Odyssey - Optimisation/Performance and UI (Galaxy & System Map) Feedback
Can I ask a question? What are we trying to fix with the new UI that the Old UI didnt do? and I am referring to the outfitting UI and everything that is not onfoot UI. If we get a grip on this we can move forwards in a progressively good manner. This would be a good start. How do we collect this in a way that is progressive and gets updated so repeats are not voiced again..
"instead of fixing a broken car lets mod the dented car" Can we not have a UI like we had before and stepwise improve it?
Crash101
"instead of fixing a broken car lets mod the dented car" Can we not have a UI like we had before and stepwise improve it?
Crash101
Overall thoughts:
Use of ideograms (word picture) good. Human brain recognises pictures quicker than letters. Hence why ideograms used for road signs. May also help Dyslexics within the game who struggle with lots of text.
Search facility good.
Ability to copy system name good.
I think for a newer players it was easier in horizons for players to miss many of the filtering options available in the galaxy map. By showing an ideogram button, people unfamiliar with the game will intuitively click on it, and learn what it does.
Some rationalisation of buttons could probably be done between system map and galaxy map to reduce screen clutter and provide more info on a single button while reducing the additional clicking of buttons that slows overall experience down.
feels harder to plot routes to specific locations due to increased button pressing.
Specific issues.
Clicking on a mission takes you to the system but does not take you to the actual settlement or station the mission is targeted at. To do this requires lots of additional clicking of buttons.
Information is presented in bite sized silos with no facility to tile said information. This results in lot of back and forth trying to remember specific bits of information that is useful for people just wanting to play the game in an informed manner.
Missing information compared to what is presented in Horizons. See posts from other people for detailed breakdown of this
Selecting a settlement results in the pointer going to a different location on the planet map
Settlement/starport does not provide much information other than faction running it.
i find the hold button to select a system slow and frustrating.
no landing pad size information re settlements.
Suggested Fixes
clicking on a mission should have a button that auto plots the route to that outpost thereby reducing button clicks.
Implement icons that show when selecting a settlement/starport that show the controlling faction type eg anarchy, corporate, democracy etc, the current state eg War, famine etc , economy type of starport/settlement.
landing pad size at the port required.
consolidate the number of different buttons so info isnt as siloed off. Thereby reducing button clicks.
Add missing information from horizons, possibly via sub menus that can be opened up from the main button similar to how the POI button allows you to chose from star ports and planetary settlements.
Get rid of the hold button and replace with point and click facility as in horizons.
Give commanders the opportunity to modify features on the galaxy and system map so they can adapt the tools to their personal preferences. For example traders and mission runners would look for different types of information than explorers. Im thinking along the lines of a default map view and then personalised views with the options of obtaining advanced information or basic information by clicking certain tick boxes.
Use of ideograms (word picture) good. Human brain recognises pictures quicker than letters. Hence why ideograms used for road signs. May also help Dyslexics within the game who struggle with lots of text.
Search facility good.
Ability to copy system name good.
I think for a newer players it was easier in horizons for players to miss many of the filtering options available in the galaxy map. By showing an ideogram button, people unfamiliar with the game will intuitively click on it, and learn what it does.
Some rationalisation of buttons could probably be done between system map and galaxy map to reduce screen clutter and provide more info on a single button while reducing the additional clicking of buttons that slows overall experience down.
feels harder to plot routes to specific locations due to increased button pressing.
Specific issues.
Clicking on a mission takes you to the system but does not take you to the actual settlement or station the mission is targeted at. To do this requires lots of additional clicking of buttons.
Information is presented in bite sized silos with no facility to tile said information. This results in lot of back and forth trying to remember specific bits of information that is useful for people just wanting to play the game in an informed manner.
Missing information compared to what is presented in Horizons. See posts from other people for detailed breakdown of this
Selecting a settlement results in the pointer going to a different location on the planet map
Settlement/starport does not provide much information other than faction running it.
i find the hold button to select a system slow and frustrating.
no landing pad size information re settlements.
Suggested Fixes
clicking on a mission should have a button that auto plots the route to that outpost thereby reducing button clicks.
Implement icons that show when selecting a settlement/starport that show the controlling faction type eg anarchy, corporate, democracy etc, the current state eg War, famine etc , economy type of starport/settlement.
landing pad size at the port required.
consolidate the number of different buttons so info isnt as siloed off. Thereby reducing button clicks.
