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User interface as bad as FFXI?
Margulis
Member CommonPosts: 1,614
From all the videos I've seen, it seems the UI is going to be pretty much the same as FFXI, except for there being a skill bar in battle. Besides for that, it seems all other actions are buried in menus just like FFXI. This is extremely disappointing. I hope I'm wrong and that it's much more user friendly.
Comments
The game is being released for the PS3 along with Desktop. FFXI was a good game to play on the PS3 because of the way that the menus were setup. FFXIV is being released on both the PS3 and the Desktop, so it does have menus that are similar, but a HUGE difference (not a small one) is the bar. That makes it look at feel more like a traditional MMORPG.
The game is being designed with skills in mind, and you will not have all the skills available to you at all times. Lets say you level all the jobs to 75... do you honestly expect that every single one of those skills will be available for you to use at once? No, you will have to pick and choose among them 30 skills and put those on the hotbar.
I don't see anything wrong with the FFXI UI, infact I find it super easy and fun to play with since it's easily usable with a controller. I can see it being not as friendly if you was playing with a keyboard mouse sure. Maybe that's how you experienced it, if you did try it with a controller it is unbelievable better. Sometimes a bad experience can lead you to think it's crap, but maybe you are not using rhw best hardware for the UI.
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Actually with a mouse the cursor goes automatically on the menu so there's nothing difficult I played with keyboard and mouse without problems.
People just need to say something bad every time else they probably would die.
Every MMO I've played has had it's actions buried in menus.
On top of that, they've also had fast shortcuts to access said menus like F, G, I keys in the keyboard. That is the way it works in XIV too.
When you don't know said shortcuts, you of course go through menus to access the information instead.
Besides the hotbar aren't every MMO's actions buried in menus?
XIV definitiely won't be as bad as XI in terms of the maze-like UI though. XI was ported to the PC so the UI was never intended for it. XIV has been built from the ground up to suit both the PC and PS3 simultaneously so I expect it will work much better with the usual keyboard and mouse setup.
To be honest though once you got used to XI's UI it was extremely easy to use, it was just so different to the norm that a lot of people were instantly put off by it.
Well some of us want to play mmos with keyboard and mouse. You know, on a pc.
Unfortunately you can only play XIV using a pad. In fact, you need to type this way too.
And not just any pad, the good ol' NES one.
It was a reply to this comment (maybe you are not using the best hardware for the UI). Isn't keyboard mouse a good hardware for a mmo? If it plays better with a controller than that means problems for us keyboard lovers.
As for how pc friendly FFXIV will be, we'll see about that. Although I have big hopes this time since it will not be a port from the consoles.
I probably won't be that far off if I said it will be more kb+mouse friendly than XI but not quite as user-friendly as other MMO's out there.
I wouldn't be worried about the game engine though, only how the mouse functions.
Trust me you won't need a mouse to play ffxiv at all.
Cast In The Name Of God, Ye Not Guilty
I just hope FF XIV isnt as macro dependant as FFXI is.
I hope we can have more than 1 hotbar on screen at a time.
If the Main Ui pieces arent movable I hope they at least offer and top and bottom default configuration.
I also hope the community does NOT lean toward complete use of voice chat.
Well maybe you should consider any one of the hundreds of other MMO's that are designed to be played with a keyboard and mouse. Final Fantasy XIV is, and always has been, designed from the ground up to be played with a controller.
They are indeed movable.
Why not, I don't get it. What about right click interacting with npcs, move the camera, select skills in hotbar or select the mob to attack (although that was in the video). There are some basic things to do with a mouse and I don't see the reason why I shouldn't need it.
It makes interacting with specific objects more or less easier, and that's it.
Rest of that stuff can be done with keyboard with ease.
I would prefer to quit a game because I didn't like the gameplay and stuff like that not because the devs didn't bother to make it more keyboard friendly. Btw who told you that FFXIV was designed to be played with only the controller?
Goddamned fanboys shut the hell up, you are doing nothing but making us all look like idiots.
If the game was designed strictly for controller we wouldn't have a hotbar with potentially 30 skills to choose from. Pad isn't the perfect choice for keeping up. It's not a make or break deal but kb works much better here.
Now if you have nothing constructive to say don't say anything at all. We are all better off that way.
I plan on buying a keyboard/mouse setup for my PS3. You know, to make chatting easier.
Anyway, why does the OP assume Square hasn't learned from FFXI and will use the same interface? Common sense, along with a ton of videos out there showing the the UI, tell me the interface is going to be far better this time around.
wont need it cause youll move with the wasd and you can move the camera with the up,down,left,right buttons and tab through the interface and/or your skills which seems to be a lot faster atm.
Cast In The Name Of God, Ye Not Guilty
I never had an issue with the FFXI interface.
Worked great on the ps2 setup and with about 5 minutes of tweaking worked great on windows.
Always felt faster and simpler than many of the UI's these days.
My fears have been confirmed....
Regardless.. if playing on a controller is only 90% efficient as a keyboard an mouse... i don't care... as long as it doesn't lead to my party dying. The gameplay is different then twitched based mmo's or ones that hve PvP, so I guess the inefficiency will be outweighed by the fun and convenience factors.
I played FFXI for a year before I realized I could by a controller to play it on my PC.... (noobish of me). When I went to controller, I never looked back. Playing an MMO using a controller is a new idea to 99% of mmo users.... hence the comments in this thread... BUT TRUST ME.... it's sooooo much more fun.
So much more fun that I bought a 32" HD 1080p TV to play iton the PS3. I hung the TV on a wall in the same room as my computer... so using a keyboard or ventrilo while playing on the PS3 is a none issue.
Anyone that is going to try this game.... give a controller a try before you settle on keyboard.
There have been other games that allows to move the camera with up, down, left buttons but I always preferred the mouse. I mean this is not something big to ask that may change the gameplay mechanism or something. It's just a simple thing that I want it in the game. Using the mouse to move the camera should be there. Controller guys move the camera with the right stick if I'm not wrong. That's way easier than moving it with 4 buttons.
Tab through the skills? Why can't I just click on whatever skill I want?
You actually could use the mouse for all of those things in FFXI, most people didn't because they discovered using the keyboard alone was actually easier. I know a lot of people were uncomfortable with it at first but that's only because they weren't used to it.
I doubt XIV will remove the option to use either though, especially since they're actually developing it with the PC in mind this time. You'll be able to use the mouse if you want.
How is what I said not constructive? The game was deigned to be played on a console. This means using a controller. If a person has a problem with playing a game because it was not optimized for keyboard and mouse, then Final Fantasy XIV is NOT the game for them.
That was the case for XI as the PC release was a port and not originally planned. XIV is being developed with the PC in mind as well this time so there is no reason for the controls to be superior on one platform over the other. Anyway there are plenty of console to PC ports (and vice versa) that have the expected optimised control systems on both platforms and I doubt FFXIV will be any different.
XI = Designed for controller.
XIV = Designed for controller OR mouse and keyboard.
Anything else would just be lazy on SE's part to be honest. If it is any different to what I have said in alpha at the moment then I doubt it will stay that way. If they want to draw in a new audience then they're going to have to offer some familiar controls for the PC users.
Whatever happens though I won't be bothered since I was fine with XI's controls on keyboard.