Comments from the guy who despised the UI enough to delete the game 4 times.

[kmunoz]

...it's a lot better.

Like, a lot a lot.

I will actually try to play it now!

The biggest change of course is eliminating the distinction in 3D space between icon and sprite. With that single change nearly all of the obfuscating clutter is gone.

I saw that there was a graphics update (I have avoided the game for a few weeks because it just made me angry trying to play) and I just installed it again for the 5th time at 10:15pm. I have to go to bed, so I can't actually play, but I was able to stay in the game for about 5 minutes. That's about 3 minutes longer than the last time I tried, and the only reason I had to quit is because I have to work in the morning.

I still have some quibbles (mainly involving distinctiveness and quick identifiability - I still feel the icons are information-poor) but right now the most significant complaint I have is moot, and I'm very excited to try to learn how the game works now that I don't have to constantly fight the playing field.

[x4000]

That's fantastic to hear!

Sorry for the frustration in the past, but you're right that this new style just "feels right" in general.

For the icons, those actually have more info than you might think (for the playing field), but on the left sidebar I plan to redo how that's handled quite a bit. I find the Local tab all but useless, personally, because of the icon fatigue it gives me.

[kmunoz]

I may get used to it, but for the moment the icons still look like shapeless blobs to me. For example, at a glance I can't really distinguish between a V-Wing icon and a Bomber icon, if my eyes are just sliding over them. I think most of that may be the thickness of the icon outline more than anything else.

[kmunoz]

I would also love to see the selection circles changed to something less obtrusive. Right now if I've got a bunch of corvettes in a line the whole thing looks like a distended Slinky. (And while we're at it, what's with the wiggling corvettes? I feel like that's a bug maybe?) I feel like it would be better visually if the color weren't white, or better yet, if the circles weren't full circles but maybe two quarter circles (one on either side of the unit), or a single mid-sized dot to one side, and definitely not white. You'd still know what was selected, it just wouldn't be so overpowering. (The white circles also currently have the effect of making the 3D models look like they're actually flat.)

[I-KP]

For the icons, those actually have more info than you might think (for the playing field), but on the left sidebar I plan to redo how that's handled quite a bit. I find the Local tab all but useless, personally, because of the icon fatigue it gives me.

I'd be interested to see what your plans are for the left tab.

I use the Local tab quite a lot; it's my primary means of selecting fleet Flagships (finding them and successfully clicking them on the planet map is a struggle) and to assess and locate dangerous objects. In a game where your asset icons are shown in many places but aren't clickable in all cases (or function awkwardly) I find the Local tab to be the only reliable way of selecting a thing.

I rarely use the Fleets tab, however. Maybe because it's a pretty horrible interface to be able to scan quickly. Confusing repetition; too much BOLD WHITE on everything, perhaps.

[kasnavada]

I rarely use the Fleets tab, however. Maybe because it's a pretty horrible interface to be able to scan quickly. Confusing repetition; too much BOLD WHITE on everything, perhaps.

I use 90% the fleet tabs for 2 reasons.

First because it tells me the numbers of the fleets so I can select them with, well, numbers.
Second because you can right click to select ALL fleets to move them. That includes citadels & battleships.

From the time I realized I could do this, the only time I go to the local tab is to right click on guard posts, as it centers on their position.

[I-KP]

The Local tab is also, as far as I've found, the only place where you can see how well a protracted battle is going in terms of raw numbers.

It's also easy to RMB center on tactical targets of importance, as well as quickly navigate your own assets.

If I want to tell all of my Fusion Bomber Wings to prioritise a target I can do that in the Local tab with two clicks. Can't do that from the Fleets tab.

All of the above actions can be done from the Planet map, sure, but far less easily as quite often you're looking at a giant melange of icons.

I do use the Fleet tab quite a lot; it's just as handy as the Local tab for moving assets from planet to planet. It's when you get into battles that I find the Fleets tab doesn't provide the same level of help, or offer the same amounf of information, that the Local tab does. Maybe there is a way to combine the two, or augment the FLeets table to take over some of the battle handiness of the Local tab.

[kasnavada]

That said, to me, the fleet tab should be a subscreen used to swap ship lines around and check fleet status.

And there should be a "fleet" category on the "local" tab (showing present fleets, enabling their selection & more important, their HOTKEY).

[kmunoz]

I should be able to get a list of the ships in a fleet when I hit the hotkey. They should show up on the lower right the same way they show up if I manually select them.

[kmunoz]

My original review on Steam was negative, almost exclusively on account of the UI. I had never before given a negative review to a game in early access, but I felt at the time it was justified because I believed that the game was too close to release for all the major changes I felt were needed to make the interface usable.

I was wrong, and I have changed my review to positive. 0.894 made the one remaining change that I felt was needed from way back then. I still have quibbles, but none of them cause me to bounce off the game anymore.

[Sounds]

That said, to me, the fleet tab should be a subscreen used to swap ship lines around and check fleet status.

And there should be a "fleet" category on the "local" tab (showing present fleets, enabling their selection & more important, their HOTKEY).

Slightly off topic, but just curious as to whether the UI is in its near final 1.0 stage?

The interface has some quirks and things that just don't work for myself (home,  lobby and in-game), but I'm reluctant to discuss them here if the horse has already bolted so to speak with tuning it further.

Is there a way I could mod to tinker with UI layout and flow; or is this something that not externalisable?

[Asteroid]

Slightly off topic, but just curious as to whether the UI is in its near final 1.0 stage?

The interface has some quirks and things that just don't work for myself (home,  lobby and in-game), but I'm reluctant to discuss them here if the horse has already bolted so to speak with tuning it further.

Is there a way I could mod to tinker with UI layout and flow; or is this something that not externalisable?

Chris plans to rework the sidebar before 1.0 to integrate fleets better with the Local tab. I believe he also would like to do something about control groups. Besides that my understanding is that it's mostly done, but there's no harm in exposing your point of view. Some things might be easy to tweak, others impossible in the current timeframe. Just keep your expectations low.

For modding the GUI, quite a bit is externalized already, out of the box, but you need to be proficient with Unity and C# coding to make anything more complicated than replacing an image. The time investment to understand how things are set up is significant.