Dev Discussion Episode 41: New UI Feedback

Discussion in 'Concluded' started by Sammiford, Aug 25, 2021.

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  1. Jack T. Chance Devoted Player

    I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right thread, so if I'm not, please direct me to the correct one.

    I'm not going to take the time to dig up the exact post and quote it right now, but before Episode 41 launched, Mepps made at least one post stating that EVERYONE would get MORE SLOTS for FREE with this Episode. More Bank Slots, more Inventory Slots, more Character Slots! But apparently I either misunderstood or misinterpreted what he meant, 'cuz I'm not seeing any additional slots available. I still have the same, limited number of slots as before the update, and as for the Marketplace...

    [IMG]

    So tell me again, where are the extra slots? :confused:

    Some of us long ago maxed them out (except, in my case, the Auction Broker Slots. I just don't list enough items to need them right now) and we still need MORE, especially Bank Slots and Character Slots!

    The only thing I can think is that he meant new player accounts would start with a greater quantity granted for free, and he just explained it poorly. But that's not what players have been requesting for years, and not what we were hoping to see with this Episode. :(
  2. TheLorax 15000 Post Club

    They were automatically added to your characters.
  3. Jack T. Chance Devoted Player


    I still seem to have the same number as before, was my point.
  4. TheLorax 15000 Post Club

    If your sub is current you should have ?? rows of inventory, 28.5 rows for bank and 6.25 rows for shared bank.

    Edit: I did not have max inventory prior to the update so I'm not sure what the new max is.
    • Like x 1
  5. TheLorax 15000 Post Club

    I already mentioned the color contrast of selections but just some other features I would like to see: Custom Play without going to a separate menu and a larger font.
    [IMG]
    • Like x 3
  6. Darth Piper Loyal Player

    Please use a more contrasting highlighting when selecting things from the Omnibus menu... or perhaps a different color outline as well. I find it difficult to find where the cursor is when the menu is up.
    • Like x 1
  7. Sammiford Developer

    Thank you for the feedback! I think I know what you're talking about when you mention certain things needing to be labeled with a check when you are queued for them, but I don't want to assume anything. Could you elaborate on this?
  8. Sammiford Developer

    Thanks for the feedback, I'm sorry the experience with these UIs hasn't been good for you. Can I ask that you elaborate a little on the quotes I took from you above?

    For the On Duty feedback- what do you think caused players in the group to struggle with queuing up?

    For the Allies feedback- If you'd like, please elaborate on what specifically has caused the allies menu to be unclear. For example: Is information missing? Is navigation unclear? Are the interaction flows (like equipping or swapping an ally, selecting abilities, etc) confusing?

    The more specific you are the better we can understand the problem. Thanks!
    • Like x 1
  9. Sammiford Developer

    Thanks! Could you tell me in which menus and for which interactions the amount of clicks is a little too much? Do you have any suggestions as to how that could be improved for you?

    Also, yes. The old UI embedded in the new UI is jarring imo. I can't comment on the future, but I'm certainly hopeful for it.
  10. Sammiford Developer

    We never intended to get rid of allowing our players to choose specifically what they want to play, so no worries there! But I am curious as to why you call this update "painful." Could you elaborate on which parts of the many updates were painful for you and why?

    Being specific with the issues is really helpful for us because we can get a deeper understanding of what is causing actual trouble, making it a lot easier for us to identify the problems and come up with solutions for them. We're definitely not out to cause anyone pain, and if we have we'd like to remedy that!
  11. Burning_Baron Loyal Player



    I think the biggest issue for me is the visual feedback navigating. When you scroll i don't think the highlighted button is distinct enough so you click on stuff unintentionally.

    For the Ally menu, I think the problem is that the design philosophy of the UI doesn't feel like it is the same as the rest of the game(Omnibus tab feels this way as well). It looks a lot more modern in design compared to the rest of the games UI. This unfortunately clashes with 10 years of muscle memory.

    The most immediate fix i can think of is making the highlight for the currently selected tab be orange instead of the blueish green it currently is. The interface being primarily blue allows the orange to pop immediately.

    A more long term solution would be to maybe completely revamp the UI of the game across the board if possible. I know this was attempted a few years ago but got put to bed so maybe it can be something that is revived. As outside of the conflicting flow of the UI, the new one for Allies and The Omnibus is much smoother to navigate once you get used to it.
    • Like x 1
  12. Sammiford Developer

    Thanks for creating this! It has definitely spurred ideas. Could you tell me why going to a separate menu for custom play is something you wish wouldn't happen?

    Also, you mentioned the color contrast on the menu options. I believe it's a minty-green in game. Is that color contrast something that bothers you? And if so, why?

    I 100% agree that the cursor states of the other buttons in the sub menus are difficult to see, though.

    Again, thank you for putting in the time to create this mockup!
  13. Sammiford Developer

    Okay everybody, I want to start off by thanking you all for the feedback that you provided!

    I did reply to some folks asking for a bit of clarification with some of their comments- if I hadn't responded to you that's because your feedback aligned with others' comments and I wanted to address those here to make sure I've got the concerns covered.

    Here's what I am reading from you all, please correct me if I'm wrong or have missed something important:

    On Duty Menu
    - The font size in the group list is too small (or rather, the whole dang thing is too small)
    - The color contrast on the buttons is difficult to see, making it tough to navigate on controller because you lose your cursor.
    - There is a desire to be able to queue up for multiple types of runs, meaning you'd like to be able to queue for a combo of Alerts and Raids or Solos and Duos or everything but solo content
    - There is a worry that we are trying to disband the "old way" of queuing for content. Let me make it clear: that is not our intention. Players will still have the ability to queue for specific types of content in the On Duty menu.

