HUD Issues...

[SODO]

Just an issue with what I saw from the GDC Video:

The HUD, In my opinion needs to feel more like this
http://planetside.station.sony.com/beta/images/manual/image094.jpg

And Less Like this:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6GwDYdG9Lbs/TpUEHRZeCHI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/KFPiZ06LXT4/s1600/bf3%2Bhud.jpg




I wasn't really feeling the whole BF3/CoD style HUD and was missing the old HUD where you could see what was equipped where and all that.

[ArmedZealot]

The fuck why? You want more shit cluttering up your screen and getting in your way? Why the fuck do I need a menu up all the fucking time? Why does it need to look more like Planetside 1, a game from 2000 BC in gaming years?

Seriously you people are such luddites sometimes.

[DayOne]

I agree it looks like BF3 but the old HuD has way too much clutter for an FPS.

[sylphaen]

Hopefully, it will be CUS-TOH-MAI-ZABLE !

[DayOne]

Hopefully, it will be CUS-TOH-MAI-ZABLE !

This. Also I would like to see it the way it is now but faction themed :D

[RedKnights]

I would like to see the Ammo levels in all my weapons and a Squad-Status bar though, you must admit those weren't just clutter, they were often vital.

[SODO]

The fuck why? You want more shit cluttering up your screen and getting in your way? Why the fuck do I need a menu up all the fucking time? Why does it need to look more like Planetside 1, a game from 2000 BC in gaming years?

Seriously you people are such luddites sometimes.

I honestly had no problem with the stuff on the screen. The chat would fade if not moused over and other than that everything seemed to be transparent in a way.
I'm not saying bring that HUD directly in from PS1, I'm just saying, I don't like the BF style for my beloved Planetside.

[VioletZero]

I think people need to take a step back and realize that "The HUD is like Battlefield 3's" is not a good reason to change it.

If you feel the HUD is ineffective, then yes. Change it. But not because you're afraid of mainstream games.

[SODO]

This. Also I would like to see it the way it is now but faction themed :D

I think people need to take a step back and realize that "The HUD is like Battlefield 3's" is not a good reason to change it.

If you feel the HUD is ineffective, then yes. Change it. But not because you're afraid of mainstream games.

I'm more so picturing it like RedKnight mentioned. The ability to see the amount of ammo you had in all your guns, and the squad status bars up top were helpful. Maybe because of the loss of the free-form inventory this is the approach they had to go with?

[Daimond]

I like some of the Hud aspects for the Infantry, weather it slightly changes depending on what class you play my change some opinions. I liked the old what of seeing you squad/ platoon HP, I don’t really see at this point or just really hard to see your HP/Armor bars or amount, I liked the old color full bars. Especially now that it seems we can’t heal/repair our self at all.

Other then all that I like the cleaner look, cannot say that about the hud when driving or flying, seem way to busy or distracting, eg when flying, do I really need to see such a huge distraction like that telling me what angle I am tilted at, I liked the old what say the lib used it was minimal and still did the same thing kinda.

But one thing I really still hoping for Is the ability to customize my HUD be it running, driving or flying. To be able to adjust where they sit on my screen or the colors they are, eg less distracting HUD for flying by changing the color. What would be even better is like in some games and MMO's is the ability to totally customize the each hud look feel and what’s grouped together and such within a maximum allowable content that would be normally displayed. But how where size and what we want to display or not is up to us.

[Lonehunter]

Well as a class you have a primary weapon, secondary (pistol all we know of for now) and a tool. Now since you know as a certain class you'll have certain "main" weapons will always be #1 slot, secondary is 2, etc. In PS1 most people I know did this anyway, their fav weapon would be #1 and an offhand or AV is #2.

I've seen a shot when he is switching weapons it shows what's equipped in each slot on the bottom right of his HUD. I also like less clutter. I always turned off the bottom right menu in PS1, and everything having a clear background till it's being used is just smart design.

We still have ammo indicators, health bars, even an energy bar. We have kill updates, chat.

