Welcome to Photon UI - SiSi

Looks good and has the potential to be awesome. Only concern is the large amount of wasted space, on the borders and window header.

Option to turn header off would be nice as after you play for awhile you know what window is what just by looking at it.

cheers o7

grafik

The new UI still does not properly highlight preselected UI buttons so that you know what happens when you press Enter.

Not to mention that the default window opening size is the smallest possible, which hides entire parts of the window.

This is the same window in comparison:

grafik

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grafik

This has been posted above but adding a circle around an Exclamation mark does not make this UI tidbit any better comprehensible. The exact opposite is the case, it gets much worse AND it becomes inconsistent in itself because the blue circle is different than the orange circle. An i is pretty much an ! standing on its head and there is no logical reason why both look so different even though itā€™s just mirrored versions of the other.

You did change the Char Sheet UI but even now the last tab clips and it does not matter how wide or narrow the window itself is. The tabs seem to have a fixed width, no matter what. :facepalm: However, sub tabs under Character or Interactions all have dynamic width and show the full text if you make the window wide enough. :thinking: Why?

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grafik
grafik

I really, really, really do not like this dynamic hiding and showing of the window options buttons. Every accidental mouse movement over a stack with enough tabs changes the width of the tabs and causes a lot of unnecessary distraction and UI noise.

REDNES

3 Likes

Can we please have a separate setting for tactical view on and off for in space and probe system window and not on the same setting? I want tactical view on in space but not on the probe system window.

1 Like

You dont know the wae!


Mark my words!

UI should not be about empty spaces, or forced colors.

UI should be about customization.

I have seen UI mods for other games that were better than those made by devs. Why isnt the UI allowing at least for custimizability in a range of properties most crucial for players? First you make that, then you can see what players actually prefer and then make new default UIā€¦

This is the wae!

4 Likes

Would it be okay to ask here to put a button in the Inventory window? I would very much love to have a Stack All button somewhere in the inventory window. Maybe in the bottom where Loot All is.

3 Likes

Good Things:
You can make local smol and probably some other improvements I missed :slight_smile:
I think having a unified UI is very important.

Only 4 bad things:

  • Besides some Market-sell order and other things overlapping, I found the same in the POS managing window :slight_smile:
    grafik

  • The Market window feels weirdā€¦ likeā€¦ there is no contrast and itā€™s just dark and I donā€™t know what Iā€™m looking at really

  • The ā€œEnable Light Backgroundā€ option is way too heavy of a difference

  • The padding WASTES so much space and it creates the following problems:

    1. I can only see 1 row in my inventory with same size
    2. I donā€™t need a window that shows me D-Scan is actually D-Scan or that my locations window is my locations window when it could show 3 more locations or 3 more things on D-Scan
    3. I cannot stack up like 8+ chat channels in the same window if I still want to know what tab Iā€™m actually opening
    4. Chat windows of the same size can fit a lot less content because of padding


(looks weird, because new design light background looks way too transparent)

My opinion:
Get rid of the padding and unnecassary waste of space and it is a great update :slight_smile:

I fight for EVERY cm of my screen to fit in another system window, hacking window, industry window, inventory window, market window and you just waste 1cm for nothing :sob:

My Bittervet Opinion:
I think this is another sign that developers using their supposed fancy 4k monitors are a little out of touch with reality. Sure the design looks great, but if you are using a small 1920x1080 Screen you cannot waste 10 pixels for padding if you want to fit multiple windows on one screen.

Greetings: People using small montitors or just a window client. o7

10 Likes

I made two screenshots to compare.

Top: Photon UI.
Bottom: My current UI on Tranquility.

Positives:

  • I like how sleek the Photon UI is, as it removed a lot of lines and edges that were present on the old windows.

Negatives:

  • Waste of space. Everywhere:
    ā€“ The new UI is wasting space on every window with the big headers.
    ā€“ Padding on the sides ofall the windows means wasted space.
    ā€“ Added padding in between the names in lists means my local list is showing fewer people than before.
    ā€“ Added padding in the D-scan window means Iā€™m seeing less information there too.
    ā€“ All the wasted padded space in my fleet window means my broadcasts in the fleet window went from showing the 7 most recent broadcasts to seeing only 4 broadcasts

Yes, I could make every window a bit bigger to make up for it. If I could. But I cannot, as most of my UI already is covered with windows (many windows, such as locations, drones, watchlist, inventory are not shown in the above screenshots) and every bit of screen space counts for me.

