Reader UI of the Week: Going from laptop to desktop

The move from laptop to desktop can be a startling change of pace for many players. Usually players go from a desktop to the more mobile laptop, considering that laptops are so powerful these days that they're not being thought of anymore as second-rate gaming machines. Jumping from laptop to desktop would be a pretty jarring experience.

Reader Blackoccamy has made this jarring move and has sent in her UI to show off a simple and lived-in DPS user interface. After going from a healer role to a DPS role, the requirements for a user interface drop a bit, since you don't need to have as much concern for your fellow raiders. Many pieces of DPS UIs don't need as much functionality as their healing equivalents, so you might find yourself with some extra space left over.

Thanks for the submission and email, Blackoccamy. DPS user interfaces are a weird mix of function and style because of the different concerns that DPS players have with regards to the game world. I've known Blackoccamy for a long time, and the iterations of her UI have gone in many different directions. In fact, I remember the days in ICC before Sindragosa pulls talking about how her UI was going to change and what she wanted out of her setup.

No action bars, again

One of the fundamental differences between the UIs that I create and many UIs that come in to Reader UI of the Week is that many of them do not show action buttons, whereas my UIs are built around the bars, as if they were the centerpiece at my user interface Thanksgiving party. The action bars are some of the easiest to move and symmetrical UI elements that exist on the screen, so I take advantage of that fact by putting them front and center. Plus, I have a mental block on remembering where all my skills are despite their all being keybound, and I like using OmniCC to watch my cooldown timers.

So what do you put in the middle of the screen to promote symmetry and cohesiveness if the action bars are being hidden? Well, if you're Blackoccamy, you don't put anything. Just ditch symmetry all together. I had never even thought of that. Why do UIs need to be symmetrical? Is it because we view symmetry as appealing and beautiful or just that we are used to symmetry and order? At the end of the day, what works for you works for you because that is how your brain operates. Diversity in creation is a good thing!

You could say that the DPS meters in the center create a type of symmetry, and you would be right -- but for me, the DPS meters are just a focal center, especially for a DPS class. As you grow out from the center the symmetry collapses, leaving you with information rather than spatial construction. For instance, the entire right bottom area of the screen, once probably reserved for a 25-man elaborate raiding window, is now pared down to a 10-man version. With no new information needed for this area, it lies sad and dormant. Blackoccamy, you can find some use for this area, I know you can. Put a picture of Sindragosa there, just for old time's sake, or a picture of Trollbrudda ready to scream and burst a blood vessel in his face.

As for what action bar will let you just turn your main bar into the vehicle bar, I believe you can go into the options for your bars (whether in Dominos or Bartender) and set one of the properties for the bar to be your default vehicle bar. I am unsure, though, because the last time I tried to do it, it wasn't working out. In fact, I'm not even sure if it's possible. Options can be tinkered with to make different bars show up in different warrior stances, for instance, but I am not sure if vehicle works the same way.

Overlapping UI elements

When you start adding UI elements and new addons to an already-existing setup like the Blizzard default UI, you're going to run into the problem of overlapping graphics. It happens with everything from quest trackers to boss health frames and that damn PlayerPowerBarAlt. It's a fact of life, sadly. The worst part is that sometimes you don't even know it's a problem until you jump into a fight where new graphics pop up and you're stunned by new information.

I see it happen all the time with the Blizzard default quest tracker. That thing pops up all over the place, and it's starting to get on my nerves. The easiest way to get rid of it is to get an addon like MoveAnything and hide it. Personally, it's what I'm going to do sooner or later, if I ever have to see that thing pop up again on my max-level characters. It's good for dailies, sure, but it just seems like a lot of wasted space for someone without many quests to do a day.

As a stickler for pretty screens and non-overlapping UI elements, I want Blackoccamy to move the quest tracker. Please. Don't make me berate you in Mumble. I'll do it.

Do what works

Here's why I chose Blackoccamy's UI and why I wanted to have her send in her UI: I know the player behind this user interface. I've spent many, many hours in raids and dungeons with Blackoccamy and know that she is a capable, competitive high-end raider who gets the job done and clears content. If you look at BO's user interface and you write off someone's ability to play, you're doing yourself a disservice. You can tell a lot about how a player plays the game from how their user interface is set up, and frankly it's one of the best ways to gauge player understanding of a lot of the nuances of the WoW raiding game. But to put it all on the UI is probably not the best idea because of the nature of the World of Warcraft user interface. The intended malleable nature is there to let people tinker and grow and find what works. How interesting, right?

At the end of the day, do what works for you and show that your user interface is just a manifestation of how your brain processes information versus the only indicator of player skill. Good times, BO. Keep on rockin'.

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