Add missing information from horizons, possibly via sub menus that can be opened up from the main button similar to how the POI button allows you to chose from star ports and planetary settlements.
Get rid of the hold button and replace with point and click facility as in horizons.
Give commanders the opportunity to modify features on the galaxy and system map so they can adapt the tools to their personal preferences. For example traders and mission runners would look for different types of information than explorers. Im thinking along the lines of a default map view and then personalised views with the options of obtaining advanced information or basic information by clicking certain tick boxes.
Please try for some sort of consistency in the map filtering system. Now we have about a dozen different lists of checkboxes, where it's impossible to do trivial operations like "all except this one" or "only that one" or "from this to this" (main sample being scoopable stars), a couple of nested popup lists like the commodities (which is currently impossible to select with a mouse, because the containing dialog disappears and resets between selections), and some that are merely a complete jumble. Why can't we sort ports by any of proximity, name or faction? Why does the map not indicate which filters are actually being applied?
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Why simple when can be complicated.
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Sadly, this doesn't solve much. Remember, that's where they came from to arrive at... this. This thread is FDev saying "We hear you saying this is wrong. We still don't get it."
Which is all the more concerning because they spent months reworking the UI similarly to what we had! Now they're saying they didn't learn anything about usability in that effort!? Not even "try it before you ship it"?
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Night Vision is now useless
My toon doesn't even know how to smile (predefined)
My toon doesn't even know how to smile (predefined)
Galaxy and System Map in Odyssey
I tried to gather here some of the issues or missing features I noted in the Map UI.
Overall thoughts
It's amazing. I mean, I found some issues, and I'll explain some of them here, but the game really needed a more complete interface for (probably) the most important tool of it.
Oh, the "Search the Galaxy" text search is amazing. Did I already say amazing?
Specific Issues
Thank you guys for the amazing job you're doing with this game!
o7
I tried to gather here some of the issues or missing features I noted in the Map UI.
Overall thoughts
It's amazing. I mean, I found some issues, and I'll explain some of them here, but the game really needed a more complete interface for (probably) the most important tool of it.
Oh, the "Search the Galaxy" text search is amazing. Did I already say amazing?
Specific Issues
- when I open the galaxy map and select User data view > Commodities every time I choose one of the options the pnale closes and it doesn't get my selection (both in the primary and secondary option);
- there's no way to target a market;
- when you select a commodity in the cargo inventory and choose "open galaxy map" the commodity is not pre-selected int the User data > Commodities panel.
- the market information panel shows the unsorted markets (both carreer and stations);
- er... can you fix it?
- The "plot route to market" is not there anymore, is it?
- I'm not sure if it's a new feature or not: I'm quite sure that this feature was there in the Horizon UI; could it be related to the first issue?
- FEATURE - it would be useful to have the markets sorted by Import value desc > export value desc > information unavailable; it would be even more useful to be able to hide/show the carreer markets (like the other filter markets), because they usually are A LOT;
Thank you guys for the amazing job you're doing with this game!
o7
Overall thoughts
I like the new interface more in terms of design, but in terms of functionality and usability it seems almost a step back. Although it has some great improvements, such as the new search system (it´s really great) or the active mission marker, there is now lost information, divided into several parts and it becomes necessary to make several clicks to get to sites where you used to reach with one or none. In addition, the color system of the icons now makes them confused with each other, when it was previously lighter.
Specific issues:
o7
I like the new interface more in terms of design, but in terms of functionality and usability it seems almost a step back. Although it has some great improvements, such as the new search system (it´s really great) or the active mission marker, there is now lost information, divided into several parts and it becomes necessary to make several clicks to get to sites where you used to reach with one or none. In addition, the color system of the icons now makes them confused with each other, when it was previously lighter.
Specific issues:
- To be able to mark the route to something you have in bookmarks it takes two or three clicks and move from the menu from the left to the right, when in the old UI you could first mark the route from the same bookmark.
- On the galaxy map the icons used to be of different colors, are now almost all oranges and yellows and it becomes more difficult to identify what they refer to (bookmarks, engineers, ships, etc.).
- When you have a route, if you checked filters do not automatically act as in Horizons recalculating the route, it becomes necessary to give the button to recalculate route. I have also encountered problems with losing the route after a new log in.
- On the system map the information of each body appears divided into two different tabs: description and planetary information, in addition you have to click on each one to see it. It used to be enough to go above each one to see all the information that was in one place.
