POLL: Are you satisfied with UI 2.0?

I voted DON'T LIKE IT. I started to vote mixed but then I thought. My feelings aren't even. There is far more that I don't like than I like. So on the balance I can't stand it. Would I have been happier if it was not implemented? YES. The few things I like are far outweighed by serious defects. Some of the defects actually affect or better, concern, the way I have spent $$ and would spend $$.

First, the new design is pretty. To see your mech doll and rotate it fullscreen is nice.

Now what I don't like...

Organization, as in... What organization?

Lets say I am completely new but I have played mech before in the past which I have ( I am fairly new though). I played the paper role playing tactical game and then played mech 1, 2, 3 and MS Four. So of course I want to buy and modify and build mechs. I am not completely new and have built two mechs from naked chassis on up now. I am relatively new but have played for enough time to sort the system, learn to run a mech in this system and to modify some and then to build two from scratch. Really wasted a lotta credits on the first then found Smurfys page and made a few costly mistakes on my second but much less so. NOW with this new UI? All I could see myself doing if I hadn't already learned some is throwing money and credits and credits and money away and ending with a mech that most likely wouldn't even work or if it did be SO far from what I wanted as to make me quit in frustration. Rage quitting is what opponents make each other do in game (lol) NOT what a company is trying to make CUSTOMERS DO that want to spend money. The whole "checkout" instead of "save" confusion kinda tipped the hand of the mindset of the designers for the last "year of making us this glorious UI".

Back to... Buying a mech and organization and usability. Old UI you clicked on class, "light", "med" so forth. EXCELLENT! Now... You click on mechs and a whole page opens with a tiny avatar of every frikkin mech and it's cost to buy. seemingly randomly mixed with a little order as in light weights at top descending to Assault at bottom but the same mechs aren't even all together. They are mixed. So you click on a pic to open specs. Wait... You CLICK ON A PIC TO GET SPECS. I said YOU CLICK so you KNOW WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO BUY! Nope. it just tells you if you have enough moola to buy or not. So shaddup and give us your money! Why do you think there is CHECKOUT instead of save?

Old UI you clicked on class, then got the mechs in THAT class and clicked on specific mech and opens a picture with specs, firepower , heat, specific weapons and EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW! Why would THAt dissapear? And WHY even ask the question. Kinda like I am trying to sell you a car and I just say,"Here is a good Mustang now give me 30,000 dollars. NO you can't see under the hood, NO you don't get performance specs, NO you don't get anything but a tiny pic now give us your money Oh btw how was your purchasing experience?" Seriously?

Why am i gonna buy a mech when I can't even see what it is? I am brand new so I don't know. Or say I have been playing a little but haven't MEMORIZED the specs, loadouts, heatsinks, endo steel or not, dbl heat or not, weapons and locations and ammo and blah blahhh for every SINGLE mech.

Ahhh what the heck I have my hot little mech in my possession and now it's mine, mine MINE! So I get to modify it! Rotsa ruck Rorge Retson... Old UI click on mech area and everything you need opens and is displayed so you see what is there and you can drag n drop to take away or add. Wow a whole year so then such a great system would just be tweaked a little to make it work even BETTER and a little easier right? WRONG just throw it all out and start with scratch. We'll make it blind so the person has to put it all on paper first because there will be NO visualization as you go along with realtime spec changes caused by your modifications. because that would be efficient and easy and we spent a YEAR making this new UI that is... Well.. It's shiny. Maybe if the designers had concentrated on usability for customers instead of just streamlining the process of getting money from the player into the Companys pockets perhaps this UI would be more usable.

It really is so clueless on some levels as it gets hard to say the specifics without sounding like your speaking down to someone that has never used the old UI (which worked) and wondering if they actually play the game. Or on the flip side have the frikkin game so memorized that they are actually clueless how a noob sees it or someone that doesn't breathe every spec might need a hint or spec readout in realtime as one modifies.

Really they could just reinstall the old UI and I would actually be a lot happier.

I see so many possibilities for mistakes buying mechs and modifying mechs that will waste money and credits that I am probably going to be a lot more in the mindset of just playing what I have and perhaps on occasion now purchase a mech and i really don't see myself mech building as I was starting to do and looking forward to doing. That wind has been sufficiently taken outta my sails. The old builders UI in mechlab was really better on every level. It only needed tweaking. NOT a comprehensive remake from ground up or overhaul. It wasn't broken. It didn't need changing. The radical change... Broke it. It's hard to list what all needs fixing. Actually I could but it is much easier to say this... Remember the old UI? yeah that. THAT worked. THIS doesn't.

 

Cons:
1. Gimme the old font back!
2. New interface for mech configuration is simply confusing. If you are unable to invent something decent - just copy Smurfy!
3. Mech filtering and grouping is broken.
4. Random crashes after login.

Pros:
1. At least i can spin my mech now.

