STO interface

[BradD3401]

I wonder how the interface will be like?

[Silverspar]

Probably have two separate UIs for ground and space, though they might be similar, however both play styles will be very different from one another.

[nexudude]

I hope it is minimal. Nothing visible that you aren't currently using. I don't see why then need a keyboard hotkey for a window and a button on the screen. I think if you aren't doing anything, there shouldn't be anything on your HUD.

[Vorador]

I imagine there will be a mini-map type grid in one of the corners, a display showing your ship's hull and shield status, maybe icons for status of internal systems. Probably a display showing the enemy ship you are targeting and their status.

[nexudude]

I imagine there will be a mini-map type grid in one of the corners, a display showing your ship's hull and shield status, maybe icons for status of internal systems. Probably a display showing the enemy ship you are targeting and their status.

I'd like ship crewmen to tell you when shields are at a certain percent or something. You could ask for shield status and he/she/it'd be like "76%, sir!" I mean, the captain doesn't really have any console in front of him, the crewmembers report everything. I'm not expecting them to do this, though.

[Silverspar]

A radar would not really do much good in STO as the game is suppose to be fully 3 dimensional. I could wager there will actually be something similar to a sensor bar that just tells you targets and their approximate distance based on criteria. Maybe something similar to EVEs there.

I expect teh standard hot bar, of course, with the hot keys of telling crew to focus on maneuvering, weapons, or speed. Then of course you will have your UI for controlling shields and watching shields and structural integriy. Past that you won't need much more, other than the chat box.

Ground UI, probably be something similar to what we've seen in Champions Online (but more trekkie and less comicy).

[Azurian]

I'm hoping it's nothing like the one Perpetual had.

With the Ship / Space UI, I'm hoping it's more user friendly than the one on Bridge Commander. Because I did not like the Open / Close Tabs, because it got annoying in combat. So I'm hoping that for each section you are in (Tactical, Engineering, Science, or Command) you get individual UIs that seemlessly transition back and forth. And perhaps a designation button where certain displays from the individual can be set in a main UI.

I'm sure a Tactical / Helm combination would be very handy in combat, a Tactical / Science combo for searching for cloaked ships, and a Engineering / Science combo for repair delegation.


With Ground Combat, needs a UI somewhat similar to modern MMORPGs, where you can switch equipment without the need to equip / uniequip. Like personal shields having an on / off function, or Tricorder modes.

[Vorador]

A radar would not really do much good in STO as the game is suppose to be fully 3 dimensional. I could wager there will actually be something similar to a sensor bar that just tells you targets and their approximate distance based on criteria. Maybe something similar to EVEs there.

I expect teh standard hot bar, of course, with the hot keys of telling crew to focus on maneuvering, weapons, or speed. Then of course you will have your UI for controlling shields and watching shields and structural integriy. Past that you won't need much more, other than the chat box.

Ground UI, probably be something similar to what we've seen in Champions Online (but more trekkie and less comicy).


Actually radar works fine in 3 dimensions. Look at Wing Commander 1-4. Sorta hard to explain the radar. But the center of the radar is the object in your sights, so directly in front of you. Anything on the bottom is below and behind you. Anything on top is above and behind of you I think.

Here is an example: WC3 screenshot (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/wing-commander-iii-heart-of-the-tiger/screenshots/gameShotId,97433/)

I'm hoping there is no hotbar.

[Profedius]

I wonder too the interface is going to be a make or break for me if I see a hot bar in space with different evasive pattern delta or attack pattern riker1 I'll be gone. I am so tired of hot bar attack move games I could puke. It would be nice if Ground combat was like a first person shooter, but it doesn't look like it will be.

[Silverspar]

Actually radar works fine in 3 dimensions. Look at Wing Commander 1-4. Sorta hard to explain the radar. But the center of the radar is the object in your sights, so directly in front of you. Anything on the bottom is below and behind you. Anything on top is above and behind of you I think.

Here is an example: WC3 screenshot (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/wing-commander-iii-heart-of-the-tiger/screenshots/gameShotId,97433/)

I'm hoping there is no hotbar.

I know how the radar worked in WC, and it still was rather meh. Honestly, I would rather a name of the target be in a screen and I can click that instead of trying to figure out what is what. That's what sensors are for actually so you shouldn't have to figure out every blip and in space, where things can start moving fast, a radar would be of little help.

