Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[RCIX]

I certainly can live with the UI for now, and it actually kinda works pretty good. However, being a "noob", i can still remember when i picked up the game, tried to start a world, and fell flat on my face because:
 * i didn't know how to operate most of the UI (alt+scroll is terribly obscure for most people, and less-than-hardcore gamers don't learn a zillion shortcuts routinely)
 * i had no clue what i was doing (no tutorial, or any clue what tools i was supposed to be using or how. I barely figured out how to dig stuff, and didn't get that that was most of the point of the game)

Overall, i got the impression that the game was interesting, but someone seriously needed to make something resembling a front end for it. Now, once TinyPirate came along with his Newby tutorial, i got into it, but before that it was bad.

Now if that's the impression you guys want, then that's fine, but if you want more than a fanatical fanbase (no offense) then you'll need a good UI.

[MrWiggles]

UI can't replace a tutorial though. From what I gather it wasn't the UI stopping but plain lack of directions on what to do.

[RCIX]

Yeah, you might be right. I'm currently plunging into a Phoebus modified version of DF .08, and i'm hoping most will apply to that. Though one thing i universally see in modded tilesets is that there's wierd "o"s and dots/commas.  If anything, perhaps those should be in a separate (region of a) tileset? That would help with making the UI separate from the game, and if nothing else allow for nicer tilesets ingame. (edit: ok i have no clue how i thought that applied, but apparently it does)

[btm109]

I agree with Toady that building UI's is tedious and boring.  That said, if he opened up an API for interacting with the game engine which allowed the community to develop the UI just as he has made it possible to skin graphics onto the game then I'm sure we would have some fantastic and far more palatable UI solutions in due course which would only increase the game's appeal and result in more contributions towards its upkeep and development.

[cephalo]

I think what frustrates people is that the kind of UI problems we see in DF have standard solutions. Things like list boxes and tooltips and context menus. Those three things might take a week of development to get working if you made them from scratch, and maybe a few more weeks to integrate them into the game fully, but then you are done! You keep re-using those for future game systems and once the initial work is done we all benefit forever.

[Virex]

I think what frustrates people is that the kind of UI problems we see in DF have standard solutions. Things like list boxes and tooltips and context menus. Those three things might take a week of development to get working if you made them from scratch, and maybe a few more weeks to integrate them into the game fully, but then you are done! You keep re-using those for future game systems and once the initial work is done we all benefit forever.

List boxes and tool tips are pretty hard to do within the confinements of a curses front end.

[Retributi0n]

Game features > Improved UI or GUI.

I can tolerate the UI for the sake of gameplay myself, otherwise I wouldn't be playing this game in the first place. If the UI bothers people so badly, why are they still playing and donating? I don't think a DF clone project could really steal the fanbase that badly anyway. It'd probably end up being a watered down, crappy version with a flashy UI and mouse support, undeserving of a donation for lack of originality.

That's probably the reason that Toady doesn't export the UI, go open-source, or bring in outside help is because he doesn't want someone to pull a Bill Gates on him and make DorfWindows Fortress.

[Hammurabi]

If the UI bothers people so badly, why are they still playing and donating?

FYI, I'm sure that I'm not alone in not currently playing and not donating.  The game UI and lack of documentation has turned me off. 

[eerr]

The only real documentation is the wiki

[existent]

If the UI bothers people so badly, why are they still playing and donating?

FYI, I'm sure that I'm not alone in not currently playing and not donating.  The game UI and lack of documentation has turned me off.

.... yet you stalk the forums?

O.o

[Zalminen]

If the UI bothers people so badly, why are they still playing and donating?

FYI, I'm sure that I'm not alone in not currently playing and not donating.  The game UI and lack of documentation has turned me off.

I love DF because of its depth, have donated but would still love to see an improved UI.

Like has already been pointed out, Toady is already going to have redo big parts of the game even if he sticks to the current UI model. Doing a better UI soon would most likely make any additional UI work a lot simpler...

[Hammurabi]

.... yet you stalk the forums?

O.o

Stalking?  Not at all.  If the UI was fixed, I'd play the game and donate.  That's what this thread is about, donating for a UI fund.

[existent]

.... yet you stalk the forums?

O.o

Stalking?  Not at all.  If the UI was fixed, I'd play the game and donate.  That's what this thread is about, donating for a UI fund.

Well, Toady has said UI improvements will be rolled out slowly over the entire course of development, so I don't think that's going to happen, unfortunately/fortunately, (depending how you look at it).