Interface Scaling & Readability Issues makes Xenonauts unplayable

[Minsc&Boo]

Hiya,

I just had a quite look at the alpha and immediately I can see a problem that will make me not to want to continue with this game, (and yes I paid for the alpha). Otherwise the artwork sounds and interactions are spot on and I congratulate you.

Firstly, My resolution is 2560x1600. All of the interface elements are too small at this resolution. I would rather have half the screen filled with an interface then not be able to see them entirely. If you are prepared to support 2556x1600 then you should tailor the interface to suite.

Secondly, The font you have chosen while pleasing to the eye, is terrible for readability when used in a paragraph. IT IS ALL CAPITALS AND AS YOU CAN SEE IT IS MORE DIFFICULT TO READ WHEN YOU HAVE A PAGE OF CAPITAL LETTERS.

Humans read words not as a bunch of characters but as a 'shape'. By using a 'small-caps' font (CAPITALS) you have removed an essential part of reading and scanning, that is, the shape a word makes when it is lowercase. Also, You have a lot of information bunched up together in capitals which makes picking out specific information EXTREMELY DIFFICULT.

To make matters worse, your choice of white text on black, causes massive eyestrain, and it will eventually stop you from playing the game. Also, Changing the colour of fonts IN CAPITAL LETTERS to break up large amounts of text is not good enough.

The problem is compounded by my first issue, the interface is small to begin with, even at lower resolutions. At higher resolutions the interface and text increases in scale proportionally, it should increase exponentially or closest match.

Click on an image to view in 2560x1600

Edited April 22, 2012 by Minsc&Boo

[Gorlom]

the scaleing is a known issue. right now Chris has only tailored it to 16:10 snd 16:9 creen ratios afaik. THe scaleing is a low priority issue since this is an alpha and the team is focusing mostly on introduceing new features and playability.

Most of the screens in the baseview are placeholder anyway so fixing it right now before all the corrct screens are in the game is extra work.

[Minsc&Boo]

the scaleing is a known issue. right now Chris has only tailored it to 16:10 snd 16:9 creen ratios afaik. THe scaleing is a low priority issue since this is an alpha and the team is focusing mostly on introduceing new features and playability.

Most of the screens in the baseview are placeholder anyway so fixing it right now before all the corrct screens are in the game is extra work.

Hiya, thanks for the reply. You'll note though the issue is not just about the interface as a whole, but of the use of small caps fonts for paragraphs and other statistic's.

I truly hope what I have posted is not taken as a negative, but rather be kept in mind when the game is in its final stages of completion (i.e not alpha).

note 1: 2560x1600 is a 16:10 ratio

note 2: I'm going to add some screenshots later on to better illustrate my point

Cheers,

Adam

Edited April 22, 2012 by Minsc&Boo

[Chris]

Thanks for the screenshots. My monitor doesn't go that big so it's useful to have the comparisons. It's a little strange that some of the text / elements are scaling correctly and some are not, so I'll have to chat to the Geoscape programmer about that. The text should scale up with the resolution increasing in the final.

All the UI in the game is still WIP and will have an overhaul before the game comes out so this is likely to be sorted then. It's also likely we'll switch to black text on a light background for most screens, but I'm afraid the SMALL CAPS will remain for the majority of screens. It's part of the game's signature look, although we'll do some work on breaking up big paragraphs so they're easier to read and the Xenopedia obviously doesn't use it.

[pack.wolf]

Just to add my 2c:

While I also had problems with small text at high resolutions (my monitor only goes up to 1920x1200, but that was enough to make some stuff really hard to read) I do like the font and I do like the white text on dark background. Especially when playing in the evening after work I don't want the whole >100 Watts my monitor eats blazing into my eyes. Imo it is less straining to have a generally darker picture.

There might be a difference though between glare and non-glare monitors (mine is non-glare) since glare monitors displaying dark pictures tend reflect, well, everything really, which can be quite an annoyance.

[Gauddlike]

I prefer light text on dark backgrounds, I find it far less strenuous to read.

As long as it isn't an over bright background though it should be fine.

[Minsc&Boo]

Just to be a pain...

Ive found a few interfaces I really like, and hope gives you a bit of inspiration on your interface...

These games, some of which aren't even for PC or ones I've played, still have qualities I feel are worth pursuing.

THE GOOD

And some I don't like, reasons include, its hard to find the information quickly, because all of it is the same colour, or there has been no thoughts into emphasizing graphically, the more important information over less important information. The interface simply displays everything on the flat, at the same time and it is like two people on the telephone talking at the same time, but visually.

Just as bad is when there is some kind of hierarchical structure to information but it is disproportionate or has the wrong types of information grouped together in the wrong sequence.

Even worse is when player interactions like buttons are given less priority in size, shape, colour than frivolous art style, or when higher resolutions destroy the instructional and interaction logic and value of an interface, making structure hard to decipher resulting in stress to the player.

The next bad thing is using icons that look the same, or scan badly, that is if you glanced at the interface and you can't immediately remember or recognize what does what within the first 1-2 seconds then there's something wrong.

Also unnecessarily increasing the number of clicks on the mouse to do one action, instead of providing contextual interface elements. An example is in R.T.S games, Right click on a building it does one action, Right click on an enemy it does another, Right click on a resource, and it automatically builds an extractor. These things should not be viewed as 'holding the players hand'. What it does is allow the player to do more with less interaction, and in less time, so less frustration and more satisfaction.

THE BAD

From my experience the best interface's take everything into account. They balance interaction, readability, flexibility, contextualization, metaphor and cultural traits. They maximize usability while reducing the amount of interaction required by the player. They emphasize the most important information while providing other information as needed. They are invisible and they are the backbone of games.

[Gauddlike]

Not asking much then