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

What makes a melee UI?

Speed.

Everything about it needs to be fast, and clean. That means fast to use, fast to get to things in your inventory, fast to see your current stats, and fast to move in combat.

We switch weapons on the fly durring combat, sometimes we switch gear durring combat depending if we come up against something that can rebuff itself. We swap in clickables, and recast clickable buffs durring combat... and all the time we need to be able to see AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE and be able to click almost anywhere and spin quickly.

The UI I use is the one I based on the SARS UI... and I even have more in my version than some people.

It's stripped down to miniature buff icons, with the names visible floating on a clear background. Buff icons are numbered, so it's easier to remember which ones go down durring combat. Some people remove the buff names, since once you're used to them it's unneccesary, and they take up valuable screen space.

All the stats are embedded in the hotbox, which means they are visible all the time. Which means I can tell at a glance what that nasty spell effect does, and what my hitpoints are, and NUMERICALLY how fast they are dropping.

Also, the cast bar is embedded in the hotbox, which means when I click my clickables, nothing new pops up on my screen.

The inventory window is stripped down to almost nothing, and the main bag slots are brought out to the hotbox, as well as a second bank of "clickables". This means I can click stuff durring combat, I can switch weapons and gear without ever opening the inventory window ( and potentially covering a mob ), and ALL my slots and bags are available ALL the time. Even the bags I use are modded "tradeskill" containers: modified to have no handled or borders so when they are open they are as narrow as possible. Fast and clean.

Last, everything is designed to be minimal. Anything that's on the screen is as small as I can get it, without sacrificing readability. Durring combat I need to be able to see everything that's going on around me, and click almost anywhere... without worrying about what might be hiding behind the cool looking curlyqueues on the chat boxes ( even my chat boxes have no name bars. they're a pain to move, but with transparency set to about 60% they hide nothing ).

That's what I looked for in a Melee UI. Sars came REALLY close.... I never found it exactly. That's why I modded his and that's what I use now.

06-13-2003, 07:02 PM	#3
Fyste Enhanced Imperial Golem Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 210	What makes a melee UI? Speed. Everything about it needs to be fast, and clean. That means fast to use, fast to get to things in your inventory, fast to see your current stats, and fast to move in combat. We switch weapons on the fly durring combat, sometimes we switch gear durring combat depending if we come up against something that can rebuff itself. We swap in clickables, and recast clickable buffs durring combat... and all the time we need to be able to see AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE and be able to click almost anywhere and spin quickly. The UI I use is the one I based on the SARS UI... and I even have more in my version than some people. It's stripped down to miniature buff icons, with the names visible floating on a clear background. Buff icons are numbered, so it's easier to remember which ones go down durring combat. Some people remove the buff names, since once you're used to them it's unneccesary, and they take up valuable screen space. All the stats are embedded in the hotbox, which means they are visible all the time. Which means I can tell at a glance what that nasty spell effect does, and what my hitpoints are, and NUMERICALLY how fast they are dropping. Also, the cast bar is embedded in the hotbox, which means when I click my clickables, nothing new pops up on my screen. The inventory window is stripped down to almost nothing, and the main bag slots are brought out to the hotbox, as well as a second bank of "clickables". This means I can click stuff durring combat, I can switch weapons and gear without ever opening the inventory window ( and potentially covering a mob ), and ALL my slots and bags are available ALL the time. Even the bags I use are modded "tradeskill" containers: modified to have no handled or borders so when they are open they are as narrow as possible. Fast and clean. Last, everything is designed to be minimal. Anything that's on the screen is as small as I can get it, without sacrificing readability. Durring combat I need to be able to see everything that's going on around me, and click almost anywhere... without worrying about what might be hiding behind the cool looking curlyqueues on the chat boxes ( even my chat boxes have no name bars. they're a pain to move, but with transparency set to about 60% they hide nothing ). That's what I looked for in a Melee UI. Sars came REALLY close.... I never found it exactly. That's why I modded his and that's what I use now. __________________ ( My Interfaces ) ( RETIRED )