EQInterface Forums - View Single Post - What makes a Caster UI?

It's not that people can't click their spell gems, but it is a proven fact that the keyboard is faster than the mouse. If you are using the mouse to cast spells, you will be slower than a person with equivalent reflexes who uses the keyboard.

Personally, I have rebound the eight spell slots to the keys qwerasdf for faster access, because I think Shift-# is too slow and hard on the hands. Keyboard targetting is faster than mouse targetting, and is often more accurate. When I do need to use the mouse to target, my left hand is still over my casting keys, which is much much faster than moving the mouse all the way back to the casting bar.

As for what I like in a UI ...

As an enchanter, I need a clear unobstructed viewing area so that I can see all the creatures and target them. I can't take a viewport with the wrong aspect ratio, like a dashboard UI, because it hides things.

My health, mana, group health, pet, target and casting bar should all be very close together so that I can monitor the whole party state at once. I like to have the casting bar the same size as the target bar for close timing. Important chat windows should also be very close to the status bars.

I prefer no names in my spell bar. I always put the same spells in the same slots, and I can press Alt to make sure they are the right ones. The spell bar must be vertical, or roughly vertical, so that the spell names are all legible.

The spell book should not have overly busy pages. The artwork of the book should not distract from the spells. I find the right click menu cumbersome and annoying to use, so I still memorize from the book when I need a spell that is not in my spell sets.

Any button that has no keyboard equivalent should be large. Small buttons are slower to use.

I like having my XP and AAXP bars in a visible main window so that I don't have to open my inventory all the time when I am feeling neurotic about xp.

I like having my stats visible because it is quicker to check my stat totals than it is to figure out whether the correct buff icons are present in my buffs window.

The UI should be usable by any class. I play lots of characters and it is very distracting if the same information is displayed differently for each one.

I prefer images over labels. There is way too much necessary text in the UI to be adding unnecessary text. A picture of a book is much nicer than the word "Book" on a button.

I prefer fantasy themes over sci-fi themes, since this is a fantasy game. I don't like too much graphical clutter, but I do want the UI to be pleasing to look at, since I spend an embarrassingly large fraction of my life staring at it.

12-04-2003, 09:51 PM	#14
Xymarra Manaetic Prototype IX Join Date: Sep 2002 Server: E'Ci Posts: 501	It's not that people can't click their spell gems, but it is a proven fact that the keyboard is faster than the mouse. If you are using the mouse to cast spells, you will be slower than a person with equivalent reflexes who uses the keyboard. Personally, I have rebound the eight spell slots to the keys qwerasdf for faster access, because I think Shift-# is too slow and hard on the hands. Keyboard targetting is faster than mouse targetting, and is often more accurate. When I do need to use the mouse to target, my left hand is still over my casting keys, which is much much faster than moving the mouse all the way back to the casting bar. As for what I like in a UI ... As an enchanter, I need a clear unobstructed viewing area so that I can see all the creatures and target them. I can't take a viewport with the wrong aspect ratio, like a dashboard UI, because it hides things. My health, mana, group health, pet, target and casting bar should all be very close together so that I can monitor the whole party state at once. I like to have the casting bar the same size as the target bar for close timing. Important chat windows should also be very close to the status bars. I prefer no names in my spell bar. I always put the same spells in the same slots, and I can press Alt to make sure they are the right ones. The spell bar must be vertical, or roughly vertical, so that the spell names are all legible. The spell book should not have overly busy pages. The artwork of the book should not distract from the spells. I find the right click menu cumbersome and annoying to use, so I still memorize from the book when I need a spell that is not in my spell sets. Any button that has no keyboard equivalent should be large. Small buttons are slower to use. I like having my XP and AAXP bars in a visible main window so that I don't have to open my inventory all the time when I am feeling neurotic about xp. I like having my stats visible because it is quicker to check my stat totals than it is to figure out whether the correct buff icons are present in my buffs window. The UI should be usable by any class. I play lots of characters and it is very distracting if the same information is displayed differently for each one. I prefer images over labels. There is way too much necessary text in the UI to be adding unnecessary text. A picture of a book is much nicer than the word "Book" on a button. I prefer fantasy themes over sci-fi themes, since this is a fantasy game. I don't like too much graphical clutter, but I do want the UI to be pleasing to look at, since I spend an embarrassingly large fraction of my life staring at it.