What Are The Best Interface?

Content and general development discussion, including quest scripts and server code. TMW Classic is a project comprising the Legacy tmwAthena server & the designated improved engine server based on evolHercules.


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This forum houses many years of development, tracing back to some of the earliest posts that exist on the board.

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What Are The Best Interface?

Secret of Mana Style interface
9
39%
Ragnarok Online Style interface
3
13%
A Switch of The 2 Style
7
30%
Other
4
17%
 
Total votes: 23
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Rotonen
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Post by Rotonen »

Think about it for a while: my suggestion's example uses only 2 keys pressed at any time which leaves one key free for moving and since we're using only four directions, that'll be enough for moving and casting simultaneously (there could also be the possibility to do user defined combos with only 1 key pressed simultaneously.. or if people prefer they can use combinations of 3 simultaneous keys) .. Though for some skills it should be that you must be standing still while casting.
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ElvenProgrammer
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Post by ElvenProgrammer »

Mmmm maybe this could be a great idea to make something different from others rpgs, but I don't know if it's possible. I'll think on it anyway.
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[long] Interface X Controls

Post by imorgado »

Before think in interface we have to think in controllers.

Control pad will be focused? Run this game in weird things as a Dreamcast Linux / Or PS2 is planned? (if yes, we have to think in control pads)

Modern control pads (PS2). Has the following buttons

Directional (Contol character)
4 action butons (square, round, X, triangle)
4 access buttos (l1, l2, r1, r2)
2 special button (select, start)
some have 2 analogical pads (Will be ignored here, can emulate a mouse).

In a MMORPG game the player intereacts with a thousand of objects.

More relevant is (in order of priority)
Other players
Monsters
NPCs
Items


Player interaction consists in:
Talk
Private talking
Deal
Fight
Follow

To talk to another player / guild / party, the player must have a keyboard. With a key pad we could have a trick. We hava a box with custom phrases.

To deal de player must be near another player then press deal button

To fight it must be near and press attack button

To follow it mus be near and press follow button

Thinking in action buttons.

The left button to item.
The right button to talk.
The lower button to physical attack.
The upper button for skills/spells.

The R2 button to deal with players


To launck a magical attack (fireball) we have to select target/area. We can use L1 / R1 buttons to select the active target (as in football games). L1 Next target / R1 previous target / L1+R1 == nearest target (enemy for harmfull spells/ friend for benefical spells)

After target is selected the skills/itens button should be pressed. A cross menu should appear. (A cross menu is a menu that round the player. All skills should ALWAYS be in same place, or the player could choose the positions, to make the selection intuitive).

Remember we will not use directiona buttons to control this we will use the action buttos (they are disposed as a cross). Why? Cause we can run or pursuit someone (with directional), while casting a spell or using some itens.

When a button is pressed (spell right now), another cross menu will appear showing the choices (4 choices in maximum). Each choice could be a submenu or a spell it self.

Thinking in that way. With 3 keypresses (after target is selected) we can cast an spell. Lets simulate:

L1+R1 (choose the neares enemy)
We press upper button (Spell menu appear) (1 press)
We choice fire spells (pressing left action button) (2 press)
We choice Fireball (pressing botton action button) (3 press)

An experienced player should do this in 0,5 seconds. The target choice can be done at anytime before then end of spell cast. In that case the L1+R1 button could be pressed 0,5 seconds before the spell end (hipotetical 2 seconds to cast firebal), if a target isn't selected the spell goes foward the player (to strike spells), target himself (to benefical spells as heal, cure, bless, armor up, agi up, etc), fail to targeted spells (as sleep, blind, silence). Cast that kind of spells in himself it's funny. Somethin as self killed in doom. Imagine that player begins to cast poison. Then it forget to target, the spell is casted but targeted in him self.. In pvp will grow the fun factor. In first person games the difference beetwen the bot and a player is : A player can do a mistake. The bot don't.

A good shortcut. If the player keeps the spell/item button pressed it uses the latest options (no matter the spell positions).

When a enemy is dead the target goes to the next target.