The Squad Info and Implant indicators I wouldn't be surprised are missing, since we haven't had much (if any) info on those yet, and this is just a demo of mechanics. Any mechanics that are in we can't even judge by numbers, anything that can be measured by a number can be changed.

[VanuMAXGuy]

I think people need to take a step back and realize that "The HUD is like Battlefield 3's" is not a good reason to change it.

If you feel the HUD is ineffective, then yes. Change it. But not because you're afraid of mainstream games.

I'm not afraid of mainstream games, I'm afraid of the devs carbon-copying every aspect of BF3.

[SODO]

I'm not afraid of mainstream games, I'm afraid of the devs carbon-copying every aspect of BF3.

This.

Many of the mechanics I saw in the gameplay were battlefield-ish.

[ArmedZealot]

I'm not afraid of mainstream games, I'm afraid of the devs carbon-copying every aspect of BF3.

Right, so having a clean hud means it is carbon copying BF3.

[VioletZero]

I'm not afraid of mainstream games, I'm afraid of the devs carbon-copying every aspect of BF3.

That's a different issue all together.

Don't blame mechanics that are perfectly fine when there are other, meatier issues to tackle that might result from this supposed copying of Battlefield 3.

[Aurmanite]

Dude, the two pictures you posted have almost exactly the same elements to them.

If you slightly re-arranged either they would look identical.

What the fuck is with this anti-other game sentiment?

[Gandhi]

Don't see any problem with the new HUD myself, I prefer it over the old one. Couldn't hurt to have squad status and some basic info about your other weapons though.

[VioletZero]

Don't see any problem with the new HUD myself, I prefer it over the old one. Couldn't hurt to have squad status and some basic info about your other weapons though.

Now THIS is a good suggestion.

Squad status is good to implement into the HUD. With info such as health, ammo, if the squad cooldown is on or not.

[DayOne]

Now THIS is a good suggestion.

Squad status is good to implement into the HUD. With info such as health, ammo, if the squad cooldown is on or not.

Yeah, even just seeing health where the names are (maybe they change colour?) would be extremely helpful.

[SODO]

Don't see any problem with the new HUD myself, I prefer it over the old one. Couldn't hurt to have squad status and some basic info about your other weapons though.

This is more or less what I'm trying to get across, Not so much the actual look of the previous HUD, but those extra bits of information I grew to love. After all, It is alpha and I'm sure they'll add some sort of squad info on the HUD.

[ArmedZealot]

This is more or less what I'm trying to get across, Not so much the actual look of the previous HUD, but those extra bits of information I grew to love. After all, It is alpha and I'm sure they'll add some sort of squad info on the HUD. You should have thought more about your topic before you posted it. Now I have to feel bad about being mean : (

[SODO]

You should have thought more about your topic before you posted it. Now I have to feel bad about being mean : (

Haha No hard feelings. I hadn't thought it through as much when I had posted it. Never actually thought about specifics.

[VanuMAXGuy]

Right, so having a clean hud means it is carbon copying BF3.

No, but placing things in EXACTLY the same spots as BF3 is carbon copying.

[wasdie]

No.

Clutter = bad.

I understand people want the game to be as close to what they remember but having a cluttered hud is never good. You need to think about modern game design as a whole. Those were old gaming conventions when a developer could get away with creating a game for a niche audience.

Today, developers need to balance between the audiences. They can't make stuff overly complicated or it will scare people away. Planetside 2 already has a lot of different things going on and will be harder for new players to learn. Having a nice, streamlined UI that is as effective as the old one without the clutter will be far less intimidating.

You can have a very robust and feature filled UI without clutter.

[ArmedZealot]

No, but placing things in EXACTLY the same spots as BF3 is carbon copying.

No it's not. They are their for their function and ease of access. They are their because they are pleasing to the eye.

Hopefully you could place them wherever though to suit preferences.

[wasdie]

No, but placing things in EXACTLY the same spots as BF3 is carbon copying.

So? People already know that hud, it's familiar with them.