[The.Grand.Nagus]

Here are the interfaces from Starfleet Command 1, 2, and OP:

Federation interface (http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc340/the_grand_nagus/federation.jpg)

Klingon interface (http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc340/the_grand_nagus/klingon.jpg)

Romulan interface (http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc340/the_grand_nagus/romulan.jpg)

[Silverspar]

Really don't want an interface like that. It's not user friendly at all.

[THORN74]

im sure it will be similar to every other MMO with some kind of Sreen boarder, including quick launch buttons, inventory, and other key functions.


I only hope that we will have 1 LCARS and 1 Klingon type theme.

[The.Grand.Nagus]

Really don't want an interface like that. It's not user friendly at all.

SFC3 dumbed down, err "streamlined" the interface from the previous games to make it more "user friendly":

SFC3 interface (http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc340/the_grand_nagus/sfc3interface.jpg)

Funny thing is, most of the players preferred the old interface :o

[dryzabone]

Here are the interfaces from Starfleet Command 1, 2, and OP:

Federation interface (http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc340/the_grand_nagus/federation.jpg)

Klingon interface (http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc340/the_grand_nagus/klingon.jpg)

Romulan interface (http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc340/the_grand_nagus/romulan.jpg)
This is an Abomination, and i sincerely hope they will NEVER implement this, or something similar, piece of fail.
Its so bad in fact, that it makes EVE's ui look sexy, its really that bad. Horrible.

[The.Grand.Nagus]

This is an Abomination, and i sincerely hope they will NEVER implement this, or something similar, piece of fail.
Its so bad in fact, that it makes EVE's ui look sexy, its really that bad. Horrible.

LOL wow. Do you think it looks too complicated or what?

[Silverspar]

LOL wow. Do you think it looks too complicated or what?

No, it's really just a sinfully bad interface, and not in a good way.

[The.Grand.Nagus]

No, it's really just a sinfully bad interface, and not in a good way.

I'm not saying your wrong, just asking exactly what about it you dont like. Anyone can say something is crap, but its nice to actually be able to articulate your thoughts :o

[dryzabone]

LOL wow. Do you think it looks too complicated or what?

Not complicated per se, just, horrible. Please, don't tell me you think that is a great looking UI.

[The.Grand.Nagus]

Not complicated per se, just, horrible. Please, don't tell me you think that is a great looking UI.

Great? No, just something I got used to playing the SFC games. But again, what do you not like about it?

[Silverspar]

It's clunky and not user friendly Nagas. Yea, they put all these fancy buttons on it, but one thing that makes games fun is an easy to use and understand interface. Starfleet Command over complicated things, it put in too much and too little return. They made the interface so complicated you needed to go through, if I recalled, at least 5 separate tutorials and all their sub parts just to get the basics. That is painfully pathetic. An interface should be easy to understand right out the window with needing only a few directions to go.

[dryzabone]

Great? No, just something I got used to playing the SFC games. But again, what do you not like about it?
For starters, it takes up 30 percent of the screen as it is, that is without the chat window and spell bars.

[The.Grand.Nagus]

It's clunky and not user friendly Nagas. Yea, they put all these fancy buttons on it, but one thing that makes games fun is an easy to use and understand interface. Starfleet Command over complicated things, it put in too much and too little return. They made the interface so complicated you needed to go through, if I recalled, at least 5 separate tutorials and all their sub parts just to get the basics. That is painfully pathetic. An interface should be easy to understand right out the window with needing only a few directions to go.

SFC was not your average ST game, you have to remember. It was a computer coversion of the pen and paper Starfleet Battles game, which, TBH, was also complicated. I'm not saying it should be used for STO, but there was really no "simple" way to allow players to do all the different things they could do in SFB without a complicated interface. I definitely understand that fun > "realism", but a starship is not a simple thing, and neither is controlling one.

[Azurian]

Yeah, the SFC interfaces were bad and would be very disfunctional with the complexity of MMORPGs.

At worst, you should have and interface similar to Bridge Commander (minus the clunky tabs).

[Sinclair]

The interface is a big part of the game for me. If the interface is a real pain then I have trouble remaining interested in a game. For me an interface needs to be intuitive and something I can move across fluidly to cause to happen what I need to have happen, without having to fish around for things. On top of that, I think part of Trek is about really cool controls like we see on the series and movies. I really hope the dev team spends a lot of time on the interface.

[OddjobXL]

In Space

There's really quite a balance they need manage here.