With keyboard this could be solved in a different manner
Talk with keyboard and enter button in text box (didn't need talk button)
Deal with deal button (SHIFT)
Attack with attack button (CTRL)
Spells can be casted with Fx keys or as battlemode in RO.
We should have a select target key as in control pad.
The difference between keyboard and control pad is: We have more hotkeys to access instant items in keyboard.

With mouse this could be resolved with right button. RO way.

NPC interaction consists in deal/talk

That could be done with talk button / deal button, as above.

Buying / Selling should be simple as in all RPG games. A store box. You browse itens. Choose item, ammount, buy. Finish.

Selling itens should have a possibility to sell marked itens, you browse user attack button to select and press finish deal. It's painfull sell 27 kind of itens in store, confirming for every item.

Monsters combat will be dealed as in player vs player combat.

To get an item, just get near item and press attack button (will get a item if there is no monster near), or attack the air if there is no item/monster near.

I think that isn't needed world freeze, and we give flexibility to all kind of players. I really think that I will be pleased playing in that interface.

More ideas?
Last edited by imorgado on 23 Jan 2005, 19:27, edited 2 times in total.
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Equiping

Post by imorgado »

Equping will be done with SELECT button.

A box with weapondry/armors will apperar.

Your wielded equipaments too.

You select item and use attack button

If is equiped will unequip, if is unequiped will equip.

Should not have hotkeys for equiping. Chand weapons isnt's too easy in a combat ;-)

In keyboard we have a select button (TAB?)

In mouse we can use drag and drop/double click.
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REMOVE ME

Post by imorgado »

REMOVE
Last edited by imorgado on 27 Jan 2005, 03:05, edited 1 time in total.
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No more posts?

Post by imorgado »

No more posts here?

someone has something else to talk about?

If this is the final decision about the interface? If afirmative, I think that some interface designer could begin to create some graphical ideas (like some shots posted here)

I could do that.. in weekend! ;-)

Let's stress this subject.. The user interface is the most important thing in a game design (After fun factor of course)
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More IDEAS!

Post by imorgado »

I forgot the most VALUABLE thing.

The cancel/back button

Imagine that we press the spell button, but the enemy already died or we press spell button, chosse fire magic... er .. I want water magic.. What can we do.

At any time, L2 button can be used as BACK in item/spell menus and cancel in dialogs.
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Bjørn
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Post by Bjørn »

I just want to point out TMW will for the moment be primarily used with a keyboard and mouse, and I want it to make sense and not be a mapping of a full set of controller keys towards the keyboard. :-)
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Mouse+Keyboard X Controller Pads

Post by imorgado »

Keyboard+Mouse will not conflict with Controller pads,

someone else here told that TMW interface will not be designed to be mouse dependent.

Using mouse+keyboard with controller options it's easy, just ignore those "action buttos", almost every action will be done using right and left mouse button (spell targeting, beggining a deal, buyng/sell, npc talk, attack). The spells will be accessed by HOT KEYS (something similar as battle mode in ragnarok).
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Rotonen
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Post by Rotonen »

My absolute opinion: NO MOUSE

Just another opinion: ALL of the buttons should be USER DEFINABLE..
Though the default configurations for keyboards/pads (yeah, plural, because some default configurations, for example easy / full / advanced, would be nice) should be made somewhat logical for convenient and for easy learning.. Not sure if my opinion matters though.. :)
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Post by ElvenProgrammer »

Well the greatest way should be letting the user choose the preferred method, mouse, mouse+keyboard, keyboard only, joypad or whatever else.
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Rotonen
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Post by Rotonen »

Mouse for the interface, not for the controlling part.. right..? That'd kinda take away something special about TMW..
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maci
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Post by maci »

it should be possible to play the game complletly without a mouse
ElvenProgrammer wrote:Maci: don't be rude, we're here to help people ;)
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Rotonen
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Post by Rotonen »

True, but my point is that it shouldn't be possible to control your character via mouse.. :) That's just my opinion though..
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Post by maci »

i agree with you
ElvenProgrammer wrote:Maci: don't be rude, we're here to help people ;)
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