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Any plans for an LCARS Interface?

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  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    I think that it would be possible to just recolour the Lcars which is used now.
    And Yes "Lcars" in its puer form isnt very userfriendly . So we keep the navigation as it is now and just recolour it!
    It would be a big step forward if the Standart "blue" would be changed to Lcars colours. and a button "Beep" should be added.

    I think it isnt that hard to change collor code into the right colour
    :cool:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    I do agree, a new LCARS ui would feel really fresh...so long as its well done.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Repeating the same thing does not make you right, it only serves to show that you are just set in your opinion and that is fine. As others have pointed the reskin has nothing to do with functionality, its all about the looks (open jackets anyone?). Star Trek had the LCARS than interface and thats that. If you have "better" ideas then this has no bearing on THIS IP. The current UI is terribad and needs changing anyways. Dont argue functionality with us like this is a marketing on utility. This game sells on established assets.

    As for the comment on the "most star trek games dont use LCARS" I say you pul that one out of the TRIBBLE that cannot be named.

    Name the games that use a "true" LCARS interface and not just a skin loosely slapped on. :rolleyes:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    THATS NOT TRUE!
    "LCARS" is a computer interface and there are so many variations BUT every variation has the same basic structure ! and the same colour!

    In every StarTrek game , except Star Trek online, Lcars has the same ground structure!
    EVEN STAR TREK LEGACY!!!!!
    So Lcars can be modified but it allways keeps This "LCARS" looking ( cant describe this beauity )
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    I'm not really sure, what your point is.

    I named you some good games unsing lcars. Why should he do the same again?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Actually the "Blue on Blue" design was becoming signifantly more popular by the time of Nemesis

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4b/Enterprise-E_LCARS.jpg

    Dosen't seem unreasonable that things would go down this way
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    anazonda wrote: »
    Actually the "Blue on Blue" design was becoming signifantly more popular by the time of Nemesis

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4b/Enterprise-E_LCARS.jpg

    Dosen't seem unreasonable that things would go down this way

    At First I hate Nemesis ( because Data died :( )
    Moreover they could make the TNG-design and the Nemesis-design but let you choose which you want.
    :D:D
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    LCARS is a crappy interface.

    After the five seconds of nergasm wear off, most players would find it getting in the way of their gameplay.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    anazonda wrote: »
    Actually the "Blue on Blue" design was becoming signifantly more popular by the time of Nemesis

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4b/Enterprise-E_LCARS.jpg

    Dosen't seem unreasonable that things would go down this way

    everything develops, LCARS is the computer system in star trek. And it's possible that it changed with the time.
    But in sto, there's nothing but blue.

    That would be a de-evolution from a system to nothing.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Tgai_Spock wrote:
    I'm not really sure, what your point is.

    I named you some good games unsing lcars. Why should he do the same again?

    You named games that use an LCARS skin, but the only game that actually comes close to an actual LCARS interface is Bridge Commander and BOTF.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Tgai_Spock wrote:
    everything develops, LCARS is the computer system in star trek. And it's possible that it changed with the time.
    But in sto, there's nothing but blue.

    That would be a de-evolution from a system to nothing.

    There's a NPC you can settle the redesign with on Memory Alpha. No, seriously. He's by the main crafting terminals and explains his decisions.

    Ultimately, LCARS is a really cool, really cheesy 80s Sci-FI interface that is both cumbersome and non-functional by most design standards.

    If it impedes your ability to get information, it shouldn't be used in this game. The devs struggle enough as it is to channel information properly to the player without adding a bulky, awkward 80s interface to the game.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    if you don't like LCARS, why are lcars colors in your signature?

    As said sometimes obove, we're talking about an lcars overlay instead of this simply blue.
    That means, that blue shall be changed into these colors, that you're using in your signature (and i would love to change the form a little bit).
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Alexraptor wrote: »
    Name the games that use a "true" LCARS interface and not just a skin loosely slapped on. :rolleyes:

    We ARE talking about skins (since a true LCARS looks unwieldy to some). Read the posts again. I have this feeling you have already put both fingers in your ears singing lalalala thought :rolleyes:
    Actually the "Blue on Blue" design was becoming signifantly more popular by the time of Nemesis

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...se-E_LCARS.jpg

    Dosen't seem unreasonable that things would go down this way

    The picture also shows other colours are involved. None of which we get currently.
    LCARS is a crappy interface.

