Reader UI of the Week: Kraayliis of Azuremyst
by Eliah Hecht 
Jun 5th 2009 at 2:00PM
After a bit of a break, Reader UI returns with a nice set-up from Kraayliis, a Death Knight on Azuremyst-US (view large). Here's what he had to say:
I've just been working on setting up a clean UI that still retains the look and feel of a full UI while still minimizing the amount of clutter on-screen. I'm currently running WoW @ 1920x1080 resolution. This is my first shot at designing a UI so I just wanted to toss this out there to see what people would think.
I started using Btex for the background a few weeks ago and couldn't find what I wanted so I decided to draw my own.
Well, Kraay (may I call you Kraay?), I like it. I can't say I'm usually a fan of using big art panels to cover up valuable screen real estate, but you make it work well. I especially like the compass rose shape around the minimap, and the brass pipes and pipe fittings around the top of the bottom section.
I also really like how neatly the various information displays are tucked away, the buff timer bars on the left, and the presences and experience bars on the right. Overall this reader does a great job accomplishing is stated goal of minimizing clutter while retaining the feel of a "full" UI. It's not what I would use - I tend more minimalist myself - but for what it is, it's pretty cool.
Here's his list of what addons he's using:
What can be seen onscreen:
AlphaMap: Configurable map in a separate frame with transparency options
Ara_Broker_Tradeskills: LibDataBroker plugin for information about tradeskills and shared cooldowns
Atlas: instance maps
AuctionLite: A lighter auction-house mod
Bagnon: All your bags in one frame, and more
Bartender4: Action bars
BrokerProfessions: LibDataBroker access to your profession interfaces
BrokerTransit: LDB access to teleport spells and items
Btex: Customize textures at the bottom of the screen
ButtonFacade: Reskin your action buttons
Deadly Boss Mods: Information and alerts for raid bosses
DoubleWide: Puts your quest log into two side-by-side areas, one for quest listing and one for description
LightHeaded: Wowhead information and comments in your quest log
MinimapButtonFrame: Puts all your minimap buttons in a separate movable frame
picoFriends: LDB friends display
picoGuild: LDB guild member display
Postal: Enhanced features for your in-game mailbox
Prat-3.0: Chat enhancements and customization
QBar: Dynamic action bar for quest items
RicoMiniMap: Mini-map shape, coordinate, and transparency customization
SatrinaBuffFrame: Replacement buff frame
Skada: Damage meter
SmartBuff: Automate and facilitate buffing
Titan: Bar display for LDB and other data sources
tomQuest2: Quest tracking frame for LDB
TomTom: Coordinates, waypoints, and in-game arrows
TourGuide: Interactive leveling/questing guides
XPBarNone: Lightweight XP bar
XPerl: Unit frames
Addons that aren't seen most of the time:
BankStack: Sorts and compresses your inventory, bank, and guild bank
FreeRefills: Automatically restock items
GoGoMount: One-key mounting solution
GraphPaper: Configurable grid to help you align your UI
HideBlizzard: Hide Blizzard default frames
SellFish: Shows vendor prices for items
Viewport: Change the size of the area in which the game is rendered
Interested in getting the most out of your user interface? Check back once a week for more examples of reader UIs! Or for more details on individual addons, check out AddOn SpotlightFiled under: Add-Ons, Reader UI of the Week, Death Knight
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Yuri Jun 5th 2009 2:08PM
Very nice. Clean efficient and easy on the eye. May have to "borrow" this look.
Zerbe Jun 5th 2009 2:16PM
I like the layout; thats how I have mine, bar stack at bottom middle, UFs in the lower middle, but Im not a big fan of the panels, nice look though, great effort.
One thing I do like about this column is the addon lists, I always like to see if there is a better more efficient or generally better liked addon that the one Im using for something.
Sicadastra Jun 5th 2009 2:17PM
Not bad, I like the balanced feel, although I agree I like to leave as much open space as possible rather than filling background graphics. But the addon Viewport sounds like it might actually make that a moot point since it means your panels aren't actually covering the game area. I'm pretty excited about trying it (I play at 1920x1200 widescreen).
On a semi related addon note, does anyone know of any simple checklist/task list sort of addons? Something I could put in what I want to accomplish for a session and mark it off as I go?
Naix Jun 5th 2009 2:24PM
Whoooo there! That UI has waaay too much stuff going on.
wrkngfire Jun 5th 2009 2:30PM
Nice!
CoryBishop Jun 5th 2009 2:29PM
Nice UI, I'd have to agree though that I don't like unnecceary artwork taking up space. I take it that SatrinaBuffFrame is the addon showing his buff cooldowns on the left hand side of the screen, does this work for target debuffs too? I may have to get that addon.
I like this column, gives me some ideas for revamping my UI. I generally like mine except when in raid when it gets a little cluttered.
Yeng Jun 5th 2009 7:22PM
I noticed he's using Viewport, so he's not actually 'covering up' anything. The screen is rendered in the part visible.
Radiophonic Jun 5th 2009 2:36PM
All this mention of LibDataBroker...wth is it?
Leviathon Jun 5th 2009 2:39PM
To use LDB mod you get a mod such as Fortress or DockingStation then download the LDB plugins. It is similar to Titanbar and Fubar but better.
Leviathon Jun 5th 2009 2:37PM
I dislike UIs that have a quarter of the screen taken up by a image. Bit too much going on too.
