Reader UI of the Week: Akirah's UI
by Mathew McCurley 
Jan 11th 2011 at 2:00PM
Hello, friends. As I was creating the little folder for this reader UI in my big WoW Insider folder dealie, I noticed that this column is my 49th Reader UI of the Week. That makes next week my 50th Reader UI of the Week column. I've been doing this for 50 weeks. Let me try to swallow that. Anything I should do special for # 50?
This week is going to be fun! Akirah, a night elf mage, is going to show us a nice, neat UI and potentially get a lesson in conservation with action bars. Action bars are one of those user interface elements that have crazy amounts of customization and the same amount of approaches and viewpoints. Join me, won't you?
Take it away, Akirah:
Dear Mathew,
My name is Akirah and I'm a night elf mage on the EU Server Darksorrow and also a proud member of the guild Final Evolution! I have only recently started messing with UIs, so I'm not really an "expert" with them. On my old UI, I have tried to make it as simple as possible with only a few important things showing. I too have decided to come up with a 100% recustomized UI for Cataclysm. I have started the process by drawing it out on paper and planning it in a quick sketch. The plan was to make the UI show important information for raiding but also not to block my vision, so I came up with the gap in the middle style UI and I find it very useful because it may look like half my screen is blocked off, but when you actually play and you eyes are on your character, it feels like there is nothing blocked off. It is easy to see and locate clear information and I would say it is also a suitable UI for PvP. For future improvements, I think I will try and make the whole UI smaller and more compact. When I'm playing, I usually don't look at my spell bar unless I'm looking at trinket or long spell cooldowns. All in all, I think it's a great UI and perfect for raiding, everyday use.
The addons used to create this UI are :
- Baugbag a much clearer way to see bags and also to see all bags in 1 large window
- Bartender4 to move the spellbar, and other customization to the spellbar
- ButtonFacade customize the look of the Spell Buttons
- CrapAway when talking to a vendor, it will automatically sell all of my grey items
- CombustionHelper very handy addon for fire mages, has a cooldown window showing the cd on living bomb , ignite , frostfirebolt / stack; helps to increase DPS
- Grid a customizable raid frame.
- KgPanels to create the background images to make the whole UI look neat
- PitBull4 unit frames for character and enemy
- Prat the customizable chat window
- Recount damage meter
- TidyPlates customizable target / enemy name plate
I have included three pictures in this email: one showing my old UI on my old mage Spaceworm, who was arcane in Wrath; another picture showing my current UI after my race change on Akirah; and a third picture where I have labelled the second picture with each addon name.
Thank you for reading!
Akirah
Thanks for the email and submission, Akirah! Let's hit the ground running, extrapolate the finer points of Akirah's UI, and maybe even give some advice on trimming things down even more.
When I saw Akirah's original UI, I liked the slimness and the minimalism, but I knew that there wasn't enough present to give anyone a really comprehensive experience playing WoW -- well, not for me, anyway. I like more information and having more tools and elements at my disposal. The minimalism is fine, but four lines of chat would kill my minimalist tendencies in a flash. I just can't do it.
So after seeing the screenshots and the addon list for Akirah's new offering, I understood where and why the changes needed to take place. First, you'll see a comprehensive action bar array, sporting everything from the raiding abilities to the mage utility spells and more. I think I even see Guild Page and basic campfire in there.
Words about action bars
Action bars have always been a double-edged sword for me, mostly because it is so easy to get caught up in putting things on action bars for ready use. The problem comes from the notion that many of these abilities might not get the amount of use you think. Consider the Guild Page (if that's what I'm even seeing, and not some macro using the guild page icon -- if that's the case, ignore me.) The Guild Page is a reward from the guild achievement Horde Slayer / Alliance Slayer and has an 8-hour cooldown that allows you to purchase guild rewards on the go. You will only be using this item every 8 hours, probably not on cooldown each and every 8 hours. So then, why does something like the Guild Page deserve a coveted action bar slot?
I guess all of this is predicated on holding action bars in the same reverance that I do, at least as sacred spaces that are only for those abilities you're going to need to use. Something like OPie or smaller utility bars are what I would prescribe, but then we have the added double-edged sword of the symmetry involved.
Akirah's UI is symmetrical, and I like that. The "hole" in the middle of the user interface is there for a very specific purpose -- so the viewer can see what's going on right under the character. And as we already know, Cataclysm has a lot of "don't stand in the crap" mechanics going for it. So while this is a good, forward-looking design, it negates the fact that the camera can be pulled out a bit father on a shorter UI and achieve a similar effect.
