Actually, we should be able to see the percentage on our exp label with decimal points, because the exp percentage used to draw the bar isn't rounded to the nearest integer. It's the only exception to the rule though.

As long as the actual value is sent to the client BEFORE the percentage is calculated, It shouldn't take any extra bandwidth for them to change the way that percentages for drawing gauges for those values are calculated.

nennayan, you are sure xp is the only jauge able to have a 1-pixel accuracy ?

If that's true , so ok , no point in using a jauge with 1% accuracy instead of the percentage itself , but that would really suck and makes me wonder why verant would want to do that ?!?

Well, now that I have a mod that has a bunch of things on it, I'm gonna look more into a streamlined one as well. Plus fix those pesky buttons on my spellbook :P

That would be depressing, personally ;)

Do you remember when they added the blue line to the exp bar? Before that, all the gauges were just a visual representation of a percentage, rounded to the nearest integer.

The exp bar was "upgraded" to show a more accurate percentage, by adding the blue line, which essentially magnified the bar by 5.

Any gauge should be able to be calculated this way, as long as the client gets the actual data before the percentage is calculated.

Speaking of gauge and labels if someone could calculate the actual amount of exp a mobs gives he/she would be my hero. (like in DaoC, having this info is very usefull)

I am trying to make an UI with will use has little screen space has possible while giving has much info has possible. Also I want it to be well order and easy to look at, unlike some chaotic UI I have seen. You can take a look at it: http://brodeure0.tripod.com

I am excellent programmer (its my RL job), but I suck at graphics and design, so I am modifiying the XML windows , but didnt bother with the TGA files yet.

for what i know , there is no way to calculate the ammount of xp a mob give : server only send info as a number of 1/330th of the xp bar, and xp bar can't be more accurate than 1/330th of a level so

WHat I would like to see is a UI that doesnt look like a Being 747 control room.. but hey, that's just _me_ :P

I HATE the 'streamlined' look. There's a reason I'm not playing Unreal Tournament. I'm playing a fantasy RPG and my UI should build on the fantasy feel of the game, not detract from it.

On the other hand, I need my percents (I'm addicted)...I'm working on a way to make them prettier (nicer font maybe), and I removed the % sign from nearly all of them, and shrunk them to near-invisibility compared to the gauges, but it's important to me to know how much mana a spell takes, in objective terms, and it's much easier to figure out how fast I'm dying from a percent than from a gauge or just a pure number (I convert either of those to % mentally anyway, since I play several different characters and 22hp means a lot to an 18 chanter but practically nothing to a 22 ranger).

I'm trying to design my mods to be like quartz as far as fitting together seamlessly, but without the feel of the U.S.S. Enterprise control room.

Hit Points.
 

Rangers only have 22hps so it matters to them alot!

When I am playing a healer, I figure out how many % my best heal uses and how much % of my mana it costs. That lets me keep my group better informed and helps me decide how to do the healing task.

When I am playing my enchanter, I know how much % mana I need to cast Koadics, so I don't stand up until I have it ready.

It's a lot easier to remember a single number from the xp bar when I want to see how much progress I have made in a night. I got rid of the little blue lines on my bars.

However, I do agree with you that labels are not as satisfying as images. That's why I use buff icons to label the stats and resists instead of having a window full of "STR" "WIS" etc.

I personally hate the big, space killing guages myself. Thats why I tack on percent lables, and remove the guages. Just smaller and cleaner :p

I'm definitly with you guys on hating the blocky UI, but the percentage labels are nice on a couple things. I made my Spectre pet info "box" to use the scythe as the HP guage. Being a necro, the guage is really nice to look at and gives much info at a glance... very important when you're soloing. I put the percent in there thinking it would help out, and it does. Basically, I can get an idea on how close my medding and my pet's healing are going up. If my pet is healing slower than I'm medding, I will load up the heal spell and take care of it. I like to be able to see when my pet is at 100%, not guess if he is or not because of a couple pixels.

Basically, I think the percent seems only important on mana and HP... I don't care how much percentage I have left til next level, or my AAXP. BUT it is nice to get a percentage on group members sometimes. Best place to put it, I think, is over the bar itself. Doesn't take up any room, and it's there when you need it. My Spec Pet box (not exactly a box, lol...) is set up that way. The scythe contains my pet's name, and his percent, right where I always look.

BTW, just uploaded a Spell Scroll for necros (doing a general use scroll for everyone else as well) just to break the "Boxxy Barrier". When I'm in game, I don't want to look at boxes. I want to see something that reminds me of the world I'm in, not that reminds me that I'm on a computer.

About the only bar i think that doesn't need a percentage is the stamina bar, otherwise i like saying "i'm 47 percent into my level" rather then something like "i'm 2 yellows and 4 blues into my level" (prolly not right amount) same with my power, an how much mana i use.

I would like to make a super condensed UIand i have a perfect picture in my head for it, but since i only know how to edit currently existing mods, no artistic ability in the way of pictures, and don't know how to make those windows that aren't rectangles, I made a UI with a butt load of crap on the screen. Of course i made it port hole with the 800x600 size, and i can see every piece of information i ever need in almost any situation just by looking at some part of my screen, while at the same time not covering any part of the gameplay.

Well while i'm here ayone know of a tutorial on how to make windows different shapes? Prolly could do it then.

BTW, any mod makers ever find that the buff bars are a pain in the arse when trying to make the UI small or sleak

Percents are great for convieing information in a compact and precise manner.

But they don't have any "Uh Oh" factor. The bar, for HP and Mana gives you a very fast indication on what your status is, roughly.