Dismiss Notice
This Section is READ ONLY - All Posts Are Archived

UI / NPC Interactions - Far Too Obtrusive

Discussion in 'Release 43 Feedback Forum' started by r-DotPhunky, Jul 23, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. r-DotPhunky

    r-DotPhunky Avatar

    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    233
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Behind you! *BACKSTAB*
    Hello all,

    I'd like to provide some feedback after returning to the game (again) after a few months away. I'll preface by stating that I have not read the release notes in some time. I have quite a bit of time in the game and generally found the game to be... acceptable... which is why I keep coming back. :)

    I'm providing feedback here regarding the UI. Quite frankly, the UI kills the experience in this game, in my opinion.

    1. Interacting with the UI is slow in every respect.

    2. Pressing C to release the cursor works intermittently.

    3. After I've released the cursor... if I go into any other pane and then close it again... the cursor is locked again. That is quite frustrating. If I have the cursor unlocked already and interact with a vendor... the cursor locks and I'm forced to type "buy" or "bank" - This is not a good user experience.

    3. NPC Interaction - Upon logging in today and going to the bank... I had to click twice to access the bank. Once to talk to the NPC and once again to open the bank. I'm not sure where this decision comes from - but it's a poor user experience. I get the immersion aspect the team is going for - but forcing me to click more to get things done is just flat out frustrating. Can this be disabled somehow?

    4. Mailboxes - Ok so a mailbox is a small square thing on the wall inside the bank. This is obtrusive in my opinion. The bank is a great place to have the mailbox... but how about an actual mailbox outside instead of some square thing on the wall within the structure?

    5. The map - Whaaaaaat is going on with that map?! I pressed M and literally waited for almost a minute for the map to load - all the while the game was not playable at all. My PC is quite powerful; I run an i7 with 32gb ram and a 980TI FTW. I can't even imagine what would happen if I was using a lesser PC.


    As I said above... overall I do like the game which is why I keep coming back. But this UI/Interaction model has got to change to make this game something greater. Right now I truly believe that this mode of operation holds the game back. The game could shine, if the UI just let it.

    Thanks for reading.

    ~ Romaan Sebulska
     
    Tamsen, Quenton, Numa and 2 others like this.
  2. Mischievous Dragon

    Mischievous Dragon Riparian Reaper

    Messages:
    553
    Likes Received:
    762
    Trophy Points:
    75
    Location:
    Finland
    Yes. Options > Interface > Skip Conversation With Merchants
     
  3. Elwyn

    Elwyn Avatar

    Messages:
    3,617
    Likes Received:
    4,783
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    1. Yes, and the biggest problem with it is only processing one UI event per video frame, along with other bad practices of handling UI events. If you get 10fps or less it is very bad for many reasons. But they still haven't gotten around to polishing the UI. They can only do so many things at one time, and "placeholders" stay around for months until they get higher priority things done.

    2. "Pressing C to release the cursor"
    I don't know what you are referring to. As far as I know, C key has always been configured by default to bring up the character sheet window.

    3. They still haven't gotten around to polishing the UI. Also, they rearranged the keys such that what used to be the tab key is unassigned and what used to be G is now tab. I agree that it is crap, and I still use the older crap UI for the cursor. In particular, using the reticle for selecting objects is worse than useless when you have low fps because camera rotation lags horribly. It can keep spinning for up to an entire second after you stop input.

    4. There are mailboxes which can be placed on your own property, both crafted and online store. What you are complaining about is the mailbox for "paupers" who don't yet have their own property.

    5.
    That map is done by a plug-in to Unity which is essentially an entire web browser, and it is making HTTP requests to get the map. The slowness is not a PC speed issue, it is a network speed issue.

    It is not the native map interface (which still exists if you put a map item into your utility hotbar), but a recent add-on which takes advantage of a third-party website.
     
  4. r-DotPhunky

    r-DotPhunky Avatar

    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    233
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Behind you! *BACKSTAB*
    Thank you - I will check that out.

    EDIT - Full on - 100% accurate. I still don't understand why this is even an option... does the team want people to click more? As a developer my goal is to have users click less - not more.

    Why so backwards here?
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2017
    Vladamir Begemot likes this.
  5. r-DotPhunky

    r-DotPhunky Avatar

    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    233
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Behind you! *BACKSTAB*

    Thank you for responding, Elwyn! I appreciate the response!


    RE #3 - AHA! So pressing C opens the character panel and releases the cursor. This is different. There is where the issue lies! C should only open the character panel - it should NOT release the cursor!

    PS - my FPS in-game are acceptable-ish; generally 50-60 FPS (unless loading into a zone)

    C'mon my man.... This UI has been around longer than "a couple months" and we both know it. While I appreciate your response... it's not an excuse for a poor UI going on this long. Poor UI = poor gaming experience = you get the rest. Or am I missing something?

    Or are you suggesting updated "spell effects" are more important than a functional UI? (which btw they look great - but I think most players would have preferred a functional UI... maybe I'm wrong?)


    RE #4: As I have been here since R2 and have spent well over $500 USD on this game; I am no pauper. I have nearly 200k in gold and a tax-free house in Elad's with many goods for sale (that never sell btw - what player driven economy?). The mailbox is not "easy". Calling people "paupers", though? ... ugh, sir.... just... ugh. (another subject for another time)

    Bottom line - the mailbox system is obtrusive and not user friendly, in this user's opinion. :) I won't even go into the actual functionality of opening/reading a message and how many clicks it takes to accomplish that. :)


    RE The map - as a hobbyist Unity developer myself (and professional developer IRL) - I get it - There are many plugins on the asset store that do not require Unity's built in HTTP service (which is GARBAGE btw). sotamap is great - but it should have been implemented into the game - not as a separate request out to the map via HTTP.