Akirah is right, though. Most of the time, when I'm playing and in the zone, so to speak, the UI disappears and my focus remains on the game world. Opening that space up will accelerate that process. In the future, Akirah hopes to trim things down a bit, and the first place I would start is on the action bars and their height. Grid is a good thing to have, but as a DPSer, I don't even think it needs to be as large as it is. Even if, as a mage, Akirah were in charge of dispelling some type of debuff from an encounter, Grid can be set up in a myriad of ways that show that debuff prominantly on a smaller Grid setup.
Wrappin' up
I like Akirah's UI, and I think that with a little work and a little deep thought on what the action bars really need to hold, that this will be an amazing setup in the near future. Take what you have learned from the original UI (which almost feels too sparse) and combine it with the knowledge you have illustrated in the second version. You're on your way to your perfect interface, but you've already got something good going. Keep it up!
Interested in getting the most out of your user interface? Come back once a week for more examples of reader UIs. For more details on individual addons, check out Addon Spotlight, or visit Addons 101 for help getting started.Filed under: Add-Ons, Reader UI of the Week
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ali Ahmed Jan 11th 2011 2:04PM
Awsome, does it have a download link or anything..i would like it on my boomkin :)
Ash Jan 11th 2011 2:21PM
I'm inspired to redo my own UI now. And I am reminded to get Prat, woohoo.
tabardsrock Jan 11th 2011 2:22PM
that's a very nice ui! me likey... definitely gets me thinking of redoing mine...
question though: i currently use CTmod and like it. however, im not a huge fan of the changes they've made to CTbuffmod, so are there any suggestions for a standalone buff addon out there?
Pyromelter Jan 11th 2011 2:29PM
As the resident UI curmudgeon, I'm not a huge fan. Complaints:
Where is she tracking her procs and dots? If it's on the pitbull unitframe, that's a bit small and difficult.
Where is the minimap?
Dislike the hole in the middle. She could squish everything down and make the overall bottom panel thinner.
Default Buffs? Ew.
While I like that there is actually a SS in a raid, it still is good to see what it looks like in combat, and what she is doing with combat tracking.
Finally, and this is a big pet peeve, showing 25 people out of a 40 man raid. I'm sorry, I know there's only 2 bg's where that happens (well 3 if you include Tol Barad), but any UI that shows 5/8ths of a raid is not a good one IMO.
Where is omen? I can see omitting it if this person will never do a dungeon or raid, but it seems strange to be omitted.
The grid units are too large, the prat chat box is too large, recount can be squished down.
Bluegrass Geek Jan 11th 2011 3:18PM
... You're worried about only showing 25 people when you admit the only place 40-mans happen anymore are two battlegrounds?
Helios Jan 11th 2011 3:19PM
What is the resolution you have to work with there?
Pyromelter hit a lot of good points. Quartz or TellMeWhen would help for combat timing. Satrina Buff Frames is nice for your buff/debuff layout. Also, Chinchilla Minimap is a solid minimap addon that allows you to configure its shape to fit your UI.
It looks like the setup is a good base to work from. Here are some adjustments I could see working. Push Bartender down stacking only three high, but longer filling in the empty space and extending to the right side of the screen. Stack Grid on top of the right side of bartender along the rightside of the screen. Press Prat down and out the the left side of the screen. Stack Recount (or Skada) on top of it along the left side. It would not be perfectly symmetric, but would be more usable imo.
wow Jan 11th 2011 3:30PM
Take 2 at posting a message!
(s?)he reckons they use "CombustionHelper" as a dot/CD etc tracker. Which isl fine and dandy... unless it covers the much toted 'hole' in his UI. (bets on it does, its a pity that (once again!) we don't have a combat shot to confirm/deny)
Also, gogogo repeated information, displaying the player buffs twice (once ontop of his player unit frame, and once in the top right corner).
Do you really use all 60 buttons regularly? Maybe we need a club... action bar abusers anonymous.
Bar that I echo pretty much everything Pyromelter says.
Saeadame Jan 11th 2011 3:41PM
On the threat note, they could use a subset of Tidy Plates like Tidy Plates: Threat, in which case omen is not required because your threat on a target is visually represented.
MrJackSauce Jan 11th 2011 3:50PM
I gotta be honest. None of my toons use Omen anymore. I have no threat meter in my addon folder. Unless you count tidy plates: threat plate. In which case I have the greatest and the only threat warning you will ever need.
