Most boring user interface I have ever seen.

[MΛRCUS HΞLIUS]

I am sick and tired of seeing games come out with the most bland and textureless user interfaces... it's as if everything is trying to look like windows 10, which is a giant piece of ♥♥♥♥ anyway... game devs forget about the basics these days...

[Banzai]

Personally was glad of some familiarity (not just in the UI but also in some of the key concepts from EL) since there is a lot to take in in the wider game.

Agree with poster above about UI reskins appropriate for the different factions being a nice potential improvement.

[Eric Cartman]

I love the UI. It fits the game quite nicely.

[ElPrezCBF]

I'm aware the UI follows that of the earlier Endless titles, but that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement. Firstly, why do all the icons appear on the top left when the majority of players are right handers? They should appear on the top right, which makes it much more convenient to use. Or at least somewhere in the middle as a compromise.

Secondly, drop down lists in a master menu box like in Total War or EU would make it so much easier to locate specific systems, fleets, heroes or major/minor factions in the game wherever they are located. Currently, a list of planetary systems is missing and even if it's there, you would still have to locate the right icon and click on it to view the list. Minor factions are also missing in the diplomacy screen, which means you have to visually locate their system on the map to initiate diplomacy, which is a nightmare. The point is that screens with detailed info for each tech/economic/political etc system are good and should be retained. However, a separate "master menu box" with drop down lists should also be included in the UI, similar to what you see in Total War or EU. Its purpose is not to provide detailed info, but solely as a means for the player to easily access the detailed screens or locate the individual systems/fleets/factions without hassle. A huge advantage of such a UI is that you can have a large number of systems and minor factions etc and there's virtually no limit to that. Imagine squeezing 20 minor factions into the current diplomacy screen together with the major factions! In contrast to a list of them on the main UI. It could also free up space on the detailed UI screens to allow them to focus more on strategic aspects.

As a screenshot is worth a thousand words, here are some comparing the UIs of ES2, Total War, and EU4 so you can see the huge difference.

ES2
http://oi64.tinypic.com/107l892.jpg
http://oi67.tinypic.com/16blc13.jpg

Total War
http://oi65.tinypic.com/kafkw8.jpg
http://oi67.tinypic.com/33lefc6.jpg
http://oi67.tinypic.com/qqphg1.jpg
http://oi67.tinypic.com/dh6zv5.jpg

EU4
http://oi63.tinypic.com/2ahf6kh.jpg

[goredancer]

@ OP
1.Please try to wrap your head around these words: USER INTERFACE.
2.Please try to wrap your head around these words: FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION.

[:WTF: Grendel]

lmfao... OP doesn't have ES, EL, or ES2... me thinks troll has run amok lol

[Fraecker]

Marcus Helius eredeti hozzászólása:

Have a look at any of your favourite games from the 90's or early 2000's.

It has a reason while my favourite games from the 90's were at the 90's and not today ;-)

The UI is simple, clean, fast and effective, you see quick what you need, you can push fast the right things... i wished Windows had such an UI

[MΛRCUS HΞLIUS]

-=Sentor=- eredeti hozzászólása:

go home OP Troll

I am home... where the ♥♥♥♥ you think I posted this from, an internet cafe?

[MΛRCUS HΞLIUS]

goredancer eredeti hozzászólása:

@ OP
1.Please try to wrap your head around these words: USER INTERFACE.
2.Please try to wrap your head around these words: FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION.

That leaves no room for anything artistic or aesthetic, people had no trouble with a themed/textured UI before...

[AoX]

I don't like it either, I think it removes personality from the game. (case in point Endless Legends is heroic fantasy this is sci fi and it's the *same* interface design,)

But it has been amplitude's signature style since the beginning , they've been using it in all their games, kind of trademark, many people adore it so I guess everybody else just has to suck it up and focus on the other aspects of the games that we may like. Because they quite simply will not change it, pretty sure we're in a pretty big minority disliking it.

[ElPrezCBF]

AoX eredeti hozzászólása:

I don't like it either, I think it removes personality from the game. (case in point Endless Legends is heroic fantasy this is sci fi and it's the *same* interface design,)

But it has been amplitude's signature style since the beginning , they've been using it in all their games, kind of trademark, many people adore it so I guess everybody else just has to suck it up and focus on the other aspects of the games that we may like. Because they quite simply will not change it, pretty sure we're in a pretty big minority disliking it.

