Interface Design and Colour Scheme requires an Overhaul

from Stardock Forums

Ok, I'm not sure of the graphics of the final game and all, however, there are several feedbacks about the Visuals of the game that I felt it is quite important to point out upon trying out Alpha:

First and foremost, I would like to humbly critique, would be the Interface Design and the Colours used in there. Personally, felt that the overall impression of it is quite bad because the Blue that is used in there is quite old fashion and doesn't really match the futuristic feel? Perhaps it is because there are too much solid elements in the UI and too little "Transparent" borders and such, that gives the overall outlook of it a very dull and heavy appearance.

I would humbly suggest the designers of this aspect to explore the overall Interface and Design of the overall Interactive Elements (such as mouse pointers, buttons, maps, etc) from games like EVE and Anno 2070. here is an image that I would like to share from Anno 2070 to express what I meant by a Dynamic "Futuristic" feel with "Soft edges". 

Secondly, upon starting the game, I realized that the Fog of War and the overall "Command Interface", really felt primitive. The background of the universe looks really artificial and the positioning of the stars are too messy and quite unsightly.

The Hex Grid and the Fat arrows that marks the path of the Oversize Ships are really unnecessary and they kinda destroy the feeling of being a Inter-galactic Commander, but rather a Chess Player. Perhaps the range of each ship could be indicated with opaque spheres or circles and the arrows thin and grey instead of gradients of primary colours.

To better express what I mean by a better Map Interface design, here is another Image of EVE Online that could express what I'm trying to say here.

Overall, what am suggesting here as an Elite Founder, is to overhaul the entire Interface Design into something Softer, with more three dimensional icons and mouse pointers that animates, revamp of the usage of Fonts with the right amount of spacing between letters, and update the existing colour scheme with more a Contemporary palette.

I hope that my suggestion is seen as a sincere feedback as well as a constructive criticism with an objective of enhancing the game.

Honestly, the potential of this game is really great, especially with the one of its kind mechanics and all. To be honest, I admit that I am an Eve Online Fan and decided to get this game after playing Sins of a Solar Empire, as well as upon learning the potentially awesome game mechanics.

However, the existing presentation of the Interface is really a let down and does the game no justice. It is not worth risking potential new players who were not fans before to deny a chance to play and appreciate the game in-depth, just because the overall feel of the Interface is "uncomfortable" and "obsolete"...

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Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I don't know if either I am "old fashionned",  Too used to GalCiv, have no sense of "Modern design" or something but I actually LIKE the black/neon theme of GalCiv.  To me it look clean and it is easy to change the color theme to suit your preferences, which was a feature I liked in GalCiv 2. 

Right now in the Alpha you seem to be stuck with blue color but I expect we will have color palette settings like in GalCiv 2. I actually prefer a GalCiv Black/neon theme  with selectable colors to what you have shown in those screenshots. Especially the first one, this looks like a console game menu to me. Makes me think of all those horrible cases of consolitis we see in today's AAA PC games.

This being said, I know a lot of the graphics in the Alpha are place holder so a lot of it should be expected to change. I think the devs want to make the UI scale well with changes to higher resolution. In that regard Procedural graphics like Voctorial UI elements and 3d graphic icons are superior to old fashioned 2d sprite icons.

Reply #2 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

you know i never really thought about it, ooh its galciv they updated the map for hexes and adjacency etc etc its really cool

and now looking at that image for ANNO 2070 i realize that yeah the colony screen could use a total overhaul and look really impressive

i am a big fan of what you can do with EVEs UI and would hope that they make the galciv ui more flexable

Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting androshalforc, reply 2

you know i never really thought about it, ooh its galciv they updated the map for hexes and adjacency etc etc its really cool

and now looking at that image for ANNO 2070 i realize that yeah the colony screen could use a total overhaul and look really impressive

Same here, seeing the comparison screenshots.

Reply #4 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I like the new UI of GCIII the way it is.

The screen of Anno 2070 the OP shows is just from the main menu of Anno 2070. The UI displayed during actual gameplay in Anno 2070 is horrible compared to the UI of GCIII!

Reply #5 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Yeah, I like GC3 GUI, it's clean, clear, and intuitive. The only problem I have so far is somewhat thin font in certain places, like overall funds numbers, for example. I'd prefer to see a bit thicker font there.

Reply #6 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I think this is a case of horses for courses. You have to remember that GC3 is a turn based strategy game not an MMO, the two types of game have very different UI requirements.

I would find an Eve style UI messy, cluttered and over complicated for this type of strategy game. They are also trying to make this game look and feel like a part of the Galactic Civilization series of games, so trying to keep aspects of the look and feel consistant.

For a strategy game UI I have to say I like what they have so far, though can see areas that need refinement which they have acknowledged.

One other thing maybe I’m not a dedicated follower of fashion but I have trouble attributing old fashioned to a shade of blue.

Reply #7 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I'm OK with it as is, assuming the options to customize it are added in later, in line with GalCiv2+.