I redesigned the Map and Player config views.

This is the first draft of a series of interface changes to PS2. These are wireframes, which means that they are blueprints of the interface to show how it might work. Color is used sparingly. Full graphics will be included later.

Here's the changelog, if you will:

• Deploy view removed and replaced with enhanced map view. Upon death, player is taken to the map view and zoomed in on area where killed
• Waypoints can be placed here as usual, so no more having to go to the map to place a waypoint after dying
• Map view revised to remove unused information and optimized for class/loadout selection and tweaks to said loadouts
• Consumables, like grenades, can be replenished directly from this view by clicking the [+] over the item
• Tool slot is meant to accommodate the HA launchers, so the image will be partially cropped (sorry HA - it was a waste of space to show the whole thing)
• Map view consists of at least 4 lenses: Hot Zones (defined the same as instant action), Allied Activity (areas of highest allied activity), Enemy Activity (areas of high enemy activity) and Outfit Activity (showing places where outfit members are most active)
• Settings and Logout housed under My Account
• New continent navigation shows ownership based on last conquer (as icon by cont name, and colored outline) and population breakdown as a pie chart (instead of bar, which is wrong). Final version would include additional visual cues for pie chart pieces (textures, for example, or a watermark of empire logo) for color-blind people who can't see color well
• Bottom section navigation persists, for now
• Spawn points are selected as usual; spawn using button in lower right
• Spawn point and surrounding territory information is available by hovering over territories or points
• Hot drop unchanged
• Clicking Armory or the Upgrade button for a slot takes you to the Armory view where loadouts can also be edited, player preview is shown, and items can be purchased or upgraded
• Clicking the upgrade/unlock button for a slot jumps the user to that point in the cert list, whereas the Armoy button drops the user in at the top with the portrait in view
• New portrait shows player in an environment which can be changed to test camo; zoom and rotate included
• Scroll to see list of certs, and this accordion works mostly as it does now; pricing not shown but remains unchanged
• Locked items can be trialed
• SC store remains, though will eventually be integrated into the Armory and Vehicle views for more seamless usage
• Get Some and Suit Up buttons are jokes, but take you back to the map

Clickable prototype is here. More views and features will be added over time. Hold SHIFT to see clickable areas:
http://invis.io/7SBIKXN9

Here are the static images if you want a quick glance:

Deploy/Map view:





Tweaking an attachment:





Hovering over a territory or spawn point shows that territory's info. Note, even a Sunderer would show info for the territory in which it resides:





New Armory view with enhanced portrait:





Mostly unchanged cert list with trial option:

I am Deezy, and I approve this message.

It's a big improvement. The problem with the current interface is the number of clicks it takes to do anything. Drop down boxes take two clicks each. Buying things with resources takes at least two clicks, then one click to go back. These should all be done in one click. Even better if you can choose both your class and loadout with one click.

Looking forward to see more but Iv never seen a Dev on the forums so dunno if it will even be looked at.

What really annoys me is the multiple sets you can chose for vehicles\Infantry. In one window its on the bottom left. In another its the top right. My mouse go's to the wrong place all the time. Small issue but still bugs me.

We are on the forums reading much more than we post. There really isn't a way to keep up with every post, but we do try!

I'm liking how streamlined it's attempting to be, you thoughts Cycles?

Wow, that looks really good.

It looks a lot better then the current cluster f that we currently have.

Sort of hard to tell without the same art design.

I like the pies for all continents being right on the map.

Not sure why you're switching class selection from left to right is the only thing I see that I don't like.


I think the current interface is mostly fine except they need drop down tabs for selecting weapon, attachments, utility/suit/grenade, and need the class selection and deploy mixed in with the map.

"Wow, this is a good scotch! Hey, Brittney Spears sent me an email! Am I getting fat?"

I'm not a UI designer, but I would be concerned about the concentration of text. I have a lot of web-design friends and they all struggle with making text work across a huge variety of screen sizes in a multitude of languages.

If you're interested in some of the design choices and such you can check some of the industry sites like this one:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4286/game_ui_discoveries_what_players_.php

There's some other places as well that can bring up some of the compromises you need to make, and you can learn some really neat things!

The right bar feels like the "inventory" popout of a paper-doll style RPG a la Diablo.

I don't know how many people play the game compared to how many people are on the entire developing team. But my bet is that there are more players. Here is someone who thought up a different UI for the game that the devs either didn't think of or didn't implement. That doesn't mean that the game is failing, just that it could do with some improvements and the current UI in my opinion isn't killing the game or making it fail. It just makes things a bit difficult sometimes, if a player wants to offer improvements then good on them. And better yet for someone from SOE seeing this post, and responding to it. I think you're doing a huge discredit to the OP, by saying that their time and effort put into trying to make the game better for everyone was "pointless".

I'll always admire players who offer fixes and solutions to problems, as the game will never be perfect and it's people that the OP who will help to shape the future of the game. So I suggest that the next time you comment on someone's "pointless" suggestion, then it be a comment with an analysis of the OP's suggestions and any improvements that you think could be made to it.

If it's one thing I love about the OP it's that he's allowed for the ability to place waypoints without having to go to the map. This always seemed kinda pointless and counter-intuitive to me...

Also, check this thread out.

http://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/...ss-customization-menu-my-mock-redesign.64259/

This thread is filled with awesome!..

UI does need some work, alot of the interface requires far too much clicking.

I like this, and I think weapons camos should be early accessible like armour ones to change combinations at a glance

I think we can all agree there is room for improvement. I like the idea of less screens for sure. I find that it is very time consuming to go through all the screens just to get back to where i want to be.

The one that Anderz did that Uber links to is a nice tweak to the existing system without going through a huge revamp of how it works. I would love to see some new UI layouts though.

The original vision was that it slides in from the right, as in all of the views along the bottom are in one long continuum. Moreover, when your mouse is on an item on the right, and you click to the Armory, or that item's certs, the list of certs for that item will be just about under your mouse when you "arrive."

The view is keyed against a 1400x990 screen and the text would be no smaller than what you use now, like here:



That aside, it's a wireframe and I've used text in place of iconography and graphics (like for the guns). There's always room to make tweaks as you move to higher fidelities, and I think swapping out of the text is one good place.

If you're concerned about the attachment menus, those items can be arrayed in a single column vertical list. I had to pick one for the initial cut, but that's an alternate that might prove more durable to something like German.

I'm most interested in showing a better flow and supporting things that players do most often, which is where the current experience stumbles.

(PS: Some of us are UI designers )

Debating what Tufte would say about Planetside's UI. Probably blow a gasket. He hates powerpoint already.

For next version, what additions would you all like to see?

One suggestion I saw is an "all certs" list that includes all certifications in one long list.

The use of a bar chart to show % would cause his head to pop off his shoulders.