Simple enough to use.

Complicated enough to not get boring over time.

To have the kind of experience commanding a ship that many are looking forward to there's going be a learning curve of some kind. Hopefully not too painful or discouraging. But if the experience is too simplified and brain-dead I'll be very disappointed.

My biggest problem in MMOs is boring content. Giving me tools that offer me lots of different ways to deal with many different kinds of challenges, the opportunity to feel like a creative tactician, rather than a simple chimp on autopilot who can fly a ship with mouse button presses, is going to be central to how engaging this experience will be.

I'll confess I am a less is more guy when it comes to interfaces myself, in most cases, and that's why I love say Mount & Blade's cinematic and minimalistic approach. I just don't see how that works with something that is as complicated, should be as complicated and task intense, as flying a starship. Riding around on a horse and hacking guy's heads off is a different experience which requires a different approach.

So far, during my crash course in Star Trek computer games, I'm by far most impressed with Bridge Commander. If the pace of combat is managed, deliberate and tactical this is the way to go. If the game gives you time to think during a battle then, that suggests to me, it wants you to be thinking. That means you have options to weigh. Options mean complications and possibilities.

That's where tactics lives. You really don't find this often in MMOs. Tactics often takes place before combat happens when you're gearing up or grinding for the lewts you need. It's memorizing cheat sheets from gamefaqs to know what buttons to hit and when.

Procedurally generated missions and competative PvE will likely mean you'll be thinking on your feet in STO. Having those shipboard tools to improvise with at your fingertips will be important.

On Ground

Here the interface can be much less intrusive and more cinematic. Maybe just icons representing members of your Away Team and their status along with targeted objects and an inventory bar. We know ground combat will be all about action and we all know how ground combat works already from many other MMOs. Minimal learning curve here. Sure, STO will have differences and probably important ones but...it ain't gonna be rocket science!

[Flatfingers]

We're really talking about four different but related things here: the look and feel of the shipboard interface, and the look and feel of the avatar interface.

I'm not too worried about the visual appearance of either interface; I assume the colors and shapes will be appropriate for each faction, and not too hideously ugly. In terms of presentation, the following items are on my wish list:

the interface natively supports the 16:10 widescreen mode as well as 4:3 and 16:9 (console) modes
the transparency level of all interface elements (as a whole) can be set
most or all interface elements can be resized and moved
the size and placement of every individual interface element is preserved across sessions
all interface elements can be hidden with the press of one key and restored with the same keyFor the avatar interface, I just don't want to see the gameplay designed to be a matter of stabbing at hotkeys, with an interface to match. What that would mean, I leave to others for now.

In terms of how the ship interface allows us to access gameplay features, that's similarly going to depend on just what those gameplay features are designed to be. So it's tough to speculate meaningfully yet on how the interface should work.

One thing I can say is that I'll be disappointed if mighty starships are being designed as such simple, unitary things -- like mounts in fantasy MMORPGs -- that the interface displaying all of their possible capabilities is just one small on-screen window: weapons, shields, power, done. Meh.

What about engineering (damage control)? What about science (sensors)? What about medicine (Sick Bay)? How will we reconfigure the deflector dish to resolve some kinds of situations as has been suggested we might be able to do?

I'll personally be happier if starships are designed as complex systems composed of interconnected systems, allowing those who enjoy that sort of thing to spend hours playing with the details to get everything working just the way they like it. Best-case here would be an interface that is both expressive enough yet well-organized enough to let players focus on the systems instead of feeling like they're fighting the interface to get at the gameplay. (Naturally this should hold true both for PC users as well as users of whatever console [*cough*Xbox*cough* :)] Cryptic also supports.)

But needing an interface capable of providing intuitive access to highly detailed starship functionality is probably more a question of ship gameplay design than interface design. So for now, I'm just sort of waiting to see what STO's designers are actually going to allow us to do with these wonderful technological marvels beyond flying around and killing things.

--Flatfingers

[ray_92]

what they should do is in Star Trek Klingon Academy that interface would make more sense to me cause you can do absolutly anything and everything while playing the game and yes i still do play Klingon Academy it rocks man

[ronaldheld]

I wouls ask for a simple interface for common basic tasks with more layers for the less common.