 

I think the tooltip shows it Aylek. Just hover your mouse over a mech and wait two seconds (wtf? ).
I was in a game with a very very brave dev yesterday evening and he dared to ask how everybody likes the new UI....global chat was hilarious, many referred to MS Windows 8

 

Mouseover does not give any info about modules.
It gives info about engine, but not the currently mounted engine, only the max engine.

edit: in a word, it does not provide information about your build, but about the chassis.
The worst thing being, if they show chassis information in the mechlab when we need build information, they don't show anything in the store/inventory, where chassis information could be handy when buying/selling your mech (just to be sure you're buying/selling the variant with n hardpoints, not the other).

 

The centrepiece that you look at, that you work on in a mechlab is the Mech. They had a good thing going in the old UI 1.5 where you could get a highlight on which bodypart you were working on but still see the whole mech and get a visual feel for hardpoint balance. This...?

I have been working 16 years within the same company, part of my job has been process improvement and while I don't design interfaces I have given a lot of feedback over the years on user friendlieness. This...is not user friendly. In fact, that's the only question I want to ask PGI/IGP.

Can you stand there and say, "This UI is user friendly and intuitive."?

 

1) Buggy as hell, boot the UI up, and got in twice over the six times I tried.
2) They need a function so you can "starr up" your mech and use filter to find the,
3) ***BEWARE OF THE PSEUDO-SCAM OF PGI BUG*** Even if you choose owned mech filter some mech sales are still pushed to you, even if you own that mech! (was seeing an X5 for some reason even though I owned that mech, almost clicked on it)
4) Renaming mech is good

 

taken from : Project Update - Feb 3/2014

lets see then how things work out I'd say.

 

Well just started playing a little bit ago so both UI's very new to me.

Original was definitely engineers dream give all user needs but no care given to placement etc.
UI is a step in right direction but still a bit overwhelming and not all that intuitive.

I like things centered on a screen everything is left side based but thats a personal thing no biggy.

Mech Lab and just dealing with mechs can get a bit overwhelming especially searching around for new setups... open engine screen and expect brain to go WOAH first time.

I do like the new here all your mech wanna see just lights then here ya go scheme. Original is way to limited along with having 4 mech selected for quick action was a bit clunky vs all my mech being in a list I click on viola easy peezey

Sure will have issues and problems but its a computer game not a console. hard to make thing perfect when you have no clue what the user special uber tweaked PC config is made of and no way to cover them all.

 

I get the feeling UI 2.0 was more an update to please the devs than us...

It definitely seems modular, especially how quickly they changed the painting feature from the previous UI test. Here's hoping March's UI 2.1 makes all our dreams come true.

 

My thoughts, organized as per UI 2.0
Let's see:

- I like the look. It's shiny. I actually like the fullscreen lab.
- There needs to be more animation in the background. Techs working, pilots walking back and forth.
I also like the idea of having the actual mechlab different based on faction.
- Some things are counter-intuitive. Lack of using ESC to close out the social panel. Checkout
versus Save.
- Filters need work.
- Trial mech is not "Owned" and shouldn't show up when I filter for owned.
- I don't want my Hero and Champion mechs filtered separate from the rest of their chassis.
After all, I have a button that lets me filter for those if I want them.
- Let me filter equipment and modules by "Owned" as well. After all, it's a pain to sort through
120 Red Boxes of Engines just to see one. Especially if I know I have it and the reason it is red
is not insufficient C-Bills, but weight issues.
- Same with modules.
- Invalid needs to have more information. I shouldn't have to hover over the icon to find out I can't
have a module due to not having it unlocked, rather than not being able to afford it.
- Glad rename mech is there. Not that it matters. Who sees the name? You.
- Let me spin my mech outside of Mechlab.
- Speaking of Mechlab, why can I drop into a match from Mechlab, but I have to go back into Home
to drop into the Testing Grounds? Fix that.
- Social Panel needs to say, "Social" not be an icon with a trio of heads.
- I *do* like that the social panel shows you where in the UI your friends are, and what 'Mechs they
are dropping in.
- I miss seeing the empty bays with the buy 'Mech button. It made it feel like a bay, not an arbitrary
number.
- Show us 'Mech information before we purchase the 'Mech please, thank you.
- I like the new "Purchase with Mech XP or GXP" box. It's a lot hard to make the mistake of spending
GXP for a Mech tree skill.
- I wish it showed you your XP on chassis that you no longer own. That way you can see where you
were in case you ever decide to repurchase that 'Mech.
- Lastly, WHERE THE HECK IS MY Operation 24 badge and Christmas Tree? I did not see them.

Overall, I know there are issues with the new UI. Was it better to piss people off and release the bugged, missing features, but functional UI on time - or would it have been better to piss off people by missing the deadline and delaying UI 2.0 further? Time will tell.

 

It's a new skin on the old, broken system. Mech organization is poor and not sortable. There's no search. I can't tell what my 'mech has equipped at a glance. The stats block is all-but useless since it doesn't allow side-by side comparison. I'm sure that they'll fix all of these shortly.