Tink Jun 5th 2009 2:45PM
Every time I see another UI from someone claiming to want a "clean" and "uncluttered" interface I have to ask several questions:
1) Where are the raid frames and/or how are these integrated into your design?
2) Where are your party frames and/or how are these integrated?
3) Where do the DBM (pvp & raid as well as boss hp balance) bars go when they appear?
4) Where does your focus frame go?
5) Where are all your special class specific buff and debuffs bars/timer showing up?
6) Are there any CD timers and where do these appear?
7) If you are using decursive and/or healbot or other healing assit mods, where does this show up?
8) Where does Omen, Recount (if used) show up?
9) What about cast bars?
10) Where do pet and vehicle unit frames and control bars show up?
11) Where do ORA frames showing up?
and on and on and on.
There are so many invisible things that need to be organized into a working interface that it gets ridiculous so when I see another "clean" interface, it becomes much more about what I don't see than what I do. I've been a UI designer for for over 20 years and I can appreciate the difficulty in organizing and managing large amounts of information for a game like WoW. It's anything but easy. In WoW, I'm constantly organizing and arranging my interface for the most efficient flow of information, visual appeal, and maximum performance of the user in whatever situation they may find themselves in.
So show me a WoW interface with all these elements as they may appear in a battleground or raid situation that has minimally obscured view of the action and easy access too all necessary information and controls. So while making an interface pretty is certainly a fun thing to do, it becomes a real challenge when you try to make it functional in all situations while maintaining a consistency in your design.
M Jun 5th 2009 2:55PM
He's running at 1920x1080, and has the combat log showing. He's not going to do much beyond 10-mans with any kind of decent frame rate.
I always hear about people who brag about having 100 FPS (or whatever) in 25-mans with full graphics, but they never say what resolution they use.
I think this UI is beautiful, though missing a lot of information useful in raids. Good job.
Jarviswabi Jun 5th 2009 3:04PM
I agree--for raiders, the true measure of a good UI is how well it works in a raid with all the extra stuff on screen. I spent days adopting a SpartanUI-based layout because I loved the idea of having the top 2/3 of the screen empty. But then I realized when I put up Grid, DBM, buff bars, debuff bars, etc, for a raid, I lost a decent amount of that space. I still like it, but these "clean" UIs are rarely actually as clean as they look in the screenshots.
I like the neatness of this guy's bottom panel, although for me, there is too much space used up by non-functional elements. I would squeeze a few more bars in there so I know I have all my keybinds covered.
Brett Jun 5th 2009 5:34PM
I have an Nvidia GTX260 and 8Gb of RAM and run the game on my 22" in 1680x1050 full graphics in 25man with about 70fps.
My latency is about 100ms too btw.
Caed Jun 5th 2009 10:37PM
You raise some good points regarding UI design, Tink. I'd be very interested to see what your UI looks like. Personally, this UI doesn't do much for me; mainly because of the space-filling decoration at bottom. It looks like 20-30% of the bottom area is completely unused. I certainly emphasise function over form when I am trying to create a new UI- although the two are not mutually exclusive.
One thing that often crosses my mind while designing a UI is: what does one really NEED to see? As a raiding Arms warrior (;_;), I don't actually need to know the health of my fellow raid members. I don't need to see my buffs, or anyone elses. I don't need to know my DPS during a fight. In the majority of fights, I don't even need to be aware of my threat. I have very few cooldowns to track (and my scrolling combat text informs me when they come back up). If I wanted to be absolutely minimal, I don't really need to see my damage done or the raid damage being done to me, and I know my keybindings well enough to not need to see my bars at all. The one thing I DO need to see is the raid environment and my various raid mods and timers, and without a huge amount of clutter on my screen, it is easy to keep track of these. It's a lot easier to not stand in fire when the fire isn't obscured by a reputation bar or Grid.
While I realise that I have much more freedom to clean up my UI as a non-utility DPS, I think everyone should really consider what they actually need to see during a fight. Healers need Grid, and many DPS classes need to keep track of cooldowns and timers- but NeedToKnow, or ClassTimers can display all relevant timers without using a huge amount of space on the screen. Do you need that giant glowing cast bar? Do you need to see your mana-regen ability EVERY TICK? Do you need to see how long the random proc which you have no control over is going to be up for? Do you need eight bars, with every possible spell and item and daily quest item and your hearthstone and three mounts and four pets stuck on them? This being said, my current UI does display Omen and Recount. When you have removed all extraneous information, these is enough room for a little bit of e-peen monitoring :-P
Summer Jun 7th 2009 1:40AM
Not everyone raids.
Eternauta Jun 5th 2009 2:44PM
Awesome UI!
impurezero Jun 5th 2009 2:56PM
Snazzy...
I'm personally still using the standard UI, but this one looks pretty good.
Ookami.kun Jun 5th 2009 3:12PM
Personally I like it. I have to admit I'd like to know where some of the other pertinent information is located on the screen (Raid/Party frames, etc), but I'd also like to know if he's put this out as a compilation cause I'd live to load it up on my system and give it a try. :)
Akiotena Jun 5th 2009 3:39PM
I think it's a great looking layout for solo and small group play. For a first effort in creating a background, nice job!
I do have to wonder where his DK's runes are, though. :) Extra things like runes, shaman totem icons, pet action bars, etc. tend to be a pain to incorporate in compact UIs.