Reader UI of the Week fans, I have a few announcements before we begin this week's thrilling tale of interface creation and customization. First, we've switched over to a new email address for reader UI submissions. The new email is readerui@wowinsider.com. New email address! Use it! Good times. Submit!

Second, I'm pretty close to finishing up my panels for distribution, but I'm looking for a free hosting solution. If you have any recommendations, email me at mat@wowinsider.com with the subject "Panels hosting ideas."

All right, let's get on to business. So far, this expansion has been pretty great for user interface customization. We've got new UI elements for the player and even for boss encounters like Atramedes, Nefarian, and Cho'gall. The user interface is more important than ever!

This week, we're going to look at Razariel's UI, a dual-purpose DPS/resto shaman setup that lives mostly in solo and 5-man content. Razariel's setup is one based on paring down addons to a manageable level while still keeping the fun alive with portraits and a heavy amount of free space.

Whatcha got for me, Razariel?

Mat,

I actually sent this to you a few weeks ago, but I've made some improvements since then and I felt that I should send it off to you again.

My UI has evolved over many ,many years of playing WoW. It started off soon after hitting 70 (I really got into playing WoW after BC). It started off with a big ol' block of button bars (10 long by 5 high) so I could put everything on my screen. And I did mean everything. I had so many mods at one point that it would take a good four to five minutes to load into the game. Come 80, I quickly realized what a problem that was and began paring down. When the Cataclysm struck, I pared down even further, killing out all the mods that I never used. I'm down to some very simple, very easy mods now, keeping it with just what I need.

A list of mods:

• Shadowed Unit Frames
• Satrina Buff Frames
  
• Bartender
  
• Totem Timers
  
• MarkerBar
  
• Recount
  
• SexyMap
  
• Omen
  
• CollectMe
  
• Tipsy
  
• Chocolate Bar and various Brokers
  
• Tidyplates
  

Starting with soloing: I'm a very casual player. I play a lot of heroics and a lot of soloing. I'd love to raid more, but time simply hasn't allowed for it. I'm a healer by trade, so my interface was eventually designed around that. I am also a very visual person. I like to see and experience things. Minimalism is good -- I like my screen space and I like to see the world. But minimalism to the point where I can barely tell there is a UI is not good.

So you have my soloing screen.

1. This is my info. I toyed around with HUDs for a while but disliked the clutter they left in my screen. In the end, after a few Reader UI of the Week columns, I settled in on the long bar avatar style. I like it because it gives a bit of personality to each of the bars and keeps me entertained. You'll quickly see that my UI is designed to keep all the really important information in the same spot, where I can quickly see it. As I typically solo as enhancement, my Spirit Wolves bar shows up above this bar as well.

2. Sexy Map is good, and the Simple Map is fine and dandy, but I get lost real easy. So I've created a spot for the zone minimap. I needed something to balance out the chat frame anyways, and I don't like having Omen open all the time. Above and below is the Markerbar -- I found that I needed to do the marking a lot in the beginning of Cataclysm. Now the tanks are finally understanding CC again, but every now and then ...

3 and 4. This is Totem Timers. I don't like ShockAndAwe's look -- I prefer the buttons to bars. As the shields need to be pushed the most often, they are within quick reach of my normal buttons (even though I use keys, it's still where my eyes are, and where my hands usually are.) Also down there is the CollectMe Random pet button. I love random pets.

5. Recount. It balances out the map. I think it is a necessary evil to see when someone is really under-performing. I don't like meter races, but you can't find the under-performers without tracking the top guys too.

6 and 7. These are my extra bars. I keep profession buttons, sometimes useful spells (Water Walking and Breathing) and mounts on here. I could get a mount button, but I like to pick and choose.

8. Buffs. All buffs I get go up here. Its not usually very important to keep track of the buffs, but I like it for personal knowledge. Its why It's up there at the top, out of the way, for interest sake and nothing else. Chocolatebar is also there. You might notice two clocks. Left is server time right is local time. Its not that hard to do it in my head, but it balances out the Cords broker.

Moving on to the Party Screen.

1) Here you can see where my simple UI comes out. My regular self bar is surrounded by everything I'll need for healing. Focus on the left, target on the right, party right above. I haven't yet raided in Cataclysm, but Raid would override party with thin bars that fit into roughly the same place. As I'm a shaman, I have a few party buffs set to show up - Riptide, Earth shield, Earthliving weapon - all these show up on party members so I know where the Hots are. Also, anything that my Cleanse can cure shows up here in big boxes, so I can quickly and easily find who needs to be cured.

2) Since Zone maps don't seem to show up in Dungeons (or at least, as far as I can figure out) I put something fun and nifty here. Target focus, with a REALLY big picture frame. Like I said, I am a visual person, and I like to see things. When you're staring at the bars taking your eyes to far away from them during healing can mean a wipe. This way I can keep an eye out for the right time to Bloodlust, and still see the boss.