There's one big aesthetic/functional problem. The UI 1.0 like drag/drop mechlab makes no sense in 2.0. Just show the 'mech with those cool little X/Y used over each compartment. I don't need to see a crit list. By contrast, if I'm viewing the crit list, I want to see the whole 'mech's crits.

 

I marked "mixed feelings" at first, but as I have played today, my heart has sunk and I am hating it now.

I have never been a PGI/IGP hater, and I'm still not a "hater," as I am a big boy and I know how the world works. They have apparently been focused on improving the program architecture of the game to accommodate expansion. Okay, great. And they were under big pressure to get the product out. I understand. But, wow....

The new Mech Lab demonstrates a basic heedlessness for what makes a pleasant and intuitive interface:

• Controls moved and renamed for no good reason.
• Icons created which all look alike, all crowded together where you can't tell which description goes with which button.
• Repetitive and annoying sounds added.
• Removal of the "doll" diagram for equipping the mech that goes back through all previous titles to the table top version for crying out lout! Example:

http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z335/HikageMaru/TRO31MadCat.png

The procedure for equipping your mech is now not only less intuitive to the newbie, but also to the long-time veteran!

It is also less immersive. This is partly because the new interface is so jarring, and partly because no care has been taken with the artwork to make you feel that you are looking up at a big, stompy robot in a hangar. There is no sense of scale. But this is a minor issue compared to the present UI malfunctioning.

Listen, Battletech/MechWarrior is not a new title. The interface for the Mech Lab has been done multiple times, and many of the old Mech Lab interfaces are well-beloved. Can we not learn anything from them?

The game itself is still fun. I will keep playing. But a big part of the fun for me is gone til at least March, and I'm worried that they're going to get it wrong when it finally does come out. Sorry, guys. I'm a little depressed right now.

Addendum:

One last word. As I have reflected on the issue, it seems to me that PGI/IGP have no understanding that the Mech Lab is an important part of the game itself. Fiddling with your mech loadout is half the fun of MechWarrior, or at least it is supposed to be. I spend as much time in the lab as I do in the game.

Screwing up the lab and telling me to wait 'til March for the fix is analogous to making all the weapons malfunction and telling me to wait until March for the ability to fight properly. Poorly done!

 

Process after a drop.
CLICK
CLICK
CLICK
CLICK
CLICK
CLICK
CLICK
CLICK

Drop again

Gotta love consumables w/wo a bug

 

First, a disclaimer. I'm not on the hate bandwagon for PGI/IGP. People have a way of lumping in everyone that complains in one category.

My conclusion regarding UI 2.0 after playing two days with it is this: They must've focused all efforts on the backend and put all the designers and workflow engineers in at a very, very late stage. It just has a feel of being raw and unpolished, like a car with just the base paint splashed on and barely got uncalibrated dials and controls.

Which is not acceptable. Just take the simple example, when you go to try to buy a mech, where do you find the data about it to help make your decisions? Let's not even talk about the mechlab. Or the number of unecessary mouseclicks. Or the sound. There will be very few new players during the coming months while they fix this, for us with knowledge of Smurfy and mech lists aplenty it is easier.

 

I had the same problem after UI 2.0 released: Crappy framerate (about 40 fps) and low visual fidelity.

It seems like a lot of rubbish from old patches aren't properly cleaned up just by running the patcher.

After I ran the MWO Repair Tool, everything got back to normal. 60+ fps and looking great.

Oh, and UI 2.0 is a clickfest and a mess. Hopefully, they will focus on improving the workflow and tools to make the mechlab experience as awesome as it needs to be.

 

Thank you, I'll try that.
If it works, I will include you in my evening prayer tonight.

 

My conclusion with the new UI?;

It could be so much worse.

Really, it honestly could. Now I haven't dicked around in the mech lab so I don't know how hard it is to do shit in there, but for the most part I figured out where everything was within 45 seconds of logging in (again, not concerning the mech lab) while it's not intuitive, and there is a lot of clicking involved, a lot of the buttons are big enough to notice and then click on, despite the fact that my mech that I currently have selected takes up a little more than 1/3 of the screen.

My only complaint PGI? Make it less of a click fest, and make it a bit smoother. Other than that it looks nice and I have fantastic frames now.

 

I agree, the click-fest needs to go away and it should be easy for them to change some of the excess clicking. However, most of the clicking is due to poorly designed tabs and routes the user must take to accomplish basic tasks. Streamlining all of the click-spam is going to require a major overhaul to the tabs and what they do for the user, also more shortcuts to commonly accessed locations.

I also agree that is looks really nice, except for the text... the text/font looks really bad right now IMO. Needs to be much larger in many locations.

My overall opinion of the UI 2.0 right now can be summed up in only a hand-full of words:
-Shiny
-Click
-Squint
-EMPTY SPACE

 

So this was posted by crolly when he was dropping in the same channel as i was on the U.M.A.D TS



16 out of 24 players got DC'd @ the start of the match.... REALLY PGI now this? This is just a example of how much ppl have been DCing today in drops.