Guild Wars 2

This could be done in GW1 if I recall correctly. I’d simply like to move my chat window closer to the center of field of view…but I only get the option for bottom corner/top corner. Is that it?

Luvok.5697:

This could be done in GW1 if I recall correctly. I’d simply like to move my chat window closer to the center of field of view…but I only get the option for bottom corner/top corner. Is that it?

Correct, you are very limited to how wide or how tall you can make the chat window and you cannot de-anchor it from the lower left.

GW1’s interface was much more customizeable. You could set the location of nearly every panel+window, set the size, and iirc, those details were stored in a file, allowing you to save the configuration before experimenting. This included the location of the skillbar, the size of the enemy bar, the placement of the mini map, party window, and so on.

In GW2, only some windows can be moved, fewer can be resized, and most panels/etc are locked to one part of the screen. This does make the UI easier to maintain and describe to new players; it does remove some important customization.

AFAIK, the mini map is the only part of the non-window UI that you can move and only from lower right to upper right. The new squad UI does allow you to toggle wide (default) vs tall (party version) and I think that might be it.

on 4k displays a lot ui elements are too small or too far away from the center of the screen. The mini map especially is too small, so is the mouse pointer. It gets regularly “lost”.
We really need some more options.

Cayenne.5341:

on 4k displays a lot ui elements are too small or too far away from the center of the screen. The mini map especially is too small, so is the mouse pointer. It gets regularly “lost”.
We really need some more options.

Have you checked the UI scaling in the Options? There should be an option for ‘Large’ etc which will make everything bigger.

The UI team for this game is very bad.

They seem to favor “simplicity”, the problem is that definition is their own and doesn’t come from the players. Because of this alot of information is missing from the UI which makes combat difficult (e.g, an always visible combat log so you can both chat and watch the skills you’re being hit with at the same time).

There are dozens of UI features implemented in even the most basic indie MMO that have yet to make their way to the GW2 UI and the developers have never really given a reason beyond that they don’t want to clutter it up. Yet at the same time they keep trying to push more advanced content like PvP and raids that the game just cannot handle with the current UI limitations.

You can’t make a “pro” game with a “poor” user interface.

I would love to be able to move the party/squad UI so that it’s closer to the center of my screen, that’s for sure.

Hannelore.8153:

The UI team for this game is very bad.

They seem to favor “simplicity”, the problem is that definition is their own and doesn’t come from the players. Because of this alot of information is missing from the UI which makes combat difficult (e.g, an always visible combat log so you can both chat and watch the skills you’re being hit with at the same time).

There are dozens of UI features implemented in even the most basic indie MMO that have yet to make their way to the GW2 UI and the developers have never really given a reason beyond that they don’t want to clutter it up. Yet at the same time they keep trying to push more advanced content like PvP and raids that the game just cannot handle with the current UI limitations.

You can’t make a “pro” game with a “poor” user interface.

Lol, you might be right about the UI being imperfect but if you’re gonna compare GW2’s UI with other games out there… you’re completely mistaken if you think GW2’s is on the low end of the spectrum.

Out of all MMOs out there I have yet to see a UI as terrible as Tera’s, and I’m gonna say GW2’s UI is much more user-friendly and customizable than Archeage’s and like 10x better than some other garbage MMO I’ve tried called Regnum Online.

Runescape was another game I’ve tried where it had an extremely customizable UI but it looks hideous no matter what you try to do with it, along with the game and terrible gameplay so it seemed pointless. They sacrificed a lot to be able to make one of the most customizable UIs ever, so it was overrated.

WoW I have not tried so I can’t comment much on it other than aesthetics and to be honest, doesn’t look like it stomps on GW2’s or anything.

FFXIV I’m going to say beats GW2 in this topic, but out of most of the games that come to mind GW2’s UI doesn’t fall short nearly as much as you make it out to sound.

Well… out of sympathy for smaller/less impressive titles, Guild Wars 2 has left UI customizability for them as marketing points.

Right?

I think the UI could use a bit of work. Mainly I would like an overlay map. The mini map is sometimes to small and the world map blocks everything.

Also a movable chat window.

Agree, the UI in this game is awful.

Very few items can be moved, skills can’t be rearranged, most windows can’t be resized, and if they can be, they often don’t stay the size and place you put them.

Simplicity is nice, but options are nicer.

I do find it amusing that their first UI in Guild Wars was so much better.

Doubt they’ll change it, though. It’s been the same for over three years.

Edit: Funny, I’ve been thinking about this and I think it’s an excellent example of why this game isn’t simply outstanding. All the little things that feel rushed, half-worked, not communicated across developers, and yes, sometimes even lazy.

I really think that the sheer quantity of annoying little things like this are why GW2, to me, isn’t just completely amazing. There’s always some little frustrating thing you’ve got to work around in anything you do in GW2.

Hannelore.8153:

Then you tried terrible games. FF14’s UI is basically copy and pasted from your average MMO since the early 2000s, including alot of EQ and WoW clones.

Its pretty much “the” definitive MMO user interface.

Nowhere did I say that the functionality of XIV’s UI was unique. It works smoothly, it’s customisable, and as far as aesthetic preference is concerned I like it a lot better than these generic WoW clones you’re talking about.

Even if it’s true what you say, then that doesn’t do GW2 any justice because that would imply there’s many more games with better UIs then xD

This has been requested time and again for three years.
Unfortunately ANet’s communication doctrine, not to talk about features unless they are almost finished, usually translates into a passive-aggressive “I’m not talking to you” stance. Like in this case.
Keep nagging, guys, maybe after another three years we’ll be honored with some kind of reaction.

The original talking points from launch followed the “we put a lot of time into the UI to balance both information availability as well as to allow you to see all our cool kitten” mantra. So yes, the devs decided what was important and not. And relatively they did a great job.

Here’s where I see the catch. The game has been out long enough now that players know what they need and want to see on the screen. It’s time to allow us to adapt the UI to what we find effective to how we play the game.

I don’t think we need the full customization of WoW or even GW1. But at least let us separate chats, put things where we want them, and individually scale elements.

The devs could even bury all the full customization behind a toggle in the options like they already have with so many things. Call it “Unlock UI elements” and let us make the game even better for our unique experiences.

i’m still trying to figure out how to reset ui elements to their default x,y coordinates.

Hannelore.8153:

The UI team for this game is very bad.

We’ve talked about making “personal attacks” in this forum before. You have provided a good example of what a “personal attack” is, in my opinion.

Unless you know the folks at Anet I don’t believe you have the right to criticize them this way. Perhaps what you mean is that you believe the UI could be better, and I think we all agree. Perhaps the people on the team have constraints and job assignments that prevent them from doing what you want them to. But criticize the product, not the people.

the UI is quite nice and simple. also being the very same for everyone is somewhat needed for a proper e-sports game.
i personally think they could just add a little option for showing FPS and ping in the screen, no more needs for pressing f11 to check it anymore.

If they simply allowed the chat box and action bar to be unlocked that would be sufficient for me. Even the chat box alone would make a big difference.

Luvok.5697:

If they simply allowed the chat box and action bar to be unlocked that would be sufficient for me. Even the chat box alone would make a big difference.

you can swap the place of chat-frame with party-frame

Mirtis.6847:

Luvok.5697:

If they simply allowed the chat box and action bar to be unlocked that would be sufficient for me. Even the chat box alone would make a big difference.

you can swap the place of chat-frame with party-frame

Ya, I know. That doesn’t really do anything for me as they are still on the far left side of the screen.