Best UI ever?

from Sins Forums

To balance various critisims over the past year I would like to throw out the possibility into the community that SoaSE has one of the best User Interfaces of any game ever...

Agree or Disagree?

30,045 views 13 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
The learning curve isn't too bad, but once I knew the basics, I found that most of the commands I was after were three or four clicks away. Seems like that could have been reduced.

I'm sure once I take the time to learn the hotkeys things will be better, but I can't say best UI ever on this one.
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
It may not be the best, but it is certainly very good at the least. I for one have yet to have a single instance where the UI was either "in the way" or didn't allow me to easily do what I wanted. Overall I find it pretty intuitive and it certainly fulfills the required usability needed for the game.
Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
It's excellent. It's also getting better in 1.1.
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
It's not bad, but I wouldn't call it best. The Sins online multiplayer user interface is severely lacking, but functional.

Based on the limited number of games that I have played, I nominate Unreal Tournament 2004 as a candidate for "best user interface". (Ironically, after doing such a great job with the UT 2004 user interface, Epic Games consolized UT3, making it a candidate for "worst user interface".)
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
Online matchmaking, while important, is really a very small part of the interface for an RTS. I'll grant I haven't played online yet (cough) but it would have to be basically unusable for me to knock the whole game's interface based on it alone.
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
It gets in the way of all the cool screenshots that I want to take. Unless I missed something and you can hide it completely?

...anyone?

-FM
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
Best ever? Based on what criteria? Sure, it's functional but I don't see anything particularly amazing about it.

For overall utility, I'd just as soon give that award to Supreme Commander (especially when using two monitors).
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
It gets in the way of all the cool screenshots that I want to take. Unless I missed something and you can hide it completely? ...anyone?-FM
End of quote


Cinematic mode, for one. For interface hiding, it's one of the following options (I'm at work, and don't remember offhand)
1. Has to be bound in-game
2. Ctrl+Alt+Z
3. Ctrl+Shift+Z
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
The dynamic zoom is incredible. It makes a minimap unneccessary and allows the bottom left (or right) corner of the screen to be freed up. I think this game has the best UI I've ever seen, especially for an RTS, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it the best ever.
Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
It gets in the way of all the cool screenshots that I want to take. Unless I missed something and you can hide it completely? ...anyone?-FM
End of quote


Cinematic mode, for one. For interface hiding, it's one of the following options (I'm at work, and don't remember offhand)1. Has to be bound in-game2. Ctrl+Alt+Z3. Ctrl+Shift+Z
End of quote


Thanks! I'll be sure to check that out. I'd love to get some great shots for wallpaper making.
Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top
It gets in the way of all the cool screenshots that I want to take. Unless I missed something and you can hide it completely?
End of quote


Ctrl+Shift+Z toggles the UI.
Reply #12 from Sins Forums Top
Knew it was one of those!
Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top
Does boxed sex count?

When describing how easy it was to manage your entire empire from the tree, that was the response I got from a tbs player that hates the late game slowdown.