I have to disagree. No one has to "suck up" to the original game's UI. Game UIs evolve over time to incorporate improvements, and the only question is the extent of difference. Look at Civ or Total War and how their UIs improved over time. Is there still room for improvement? Obviously. But at least they care enough about improving the UI with new releases even if I have gripes in other areas.

[Fallaner, the Writer Eternal]

Idlihx10 eredeti hozzászólása:

AoX eredeti hozzászólása:

I don't like it either, I think it removes personality from the game. (case in point Endless Legends is heroic fantasy this is sci fi and it's the *same* interface design,)

But it has been amplitude's signature style since the beginning , they've been using it in all their games, kind of trademark, many people adore it so I guess everybody else just has to suck it up and focus on the other aspects of the games that we may like. Because they quite simply will not change it, pretty sure we're in a pretty big minority disliking it.

I have to disagree. No one has to "suck up" to the original game's UI. Game UIs evolve over time to incorporate improvements, and the only question is the extent of difference. Look at Civ or Total War and how their UIs improved over time. Is there still room for improvement? Obviously. But at least they care enough about improving the UI with new releases even if I have gripes in other areas.

This isn't really UI improvement though, unless you consider needless graphical alterations to be an improvement.

I personally don't, and I quite like how they are positioned and set up. I'm pretty sure i'm part of the majority on this.

[ElPrezCBF]

Fallaner eredeti hozzászólása:

Idlihx10 eredeti hozzászólása:

I have to disagree. No one has to "suck up" to the original game's UI. Game UIs evolve over time to incorporate improvements, and the only question is the extent of difference. Look at Civ or Total War and how their UIs improved over time. Is there still room for improvement? Obviously. But at least they care enough about improving the UI with new releases even if I have gripes in other areas.

This isn't really UI improvement though, unless you consider needless graphical alterations to be an improvement.

I personally don't, and I quite like how they are positioned and set up. I'm pretty sure i'm part of the majority on this.

Improving the look which the op is talking about is subjective. Improving the user friendliness of the UI is not. If you played those other games I mentioned, you'll understand why it's not "needless".

[Ciros]

Nats eredeti hozzászólása:

DARK DRAGON eredeti hozzászólása:

That is called skeuomorphic design. It was pioneered by Apple. But its not in fashion now.
The current trend is towards flat design (for better or worse - I find it better). One of the reasons is that it is light, which is important for mobile, not so important for PC.

It takes very strong opinion to go against the current trends - when it is not a core area for the company.

For example, 200 years ago gentlemen used to wear wigs and powder them. What if someone wore them now?

Nice answer.

As we keep seeing trends cycle around all the time, so your wig analogy is irrelevant.

It can still be "light" and "beefy" at the same time. Even a slight Cour change would make me happy. When you're on the galaxy map there's nothing to make you feel you're playing as the vod or soph.

[ElPrezCBF]

To address the OP's issue, I think there's no harm having slight variations in the UI for different factions to bring out their identity more. It would also feel more immersive at least for players like me. This concept has been implemented as early as Med 2 Total War or perhaps even earlier in other games. I know I keep mentioning TW but the series has been around long enough to learn some lessons from its evolution.

[Fallaner, the Writer Eternal]

Idlihx10 eredeti hozzászólása:

Fallaner eredeti hozzászólása:

This isn't really UI improvement though, unless you consider needless graphical alterations to be an improvement.

I personally don't, and I quite like how they are positioned and set up. I'm pretty sure i'm part of the majority on this.

Improving the look which the op is talking about is subjective. Improving the user friendliness of the UI is not. If you played those other games I mentioned, you'll understand why it's not "needless".

I have played Total War (medieval 2, Shogun 2 and Warhammer), and I have Civ 5. I am well aware of what those user interfaces look like.

The current interface seems to be extremely user friendly to me. I can find everything I need very easily, and it's all well organized.

You still seem to be in a minority by thinking it isn't, otherwise I'm sure Amplitude would of changed it from their previous games.