New Screens - Updated HUD and Char/Inv UI

Grim Dawn Development Updates
81

Wow some great improvements guys :slight_smile: looks a whole lot better from the last one.

I know its been said a million times but i have to insist you guys move the health and mana bars to the bottom. Make it more visible and bigger as well. I also died many times playing TQ because i was focusing on the bars at the bottom and not looking up.

I know you guys don’t have alot of time to make major changes to your game but i really believe this is important. Looking at the screen right now and i see nice big gaps in the bottom left and right, perfect for big health and mana globes (d2 ftw!!! :P)

Cmon Medierra make it happen dude :slight_smile:

82

Looking good guys. Can’t wait :smiley:

83

Would it be possible to place another skill bar on top of the standard skill bar? A small problem I have with these games is that I want/get too many skills than available room in the skill bar. Switching between layers I mostly tend to forget or in the heat of the battle I don’t have the time. Maybe you could even make the second skill bar usable with key combination shift or ctrl + number.

84

My opinions on the HUD/UI fall pretty similarly in line with my thoughts on the title screen in that it’s not using the potential for a more artistic approach for the borders and item icons. Like with the items it shows them in the typical character model pose on body armour and the weapons lack detail.

Here is what I’m getting at, within Arcanum the items icons look very detailed and such (but their menu screen looks pretty bland).

85

I mentioned-here- this HUD/Ui super example a year ago. This is the best ever made ui yet(include all arpgz). Wonderful big equipment. Happy to fight 4 them. Maybe Arcanum can teach the magic to younger voulanteers…I hope…and pray…

86

Arcanum is a wonderful examples, the whole armory looks great, much less static then Grim Dawn at the moment. That is what I meant with three-dimensional and it’s also very detailed.
After a few looks at the inventory now, I think it would be better if it would really fit into the whole interface. At the moment it’s more like a desktop with windows. If it would take half of the screen it could open up new possibilities.

87

Who cares what the stupid inventory looks like as long as it is functional, let the developers work on the gameplay and content.

88

If you ask me, the interface look and feeling is a large part of the atmosphere of the game itself. A good interface can help increase the immersion and general ‘feel’ of the game - a bad interface can have the opposite effect.

If the look of the interface is coherent with the setting and look of the rest of the game, this is a great asset - if it clashes with the game and looks all too different, it can have a really bad effect on the game experience as a whole.

As an example of this, look at the inventory screen of Titan Quest and compare it with, say, the atrocity that is Two Worlds 2:

Titan Quest’s inventory looks professional and coherent with the atmosphere of the rest of the game - both in terms of appearance and functionality. Two Worlds 2’s inventory looks really out of place, cluttered and unprofessional - and every time the player brings up this screen this hits him in the face.

In my opinion, the look of a game’s interface is very important - after all, the player is going to look at it a lot, so it’s a good idea to make it look like it fits into the rest of the game. And I think Grim Dawn really nailed this so far. It looks Victorian, it looks grim. :smiley:

I do have some feedback on it, though - some things I think could be improved upon.

First off, I think the bevel effects of the item slots and especially the (what I assume is) non-activated second inventory slot (like before you got to Megara in TQ), really could be closer to the edges - in other words, look less beveled but still as strong in terms of color. As of now, it looks a little odd.

Secondly, there are some minor position issues with the text and some of the graphics - The “Combat Stats” title is too close to the line right above it, the close button in the upper right is too far to the left, the ‘gold’ counter below the item slots looks like it should be placed one pixel lower… things like that.

But, do understand that this is just nitpicking - I really, really like the look of the interface so far! :wink:

89

The funny thing is, that yes, when the TW2 inventory was brought up the first time, I found it hideous, but after that I did not care about it. It simply did not matter.

As long as it is functional, a nice interface is better, but to me it is not worth a lot of effort to make it nice. I much rather have the option to compare two items side by side in a mediocre looking interface than have a nice interface which does not allow for that.

So I agree, limited resources should go into making the game itself fun / good looking over having a great looking interface. Now if the result of improving the look of the items in the interface results in the items also looking better in game (i.e. on the char), then improving their look is more viable to me :wink:

90

I see your point, and I do agree - one has to set priorities and as you say, functionality comes before aesthetics.

My point was - and is - that the look of the interface is by no means insignificant and can do a great deal for how one experiences a game.

As for the TW2 interface, we’ll have to agree to disagree then. :wink:

91

I totally agree Eltu. A few seconds ago I saw the interface/inventory of Path of Exile for the first time:

That is what I imagined, looks fresh and very atmospheric. Three dimensional, vivid and add a few adjectives more to it. Would love to see Grim Dawn converging to it, since it is functional at it is but at the same time it also works as a frame for the game. I think such a frame is rather underestimated today but it’s adding a lot to the ambience.

92

I don’t really think there’s anything wrong with the aestethics of the current Grim Dawn interface - on the contrary, it looks great and really fits into the atmosphere of the game.

That being said, variation is always nice too. :wink:

93

Nice screens. The game’s looking more awesome all the time.

94

i love the charecter sheet but hate the HUD. i like having only 1 location on the screen to look at while im in combat that can tell me my target, my health, where im at on the minimap, and what skills i have. having it all over seems to give the illusion of more space being taken on the screen and its very distracting.

95

The HUD could use a little work to bring things together better, like Omeganyn says. It shouldn’t have to be the PoE/Diablo style HUD, though. Uniqueness is something to shoot for. You don’t want people seeing screenshots and go “Oh is that…diablo…or PoE…?” I personally prefer HUDs (like the Grim dawn ones shown) that tell me EXACTLY how much HP I have left so I don’t have to go “Ummm ok I’ve got maybe 1/6th of my red globe remaining.”

What could work out for everybody is if you let the HUD be moddable. Most people would probably be happy with your current display, but if you leave it open for modding you could please everyone.

96

I don’t think there is anything wrong with the hud. You don’t really need to see the health bar. TQ had the ‘heartbeat gong’ when you;re health was low. I rarely looked at it in the heat of battle. Hopefully, Grim Dawn will take the same approach.

97

6 slots for a quiver? Dang! :confused: Awesome UI though.

I want to play PoE almost as much as GD.

98

That UI is nice and a lot nicer than what’s in Beta right now. What I don’t understand is why people always comment on ‘Grim Dawn needs to look more like <insert game here>’. Grim Dawn needs to be Grim Dawn, it’s not Diablo, or Torchlight, or POE, it’s Grim Dawn. It’s just fine the way it is, stop trying to make it something else.

Personally I couldn’t care less what the interface looks like. Just as long it isn’t ugly and it’s functional and the game rocks, which we all know it will :slight_smile:

99

Well, I like it: gore, magic, ARPG…
I don´t like graveyards enviromet and mobs undeads alike…
Only figth undead? Inventory and GUI looks like the old dungeon siegue. Looks complete but dirty. I tink must be polished somehow.:undecided:

100

I think it should to look more like <insert game here> because there are advantages. For instance the inventory at the right side. You’re able to switch from something that lies on the bottom easily to the inventory and on top of it, it frames the windows naturally, a window is more of a “free falling object”. Or if we look at the globes they have the advantage that they are on the one hand way more visible and therefore helpful to know what’s going on, you don’t have to look upwards to a tiny bar which isn’t the most normal behaviour for an eye. On the other hand those health and mana parts can be designed in a wishful way and add much to the atmosphere and aesthetic. It’s not like Grim Dawn has a very unique interface, it’s more the interface you find in every single MMO since ages.