frankly didnt get what it was trying to represent until i asked someone. it didnt register in my mind to press f. i would save that stuff for a tutorial. i dont think you see buttons for quick commands in other games right on your hud
     
  15. BlackRedDead

    BlackRedDead Member

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    well... the revive icon wasn't anyhow clear! - i like the new one, it indicates better that someone can be revived than the old one!
    (well, just let us call them "knocked out" instead "dead" - someone considered dead should be dead anyway! xD - that damn "i'm dead... oh i got revived... damn i'm dead again" chatter would be so confusing irl!)

    tough the other old icons are okay as they are and i'm not a big fan of the glow eighter - but things change and overall i can accept the new hud - if issues will be fixed ofc!
    at least we're vets, we know the game so who cares about a new hud as long the ui remains the same?!
    the only question we should ask ourself is "how might it look for a new player? - will it help him to get into the game or is it to much 'visual' that obstruct him from it?" ;-)


    edit:
    about the keybinds... ehm, there are MANY games that actually show the key for several functions - even at the FPS genre ;-) - just look for it, not that uncommon!^^
    tough they show the actual bind and sometimes can be deactivated (but mostly they are logical placed and doesn't obstruct your view!)
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2016
  16. Devourawr

    Devourawr Member

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    Okay, so seeing as there's some confusion, there are two main aspects to my work.

    1. Simplification
    Basically, to make the UI more user friendly. Not simplification in a 'remove features until it's braindead obvious' way, but more clarification based so we still have all the same functions, they're just more easy for (mostly new players) to understand what the current functions do. Like the revive symbol - I would argue the old one, which many people still won't know represented a ticket, was less obvious. Besides, with a new revive icon we needed it to be the same across the board.

    2. Modernisation
    The UI was always supposed to be temporary. The current one is patchwork and, very importantly, low quality, in both amount of time put in, and the fact literally EVERY texture has undergone compression needlessly. Look at the new gun icons for example and compare them to the old ones.

    The HUD icons, while not absolutely top priority perhaps, fill out both these requirements and are small enough that I can realistically work on them. Perhaps instead of gradual rollouts though I should stop making changes a few blocks at a time and instead release them in bigger packs every few months.
     
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  17. Devourawr

    Devourawr Member

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    I'm poking around to see what icons I can remake. I'm sure they're textures but for the fucking life of me I cannot find any minimap icons beyond infantry/vehicles/comm/spawn, when what I REALLY want are buildings.

    Her are my new BE spawn selection icons. I want them to be fucking massive. I want new players accidentally clicking on them before asking HOW2SPAWN. The barracks icon is unchanged - this will ONLY appear for spawn selection.
    Dropped some base icons for comparison - the new icons are 20% larger than the old ones.
    Possible spawn on the left - selected spawn on the right
    [​IMG]
     
  18. BlackRedDead

    BlackRedDead Member

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    kay, after a first "omg NO WAY! - stop it imediatly!" i have to say "okay, first shot in the water - next one might be better!" :)

    on the arguable base, they do even less indicate a spawn point - even if bigger... - i personally think most new ppl have problems to find the key and not the spawn! ;-)
    the old icon is better, just compare to other used spawn icons like:
    just because it not only sticks out of the map but also is small enough and with the flags gives a clear view of the situation
    [​IMG]
    where's the spawnpoint? - very clear and nice spawn points with animation - the vtf format does allow animation! ;-)
    the downside of the shown icons is that in practice they can misslead your actual spawn! (is it where the middle of the icon is or where the actual spawn beacon is?)
    [​IMG]
    i personally would suggest a combination of simplicity and animation - something like...
    >__O__< ; >>_O_<< ; >_0_< ; >>0<< ; >o< ; o *
    or anything else 2d but animated ;-)
    *sorry, needed to replace the spaces with underscores because the spaces doesn't show up -.-
    and not too big, otherwise it obstructs spawn situation! - the actual icons are big enough, no need for an increase!

    another criticpoint is that they (your first shot) don't match the actual icons nor the entire HUD design! ;-)
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2016
  19. Avatarix

    Avatarix Member

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    Boy, these look great. But I'm not sure if they match the design. Personally I'd like to have hexagons for spawn points.
     
  20. blizzerd

    blizzerd Member

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    place 2 raxes next to each other and see if its 'ok'

    I dont particularly like your designs, but its cool that you are putting effort into it and i respect that.
     

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