You know how your character's health and energy are scrunched up in the top left corner of the screen? Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of that. Having to look away from what's going on in the center of the screen can be problematic, especially when you're in a heated situation. In fact, I feel so strongly about this that I actually spent a good chunk of my time in MS Paint creating a mock up of what I think it should look like. This would be located on the bottom center of the screen. Note: It wouldn't have to look exactly like this, just similar enough that it would function the same way mechanically, that is, being a bit larger and being located at the bottom center of the screen. Note 2: This new HUD would be an option in the settings so players can choose between this or the current HUD in-game, because why not both? Here's a screenshot mock up that sort of demonstrates what this would look like in-game. I feel like having the health and energy bar at the bottom center of the screen would greatly benefit the game. It's a lot less of a pain on the eyes since you don't have to shift your attention to a different area of the screen. Your character is already in the center, so you don't have to look quite as far to see it. Larger bars also help make it more noticeable as well. What are your thoughts on this? I would like to hear your guys feedback on how this kind of thing could be improved.
i've often burnt out my energy meter or forgot to heal since i want to see whats going on! this needs to be implemented just like this. now. you dont even need to glance to the bottom of your screen and you get a good idea of the state of your energy and health. the party thing can stay in the corner, its good there.
Thanks! I'm glad you like it. I made some changes to the mock up screenshot so that it now shows where the status icons and party member portraits would go. The only thing I still need to consider is where the bar pops up when you pick up items and learn new recipes since it's originally on the bottom, which obviously won't work in this case. The best place I can think of for it would be just underneath the hotbar. EDIT: Okay, I added the item pickup bars underneath the hotbar, so everything should be in place now.
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes ! this would be amazing, if this isnt added someone PLZ !!!! make a mod for this. this is the best idea ever !
Okay. Let me just umm, deal with my feelings OMGITSSOCOOLITSACTUALLYMORECONVIENTANDMORESPACEYTHANTHEONECURRENTLYINTHEGAMEMUSTROLLNEEDTHISBARISSO1337. That is an AMAZING looking bar, especially for MS paint. It's very slick and space-agey. I just wonder if it'd be moddable to look different (A different color instead of grey) And of course, it's in a great spot to look at. Now, I'm gonna go cry in a corner because this isn't in the game.
I have to say, especially with the mock-up, this looks like it'd be a great change if implemented. It spreads the UI neatly and does not detract from the screen real estate. The styling you went with on the bar also looks very consistent with the game's existing UI. I'd say the only thing I'd probably have done different would be to keep the "add party member" button up on the top left to keep it inline with the party member display. Aside from that, though, I really can't think of anything I'd critique
The health bar should slant downwards around the halfway point, to make it easier to guess where you health is at that moment
Okay, I revised the mock up screenshot again based on your guys' feedback. I Made the dip in the health/energy bar closer to the center and moved the party invite button back to the top left corner of the screen. I also completely forgot about the enemy health bar that pops up when your in the middle of a battle, so I've added that as well. Thanks for the suggestions.
I really like this and the look of it really suits Starbound too! Really well done with the aesthetic side of it. Having it at the bottom (and that large) is a lot better since you can get a vague idea of the health/energy with peripheral vision or you could quickly glance down at it. Having it at the corner is just out of the way and a bit of a strain imo. The status effects feel a bit weird being there but I wouldn't know where else to put them. Really good looking, loving the placement of the name / player head too and the curve of it. Well done, hopefully the dev team look at this. I'd love to see this in-game.
It's looking awesome! Really hoping the devs catch wind of this idea and at least add it as an alternate style in the options. If not, I'm sure a modder out there would probably be up for the task.
This is just better than the in-game version. Just repeating. In case. No offense. It is better. (It is butter. Bitter. Batter ? How do you mean "THIS IS BETTER MAKE THIS REAL !!!!!" in English ?)
I will vote for something different entirely. I came here to suggest that an energy meter be added to function much like the guard meter does, so that when using weaponry I can know how empty I am when unloading my barrel into enemies. This would be easy to implement and fits their current design. My reason for not liking this is foremost that it mimics the very common "MMO" layout which tends to center everything for easy access. This is much like WoW. Although, this layout is definitely efficient, it is not asthetically pleasing over long gameplay, and inhibits the experience. You tend to find yourself mostly focusing on your stats which are conveniently right in the center, over focusing on the experience, scenery, etc. Although the current UI does have the toolbar in the center, it's at the top, so too are all other elements, so it does not "window" the world inside multiple clunky UI elements, disrupting the experience. As it stands I see no need for such a strong display to remain in the center of the screen as the game play does not demand this. I think it would be better to go in the way chucklefish is going with temporary heads up indicators that only provide necessary functional assistance. It could definitely be argued that the current display is pretty minimal, but it still follows the proved design for the type of game. Heads up elements should be out of the way and minimal for open world exploration games. A heads up element should not take over the visual experience, so unless mods will no longer be supported in the future, I believe this will work best as a mod option rather than an official game element.
I never stopped to think about it... Well, this bar is interesting. It's nothing original cuz it has been used a lot in MMORPGs, MOBAs and rogue-likes since 90s... But it's large, has a certain "highlight". Still, I think I prefer my bars next to the other players bars, this way I don't need to look at two places. Personal opinion, of course. But this could be an option in the future.
Yeah, I know some people are going to prefer the original HUD over the one I suggested, so having this as an alternative option in the settings would probably be best. That way, people can choose which one they prefer. The only downside to this is that it would be more work for the devs, but I'm sure they could manage it if they did decided to do this. I'll update my original post to suggest this as an alternative setting. I'm thinking that maybe this could be the default HUD and the one currently in-game could be a "minimal style" option in the settings menu. I do understand Snigery's point on the benefits of a minimal HUD, since it's less obstructive and lets you see more of what's happening in the game world.
I will say that i do love your idea, how ever i would say it should be more of an option, due to the fact that the energy bar should be viewable all the time, not just when attacking. Perhaps the energy/health GUI above would be better in the corner with health along the x axis of the screen and energy along the y axis, making it a bit less of an obtrusion? and having the option to have energy pop up midscreen upon use by weapon??[DOUBLEPOST=1420607267][/DOUBLEPOST]Im gonna go ahead and say that the item pickups come up in the bottom left, without the gray background, just the words so that they don't obstruct the view as much