- Be able to set the route from the bookmark (whether it's a system, planet, or station) and not have to go through the menu on the right to do so.
- That the change of any of the filters acts by recalculating the route and that it does not disappear when you log out.
- Combine the information of each body and leave everything in a single tab, at least that information about the sites of interest that each body has (biological, geological...) appears next to the description.
- Change the color of some of the icon types, as it was before, so you can better identify each thing.
o7
Ok, I'll place here a bonus one:Galaxy and System Map in Odyssey
I tried to gather here some of the issues or missing features I noted in the Map UI.
Overall thoughts
It's amazing. I mean, I found some issues, and I'll explain some of them here, but the game really needed a more complete interface for (probably) the most important tool of it.
Oh, the "Search the Galaxy" text search is amazing. Did I already say amazing?
Specific Issues
Suggested Fixes for the Issues
- when I open the galaxy map and select User data view > Commodities every time I choose one of the options the pnale closes and it doesn't get my selection (both in the primary and secondary option);
- there's no way to target a market;
- when you select a commodity in the cargo inventory and choose "open galaxy map" the commodity is not pre-selected int the User data > Commodities panel.
- the market information panel shows the unsorted markets (both carreer and stations);
I also noted a couple of UI issues related to the SRV and the Ship outfitting, but I will post them if you gather related feedbacks.
- er... can you fix it?
- The "plot route to market" is not there anymore, is it?
- I'm not sure if it's a new feature or not: I'm quite sure that this feature was there in the Horizon UI; could it be related to the first issue?
- FEATURE - it would be useful to have the markets sorted by Import value desc > export value desc > information unavailable; it would be even more useful to be able to hide/show the carreer markets (like the other filter markets), because they usually are A LOT;
Thank you guys for the amazing job you're doing with this game!
o7
Specific Issues
- you need to use the mouse to interact with the Map UI.
- This is defenetely not an issue, but a new feature; it's amazing that you can navigate all of the ship UIs and the Starport one (outfitting, missions, etc.) using just the keyboard: it would be really amazing if you could move between the Map UI menus just using the keyboard too; it could be done like this:
- when youopen the UI the "cursor focus" is on the top-left menu, so you can navigate it using the keyboard;
- if you interact with the map using the mouse (zooming or rotating) the focus "moves" to the map and let you use the wasd keys to move in the galaxy;
- then if you select a system (either clicking on it or hitting tha space bar) the "cursor focus" could be moved to the top-right menu, letting you interact with all the "system menus" using the keyboard.
Thanks guys!
o7
Overall thoughts: I like the new interface for the galaxy map. I prefer the Horizons interface for the system map.
Specific Issues: I just discovered this on the galaxy map. I clicked on "fastest route" then recalculate course; that was fine. Afterwards, I clicked fastest route again to get rid of the lines, which obscure the view of the stars, and it won't switch off. I can only turn that off by clicking economical route, which still covers the map with lines.
Never mind! I just found it under display options!!
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And here I thought mine was the only one who got that stupid smirk and almost white hair effect.
As a UX designer I have looked at the UI specifically, and at this point I must say, it' might be best to roll back to the old UI wherever possible for now. Also I contacted Frontier directly and offered our professional support regarding the UI, because as Frontier seems to believe that this is the task of a UI designer alone rather than in cooperation with an experienced UX designer. A User Interface as complex as this, that has to consider many different input methods, such as mouse and keyboard, controller and HOTAS to name the most popular, is a challenge and as such not a task for a user interface designer alone, but demands the experience in interaction design, conceptual knowledge, in user behavior and user expectance of a professional UX designer and the experience to interpret very valuable insight of user research and feedback.
Sadly we didn't get an answer from Frontier so far, I assume the studio is very busy at the moment. However we will be glad to help improve Elite Dangerous, a game, that IMHO has set an example regarding the HUD of the ship, which makes it so much more sad, that the latest update to the UI of stations, outfitting and the maps is one of the worst I have encountered yet.
As an example, the UI downright calls for users to make irreversible bad choices Examples are that by default modules are being sold when buying a new module and on rebuy (this I have been told by a friend) by default you don't rebuy your ship and all your modules nor your SLF crew. This is a UX ground rule, the destructive choice should never be the default choice.
So if you read this at Frontier, check your inbox for my contact information, I'm convinced we can support you and work together with your team regarding the UI and contribuite with our experience in complex and user friendly interaction design.
