Old PCGen UI Discussion
Old PCGen UI Discussion
Using PCGen 5.16.2 (RC3) for reference.
Key Concepts
- Set up groups of information in columns and have the user work from left to right.
- Consider the user as making a character in D&D 3.5.
- There is a bit of a learning curve that goes into using it. Ease of use for the starting user should not be our only concern, we can find a layout that can be intuitive to the new user as well as the experienced one.
- My feeling is that this will not be an easy feat to improve the look and feel of the entire program in one go, it maybe best to tackle this in small chunks, that way we can experiment and expose any Swing constraints in minimal doses.karianna 14:11, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
- Once you actually enter the program it loses it’s ‘gaming’ look and becomes a very mundane text heavy program. It lacks a certain zest and it’s true identity.karianna 14:11, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
- When I googled “What is PCGen?”, it came up with the following; “PCGen is a character creation and role-playing game playing aid program for d20 System-based games, such as Dungeons & Dragons”. So the overall look could be freshened up, it should look like it generates characters and have a role playing feel about it. Making a character should be a fun and creative task.karianna 14:11, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
General discussion
One thing I suggest is putting similar information and ideas in the same area. This is done in large part to the Tabs along the top. Then it seems that the information within those tabs are scattered throughout the panels. This is most apparent in the Summary and Feats & Abilities Tabs. Where the order of what you need to do to start making your character is not apparent. You have the character name up top with important inputs like Alignment, Race and Class. Then you have the Level Input right under it. This is problematic because, in PCGen, you need to stat out your character before you give it a class or level and the Stat block is under all that info. This layout makes it seem you do all that first, then you do your stats, because most users read from left to right, top to bottom.
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12/13/2009 - I took the layout a step further by also grouping the inputs with a holding shape, similar to already exists in PCGen. Now there are three distinct parts to this tab: Character Basics, Statistics, and Class & Level. If possible, I would also include a button in the Character Basics and Class & Level sections that would jump the user to the Description and Class tabs respectively. |
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12/13/2009 - This time around I used Andrew's suggestion and moved the XP over to where the Class is selected. While working on this it gave me an idea to balance out the columns better. I still wanted the character and class info to be separate and wanted the user to work from left to right in the order of, character info, stats, then class. |
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12/10/2009 - The the Summary recreation I moved all the basic character and player info to a column on the left. This would be the info you set first. Like a newspaper, the user would read the first column from top to bottom and then go to the next column. The stat block and related info would be here. The block itself doesn't have to be as large as it is in the current version of PCGen, most stats are 2 digits, and even in my example there is more then enough room to make it larger. Once the stats are set, the user would go to the last column, XP and adding levels to classes. [Andrew's Comment - I'd like the Info Panel moved to the right column, and bring the Add/Remove Class Level and the Class Display to the left column. As shown the Class is on the opposite side of where you'd click to add it. Seems awkward.] |
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12/10/2009 - In addition to layout, some tabs have large areas of unused or misused space. For example, Feats & Abilities Tab. These sets of Tabs have similar info for the user to parse. On the bottom right of the original layout there is a whole forth of space for a drop down and an input box. Since these two items affect the left-most list, I moved them to the top of the list of feats (or abilities) on the left. I then moved the Feat Info box to the right bottom, and right above the user chosen feat list. This way there is more room for the left most list, which usually hold lots of information. The right side still contains the user chosen feat list, which is typically a smaller list (depending of class and level) and can stand to be a smaller pane to share space with the Feat Info pane. |
PCGen Section
Overall UI
• I think the PCGen look and feel from pcgen.sf.net is a good start and could be applied as the default to the PCGen application.karianna 14:11, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
• Overall the screens could do with consistent headings, intuitive workflow (I understand a new character wizard will be worked on later), attractive and functional icons, more space around crowded elements.karianna 14:11, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
• Space is at a premium with the amazing amount of detail you can drill down to, but there needs to be more padding and spacing in order for the eye to process this abundance of info.karianna 14:11, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
• Generic defaults need be consistent and set, ie. certain default columns.karianna 14:11, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
• Colours for disabled/enabled/current items need to be defined better, ie. Under the ‘Feats & Abilities’ tab, and Feats tab the red text is too overbearing, it actually advances to the eye, instead of receding. This should be changed to be a dulled out grey by default. Maybe a key could be provided that define what the colours mean.karianna 14:11, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
• the arrow buttons ( [>] and [<] ) at the bottom of most of the UI could use more description (some text or an icon)
• more descriptive icons next to tab labels
• use less words for button descriptions. (ex: "Generate Random Name" to "Random Name")
• different panel entries should have containing shapes. (ex: Class tab, HP button stands out, but the more important thing is the number next to it. Same with the saves underneath, the wrong things stand out.
