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[Lancezh]

Hi guys,
i just started to play Dwarf Fortress after hearing about this gem of a game, and i'm simply stunned by all the work the community has done and to drive the game to where it is right now. How could i miss this up to now...

However something bugs me, since i'm a professional UX Designer / Information Architect, is there any need for my expertise in this area since i'd like to help out. The navigation / usability in the game is subpar and very uncomfortable to learn since it is so inconsistent through many layers of the game (which i havent yet fully explored as well)

I guess it has the standard issues that most projects of this size and complexity have:

- The seasoned players dont think the usability of the game needs an overhaul since their used to the clunky style and all the hotkeys, that does yet not mean that it would help to make the game much more accessible to newer people and extending the player base (if that is desired).
- Since this game has grown and grown every new part that was added, was added "on top" of the game itself and not in a perspective that considers new players or an overall handling. That is totally normal but it bears problems at a certain point.
- The best coders and programmers tend to have the worst insight on whats a best case for someone else to use their piece of program / mode. I see this happening here alot

Handling / Usability problems

I'm just giving you some examples i stumbled upon:

- Inconsistence in how menus are used. Sometimes you scroll with + / -, sometimes with the numberkeys. Alot of functions suffer the same problem in how you use them although they achieve more or less the same thing. (how to place zones for examples, mining etc.)
- Suboptimal grouping of Buildings and Functions. The human mind starts to have problems when he has to scan structures above 6 max. 7 grouped items thus resulting in much increased searching time for functions. This could be easily overhauled with proper knowledge of a structured logic.
- Clickability of options. Would save alot of time.
- Trading / Stock etc. Menus would need an overhaul as well down to where only max 6-7 items are displayed per information layer (except for the last one)
- etc. etc. etc.

I'm a VERY new player really and i hope i didnt just bore or insult anyone now with my talk. However if anyone could use my expertise in this field i'm more than happy to help. I can make mockups (balsamiq), interface designs (not in a graphical way, but in a structure way) that would improve the game massively since for me this is the most annoying part to learn with the game: The interface and the controls. An annoyance that could be taken almost completely away.

I'm no programmer / coder whatsoever but i hereby offer my help in that matter. I hope its clear on what i actually do i make interfaces better for a living And i think alot could be achieved without coding to much new features (like improved mousehandling)

Back to the fortress now i have to learn how to proper die

Cheerio

 

[TomiTapio]

- Inconsistence in how menus are used. Sometimes you scroll with + / -, sometimes with the numberkeys. Alot of functions suffer the same problem in how you use them although they achieve more or less the same thing. (how to place zones for examples, mining etc.)
- Suboptimal grouping of Buildings and Functions. The human mind starts to have problems when he has to scan structures above 6 max. 7 grouped items thus resulting in much increased searching time for functions. This could be easily overhauled with proper knowledge of a structured logic.
- Clickability of options. Would save alot of time.
- Trading / Stock etc. Menus would need an overhaul as well down to where only max 6-7 items are displayed per information layer (except for the last one)

Aye, most of us here on the forums know these. I have had some university courses in user interfaces. Toady hasn't made the interface a priority.
Mouseclicks, the game is supposed to work just fine without a mouse.
I'd add "menus and lists don't re-size to larger screens" to the basic issues list. And long material names (giant cave swallow leather) hide the type of the item in the trading window.

To me the main issue is "frames per second death", meaning the game at 150-450 fps is Wheee! and at 40-80 fps it's "issue commands, go do something else".

See the popular labors-management tool http://code.google.com/p/dwarftherapist/  (I rename the military-skills dorfs to "Urist hero", "Minkot soldier", "Alath militia-trainee")

I'm a VERY new player really and i hope i didnt just bore or insult anyone now with my talk. However if anyone could use my expertise in this field i'm more than happy to help. I can make mockups (balsamiq), interface designs (not in a graphical way, but in a structure way) that would improve the game massively since for me this is the most annoying part to learn with the game: The interface and the controls. An annoyance that could be taken almost completely away.

The ...
just give up hope, one cannot convince Tarn to rework old basic concepts of the giant game. j-m-q brew <enter> 30 <enter>

Remember, there's the game and then the metagame (talking about the game, modding).

[Askot Bokbondeler]

that's a good post, but it has little to do with modding unless you're willing to do a hack\utility to handle a parallel interface. there's not much else that modders can do to change the interface using the ingame modding system.
this post may be best suited to the suggestion forum, though a few threads have been made already, and although toady has said he visits the suggestion forum regularly, he clearly already has his short term priorities set and rarely gives any feedback. a good mockup by an expert would be cool and interesting to the community, though, even if we don't get any feedback on the developer's thoughts on it

[_DivideByZero_]

I haven't really had too many problems with the UI... after I've been using it for months, it's practically instinctive now. I know which menus to use the right keys on, I use hotkeys, etc. To me, the interface isn't "amazing" or "great" but it just works. It's not sluggish or cluttered like some games, but simply split into menus. When each menu is straightforward enough, that's good enough for me.

[Askot Bokbondeler]

some coherence wouldn't hurt it, though.

[lordnincompoop]

This definitely belongs in the DF Suggestions board.

It is a well known fact that DF's interface is near-hopelessly mangled, but there seems to be no consensus on how to actually go about improving this (there have been attempts, however), and there is probably a very severe lack of professional opinion in that area.

So, do contribute there and do discuss; every ounce of it is appreciated - especially from someone like you - and if you manage to form the much needed cohesive proposition, the chances of Toady implementing that will be much higher.

However, there is a catch: Toady is quite protective of his project and seems to take great pains to avoid any direct collaboration with any potential contributors, so I wouldn't be too hopeful in joining his "team".

Additionally, UI overhauls are not a priority at the moment and most likely won't be for a long time; the current emphasis is on adding features, and the chances are slim that he'll empark on something so major whilst in the process of doing that (or at least before finishing the current arc).

[clockwork]

See this thread, you might want to think about collaborating with this fellow.

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=62301.0

I like your attitude.

Also, if you're up to the task, go for a design and share it on the suggestions forum.

Have fun with DF!