DaShiVa01 Jan 11th 2011 3:51PM
Just on the omen/threat note:
TityPlates (Which I use and love) Has built in threat tracking.
The little bars over mobs heads can be set up to a) change colour based on if you have aggro or not - which is great also for tanks picking off 'the mob that got away' and b) show sliders to indicate the threat pull point.
This means for me, as a mage, that I am watching the action - the mob I have targetted, and I have a little threat indicator I am trying my damndest to push to the top... I mean, er, to keep from reaching the top.
I will admit, however, it's not perfect - sometimes those bars are off the top of the screen, which is sometimes able to be fixed with scrolling zoom out, sometimes not.
But, again, as a mage (both he and myself) - With even a mediocre tank, it's all but impossible for us to pull threat without a RNG super (un)lucky string of crits.
wow Jan 11th 2011 3:58PM
And you can ALWAYS see the nameplates of every mob including giant bosses whos name plates go through the roof?
Although I will say that displaying threat through name plates is brilliant for AoE situations (Maloriak I'm looking at you here)
wow Jan 11th 2011 4:00PM
raid lead:"Why did you pull agro?"
raider:"Couldn't see the bosses name plate, didn't know I was pulling agro, the boss is to big"
Yes I'm sure that will go down well. Don't worry, I'm sure the raid will offer to chain baby spice the boss for you.
The Angry Intern Jan 11th 2011 5:24PM
I was wondering where the minimap was as well. Also don't like the hole in the middle. Get CT_Viewport to "squish" the viewable area slightly and leave a blank area for everything on the bottom, that way you see everything that's around your character.
Pyromelter Jan 11th 2011 6:26PM
Nice thoughts everyone. I'd like to respond to Jack:
Tidy plates threat plates is best for groups of mobs. You're right in that you don't really need omen for that.
What you DO need Omen for is boss encounters. Now, maybe I'm in the minority, but I threat cap tanks like crazy. This is especially important when you outgear your tank, but in wrath, I was threat capping like a mofo with my gear being inferior to tanks. Pulling aggro on a boss can easily mean a wipe.
Also, remember mechanics like sindragosa, if you are ranged. Threat cap is 130% in ranged, but 110% in melee. So normally, you are good at 120%. However, Sindy did an AoE death grip. I saw more than one caster at the 110-120% range of threat on that encounter get oneshot, because that deathgrip pulls you into melee, and she turns and smacks you because you pulled aggro after coming into melee at over 110% threat.
Omen also helps on big adds you are trying to burn down that you don't want to pull threat on.
In regards to the UI, she could just shrink the prat chat frame and easily set Omen in there while maintaining that space.
I guess I'll respond to the 40 man raid thing. Maybe it's just me, but I like being able to see the raid frame of all my teammates. I kind of just feel like it's a bit sloppy and incomplete. I don't know about grid, but I know in pitbull, you can set the size of the frames based on the type of raid you are in. So I can have a 25 and a 40 man raid take up the same amount of screen space by having the units shrunk down in the 40man setup.
Last time I tried grid, I wasn't able to set that up, which is why I stayed with pitbull for raid frames - because even though it's an unbelievably long process, I was able to fit it in exactly how I wanted, which I could not accomplish with grid no matter how much I played around with it.
Bluegrass Geek Jan 11th 2011 3:16PM
I can't seem to find "baugbag" online. Any help?
DarkSoul Jan 11th 2011 3:26PM
Baudbag:
http://www.wowinterface.com/downloads/info18281-BaudBagWoW4.01.html
Trilynne Jan 11th 2011 4:27PM
I just switched from Xperl and a bunch of others to SpartanUI, which basically does what I was trying to achieve on my own with much less fiddling(when you have 11 characters you like to play[yes, I'm an altaholic] fiddling can mean the death of an addon). However, one crucial thing is missing: the screen flashing when I'm at low health and should pop a cooldown(as a tank). Is powerauras the best way to get this affect, or is there another? I find powerauras difficult to get working >.>
Babaloo Jan 11th 2011 4:33PM
I don't know if this is just me, but all of these UIs are all beginning to look the same. I don't know why, but they all seem pretty much carbon copies of eachother, some more tailored for their class or role, but overall the same. One of the standouts still has to be Fizzik's UI.
Samual Barshow Jan 11th 2011 4:55PM
Anyone know of a good lightweight Questlog tracker replacement? One that i can change font, size, location, and such?
Taina Jan 13th 2011 7:13AM
Does anyone know the name of the font that has been used on the lower picture?