It's the same reason why the US Army uses Xbox 360 controllers for their bomb-squad robots that deactivate bombs from a distance away. People are familiar with them.

There is nothing wrong with that. Having completely separate UIs for games of a very similar nature is really bad design. It's unnecessarily complex.

Stop letting your hate of modern shooters get in the way of basic logic and reasoning.

[Gelnika]

I actually laughed at the OP. You do realize the PS1 HUD is cumbersome and unwieldy by modern standards?

By the way, you never actually mentioned any "issues", you just basically demonstrated that you can't handle change.

[Lord Cosine]

I think its a bad idea to show a picture of CoD/BF3 and say don't do this. That's not really helpful. Plus it kinda sets the tone of the post, a clue not to take it seriously hehe.

Instead it would probably be best to just show the PS1 ui and illustrate the features of it that you would like to see return and exactly why you liked them and exactly why you think they would work.

So here is what I liked about PS1 UI

Health Bars in an FPS with a numerical display overlay
Whenever I am given the option of whether or not to see the underlying values of hp/shield/dmg values I always opt for it, and in an MMO I expect it. I am always pleasantly suprised when a weapon says "does 20dmg" instead of "a high amount of dmg". Or when I can see my health instead of having a hidden red out mechanic.

On the same note, seeing the health values of party members and their status dead/alive is very helpful for figuring out who needs medical attention/rezzing.

Absolutely everything about advanced targeting. I absolutely loved that implant to death. It added so much additional depth and complexity to combat. I could intelligently choose when to make a push or which targets to prioritize. Loved it.

Ammo counters for all equipped weapons/items. -Highly useful, no argument there really, only counter argument is clutter. however clutter depends on how you arrange the ui. if that additional ammo counter is over my reticle then yeah it'll suck, but if placed right it will help me out. I will know that my deci only has one shot left before I decide to engage that MAX unit.

CoF reticle display. -Helps me get an idea of my spread, very useful.

Movable UI elements -omg I love this, please more games allow this. Being able to put crap where I think it sits best is always great, because through iteration I will inevitably come up with something better for me than any UI designer could possibly make.

Activate Ability display - shows the status of all my implants, whether they are currently active/deactive/ready. -Highly useful we'll need something like this for any class abilities in PS2

Scrollable chat kill window - I love this, we could still have a CoD style graphic kill report, but being able to scroll up and see who I killed in that OS was awesome. Needs a return in some form or another without a doubt.

Minimap - Zoom options, good outline of directions, clear readable info on ally/enemy locations and waypoints.

I think there are a lot of things that could be done to make the ui better from PS1, however there still were a bunch of things that I liked.

[VanuMAXGuy]

So? People already know that hud, it's familiar with them.

Doesn't mean it's good and suits PlanetSide.

PS2 should invent its own UI that's BETTER than BF3's, not copy BF3 exactly

[ArmedZealot]

Doesn't mean it's good and suits PlanetSide.

PS2 should invent its own UI that's BETTER than BF3's, not copy BF3 exactly

Perhaps you should suggest something to improve what was shown on the videos then.

[dsi]

I'm not afraid of mainstream games, I'm afraid of the devs carbon-copying every aspect of BF3.

Yep, they've got the HUD, they've got the vehicles, they've got the stats focus, and they've got the ammo bags.

Those are the ones that are just hard-confirmed.

Battlefield Auraxis anyone?

[Bags]

I'm strangely okay with this.

Not much wrong with the UI, tbh. Needs a bit more squad information, maybe some secondary weapon information, but other than that it looked fine to me.

[Hmr85]

I personally like the new HUD. Its a hell of a lot less clutter on my screen compared to the one in PS1.

[Gelnika]

So far all I hear from detractors of the new HUD is that it's too much like those other "popular games". Quit being a bunch of hipsters. If there's actually something legitimately wrong with the HUD or you want something added, then say so instead of just pointing at popular game X and saying "Oh, please don't make me feel like I'm playing a popular game!"

