Odyssey - Optimisation/Performance and UI (Galaxy & System Map) Feedback

[Decksmeck]

Overall: I think it is good. icon artwork is nice looking, appropriately representative, and has a technical flair. Route info panel at the bottom shows a route centric approach. Dual menu UI is nicely organizes functionality between multiple star systems functions and single system functions.

Suggestions for consideration:

• Make changing filters and moving the camera simultaneously possible: Allow the right screen menu to stay open when moving the galaxy camera so that we can move the camera around while interacting with filters. Alternatively, if the menu obstructs the view too much, allow the menu to open to where it was when it closed. Using filters is a big part of the experience and moving the camera in conjunction with changing filters is very useful.
• Allow the duration for "hold" to be set in the options
• Unless it was fixed yesterday, my visited stars data does not show up with the filter for "visited stars". However, I can still look at the system map as if I had visited it.

 

[legionary2099]

On foot UI need more work and display more information. Navigation should use either arrow or wasd in a uniformed fashion.
Issues :
Wheeled UI is not suitable for PC user. Suggestion : Bar UI that display consumables and usage left, and assign hot key to use these consumables directly. Accessing other menu can be in a wheel, but not consumables and tools like flashlight, shield.
Ammo left / total info is too small and should not be on the rilfe itself. Can be displayed at the corner like other FPS for clarity. The HUD should only display aiming relevant infos.
This is the same with targeting human. Additional information acquired about them ( arms , items,...) could be displayed on the left side of the screen with targeting.

 

[Drelthar]

GALAXY MAP

Specific issue.

Almost everything is the same colour now...

This is what my galaxy map looks like now.
Nearly everything is orange, with a few yellow things.

Why are engineers not a different colour?
Why are bookmarks not a different colour? (why can't we set their colour actually?)
Why is my carrier the same orange as everything else? I want to be able to pick it out quickly!
Why are my ships, and community goals, which are in no way whatsoever linked to my ships, the same yellow?

Solutions.

Either go back to the pretty darn good old colour scheme, with which I could pick almost everything out pretty well, or

Create a new colour scheme, which actually has more than two or three colours, make every distinct thing, distinct. Also, allow us to choose from several colours for our bookmarks so we can order them in some way.

 

[CMDR F‘mahnK]

Overall thoughts
Compared to Horizons, Galaxy Map looks nicer but at the same time usability is not as good. Most important improvement for me would be to decrease the number of mouse clicks needed to work with the map for more efficiency.

Specific issues and suggested fixes

• Offer a "Plot Route" button whenever a location is displayed while using the left side area of the Galaxy Map, e.g. point of interest, mission or bookmark. The route should be plotted to the exact location, i.e. system, planet, station, fleet carrier, whatever the displayed item is referring to. This would greatly minimize the number of clicks and player actions needed to plot a route.
• Bookmarks
  • When creating a new bookmark or editing the name of a bookmark, leave the previous text there instead of starting with an empty text field. Currently, e.g. when correcting a spelling error, the entire name needs to be typed again, since the field is emptied.
  • Allow the creation of custom bookmark folders. This would allow players to organize their bookmarks according to their play style, e.g. by activities like Engineers, Material Farming, Racing etc.
  • Bug in Bookmark Manager: When scrolling through the bookmark list (scroll bar, mouse wheel), the galaxy map in the background zooms in/out as well, i.e. the scrolling is not limited to the dialog shown in front.
• Filters
  • Allow multiple active filters with AND operation. Example: Set filter for System State AND Allegiance
  • Add a "Remove Filters" button. It is not easily visible in the UI if any filters are active or not. Pressing the "Remove Filters" button will simply remove all filters, so that the player is certain that no filter is active.
  • When a filter is active, display the filter rule somewhere in the UI. Currently, the player needs to go through all filter sub-menus to find out which filters are active.

 

[Chellovack]

1. Please add a mute/unmute icon when on foot, because i have no idea if i had muted or unmuted myself during team play.

2. Settlements on the Dark/light side of the planet in the system map does not reflect correctly in real space, eg system map shows a settlement is on the light side but when in real space only to find it on the dark side of the planet.

 

[OfftheRails]

Overall thoughts – Copying the cockpit's design style into the map modes is a great improvement over the old tabbed sidebar although there are a few rough edges. Thank goodness the unreliable popup box is no more. These are the particular rough edges that I've been thinking about.

Specific Issues –

1. So dark! Planets appear to be lit edge-on so you can't see their lovely faces. An extreme example is Tote:
   
   
2. When using M+K, scrollwheel functionality is inconsistent between the galaxy and system maps. On the system map, when scrolling a tab (Factions tab is the only one that usually needs scrolling), the map will zoom in and out as you scroll. Meanwhile on the galmap, having any of the map mode popups open blocks you from zooming the map at all. It's hard to say which behaviour is more annoying but they both feel wrong. Suggestion below.
3. Love, love, love having a Copy to Clipboard function. Would a Paste button be too much to hope for? cough inara cough
4. It's not sufficiently obvious when the system map has locked on to a planet. The icons appear at the very edge of the screen and don't announce themselves particularly effectively - the momentary white highlight just isn't enough that far out at the edge.
5. Stick and pad controls on the system map are very sluggish. The crosshair moves too slowly and the lock-on is imprecise. Zooming is much too slow, especially when passing through the transition to surface map mode. This has always been a problem (especially in vr) but the system map keeps getting bigger.
6. The system map button is completely absent when you have an unknown system selected - while the convention elsewhere in the UI is for the button to to grey out.

Suggested Fixes for the Issues –

1. Please don't forget this bit when you unbreak the graphics. Faith.
2. Don't zoom the map if the pointer is over the popup box. Don't scroll the box if the pointer is over the map.
3. EG to the left of the search box:
   
   
   
   
4. A blast of animation moving from the crosshair towards the right-hand icon column would make their arrival clearer.
5. Increase the scrolling and zooming speed on the system map and consider ways to compactify particularly large system maps. Consider adding bindings to snap to the next body up/down/left/right and to snap zoom level. Please also consider bundling carrier icons in to some sort of folder (anchorage?) to ensmallen the system map when they are present.
6. Always display the button and grey it out where appropriate (and also allow players to buy the info from UC, if it's available. How do they even make their money if they never sell anything?)

 

[szymciu07]

Suggestion:
Create an easily accessible toggle switch for compacting Fleet Carriers to a single icon and a drop down list in system map.

Suggestion to the Navigation Panel:

Toggle for your Own Fleet Carrier to be always displayed on top of the Navigation Panel List.

 

[Patrick_68000]

Canceled

 

[CMDR-Maegalcarwen]

UI suggestions:
1, In system map, would be great if there's a tiny line of text indicates a celestial body's type like terrainian forming candidate, water world, earth-like etc. In old UI I have to move my mouse pointer over the bodies to see such information displayed in the left side, a popup window will show up with the moseover event, and because the offset problem in wide screen (I'm using a 21:9 screen) the window may not be in the right position and covers the next body making it inaccessible, which is very annoying. In new UI it's even worse because I have to make another click to see the information popup and the offset problem is still there.

2, players can save 2 sets of graphical settings, one for default and another for performance sensetive situations like ground missions or frontline battle, and the game automatically switch between said settings. I‘ve seen similar mechanism in World of Warcraft (classic), players can save a much lower quality graphical setting specifically for Instance or Battlefield. I think this might be an alternative method to solve the complicate performance issue.

3, would be great if I can use mouse or whatever key to rotate/zoom/pan the ships/suit/guns to get a better preview, when I'm in livery screen try to make a purchase.

BTW, You guys done a really great job creating the new UI, it's prettier and much more informative than the old one besides some minor issues. people are complaining because they already got used to the old way and refuse to learn the new things. It happens to every IT system's major UI overhual, worldwide. They will adapt. Love from China!

 

[Dragorion]

My biggstest issue with the new map UI: Why are we not anymore able to plot routes to things nested in system and planetary maps by using bookmarks? Always traversing the different maps is a waste of time.

Or maybe I am too stupid to figure out how that works? (In which case the UI is too complicated.) In general, the new UI is so much more clicks for the same functionalities, it is objectively worse than Horizion's UI. At least the players should be able to choose their preferred UI and not being forced to use Odyssey's abomination. The way it is, I am always switching to Horizons when it comes to things that can be done outside of Odyssey.

(The engineering related UI issues should be so obvious that I doubt they must still be explained.)

 

[ArachAu]

Galaxy & System Map Feedback​

Overall thoughts
Unfinished, unrefined, unprofessional.

Specific Issues –

• Unable to plot route to a specific body/target station from Bookmarks or via Mission tabs
• Jumbled clusters of buttons give poor flow.
• Target system and atmo icons offset, uncentred.
• Must drill to info icon for system info.
• "Calculating Simulation" system view sluggishness.

Suggested Fixes for the Issues –

• Fix plot routing to bodies in system off bookmarks.
• Button layout clustered and divided up for better flow. Ie Search Tools, Navigation, Information, Taking Actions (drilling to system view or plot route)
• Correct offset for atmo and target body icons.
• Option on Info Panel to "Always Display"

 

[John Stoutbeard]

We’re also keenly aware of feedback on several aspects of the updated User Interface in Odyssey. The comments on this topic have been followed closely since the beginning of the alpha phase and your feedback shared in our Alpha feedback forum has been gathered and collected. Your concerns over the ease-of-use and accessibility of these systems are being heard and passed to the development team.

Thank you @Bruce G , I have a problem though. We did some extensive feedback and collective work in the Alpha-subforum. But right now we cannot find these posts (not publicly archived like the old alpha/beta forums used to be like). So it's difficult to go back and re-check the great ideas that was proposed back then.

Would it be possible to open the Alpha-subforum up as a archive read only somewhere?

 

[Rich32uk]

I find the UI a little cumbersome. I no longer have the information immediately available to me and now need to hunt for it. With the old UI you've immediately got choices and information available without having to scroll over to the side panels and click up and down (i.e. PP information, select and plot route, bookmark, enter system maps) On the system map you've also immediate access to information where you also just need scroll up and down to see system data with a couple of clicks for other info.

With the new system I've got to do more clicks to find what I need and from a personal perspective I really don't want to spend more time than I need in the galaxy and system map. I just want to view info and move on. This just feels like it's been designed by someone who doesn't play the game on a daily basis. It needs to be simplified with information immediately available for all to see.

On a positive note, I like the new search bar but that's about it.

When are we reviewing the ship UI?, I'll have more to say on that one.....

 

[Sepp]

UI, both system and galaxy map:
Overall thoughts: Too many menus, map seems to hide stuff by default. Also it is not as fast to use as Horizons version.
Suggestion: Easiest thing would be return to Horizons UI.

100% this.
Is that concise enough?

 

[jacklul]

Overall thoughts
Looks good but usability is bad, you need more clicks to do the same thing as compared to Horizons.

Just gonna say what I'm mad the most about:

Specific Issues

• You can't select a system after pasting it's name and pressing Enter, instead you gotta select it from the dropdown first which is stupid
• Bookmarks to stations do not work, cannot plot to them directly this way
• The little tooltip that showed up after you hovered/clicked a system or body that showed distance and had few quick options is now gone (screenshot for reference)
• Bookmarks, Engineers, Carriers... icons... why are they still all the same color?

Suggested Fixes for the Issues

• Make pressing Enter on the search box target system by exact name typed
• Allow to hold action on bookmarks to plot to it - so that station bookmarks actually plot to station works!
• Reimplement similar tooltip with following options only: target, plot route, show system map/buy system map data (more keybinds maybe?)
• Have the distance value when hovering system/body back - it's way better for the eyes to look for that information near the pointer than looking top right corner of the screen for each system/body that you target...
• Make each type of indicator (bookmark, engineer, carrier, etc.) have a different color so it's way easier to differentiate them from each other

 

[MrHatMan]

System Map Feedback

Let me pin a window in the system map.

Eg, let me select say "Description" to always be open when I select or MOUSE OVER a body.

Even better, let me "pin" more than one so they open one above each other in a scrollable box.

Even BETTER, let them be pull out windows I can drag, pin and put them where I want along with modifiable transparentness.

Use Case

I want to know if a system has a black market station.

1. Open System Map
2. Mouse over station
3. Immediately I know nothing. I now have to click to select it (but be careful not to hold it because I don't want to set my course), then wait for the UI to center on it, then move my mouse over to the right, and click features.

What should happen.

1. Open System Map
2. Mouse over station
3. Features should automatically open, I shouldn't have to click to make it open.
4. Even better, Description and Features should open in the same window.

 

[Psylem]

Suggested Fix for all galaxy and system map issues:

• Expose an API within the actual Elite client itself that allows 3rd party tools to plot a course, then if someone doesn't like your maps they can build their own. Optional ability for the API to listen on LAN for mobile app support would be a must.

 

[Rich32uk]

100% this.
Is that concise enough?

^^^^This

 

[Knuxton McKaz]

Overall thoughts – New map UI buries all the information you want under a million different menus, overall less user-friendly than the old ones. Everything takes more clicks, and some functionality has been lost entirely. I'm still of the opinion that the new outfitting menus are worse than the new map menus.

Specific Issues – Bookmarks don't work. You can not plot a route to bookmarks inside a system from the galaxy map, like you could in the old map. Currently the only option in the galaxy map is to plot a route to the system only. In the system map, bookmarks for fleet carriers just don't show up in the bookmarks menu. I'm forced to use the navigation panel to find any bookmarked carriers once I arrive in system. Before the change, I could just plot a route directly to a carrier from the galaxy map, one click, done.

Suggested Fixes for the Issues – I don't know, make things work, make things user-friendly, stop removing features. I'm not a UI designer. Hire a UI designer.

 

[ak785]

UI Feedback

We’re also keenly aware of feedback on several aspects of the updated User Interface in Odyssey. The comments on this topic have been followed closely since the beginning of the alpha phase and your feedback shared in our Alpha feedback forum has been gathered and collected. Your concerns over the ease-of-use and accessibility of these systems are being heard and passed to the development team.

While fundamental issues such as connection and performance remain a priority, we’d like to build a clear understanding of issues surrounding features such as UI to lay the groundwork for in-game improvements.

In this thread, we are looking specifically for feedback on the Galaxy and System Map UI. We have noted feedback on other UI elements, but would like to start with these in particular.

If you have feedback on the Galaxy and System Map in Odyssey, please leave it below in a reply using the following format:

Overall thoughts – please keep this brief (one or two sentences)

Specific Issues – clear and concise (bullet points are ideal)

Suggested Fixes for the Issues – clear and concise, directly linked to the issues

Please keep all replies to this post in the format above. Any discussion that is off topic or replying to other posts may be removed to keep the thread as useful as possible.

Overall Thoughts

• It is far too cluttered, there are icons everywhere and it is not intuitive as to what they all are for, when do i need them, why do i need them, the icons are not self-explanatory, this makes it difficult to process and understand context.
• It feels like we have lost the intention of the galaxy map and tried to make it all things to all players - I understand that it needs to do all of those things but we do not need to see every possible icon/filter painted if all we want to do is move from System A to System B.

Just to give you some good feedback

• Galaxy Search is way better - the type ahead is superb;
• The search bar at the top is also much better.

Specific Issues

• The hold to plot needs to be better, I definitely like the concept but when doing this with a mouse the galaxy map can jump or move and the plot is lost;
• The volume of icons needs to reduce.

Suggested Fixes for the Issues

• Reduce the hold to plot activation time e.g., hold to plot for 2s, then release my cursor and plot the route in the background, or let me double click the star maybe?
• The galaxy map UI is much more difficult to suggest improvements on without a huge list, i've tried to summarise as follows:
  • Reduce the volume of icons that are immediately visible, if the galaxy map is open, it's more than likely to travel somewhere, focus on travel;
  • If i want to jump into a 'Galaxy Context by Role' then have a filter dropdown for Trader / Explorer / Mission and so on - this then provides context for the map UI and we can show/hide icons and filters in the left hand panel appropriately - definitely abandon icons on both sides of the screen;
  • This filter then activates the various context actions e.g., filter systems by commodity and so on
  • Auto focus on the search bar in the galaxy map;
  • Overall I would say spend a lot of time on simplifying the UI, wrap complex UI in context and make the user activate this complexity, otherwise get it out of the way.

If you want to follow up separately or discuss i'm happy to volunteer the time, just reach out.