Sadly we didn't get an answer from Frontier so far, I assume the studio is very busy at the moment. However we will be glad to help improve Elite Dangerous, a game, that IMHO has set an example regarding the HUD of the ship, which makes it so much more sad, that the latest update to the UI of stations, outfitting and the maps is one of the worst I have encountered yet.
As an example, the UI downright calls for users to make irreversible bad choices Examples are that by default modules are being sold when buying a new module and on rebuy (this I have been told by a friend) by default you don't rebuy your ship and all your modules nor your SLF crew. This is a UX ground rule, the destructive choice should never be the default choice.
So if you read this at Frontier, check your inbox for my contact information, I'm convinced we can support you and work together with your team regarding the UI and contribuite with our experience in complex and user friendly interaction design.
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Overall thoughts (UI Galaxy & System)
A minimalist design with minimal thought put into it, with dysfunctional functionality. An Astrolabe is more fun to use and designed to be convenient rather than a hindrance by comparison. A unique roadblock to efficiency. Did the committee who designed it also design the camel? Does anyone involved know what a bookmark is intended to do?
Suggested Fixes for the Issues
I don't make them that is what your (FDev) paid to do.
A minimalist design with minimal thought put into it, with dysfunctional functionality. An Astrolabe is more fun to use and designed to be convenient rather than a hindrance by comparison. A unique roadblock to efficiency. Did the committee who designed it also design the camel? Does anyone involved know what a bookmark is intended to do?
Suggested Fixes for the Issues
I don't make them that is what your (FDev) paid to do.
A few additional things...
BUG: The keybind for back (x in my case) does not work from Bookmark Manager/Edit Bookmark.
OBSERVATION: I seem to have to press "back" extra times when trying to exit the system map after drilling down to details on a body.
DESIGN ISSUE: In the system map, mousing over a body no longer previews it, requiring a click to change any open info panel to display information on that body. This is different from how mousing over the various category icons in Galaxy Map/Map Mouse shows the filters without actually selecting anything. When I enter a new system that has interesting bodies, I used to FSS the system, go to the system map, and then mouse over each body to quickly scan for features, locations, and terraforming status.
DESIGN ISSUE: The system map description doesn't put any whitespace between lines, i.e., the body type description, terraforming status, map status. This makes scanning the body to determine if it's interesting harder.
FIX: The easiest fixes are to allow mouse-overs to change the text displayed in the open description panel and to adjust the spacing of text in description. Again, I think the full text description should be in the planetary info with just a line like "Rocky Body" or "High Metal Content World (Terraforming)" in the description panel. For exploring, the description panel should provide all gameplay relevant information in a succinct format to allow commanders to decide if the body warrants further action like landing, DSSing, prosecting, exobiological study, etc.
Keep the description short, make it easy to scan all the bodies in a system quickly, and make sure the information most likely to make a commander take an action as close to the top of the description as possible.
BUG: The keybind for back (x in my case) does not work from Bookmark Manager/Edit Bookmark.
OBSERVATION: I seem to have to press "back" extra times when trying to exit the system map after drilling down to details on a body.
DESIGN ISSUE: In the system map, mousing over a body no longer previews it, requiring a click to change any open info panel to display information on that body. This is different from how mousing over the various category icons in Galaxy Map/Map Mouse shows the filters without actually selecting anything. When I enter a new system that has interesting bodies, I used to FSS the system, go to the system map, and then mouse over each body to quickly scan for features, locations, and terraforming status.
DESIGN ISSUE: The system map description doesn't put any whitespace between lines, i.e., the body type description, terraforming status, map status. This makes scanning the body to determine if it's interesting harder.
FIX: The easiest fixes are to allow mouse-overs to change the text displayed in the open description panel and to adjust the spacing of text in description. Again, I think the full text description should be in the planetary info with just a line like "Rocky Body" or "High Metal Content World (Terraforming)" in the description panel. For exploring, the description panel should provide all gameplay relevant information in a succinct format to allow commanders to decide if the body warrants further action like landing, DSSing, prosecting, exobiological study, etc.
Keep the description short, make it easy to scan all the bodies in a system quickly, and make sure the information most likely to make a commander take an action as close to the top of the description as possible.
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Another couple of examples: The suit cosmetics menu disabling the torch (why is this even possible?), and the apex taxi menu going straight from booking to unbooking with no visible choice to leave (now altered), or when you've cancelled an apex called from the ground, every attempt to call an apex since will default to cancelling (still not fixed, but the cancel now has a confirmation, so you can work around it).