[dsi]

So far all I hear from detractors of the new HUD is that it's too much like those other "popular games". Quit being a bunch of hipsters. If there's actually something legitimately wrong with the HUD or you want something added, then say so instead of just pointing at popular game X and saying "Oh, please don't make me feel like I'm playing a popular game!"

Biggest issue in the new HUD: Gigantic 3D spotting markers that appear over enemies, taken straight out of BF3, hollowed out, and had a circle added to the geometry.

[ArmedZealot]

Biggest issue in the new HUD: Gigantic 3D spotting markers that appear over enemies, taken straight out of BF3, hollowed out, and had a circle added to the geometry.

TBH I can see why the game needs this. The color palettes of soldiers compared to the environment now is too similar.

But it still doesn't feel right.

[Yutty]

TBH I can see why the game needs this. The color palettes of soldiers compared to the environment now is too similar.

But it still doesn't feel right.

I'd have no issue if this was something they copied from battlefield 3. Just a simple small dot above when they're spotted. red for tr, blue for nc, and purple for vanu

[Graywolves]

Need the chat window available for communication.

Squad/platoon needs to be there. (having the colors and numbers would be great)

Other than that I think it's mostly fine.


Game's not finished yet, I'm sure everything that needs to be there will be long before release.

[ArmedZealot]

Squad/platoon needs to be there. (having the colors and numbers would be great)



I thought the chat window was done pretty well. It's not in the way at all compared to PS1 and the font/effects made it readable in all conditions. The no background or window for it helped too.

[Graywolves]

I thought the chat window was done pretty well. It's not in the way at all compared to PS1 and the font/effects made it readable in all conditions. The no background or window for it helped too.

I didn't see it much but I think personal settings will allow for a player to make it to each person's liking.

[Gelnika]

I'm always against overbearing HUD elements. The small the better. If they are too big (it didn't particularly irk me), perhaps they should have a HUD scale adjustment value in the options.

[ArmedZealot]

I didn't see it much but I think personal settings will allow for a player to make it to each person's liking.

Precisely. I think keeping it out of the way would encourage more people to use voice and VGS like stuff. Stuff like that is cool and better than the virtual chat room that PS could turn into sometimes.

[Graywolves]

Precisely. I think keeping it out of the way would encourage more people to use voice and VGS like stuff. Stuff like that is cool and better than the virtual chat room that PS could turn into sometimes.

As someone with an outfit and voice server. I'm probably going to mute the in-game voice immediatley.

Voice macros were always important though.

[ArmedZealot]

As someone with an outfit and voice server. I'm probably going to mute the in-game voice immediatley.

Yeah, I hope there will be good settings to filter out stuff. Like squad only/outfit only/empire only/friends only. mix and match etc. or else it's going to turn into xbox live v2.0 return of "DELETE THISSSS!!!!!1!!!.

[duomaxwl]

As someone with an outfit and voice server. I'm probably going to mute the in-game voice immediatley.

Voice macros were always important though.

I'm going to wait and try it. I mean, it'd be pretty neat to have an outside voice server for regular outfit chat, but it'd be neat to use it in conjunction with the built-in, for, say, talking to your driver/secondary gunner/whatnot. It'd avoid needing to make whisper lists. It'd be nice to be able to mute certain layers of the voice chat. We'll just have to wait and see.

[Graywolves]

I'm going to wait and try it. I mean, it'd be pretty neat to have an outside voice server for regular outfit chat, but it'd be neat to use it in conjunction with the built-in, for, say, talking to your driver/secondary gunner/whatnot. It'd avoid needing to make whisper lists. It'd be nice to be able to mute certain layers of the voice chat. We'll just have to wait and see.

I forgot about the vehicle chat, that could actually be very useful even within outfits. Gunner and Driver can communicate without noising up the Outfit voice server.

[duomaxwl]

I forgot about the vehicle chat, that could actually be very useful even within outfits. Gunner and Driver can communicate without noising up the Outfit voice server.

That's pretty much the only reason I'm excited about that. Being able to set a PPT button for vehicle chat in game allows me to be much lazier than having to set up whisper lists. :lol: