HUD color change option in 2.3?

[Devari]

There is an inherent design problem with it.
As you probably noticed the whole HUD has one single RGB matrix. That means that, for example, you can't change the colour your shields will be displayed in, or enemies on the radar, separately.

Not only that, but the station menus also use the same RGB color settings meaning that the colors used to display the NPC pictures are also dependent on the same settings. That means that if you change the base RGB color values you can throw off those NPC pictures dramatically as well.

There was a thread titled NO2O ("No to Orange") which was started to address this issue which includes various RGB values that can be applied to the HUD settings to give good differentiation between the base HUD color and the "accent" colors that show shield rings, etc., so that the overall HUD remained functional. In many cases you can also find a setting that will preserve the original colors for the NPC pictures as closely as possible.

That thread is located here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...le-HUD-Colour-Color-Configs-(please-add-yours!)

I've used this method to give my ship's HUD a nice blue color with a white accent color and from what I can tell the NPC pictures look normal (although I haven't done a side-by-side comparison to the original HUD). In some ways the blue HUD colors I use now is actually somewhat more legible when scooping near bright stars as the default orange color HUD is particularly hard to read near bright yellow-orange stars.

And that also means that FD can't (or better won't) give us optional HUD colours, because they would never be optimal in all situations.

I'm actually happy with the current situation of changing it ourselves because if they did offer the "option" it would be locked behind a DLC paywall. It would also require some actual effort on FD's part to test different RGB settings that don't mess up the NPC pictures and the DLC would probably be rather expensive as a result, considering that they are selling a single line of RGB code to change weapon colors at $1.75 and that required zero testing or effort on their part to implement.

FD has, to their credit, added a "GraphicsConfigurationOverride" xml file in the AppData\Local\Frontier Developments\Elite Dangerous\Options\Graphics folder that allows us to adjust these settings ourselves and because of this I expect they are unlikely to put any effort into something that we can already do for free. You can use this override file to change the HUD colors using the instructions in the thread I linked above while still keeping the game's original graphics settings file intact for reversion later if needed.

I agree with all of this, except one thing - Elite is, in all regards, an indie game. It shows like an AAA title, it looks like an AAA title, it plays like an AAA title and is SELLS like an AAA title, all because Frontier is awesome. But it is NOT an AAA title.

No. What makes an AAA title is the budget and manpower. None of which is Frontier's case.

That is a common misconception on these forums, but Elite is most definitely not an "indie" game in terms of revenue and resources. Elite has generated over $60 million USD of revenue within the first two years and FD has 300 employees as of 2016. The only reason Elite isn't really considered a full AAA title is because the game was originally launched via. kickstarter and even now is STILL missing key features that would be expected of any AAA game, including properly implemented multiplayer interactions, stable servers and adequate beta testing of content prior to release. FD wants to give the impression that they're "doing the best they can" with "limited resources" as if they literally can't do any better but the reality is that they are trying to use the game as a lucrative, low-maintenance cash cow so they can focus development resources on other projects instead, and they are somehow hoping players won't notice.

FD is nowhere near an "indie" developer however. A true "indie" title would be No Man's Sky given that Hello Games is a very small company in comparison to FD, with only 16 full-time employees, and we all know how that turned out.

 

[Chris Simon]

Interesting fact: 99/100 games don't allow HUD colour changes.

Meanwhile on the ED forum: FDEV are clearly amateurs and don't know how to develop games if they didn't think about players wanting to change HUD colours.

(made it all up, no facts were hurt making this comment)

Agreed. And let's generalize it even a bit more - 99 games out of 100 don't allow GUI customization.

But let's not kid ourselves, there is 70.000 people on this forum who can design games better than Frontier. That's a fact.

 

[Devari]

people on this forum who can design games better than Frontier

Actually there sort of are.

Thrudd's trading database is far better then the buggy in-game information we have for trading which is basically useless for finding trade routes and the universe map is still showing unreliable system states.
Inara's blueprint database is far better then the silly "pin blueprint" nonsense FD gave us. Which apparently must use a literal pin that falls off during high-g turns because we keep losing them somehow.
Djadjok's settlement maps and NeoTron's ED Pathfinder tool are extremely useful for identifying settlements for base runs and finding efficient scan paths rather than just literally jumping to systems randomly to find bases for data point scans.
NO2O HUD color changes are extremely useful for giving instructions and sample HUD color values to make RGB changes. They even have a link to an automated tool to help make the changes for you.

That's just the third-party tools that I use personally in my own gameplay, there are MANY other examples of community involvement in the game. Keep in mind that these were all done by community members, in their own time, with no professional resources or teams to help with development. And yet they have provided solutions that work FAR better then the base game features and fill huge gaps that FD should have done themselves long ago.

The Elite gaming community is a highly dedicated resource that has made up for FD's lack of development of the base game features for over two years now so yes, I think that the players in general have earned the credibility to expect more from FD in terms of their development of essential game features. Considering that many of those third-party tools have literally shown FD how they SHOULD be implementing many of those features it's not unreasonable to expect FD to step things up and put their own effort into improving those features as well.

 

[Qohen Leth]

Inara's blueprint database is far better then the silly "pin blueprint" nonsense FD gave us.

You're welcome. (That was my work.)

 

[n4p0l3on]

There is an inherent design problem with it.
As you probably noticed the whole HUD has one single RGB matrix. That means that, for example, you can't change the colour your shields will be displayed in, or enemies on the radar, separately.
You always change the whole scale and if you've ever tried, you know that to come up with something that is actually/B] usable and readable is really hard. (imho impossible. I always return to stock orange, after a while)

And that also means that FD can't (or better won't) give us optional HUD colours, because they would never be optimal in all situations.

And why the hell fdev can't change the fundamental codes? This isn't 1984 , what could be so hard with recoding the UI?

 

[Tikigod]

what could be so hard with recoding the UI?

A million developers just cringed and likely sobbed at that statement.

UI design and development is an instrument drummed up in hell to punish developers.... about the only thing close to the torture and headache that is UI development is UV unwrapping.


And that's standard UI design and development, what Frontier are juggling and trying to keep afloat is... well I lack the imagination to come up with how much work went and probably still goes into that everytime some other team goes "Yeah! And we'll take this existing UI and totally redesign it for our new feature so that there are 7 tabs! And scrollable states! And it can support sender profile photos! And different tabs will have different sizes! And it'll tie into this other UI window as well just because it sounds neat to do that!".... I suspect it involves either a lot of therapy and alcohol or a never ending supply of disposable interns they can throw at the UI until any hopes and dreams they had of what it's like in the industry are shattered before sweeping them out to throw the next intern at it. .

 

[Devari]

You're welcome. (That was my work.)

Many thanks for all your efforts on that database! I currently have 16 Engineered ships in my fleet and that process would taken me FAR longer without the Inara resources.

 

[lokvette]

Agreed. And let's generalize it even a bit more - 99 games out of 100 don't allow GUI customization.

But let's not kid ourselves, there is 70.000 people on this forum who can design games better than Frontier. That's a fact.

Not sure about your 70k figure, and I'm not saying people here can make a better game, but I've seen far better concepts and designs for lots of things than what we have now. I cant code for love nor money, but I trained/worked as a Graphic designer, some of ED's basic designs are bad, some are very good, and yeah some from members of the forum have been a vast improvement over the vanilla.

 

[babelfisch]

Not sure about your 70k figure, and I'm not saying people here can make a better game, but I've seen far better concepts and designs for lots of things than what we have now. I cant code for love nor money, but I trained/worked as a Graphic designer, some of ED's basic designs are bad, some are very good, and yeah some from members of the forum have been a vast improvement over the vanilla.

Now where is the thread about carnivorous space elves when you need it...?

Yes, some people are indeed capable of making very good designs. That's because they put more time and effort in it and don't have restraints, just take a look at some Skyrim mods, with armor having better textures and more polygones than the vanilla stuff. Does that mean that these modders can create better games than Bethesda? SureAI did indeed create a mod that is better than Skyrim, but they worked on it for several years with hundred people and professional voice actors...

 

[lokvette]

Now where is the thread about carnivorous space elves when you need it...?

Yes, some people are indeed capable of making very good designs. That's because they put more time and effort in it and don't have restraints, just take a look at some Skyrim mods, with armor having better textures and more polygones than the vanilla stuff. Does that mean that these modders can create better games than Bethesda? SureAI did indeed create a mod that is better than Skyrim, but they worked on it for several years with hundred people and professional voice actors...

Sorry I've lost track of this, Not sure if your agreeing or just posting for a rise, its early Im tired, maybe I shouldn't be here.

CS was saying that people here couldn't do a better job than FD, or at least that's how i read it. I was saying that there is. regardless of what time/cash restraints, some of the concepts I've seen are better than what we have, isn't there a saying about teaching a man to fish..

Anyway I've made my point regarding the OP, the hud should be changeable in game, its no skin off my nose if it isn't as I use the external methods anyway.

 

[WR3ND]

Now where is the thread about carnivorous space elves when you need it...?

Yes, some people are indeed capable of making very good designs. That's because they put more time and effort in it and don't have restraints, just take a look at some Skyrim mods, with armor having better textures and more polygones than the vanilla stuff. Does that mean that these modders can create better games than Bethesda? SureAI did indeed create a mod that is better than Skyrim, but they worked on it for several years with hundred people and professional voice actors...

Resource management can't be overlooked. We might think of this game as having nearly limitless potential and see the amazing possibilities, but it can't be forgotten that this game has to be made in the real world with the inherent limitations of a for profit company bringing a viable product to market.

I think Frontier could do better here and there based on my own ideals, but as the game is, it's still one of a kind and provides a gaming opportunity in scope, scale, and genre that no other game really has to offer.

 

[IamMe]

The most important thing FD can add to their store would be HUD color change!
Some work on RGB matrix to separate different part of the huds so one color change doesn't screw whole hud.
example: aim sight remain the same but side panels option as blue or white and that we don't lose enemy indication color on hud.
It would be very usefull instead paintjobs or such

 

[Han_Zen]

Choose wisely:
Hud colour settings
or
Orrey map

I would choose Orrey map over anything.

If I could choose between Orrey map and shields, I would fly shield less.

 

[Zeeman]

Im amazed actually HUD colour change hasn't already been implemented.

Yup, especially with the new "thousand colours of beige" planets, the current orange can be a bit of a beach to read against the background at times, when trying to read the co-ordinates and make course corrections when navigating to a known co-ordinate...

The most important thing FD can add to their store would be HUD color change!
Some work on RGB matrix to separate different part of the huds so one color change doesn't screw whole hud.
example: aim sight remain the same but side panels option as blue or white and that we don't lose enemy indication color on hud.
It would be very usefull instead paintjobs or such

Not to mention not messing with the station avatars etc...

Z...

 

[CMDR Adelind]

Orange is gross.

 

[dreampage]

Orange is gross.

I think that in a functional sense the color choice was good. But there's too much of it. When I think of Elite the first thing comes to my mind is that neon orange color and I hate that. Especially that most planets are similar to that, everything is brown and orange and beige. Even some of the new station interiors are orange. Since we all look at the HUD 99% of the play time I think it would be fortunate if we could choose the color of it. Orange works well in most cases and maybe some hues of red, blue or green would not be as functional. But it would still represent a choice and thus shape the whole perception of the game. Frontier often talks about "quality of life" improvements - well I think HUD color is one of the most important and exposed elements of that quality of in-game life. As a standalone color, orange is a good choice. But it's too much. Even more so that this is not a game we play 1-2 hours.

 

[Enderby]

Having no hud colour change (via options) is silly.

 

[danteuk]

A million developers just cringed and likely sobbed at that statement.

UI design and development is an instrument drummed up in hell to punish developers.

I agree with this completely - it's very subjective - and one persons blindly obviously is anothers blindspot. Like placing the jump distance information in 4 different areas at the same time and placing the more useful piece of information ( star type ) in the top right window that gets cleared and lost within a few seconds! such a daft design - same with state, explorers see 'Anarchy' in multiple places too, where star type would be a lot more useful.


Fix this requires a serious amount of work I believe - FDev made a bad UI choice at day one, a single set of RGB values means any adjustment you make is relative to orange. My Cyan hud looks great but all 'images' in the ui ( holo me / outfitting paintjobs and laser colours ) are all completely screwed for this palette because they apply the hud colour values to them.

See this nice example ( also shows a bug in the hanger view for paint job on an ASP ).

Spoiler

Notice how the 'Synth Blue' is select but the preview pic is red. For a long time I thought this was just a bug, but since the HoloMe image are all off too I see it's an issue with the custom hud colours.

 

[CMDR Adelind]

My HUD is ALD purple with green friendlies and pink enemies. Holo-me is going to look either diseased or beaten? =]

 

[IamMe]

^up^
FD please rewrite RGB matrix and give us proper tool or HUD colors