[Sherp]

all interface elements can be hidden with the press of one key and restored with the same key

I agree that we don't want it buried deep in the menus, but I'd rather have this be one easy-to-reach key combination, like Alt-I or something. Too easy for me to imagine a new player slapping his keyboard in the heat of excitement, the interface vanishes, and he has no idea how to get it back--and the help menu won't open because hey, it's part of the interface. :)

I wonder what interface models we'll see? Windows? Panes? Pie menus? And to what extent will we be allowed to customize the interface? Being able to change colors and rearrange windows is well and good, but being able to create your own interface from the ground up is a fun, optional minigame that really appeals to programmers and designers and enhances combat performance in its own unique way. :)

[Moryan_Sorg]

I agree that we don't want it buried deep in the menus, but I'd rather have this be one easy-to-reach key combination, like Alt-I or something. Too easy for me to imagine a new player slapping his keyboard in the heat of excitement, the interface vanishes, and he has no idea how to get it back--and the help menu won't open because hey, it's part of the interface. :)

I wonder what interface models we'll see? Windows? Panes? Pie menus? And to what extent will we be allowed to customize the interface? Being able to change colors and rearrange windows is well and good, but being able to create your own interface from the ground up is a fun, optional minigame that really appeals to programmers and designers and enhances combat performance in its own unique way. :)

The main thing for simplicity is the UI's intuitiveness. Good icons go a long way. As you've stated customization is also key, as is a tutorial system just for the UI.

I'm hoping for the game to be complex, but that doesn't mean it needs to be hard to understand. You should be able to do all the basic functions of the game without ever opening a menu, or using a hotkey. But, you should be able to hotkey, access different ship systems, give command orders, view sensor readings, etc all from different menus that make sense.

It would be nice if they tied your NPC crews into your UI. You could issue them orders through your UI if you don't want to micro manage something through a menu (for example order the NPC to execute an evasive maneuver pattern, a triage priority adjustment, shield power adjustment, attack skill macros, etc)

[Flatfingers]

I agree that we don't want it buried deep in the menus, but I'd rather have this be one easy-to-reach key combination, like Alt-I or something. Too easy for me to imagine a new player slapping his keyboard in the heat of excitement, the interface vanishes, and he has no idea how to get it back--and the help menu won't open because hey, it's part of the interface. :)

What I'm after here is a quick way to get rid of all interface overlays so that I can take a screen capture with no UI blocking the view, then restore the interface just as easily once the screenshot's taken.

I agree that it shouldn't be something player could whack by accident, though. A single "key combination" is probably a better way to describe what I hope to see.

(Naturally, this assumes that space and ground vistas will be pretty enough that I'll want to capture the moment. :) Space backgrounds are already looking fantastic; now I'm just hoping that ships can be made equally shiny.)

--Flatfingers

[Miniv]

Maybe we could hold some kind of design contest of what people want from their UI (just for a bit of fun and creation ofc because cryptic will have their own ideas) i know what i would like to see from my UI!

[OddjobXL]

Heck, I'd see if the guy who designed the control surfaces in the TNG series is doing anything right now. He seems to have an eye for functionality and appearance. Get him together with the game devs and voila. All the better because he knows how the series folks thought things should work.

[trapline]

as long as it's not eves menu driven nightmare, I gave up finally on that game, a 26 inch flatscreen covered with chat tabs and overlays with a small window of vision sucks.

I loved what EA did with deadspace, making the ui part of the game itself,

I hope they have a bridge commander captains seat type option for sure,

Imagine instead of health bars the visual indicator of your engines are represented by how badly the console that crewman is manning is sparking lol.

as far as outside space, shield health could be visually represented by...the shield, I wish these games would take the health bar aspect out and just show the ship visually degrading accurate,

as for transferring power, ship adjustments etc hopefully its both intuitive and non intrusive, but also changes depending on what you are flying. adjusting the interface colors and layout by ship makes each ship feel more unique.

ground side Is less complex, but there is room for something new there too.

I think the idea is not to re invent the wheel, but also add a unique twist that fits with the star trek style, and immerses the player.

[oleum]

Maybe we could hold some kind of design contest of what people want from their UI (just for a bit of fun and creation ofc because cryptic will have their own ideas) i know what i would like to see from my UI!

Why not do this unofficially in this thread. I'm sure it would bring up some different ideas. My personal opinion is that the way the interface works is most likely to be adjusted and redesigned through the early to mid stages of beta.

Anyway, I'd love to see some player designed interfaces. Be interesting for comparison, and to have some ideas of what people like.