    After the five seconds of nergasm wear off, most players would find it getting in the way of their gameplay.

    The "nergasm" is the reason a lot of people play. If it wears off I dont see this game holding a candle to the alternatives out there. So how about you show a bit more respect to those that happened to choose a Star Trek game to see the Star trek stuff no matter how "absurd" it looks and sounds to you ;)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Tgai_Spock wrote:
    if you don't like LCARS, why are lcars colors in your signature?

    As said sometimes obove, we're talking about an lcars overlay instead of this simply blue.
    That means, that blue shall be changed into these colors, that you're using in your signature (and i would love to change the form a little bit).
    There are a few colors other than blue in the interface.

    However, too many pastel visual colors distract players from the game environments. It's a game, not a browser. With UI elements in colors that distract players (primarily anything in the red->orange->yellow spectrum), you run the risk of having the interface distract players and being an eyesore compared to ones that are more subdued.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Alexraptor wrote: »
    You named games that use an LCARS skin, but the only game that actually comes close to an actual LCARS interface is Bridge Commander and BOTF.

    Hmm, you should replay alot of games. Start for example with elite force.
    It has a complete and very nice lcars interface. But the point is, every star trek game uses it more frequently than sto and lcars stays lcars like somebody said above.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Tgai_Spock wrote:
    Hmm, you should replay alot of games. Start for example with elite force.
    It has a complete and very nice lcars interface. But the point is, every star trek game uses it more frequently than sto and lcars stays lcars like somebody said above.

    STO already has (and needs to an extent) a non-diegetic UI for many reasons. Elite Force UI was minimal, so the use of LCARS colors really didn't distract much.

    STO"s interface is larger and much more non-diegetic. To have bright, pastel colors all over would distract much more noticeably from gameplay than the blue.

    Also, CBS said they wanted to stop using as much orange and yellow in the interface.It was their call from the start. :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    that wasn't the point. He claimed, that only 2 games would use lcars.
    The size of ui doesn't change the fact, that it is integreated in every other star trek game.
    But we're getting off topic again.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    I'm new.

    LCARS?

    What is that? I am still learning many of the abbreviations used on these forums.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Groucho1 wrote: »
    I'm new.

    LCARS?

    What is that? I am still learning many of the abbreviations used on these forums.

    LCARS is the term for the design and color scheme of the user0interfaces seen in the Star Trek Films and Series.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    short form for Library Computer Access and Retrieval System, the computer system of star trek.
    We're talking about an interface overlay, so that the ingame interface looks more like Star Trek.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    We ARE talking about skins (since a true LCARS looks unwieldy to some). Read the posts again. I have this feeling you have already put both fingers in your ears singing lalalala thought :rolleyes:

    Oh really? :rolleyes:
    Tgai_Spock wrote:
    Are there any plans to introduce an proper LCARS Interface or overlay to Star Trek Online sometime?

    The existing blue interface is acceptable and it would fit to any other science fiction game.
    But this ist Star Trek Online. It would be so great to have a real LCARS Interface ingame, like we are used to from Michael Okuda. Indeed i was a little bit confused to read, that Mike and Denise Okuda assist the Star Trek Infinate Space Team while STO still needs LCARS.
    Of course, this would take some time, but a Star Trek MMORPG without LCARS Interface? Even the free Browsergame Star Trek Infinate Space will have LCARS.
    In addition, it would be nice to have the option to choose whether to have the TNG/VOY/DS9 LCARS or the Nemesis LCARS.

    I'm pretty sure, a proper LCARS Interface for federation side would bring STO some new players.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    if you would have read, what we wrote before, you would know, that i meant since the beginning an overlay, a new skin for the ingame interface. That does, like i wrote several times before, not include functions.
    I even changed the thread title to prevent further misunderstandings.

    But i think, enough misunderstandings have been presented since now :)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    There's a NPC you can settle the redesign with on Memory Alpha. No, seriously. He's by the main crafting terminals and explains his decisions.