My recommendation:

Stop unnecessarily wasting space please.

The most important thing I want of a new UI is that it takes an equal or less amount of space to show just as much information as I could see right now. Smaller and more information is better. Bigger and less information, like it is now, means I will very much dislike this UI, no matter what else you do with the UI.

Any other UI improvements such as unifying the theme and making it look better are of course welcome, but will be wasted if the UI itself is functionally a step back from the existing one.

12 Likes

Donā€™t worry, they will remove POS soonā„¢ :wink:

I think one of the features that sustained World of Warcraft for so long was the ability to customize the UI. I welcome changes to the UI but I would also welcome the ability to customize the UI. There are so many different playstyles to EVE and they donā€™t all require the same thing.

3 Likes

I think it was because it wasnā€™t set in space.

1 Like

The amount of space wasted in padding, borders, big buttonsā€¦ are you going to sponsor an ultra-wide 1440p monitor for everyone? Do you realise some of your players play on 15" laptop screens?

Itā€™s frankly dis-hearthening how you consistently manage to make the game worse with changes that do not, in any way, reflects community needs and/or the way the game is actually played.

At this point, Iā€™ve lost hope.

5 Likes

External monitor.

Letā€™s look at the gaming statistics with a reliable data set. See Steam Hardware & Software Survey section Multi-Monitor Desktop Resolution circa. 90% or more multiple displays (70% at 3840x1080 and 20% at 4480x1440 and whatever smaller %'s on other resolution combinations).

We have no data from CCP, they donā€™t publish any player hardware / OS statistics, though they probably capture it.

Please either remove the massive amount of padding being added, or add an option for a Compact UI mode. Maybe the big windows are good for newer players, but as soon as you start getting into the powergaming aspects of EVE (market/production, scanning, fleet fights) you want compact windows for more information density.

The move toward over-padded windows was why I cancelled my sub back in September when the new Skill UI came out, but I am still hoping that a compact UI does make its way back in.

4 Likes

And you pulled me back inā€¦

Make this work and I may be back.

FINALLY A DECENT UI. Just 20 years laterā€¦

Hello CCP Paragon,

First of all, I would like to thank your whole team for the work you do on Eve. It is and remains a great game, particular, effective, interesting, and I have always been one of the players who maintain that Eve is alive. Iā€™ve been playing for seven years and have embraced most changes with interest, sometimes questioning, but always positive.

Nevertheless, I take the time to make this post because for once, I want to sayā€¦
ā€œI have a bad feeling about thisā€¦ā€

  • Harmonizing the whole interface is a good idea, I like some aspects of the design, like the button shape, but I am worried about the efficiency and simplicity of the interface, which is one of the pillars of Eve.

My advice is also to never forget that customization is one of the most important aspect of any videogame, and Eve Online doesnā€™t offer that much of it. Beside the excellent character creator (for a small portrait) and ships skins, UI customization is a foundation of Eveā€™s gameplay !

  • The optimization of the scale of the menus according to the different resolutions of each one, the balanced distribution of colors, the freedom of choice of style through a wide choice of color, atmosphere and transparency of the windows is a strong point of Eve Online which should be handled with care.

The majority of players have taken a lot of time to customize their overview, their interface and this is even a goal in itself in the game. The space that everyone needs to use a multitude of windows in their own way while keeping the whole, by transparency, mainly dominated by the visuals of the cosmos, the game and the gameplay is essential.

I therefore hope that the future of the interface will be considered with the utmost seriousness and efficiency : )

Here is my review of Photon UI.
(Most of my remarks are explained on this image : )

Have a nice day and Fly Safe !

6 Likes

Iā€™m going through all the elements I can find and trying to evaluate them as I go. For reference Iā€™m using maximum graphics settings (except for ā€˜Highā€™ Reflections), the Caldari Color Style, and Small Font Size on a 1080p screen. Hereā€™s my thoughts:

Overall

Unlike a lot of people Iā€™ve actually preferred flatter ā€˜metroā€™ style UIs since they started becoming mainstream about a decade ago. However it should be remembered that especially in a game like Eve readability must come first. I donā€™t think this is impossible to do with a UI style like this, but the current form seems to miss the mark.