• by default lets hide any columns that give info that doesn't impact the task at hand. (ex: source column in the skill list, nice to know, but unnecessary for making a character)
• Sorting drop down options should have clearer descriptions overall
• A request as something I discovered - Skills Tab; Each Class is listed in the pull down, having to remove and add skills gets very tedious when you need to select the 'correct' class and it won't let you without dealing with the previous classes. This might be more code related, but I'd like the classes broken out in the following manner:
| Class Name | Skills Gained/Skills Spent |
And the ability to pull skills back to the class using the break out instead of continuously having to deal with the pull down menu -Andrew 12/22/2009 @ 4:25pm PST
Splash screen
• Initial entry into the program is good, love the PCGen themed splash page, following that is the potential for prettifying the next screen with options on where to link next. karianna 14:11, 14 December 2009 (UTC)
Preferences
• right side panel has no scrolling ability
Top Menu
• Game Mode/Campaign should be its own drop down menu
Source Materials
• "available" options drop down descriptions could be simpler. "tree view" > Comp/Fmt/Setting, "full list" > Name only, etc.
• Company/Setting and Comp/Fmt/Setting are too similar and don't change the list organization much, consider merging
• there doesn't seem to be a need to have the right side of the source materials tab to have a list filter, it sould have a list of the books and whether they are loaded or unloaded.
• the buttons on the bottom right (load, unload all, remove all, etc.) should be in the same pane as the chosen source materials (top right side), perhaps replacing the list filer drop down
• give more room to the source material descriptions
Summary
• should be renamed, perhaps Character or Statistics. This tab doesn't summarize all of the character's abilities.
• consider moving character name (and its random button), player name, alignment, race, create monster/add kit, lang, weap prof & SA, and the race/class info, to the left and ordered into a column.
• consider moving Levels to add/remove, character classes table, the XP input box (from the Classes tab), and things to be done, to the right and ordered into a column.
• the stats take up too much room, most stats are 2 digits, so the fields don't have to be as wide as they are.
• consider moving the numbered stats, the HP button, stat and mod totals, and the statistics box, in the center
• by making the statistic box larger, you are able to show more information perhaps graphically (ex: including WEIGHT ALLOWANCE, bonus spells from stats, spells per day, etc.)
• in the Stat cells, the final total should be nearest to the stat description themselves. That total is the number that the user is going to want to see quickly.
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• Use a statblock page (selectable from preferences) instead of hard-coded statistics panel. |
Race
• It should be considered to remove this tab altogether since this tab is used only once during character creation. A better move would to have it as a popup from the summary tab instead.--Connor Petty 07:28, 20 December 2009 (UTC)
Class
• Give the list of races a 2/3rds of the tab
• place the XP pane, the current class pane, and the class info pane on the right third of the tab.
Skill
• consider color coding the column text. (ex. bold black for the final total of skill ranks, red no and green yes for class/CC)
• consider light lines to separate skills on the chosen character skills.
• consider moving Ranks before Total. The more important info is the actual ranks. Becomes clearer with information that have colors and/or are bold.
• "display by" options drop down descriptions could be simpler. "class tree view" > Cost/Name, "stat tree view" > KeyStat/Name, "List View" > Name, etc.
• consider simplifing the display by combining the two skill treetables into one. A view achieved by either could then be done through the use of special filters. --Connor Petty 07:36, 20 December 2009 (UTC)
Feats & Abilities (using Feats as an example)
• consider moving the Feats filter (located on the bottom right pane), the Feats remaining, and the available Feats list to the left half of the tab.
• move the selected feats and Feat Info to the right half of the tab.