    Fun fact: That guy, Commander Thomas Marrone, is actually me. :) Craig offered to make me an NPC when Cryptic bought my minigame art last year and there was no way I could turn that down!

    As part of that guy's background I thought it'd be fun to throw in a joke about the blue LCARS UI since I remember reading complaints about it.

    At any rate, it's worth remembering that LCARS was designed to "look cool" and read well as a futuristic computer interface on TV. Its components are chunky and colorful because the camera was usually several feet away and people needed to be able to see what the characters were pointing to on screen in shots that ALSO included the characters' faces and bodies.

    That said, Dan's mantra has lately been "Make it More Trek", and I've heard the UI brought up every now and then. I imagine there will be changes made, but I don't know if we'll ever get the level of LCARS emulation you saw in Bridge Commander.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    LCARS is the term for the design and color scheme of the user0interfaces seen in the Star Trek Films and Series.


    Cool. Thank you very much.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Thanks.
    Good to know, that changes to the ui are planned.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Fun fact: That guy, Commander Thomas Marrone, is actually me. :) Craig offered to make me an NPC when Cryptic bought my minigame art last year and there was no way I could turn that down!

    Naysayers, i present you the whipping boy! :p
    Tgai_Spock wrote:
    Thanks.
    Good to know, that changes to the ui are planned.

    I believe it was someone on the project art team that said the oranges and yellows as major components of the game interface is out, per CBS stipualtion.

    It's likely changes to the UI, mentioned by dstahl, involving fixing the notorious drop-down button in the UI that has more gameplay essential features than many other parts of the interface.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    my two bars of latinum:

    In terms of the actual game interface, I have no major complaints. It allows me to play the game with a minimum of intrusion. Isn't that the point to a good interface?

    The only place I would like to see more colors is on the in-game consoles. My bridges are so blue :(
    (and FYI, blue is my favorite color, but I can only take so much)

    Oh, and a shout-out to Thomas. I'll make sure to say hi next time I'm at Memory Alpha!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    It is a fact that the LCARS interface is clunky and wastes a lot of space screen.
    However, you keep forgeting that it was designed to be TOUCH operated! A touchscreen interface behaves differently than an average keyboard-mouse-monitor interface.
    - Your finger 'aim' is worse than your mouse 'aim' which means you need bigger buttons and larger space between buttons.
    - Your fingers are bigger than your mouse cursor. Your finger covers a major portion of the button you want to press. If the button is small, you won't see it. If the label/pictogram is small and centered, your finger will simply hide it.

    Therefore you need big buttons with considerable margains between them. That is highly inefficient. The labels should be placed in a different manner, too.
    These are the cons of the touch interface compared to the average interfaces we have now.

    On the other hand a touchscreen interface allows 100% customization on the fly. This increases the efficiency of the user greatly. Placing and hiding speed and macro buttons buttons can be done quickly. The touch interface is very intuitive by default. You don't have to learn how to use the mouse or the keyboard. You just point your finger. That is one of the main reason the tablets are soo popular.

    The current keyboard and the mouse are past tense and will be extinct like the 1.44 floppy in the foreseeable future.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Let me just point out a couple things here;

    -People are not asking for an actual LCARS recreation
    All people want is for the current UI to look like LCARS. An actual starship control panel would be stupid.

    -The in-game LCARS textures do not feel like Star Trek
    This isn't only about the UI - the textures you see on consoles and on displays don't contribute to the Star Trek feel. I sometimes totally forget I'm supposed to be in a Federation interior sometimes because the immediately recognisable pastel displays aren't there. It's a little problem and there are more important things to focus on, but it's one of those small improvements that will have a vast global impact and help with capturing the 'more like Trek' idea.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2011
    Groucho1 wrote: »
    I'm new.

    LCARS?

    What is that? I am still learning many of the abbreviations used on these forums.

    LCARS is me :) Sorry, couldn't resist. But I would be all in for at least a color pallet swap to what we saw on the shows. I'd even like to see more LCARS on some of those displays during the "Investigate Starbase" missions in the Exploration missions since some of those are supposed to be Federation/Starfleet bases.
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