The Good

  • The Overview - In updating this window a lot of the mistakes made with the other windows were avoided, and it remains perfectly usable. However we seem to have lost the Overview Settings Button.

  • Right-Click Menus - Though the padding might be a bit overkill, these were generally done well. They might need a performance test though as I noticed some chugging on the right-click in space window.

  • Transparency - I love being able to see more of the environment while still getting critical information, and the ā€˜Light Backgroundā€™ accomplishes this well.

  • Active Window Highlighting - This implementation outclasses that of the current UI in my opinion.

  • The Assets Window - This implementation seems to have fixed a few bugs and massively improved the search functionality.

The Neutral

  • The Style Itself - I personally like this style of UI, not everyone will though.

  • Window Backgrounds - The Dot-Matrix Pattern + Static is again a stylistic choice. And again I personally like it, but not everyone will.

The Bad

  • The Skills Window - While not specifically a part of this update, the large amount of empty space and oversized graphics/text in this window should serve as an example of what NOT to do as you build out this new UI.

  • Button Height - Most buttons in the UI are way too tall for what they are. Using the D-Scan Window as an example, most buttons in the UI would be better suited in the style of the AU / km button (even though itā€™s slightly bugged) than the Scan button. If I had to pick the one most significant issue with the new UI, it would be the use of these tall buttons.

  • Intermixed Styles - A lot of windows still use part of the old UI and look out of place, specifically accordion-style dropdowns (Assets, Market, etc.)

  • Neocom Minimum Size - The new minimum size of the Neocom is way too large for many people.

  • Window Padding - The padding in most of the new windows is wayyyy too high. This is wasted space and often significantly reduces readability. This has the most pronounced effect on small windows and windows with a high information density. The following are especially egregious examples:

    • The Title Bar in every window that has one
    • Show-Info Windows
    • The Inventory Window
    • The D-Scan Window (This is practically unusable in its current state)
    • The Moon Probing Window
    • The Wallet
    • The Fleet Window (Again practically unusable)
    • The Multi-Buy Window
    • The Planetary Industry Window
    • The Item Redeeming Window

Bugs

  • Element Intersections:

    • Fitting Window - The ship name and vertical tabs are obscured by the circular ship fitting interface.
    • The Agency - Planetary Industry Window
    • Contracts Window - Contract Search (Both Buy & Sell and Courier)
    • Mail Window - The Mail Counter is cut off by the Next button.
    • People & Places Window - Contacts Tab
    • Fitting Management Window - Search Button
    • Corporation Window - Members and Standings Tabs
    • Structure Browser - My Structures Tab
    • Locations Settings Window (Right-Click in Space ā†’ Configure)
    • Neocom Group Window
    • Overview Settings Window - Tab Presets, Ships, and Misc Tabs
  • The Wallet - Sidebar has inconsistent alignment.

  • Project Discovery - The border between the padding window content has some overlap problems.

3 Likes

This is so good but, of course, does the brand-new UI update contain necessary fix for some uncomforts such as ā€œNO KEYBOARD for system coordinate windowā€??

I hope I can keep my current ui.

Canā€™t we just get rid of window titles at this point maybe?

I think a UI-Design that uses window titles instead of having the windows entitle themselfes is not as good as it could be :wink:

Itā€™s like a tutorial that says ā€œclick hereā€ instead of having the player click there naturally with good design :slight_smile:
Or a thing that tells you where to go in a level. Instead of having the level design guide the player.

Look at an inventory for example. You donā€™t need a title ā€œInventoryā€. A 2D Array of items will always be perceived as an inventory, because itā€™s the same in every game.
For Dscan this might be a little more complicated, but veteran players will notice that a list of stuff + Scan button and adjustments for angle and distance is Dscan and new players wonā€™t even know what the ā€œDirectional Scannerā€ does, so for them the title of the window is not really helping.

I think itā€™s ok but one think about it that really bugs me is the lack of defined borders for buttons and areas inside the windows that seem to cut stuff for no reason like shown below

that and the wasted spaces

4 Likes