    It does not excuse the poor performance on an i7 PC with 32gb of ram and a 980ti "FTW" card. The map idea is poorly designed and implemented. If I have to go outside the game to request a map... that's a poor user experience in this player's view.


    Thanks for reading,

    ~ Romaan
     
  6. majoria70

    majoria70 Avatar

    Messages:
    10,347
    Likes Received:
    24,869
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    United States
    And you may have accidentally clicked the tab key. That makes all weird imo. Do not touch that tab key anyone, that is what I always say and if you do click it to get back to normal. This is not a tab targeting game and I never use it. And our mail that recently came in is way beyond our wildest dream, well mine anyway. Thanks so much for your feedback. I am Majoria in game if I can ever assist you. :)
     
    r-DotPhunky likes this.
  7. r-DotPhunky

    r-DotPhunky Avatar

    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    233
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Behind you! *BACKSTAB*
    Double ugh. I use the tab key for all my targeting! Tab is what I've been using forever and a day now... is there a better choice?

    I will also apologize - I should have lead with the positive aspects of the mail system instead of the complaint. I sincerely appreciate that we have mail now - this is a big step forward. My complaint was that it took "longer than I would have expected" to figure out how to use the mail system hence the obtrusive feedback. I have not been reading release notes; perhaps the information is there.

    Thank you for responding Majoria... should you ever need a GM Swordsman (2H and dual-daggers in leather) I would be glad to join you.
     
  8. Elwyn

    Elwyn Avatar

    Messages:
    3,617
    Likes Received:
    4,783
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    Under the default mode, bringing up a window releases the cursor.

    Then craft one already. The only thing keeping you from using your own mailbox is not having a lot to put it on.

    I don't pretend to know the details, only that it is pulling the maps from http, In any case, there is only so much that the devs can work on, they tend to get features working at a basic level and make them work better later.

    Remember, release does not mean end of development, they intend to keep making monthly releases continuously.
     
  9. majoria70

    majoria70 Avatar

    Messages:
    10,347
    Likes Received:
    24,869
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    United States
    Oh you are so nice. Please friend me and join a group with us soon. I do often need to hang out with nice people and a 2 H, dual daggers swordsman would be so perfect. ;)
     
    r-DotPhunky likes this.
  10. Gix

    Gix Avatar

    Messages:
    2,203
    Likes Received:
    4,014
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Opening any Interface window releases the cursor; closing the windows will lock the cursor again. The problem is when you have a window open and then talk to an NPC, the cursor locks itself because "it closed the windows to display dialogue" and you can't release the cursor until you close the conversation, close the windows and then talk to the NPC again.
     
    r-DotPhunky likes this.
  11. r-DotPhunky

    r-DotPhunky Avatar

    Messages:
    80
    Likes Received:
    233
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Behind you! *BACKSTAB*
    Absolutely! I sent over a friend request! :) When do you usually play?
     
  12. majoria70

    majoria70 Avatar

    Messages:
    10,347
    Likes Received:
    24,869
    Trophy Points:
    153
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    United States
    I am on Mountain time usually around 12 pm my time on. :)
     
    r-DotPhunky likes this.
  13. Quenton

    Quenton Avatar

    Messages:
    605
    Likes Received:
    979
    Trophy Points:
    105
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Old Britannia
    Agree with all of this, but the map is a standout problem.

    If I was a new player and pressed M to bring up the map, the first thing you see is an empty dialog. There is no indication that you have to wait for it to load. It looks broken.

    Even knowing that you have to wait for it to load, it is very slow. It doesn't matter why that is, whether it's because it's trying to load a browser plugin in the game or whatever - it's in a state where removing it from the game entirely to be accessed through your actual browser might be the better option. I don't say that lightly, because that seems like an awful option, but it's the better alternative.
     
    r-DotPhunky likes this.
  14. Gix

    Gix Avatar

    Messages:
    2,203
    Likes Received:
    4,014
    Trophy Points:
    153
    I'm not a fan of having google maps in my fantasy setting; particularly in a setting that specifically tries to throw the "realism" card as much as possible.

    On top of that, it gives an excuse for writers to avoid writing dialogue that gives proper directions.
    - "Go to Harvest"
    - "Where is it?"
    - "Oh, it's just north of here. We recommend that you take the eastern path but if you use your GPS, you'll noticed that it's north west of here. We're making you take a detour because we thinks it's easier for you even though we're omitting the fact that you have to eventually head westbound at the first crossroads you see. Seriously, just use your GPS. It's okay because everybody uses it."

    That's excluding the fact that we now have 2 different maps. One that fits within the world but is horrible to actually get any information from and the other that doesn't fit the world but is in the game because it's vital for us to find any locations and that "players would just go to the website anyways".
     
    r-DotPhunky likes this.
  15. Lord Ravnos

    Lord Ravnos Avatar

    Messages:
    523
    Likes Received:
    766
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Central Brittany
    The other thing is the cursor releases when you change from "combat" mode into "non-combat" mode... That's probably my biggest annoyance in the game of anything. I can't simply hold down the right-click to look around (disabling cursor) if I'm opening any windows, including CHAT when it auto-opens due to new message! UGH, because the cursor pops back up! I wish there was a way to disable auto-toggle of cursor so it would 100% obey my holding down of right-click.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2017
    r-DotPhunky likes this.
  16. Gix

    Gix Avatar

    Messages:
    2,203
    Likes Received:
    4,014
    Trophy Points:
    153
    @Lord Ravnos I don't think I have the issue you're talking about. When I hold down the right-click button, my character moves forward. However, the cursor is certainly a cause of major annoyances.
     
    r-DotPhunky likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.