Talk:UI Overhaul

PC Gen UI Discussion

Using PCGen 5.16 for reference.

Concept: 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.

I haven't seen the newest alpha build of PCGen yet. So, I may be be commenting on stuff that is already addressed. I love this program, It has been very helpful for keeping track of my player characters and quick NPC creation. 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.

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.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing Summary Tab B 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.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing Summary Tab A 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.

Error creating thumbnail: File missing OLD - Summary Tab 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.]

Error creating thumbnail: File missing Feats & Abilities Tab 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.

Bullet Breakdowns by Section:

Preferences:
• right side panel has no scrolling ability

Top Menu:
• Game Mode/Campaign should be its own drop down menu

Overall UI:
• 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

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

Character Creation 3.5e

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.

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.

Feats & Abilities: (use 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.