    Allies
    - Navigation is difficult because of the cursor, to some it seems too subtle
    - Fortifying Allies is a challenge on both controller and mouse/keys because the need to "split stack" the Ally Favor and the lack of instructions on how to do so.

    Daily Rewards
    - A few bugs here and there that have been reported, thank you for bringing those to our attention!
    - Unclear location/confusion as to how to access it (Pressing F1 on keys; up on the D Pad for controller/ bottom of the Welcome Menu)

    Please let us know if there's anything else that's an issue with these UIs. There's a TON of On Duty feedback (to be expected) but please feel free to explore the Allies and Daily Rewards menu as well.

    Thanks again!
    • Like x 4
  14. Yass Queen Hyppolyta Dedicated Player

    Hi thanks for weighing in.

    The two largest outliers to me are:

    -A need to quick toggle between the new On Duty and the old one. Perhaps even a setting switch to make the old one default if players choose? If I queue up an instance through custom play, I often hear from group members "it won't let me queue" or "I have no queue" then I have to walk them through finding it! This should be made more clear. Maybe it defaults to the custom/ old on duty if the leader queues that way? Barring that, maybe the Custom Play panel can pulse or something so people know what to click.

    -Ally menu... well it's just wonky. And it's not just the cursor/ contoller. Too many button presses, lack of clarity on what does what. Being taken from the weird ally menu to the fortify menu is all so awkward. Please just streamline this into a menu that is more like the artifact fortify UI. The ally menu is way too hard and awkeard to use.
    • Like x 1
  15. Burning_Baron Loyal Player


    I would like the Daily login to be a pop up on the screen when you log in. I think reserving it to up on the DPAD makes easy to forget.
    • Like x 2
  16. Balistical Ice Loyal Player

    The contrast is barely visible. That's why its bothersome. It just barely blends with the background.
    • Like x 1
  17. TheLorax 15000 Post Club

    The new UI is so clean looking and it's very well put together. I find myself using the classic UI more just because there's more freedom to queueing that way. Finding the classic way to queue was also not immediately obvious to some. Both options should be right there in the player's face; they can get to their preferred method of queueing with less hassle and at the same time enjoy this clean new menu.

    My eyes can not follow the minty green highlight against the blue background. I scroll down and it may as well become invisible. If the background was a much darker blue or if the highlight were yellow/orange would be better in my opinion.
    • Like x 2
  18. TRIXTA00001 Well-Known Player

    Yes, we need to be able to queue more than one type of instance. And it would be even better if we could queue omnibus and save the universe instances all at once (especially on low population servers) at least we have more of a chance at getting missions/instances to pop.

    Thank you for keeping us informed :)
    • Like x 1
  19. Reinheld Devil's Advocate

    You must be glitched then. I run on many toons across many accounts all of which had things on the bottom row of their inventory (I keep Nth at the bottom to keep incoming drops out of the way). All of the F2P or Premiums, now have a single empty row at the bottom of their inventory(till I re-organize). My member accounts have 2 empty rows at the bottom of their inventory, and a single empty row at the bottom of their shared bank and personal bank.

    These were grants....added automatically. They were never going to show up as new slots in MP.
  20. hotsizz1e03 Committed Player


    First and foremost i appreciate all the hard work DEVS put into this game.. Please do not see my criticism as hate.. I love this game and i only want to see it improve..

    CRITICISM:
    1. Visually the NEW MENU looks very NICE!
    2. Not knowing whats Q'ed up.. There is no indication of what content is being CHECKED or queued up..
    3. There is no indication that lets us know that the updated Q is stacked with the previous Q or Multiple Qs.. Example: Q a raid READY UP, then proceeds to click another raid to update the Q, but there is no way to know if the current Q is stacked/updated the prior Q.
    4. The menu doesn't SHOW WHICH BOSSES YOU ARE LOOT LOCKED at.. It just shows LOOT LOCKED SYMBOL but no way to know which bosses you're loot locked from.
    5. Scoreboard SORTING HAS NOT WORKED FOR ME SINCE THE UPDATE.
    6. MOST OMNIBUS ALERTS/RAID RUNS are fail because of the lack of incentives for end game players to SPEND 45 mins with NEWBIES in older content just for LOW PAYOUTS... End game players are just going to circumvent OMNIBUS to run the OLDER CONTENT that pays out MORE in LESS TIME.. I wont say which ones, but it defeats the purpose to have an OMNIBUS feature if DCUO isn't creating incentive to PLAY a certain WAY.. Clamping wouldn't be that bad if the PAYOUTS(SOURCE MARKS) were a bit better. Once again, Older raids have LONGER and more TEDIOUS mechanics WHICH MAKES A LOT OF RAID RUNS MUCH LONGER THAN IT NEEDS TO BE. The payout is UNBALANCED.. This does not MEAN to LOWER THE PAYOUTS EVEN MORE if you end up going back to BALANCE the PAYOUTS for content based on Mechanics/time.
    7. The menu doesn't show other group members POTENTIAL SUPPORT ROLES. Old menu did. No reason to remove OLDER Features like this that promote a healthy QOL.

    SIDE NOTE: I wish we also did not change the location from where we see what loot we just received from TOP to the bottom right.. Prefer to keep it both locations.. BOTTOM to the RIGHT gets LOST within GAMEPLAY.. If we can have it place back to the original spot and keep the bottom right feed too.
    • Like x 2
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