The Daily Quest: Showing off your UI
by Elizabeth Harper 
Mar 15th 2010 at 9:00PM
Ah, the World of Warcraft user interface -- your screenshots are the vacation photo of a generation of gamers. We spend so much time tweaking and perfecting our user interface that we just have to share. And for those of us still in search of the perfect UI? Well, screenshots are better than an IKEA catalog. So what's in the offering today? A few bloggers and their UIs:
- Mystic Chicanery provides a State of the UI.
- Panzercow makes the obligatory UI post.
- Cranky Healer shows off an updated UI.
- Cannot be Tamed shows off a UI and then walks you through your major UI options, covering action bars, unit frames, key bindings, and combat text & notifications.
- Through the Eyes of a Tree points out useful healing addons.
- One More Alt helps us get started with Grid.
Filed under: Add-Ons, The Daily Quest
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
dippymister Mar 15th 2010 9:07PM
To be honest, the only one I like is the picture in the post. All of the other ones seem very cluttered/disorganized.
Spikeles Mar 15th 2010 9:59PM
From an aesthetic point of view, sure it's pretty and clean, but from a usability viewpoint, it could be better.
1. Player health is in top corner. The action is in the middle of the screen, it's probable the player will have trouble keeping track of his status like mana or health unless they have a mod like power auras to notify them. Move the player frame nearer to your character.
2. Raid frames are spread out across the screen. To move from someone on the left of the raid frames to the right requires a large movement of the mouse, the raid frames should ideally be bunched up to minimize movement, A grid like format is best for that.
3. Recount constantly displayed. Unless they are an officer, it should be hidden in combat, otherwise it's just a distraction.
The goal is to reduce hand and eye movement as much as possible saving your eyes from straining, your hand from moving too much, and your fellow players from dying because it took you .7secs to move your mouse to their frame instead of .4secs.
toddcore Mar 15th 2010 11:11PM
Spike,
Your concerns regarding the raid frames are only relevant for those playing a healing class. Since the screenshot clearly shows the player casting a Shadow Bolt I think it's very unlikely he'd need to rapidly target multiple raid members while in combat.
Hiding Recount in combat is also unnecessary for many people and wouldn't work well in a UI like this one where everything has a set place. Hiding that frame in combat would leave a useless, ugly, and likely even more distracting hole there.
I the biggest functional problems with this UI are the unit frame locations and the fact he only has 20 raid members displayed. Aesthetically it's nice but could use some substantial tweaking - the raid frames aren't perfectly centered over the bottom frames, and his dot timers and boss mod timers seem to be randomly placed and haven't been visually tweaked to fit with the other UI elements very well.
Expo Mar 15th 2010 11:30PM
Keeping tabs on one's own DPS is useless? I fail to see how this logic works.
Spikeles Mar 16th 2010 12:02AM
@toddcore
You are entirely correct my good man, i just saw the Jesus beams and assumed they were a shammy, i did wonder how they had their character so far down the bottom. Teach me not to pay attention.
BooDizz Mar 15th 2010 9:16PM
Clicker
Bobmcbob Mar 15th 2010 9:22PM
Hey, Kiddo from http://kiddiejournal.blogspot.com/ here - if I ever post anything great, please include it in The Daily Quest. Thanks!
elizabeth Mar 16th 2010 7:51PM
Actually already in my reader, actually, but thanks for the heads' up. :)
Jasyla Mar 15th 2010 9:35PM
Missed the post where I actually show my UI :)
http://cannotbetamed.blogspot.com/2010/03/user-interface-part-1-general-ui-info.html
omedon666 Mar 15th 2010 9:37PM
I take it this is the place to plug blogs, so, having recently converted my personal blog to a largely WoW blog from a casual/altoholic/RPer/social ovserver's POV, I'll just post a link to my "Tales from the Void"
http://omedon666.livejournal.com/
Recent topics include raid finder speculation and ideas, a "Stormrage" review, some RP fiction, and how to go "on strike" in the fourthcoming era of the 30 minute deserter debuff.
Kanap Mar 15th 2010 9:43PM
30 minute debuff rules what are you talking about?
Brittany Mar 15th 2010 9:39PM
Where is the link for the UI in the picture?? I agree with dippy, the others are ugly.
tabardsrock Mar 15th 2010 10:55PM
i agree as well
link it plz!! :D
toddcore Mar 15th 2010 11:11PM
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/02/reader-ui-of-the-week-fizziks-ui/
It was one of the most recent UI of the Week selections. The UI of the Week feature was linked in the post.
Chilblain Mar 15th 2010 11:29PM
Nothing wrong with the default UI. My map is a circle, not a square and somehow I find the strength to go on living.
splodesondeath Mar 16th 2010 12:30AM
The pictured UI was the last Reader UI featured.
Diavola Mar 16th 2010 12:59AM
I've been putting together a post about the evolution of my UI for awhile now. No better time to post it than now!
http://diavolademons.blogspot.com/2010/03/evolution-of-ui.html
Wolftech Mar 16th 2010 1:43AM
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/9928/uiinraid.jpg
Best UI on the planet.
Of course, I am just saying that because it is mine :)
r.a.johnsonjr88 Mar 16th 2010 3:55AM
That Looks like a modified LUI ui(http://www.wowinterface.com/downloads/info14130-LUI1680x1050.html)
correct me if im wrong but it just has so many simularities
hoods Mar 16th 2010 8:53AM
I actually think it's sufficiently different that it's unique.
I'd love to get my hands on it actually :p