3 and 4) Totem timers again, though you can't see it here I have Sheepwatch at 3 (It works perfectly with Hex) and the Armor Condition man is at 4.

5) Recount again.

6 and 7) Nothing really different here, other than showing Omen.

8) You can see more buffs, and DBM.

9) This is where the debuffs show up, Obviously there were none at this current stage of the fight. But rather than have my debuffs clutter my nice clean party screen, I have them here.

Since minizone maps don't seem to show up in Dungeons (or at the very least, I never figured it out).

This UI grew from a desire to keep things together for healing, yet not obscure the pretty pretty world. I play enough text games, when I sign into WoW I want to see. I tried for a while having panels, even custom artwork with kgPanels, but the very fact that you either had big blank spots or your Party frames were outside the panel always upset me. Without the panels and a minimalist approach that grows upward as more information becomes available I never feel like there are big empty blocks in my design, nor do I feel like new parts don't properly fit in with the setup. Holes in my UI where there could be information upsets me, so every spot is filled (with proper spacing allowed for of course) with something. If there is nothing there, then I know that current area is not something I have to worry about (Hex timers for instance).

Razariel - Stormreaver. Level 85 Shaman, Enhancement/Resto

Thanks for the email and submission, Razariel. One thing that stands out to me immediately about Razariel's setup is that the lack of borders or background elements does not throw me off as much as I thought it would. Mostly, this comes from the fact that (in the group setup, at least) the portraits are separate enough from the world and have enough of a border of their own that you don't need the delineation of a kgPanels black box, or something similar.

Working around the edges

Most user interfaces that I see follow the "work around the edges" approach to addon and element management. This stems from two things. First, the original MMO screens used this type of setup to show your character in the middle of the screen (or in original Everquest's case, you in first person) and the elements of the user interface framing the viewable screen. Second, I think it must be our innate desire to have the important things centered and keep our character smack in the middle, which commands our focus. The outer rim is tricky sometimes on smaller monitors, but it works nonetheless.

Razariel is at a point in his WoW career that addons around the edges are manageable and almost needed. An open objectives pane open during leveling and questing is a good example of something that belongs on the outer rim. The target focus idea, with the large frame and portrait, is another great idea for the outer rim, allowing Razariel quick access to that information. As a healer especially, focus targets are a wonderful benefit -- almost as cool as Warhammer's "friendly target/enemy target" system, which I would love to see in WoW at some point.

Here's a tip or two for working with UI elements along the edge of the screen. If your addon has an option for a "justify" or "align," make sure it is set to whatever side you're placing the addon. If you're going to put an addon on the left side of the screen, make it justify left, and you'll have a clean edge to butt up against the side of your screen. Another tip is to make sure the addon or UI element isn't "clamping" to the screen. This prevents the addon from fitting as snugly as it otherwise could. Sexymap, for instance, has an option to turn off the clamping, making it easy to put the addon firmly in the corner of your screen.

Layers

Good multi-layer interface design has multiple elements existing in the same place, but never at the same time, and acting in a cohesive fashion. Razariel opted to place his minimap in the corner of his UI; during instances, the minimap goes away, making room for his focus target portrait. Many people set up the same multi-layered effect with Skada/Recount and Omen. While in combat, you have a threat meter present, and while out of combat, you have a DPS meter available to check stats and see how the fight progressed in terms of numbers.

To make good layers, look for each interface element that exists in one situation but not in another. The minimap is a good choice -- what else can exist in the minimap's spot while in dungeons or raiding? In addition, make sure you configure your layered addons on top of each other so that they have the same dimensions. You don't want to jump into a dungeon with a mis-configured addon that takes up half the screen because you just eyeballed it. Take a little time to make sure they sync up nicely.

Chat box, dear chat box

I know the default chat box is better than it once was, but I still have terrible flashbacks when I see that default little bugger lurking around people's screens. It's a dumb tic to have, but there it is. Chat boxes addons are in one of those categories that I feel truly encapsulate why having such a malleable and configurable user interface like WoW's is so crucial to configuration -- they just do some things better. Even just getting rid of the scroll buttons would make things look much better. And while the Read ID friends menu is an exciting introduction to the chat UI, I think the icon is a little obnoxious because of its size. As always, it is just my opinion, but you might love a chat addon. You'll get a ton of new visual options for your chat box.

That's all for this week. Remember, we've got a new email address for Reader UI of the Week at readerui@wowinsider.com, and I'm looking for hosting options for these panels. Send suggestions to mat@wowinsider.com. You guys are the best.

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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.

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Tags: add-on, add-on-configuration, add-on-examples, add-on-guide, addon-configuration, addon-examples, addon-guide, addons, featured, guide, resto-ui, shaman-resto, shaman-resto-ui, ui, ui-configuration, ui-guide, user-interface, user-interface-guide, wow-add-on, wow-add-on-guide, wow-add-ons, wow-addon-guide, wow-addons, wow-guide, wow-ui-configuration

Filed under: Add-Ons, Reader UI of the Week