For the suit cosmetics menu, I don't even know what they tried to do. It's just an overwhelming mess of choices, most of them invalid, mismarked, and broken. That's how they want to entice people to spend?
I don't understand what was so wrong with the old maps and outfitting UI that it had to be replaced with whatever it is that we have now. I've been poking around these new maps since the first day of Alpha and I hate it from the very bottom of my heart. And yes, inability to plot a route straight to the bookmarked destination is real pain in the ass. Map controls scattered on both sides of the screen (plus search bar on the top) instead of only left side oft he screen very confusing, counter intuitive and time consuming. We don't have the luxury of pausing the game while poking around in the maps. Dear Frontier, please return all the original maps and outfitting UI back and if you have to make some changes in the appearance of the game no matter what, please consider giving us an optional HUD color schemes and layouts. After all, people asking about it for years.
Overall thoughts – The new UI takes a lot more time and many more interactions to navigate, particularly when playing using a controller.
Specific Issues –
Specific Issues –
- The "hold <button> to plat route" interface is often misleading. That prompt appears when a system is selected but doesn't actually work if any of the left hand panels are open. For example I can select a bookmark but then need to navigate back from the individual bookmark to the book mark categories list, back again to the root of the left hand panel menus, and back a third time to deselect the bookmarks menu before I can hold the selection button to plot a route.
- D-pad directional navigation in map menus and menu popout behaviors are inconsistent and punishing.
- Open the galaxy map, nothing is selected. <Left> selects the bookmarks menu but <right> does nothing because the right hand menu isn't visible because the current system isn't selected even though it is centered and highlighted and selecting that system will not trigger any visual change in the map layer.
- Right hand menus toggle their expanded state. Left hand menus expand only while selected.
- Navigating a left hand menu (e.g. bookmarks) with a system selected to the right hand menu is available
- <Left> can close the left menu but <right> can't open it and switches to the right hand menus instead.
- <Right> from a left hand menu item like a bookmark switches to the right hand menus and closes the left panel. Tap <right> one too many times and recovering your position requires <left><select>[<down> to the correct submenu]<select or right>[<down again to the menu item>]. Good luck if you realize you need to switch the open right hand panel while scanning through a long bookmark list.
- "Raid" missions require locating a settlement owned by a specific faction which can be an incredibly tedious exercise.
- Open the system map.
- Select a landable inhabited planet.
- Open the surface map.
- Rotate the globe to find a settlement. Fight with gimball lock over the poles.
- Check the settlement owner, nope.
- Go back to rotating the globe, wait which of these icons have I already looked at, did I check this one or was it the one of the other hemisphere?
- Ok this planet doesn't have what I want, back to the system map.
- Repeat for 5 more planets.
- Find a valid high threat target.
- Keep searching hoping for a low thread alternative.
- Don't find one, wait where was the high threat again?
- Start over.
UI Fixes
Overall thoughts – I've been playing Odyssey for about two weeks now and I don't want to go back to Horizons, but that does not mean the game is perfect.
Specific Issues –
Suggested Fixes for the Issues –
Overall thoughts – I've been playing Odyssey for about two weeks now and I don't want to go back to Horizons, but that does not mean the game is perfect.
Specific Issues –
- The coloring is too dark, my ship and I cannot see hotspots within rings.
- The System map requires too many clicks to select anything that I want.
- We cannot examine non-landable planets within the system map.
- Fleet Carriers cannot jump to specific bodies as they do in Horizons.
- I want to be able to search all of my bookmarks along with them being chunked into categories.
Suggested Fixes for the Issues –
- The coloring is too dark, my ship and I cannot see hotspots within rings.
- Brighten up the colors so that things are more visible.
- Brighten up the colors so that things are more visible.
- The System map requires too many clicks to select anything that I want.
- Use a Click and hold as we do in Horizons to allow us to go directly to our selection.
- Use a Click and hold as we do in Horizons to allow us to go directly to our selection.
- We cannot examine non-landable planets within the system map.
- Enable this Feature as with other planet.
- Enable this Feature as with other planet.
- Fleet Carriers cannot jump to specific bodies as they do in Horizons.
- Allow Carriers to do this again.
- Allow Carriers to do this again.
- I want to be able to search all of my bookmarks along with them being chunked into categories.
- Allow players to search their Bookmarks by name as well as with category.
- Additionally, why only 120 bookmarks, can we get more?