Which would you prefer?

ID:265185
 
Dec 10 2002, 11:09 am
I discovered that interface design is not as simple as I orignally thought. Useing on screen popup menus/inventories seemed like a good idea to me at first, but now I'm not sure. I was going with the idea of a nicer looking interface for an rpg then the byond built in system. This idea created more lag which made gameplay choppy. Byond's built in system is more efficient and doesnt take up your limited screen space. I'm not sure what players would prefer...a simple, not too fancy basic interface that leaves you lots of screen room, or a fancy, nice looking interface that works great but may take away from gameplay. Same with character creation and the whole game's GUI, is the built in system better? What are your thoughts?

Wall04
Dec 10 2002, 11:48 am
Which ever one makes it faster for me to get what I want!
Dec 10 2002, 11:48 am
It's a tough decision that I've been wrestling with since I began using BYOND. I think you should reserve client.screen for a few key interface elements that you need quick visual access to. Lately I've been leaning heavily toward browser based control interfaces for anything that isn't updated very often.

Shadowdarke's interface ratings 
                 client.screen   statpanels    browser
                 -------------   -----------   ---------
CPU use          heavy     1/5   low     5/5   low   5/5
bandwith/update  low       5/5   low     5/5   high  2/5
display          great     5/5   limited 3/5   great 5/5
accesibility     easy      5/5   clunky  2/5   fair  4/5
                         -----         -----       -----
total                    16/20         15/20       16/20

Dec 10 2002, 12:44 pm
In response to Shadowdarke
A combo of all 3 could work!
Dec 10 2002, 1:50 pm
In response to Sariat
I dont think either of the options is going to help you take over the universe any faster.
-DogMan
Dec 10 2002, 2:00 pm
In response to Shadowdarke
Shadowdarke wrote:
It's a tough decision that I've been wrestling with since I began using BYOND. I think you should reserve client.screen for a few key interface elements that you need quick visual access to. Lately I've been leaning heavily toward browser based control interfaces for anything that isn't updated very often.

Shadowdarke's interface ratings
client.screen   statpanels    browser-------------   -----------   ---------CPU use          heavy     1/5   low     5/5   low   5/5bandwith/update  low       5/5   low     5/5   high  2/5display          great     5/5   limited 3/5   great 5/5accesibility     easy      5/5   clunky  2/5   fair  4/5-----         -----       -----total                    16/20         15/20       16/20


I think I may make a combination of all three just like Sariat said. Ill probably just stick stats like health and important info you need to know at that time (alerts etc.) on client screen. Since it is heavy on cpu usage there wont be many(also dont want to crowd screen). In game help and probably character creation Ill use the browser for since itll display it nicer and it doesnt need to be updated much. Statpanels will contain the rest of info accessed a lot throughout the game since it needs to be updated and accessed alot. (low update and cpu usage). Ill try different combinations based on the tasks required and see what works best.

Also, Im using my new imac since the other computer is being updated to win xp professional and certain keys(quotes) make characters like èé. I find that odd and assume Ièll have to install or configure the keyboard somehow. (not familiar with macs).

Thanks for the input, it helps a lot.

Wall04