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Console Icon Art Revamp!

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  • mosul33mosul33 Member Posts: 836 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    I have to say i dont like them either. No one complained about the old ones and they look good too.
    I see alot of work was done for these new icons and i respect that, but indeed there are many bug fixes needed, including graphical ones. But i guess some of them were forgoten or even gave up on them, since i still cant see my Omega Force Antiproton Autocarbine holstered on the back of my toons even after like a year or so since the bug was reported :(

    I expect alot of remorse from players after these will go live since this will add alot of confusion. Like for example, if you are in a hurry or maybe tired and you will sell on exchange/npc or even discard a wrong console, only after the message to see that it was the wrong one.
    Also have you think about color-blinded peaple? Yes, there are some that play this game, even myself got a friend like that (he is not a fan and plays STO occazioanlly, but he is partially color-blinded since he is confusing red and greed sometimes, or diferent variations of those).
    I am talking here mostly about the Hull Plating, Alloys, Energy Type and Torpedo Type. Why not keep the curent icons and just add the new backround color?
    On the rest, the science ones are better since all are diferent, same goes for engineering miscellaneous and power levels boosters.
    Edit: I see now someone just posted before me allmost the same issue.
  • dalolorndalolorn Member Posts: 3,655 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    lan451 wrote: »
    I see some other posters commenting on the similarities as well and I'm assuming that they can see color properly, so changing this up a bit would benefit more than just those of us who have problems in this area.

    Edit: The science consoles look fine though. It's more of the tac and eng consoles that are the problem.

    I do indeed see colors quite fine. And yes, I agree that it's just the tactical and engineering consoles that need fixing, though the Romulan embassy stuff is a bit too subtle for me.

    Infinite possibilities have implications that could not be completely understood if you turned this entire universe into a giant supercomputer.p3OEBPD6HU3QI.jpg
  • kirksplatkirksplat Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    I really like them, except for 2 things:

    1. The alloys look too similar. I wish the yellow parts were different colors, instead of subtle differences that are just too subtle.
    2. My kdf ship with have a fed warp core.

    Otherwise, I like them.
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  • voporakvoporak Member Posts: 5,621 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    I would suggest making the armor consoles different shapes as well as different colors. What I like about the current ones is that at a glance, I can see "Oh, that's a tetraburnium console."

    While I see colors fine, I still like old tac consoles better in some ways because I can easily recognize the shapes.
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  • millybunmillybun Member Posts: 232 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    While I always appreciate new art, I have a lot of the same concerns others have mentioned.

    In general, many of them look too similar to each other in overall shape, making it tons harder for not only people who can't actually *see* the color differences, but also those of us who are quickly sifting through our inventories to sort the junk from stuff we want to save in the heat of battle to make room.

    The finer details tend to get lost when you're in a rush, and if I have to squint at icons to tell them apart via minute differences, then the icons will have already failed at their job.

    Regardless, I like the designs, I just think they need more easily-noticeable variations when further away from the screen/on higher resolutions.
  • dalolorndalolorn Member Posts: 3,655 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    voporak wrote: »
    I would suggest making the armor consoles different shapes as well as different colors. What I like about the current ones is that at a glance, I can see "Oh, that's a tetraburnium console."

    While I see colors fine, I still like old tac consoles better in some ways because I can easily recognize the shapes.

    Well, to be fair, I haven't quite managed to learn which armor console is which, or which science console is which. Not enough exposure, I guess.

    However, what I lack in that department, I make up for in my ability to identify a tactical console the moment I see its icon. So, yeah... that's going away, so I'm gonna have to read every time I get a new console.

    Infinite possibilities have implications that could not be completely understood if you turned this entire universe into a giant supercomputer.p3OEBPD6HU3QI.jpg
  • mav75mav75 Member Posts: 113 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    Nice work!

    Some of the consoles will still need work. I could recognize the old ones by a quick glance (except the 2 tactical plasma consoles).

    Embassy Consoles: the differences are too subtle.
    - How about changing the mini icons inside the icons: flame for plasma proc, eng team symbol for hull heal and sci team symbol for shield heal?

    Torpedo Consoles: the torpedo icons are a tad too small and the torpedo colors could also stand out a bit more.

    Energy Consoles: these are a bit better than the torpedo consoles, but could use a bit cleared weapon icon and cleared color. The red background is not helping, though I see the reason for it.

    Hull Plating and Alloy Consoles: these are the hardest to identify.
    - Maybe having different patterns on each Plating Console would help?
    - This is less of a problem for Alloys since there is only Neutronium for the end levels.

    Are you planning on updating the Zero-Point Energy Conduit and the Assimilated Universal Consoles at this time? They will look dated compared to the updated consoles.
  • atatassaultatatassault Member Posts: 1,008 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    No offense, but this time could've been spent fixing the diseased-looking faces I've had since LoR.
    -Or assorted other glitches.
    Seems pointless, old graphics look better, more distinguishable.
    -But whatever...
    ...expectations always getting lower.

    Thanks anyways...
    UI artists are not character artists.
  • organicmanfredorganicmanfred Member Posts: 3,236 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    I have to agree on a few things other players posted:

    - one icon for alloys/hulls/platings with just a different colour is not working well with colorblind people. And there are a lot of them out there.

    - same goes for the energy type consoles. And why do the icons look the same when the energy consoles are named Generator, Infuser, Coil, Pulse..?

    - the same with the torpedo consoles like above.

    But my actually problem is this: I do have a problem associating icons. Means I see a lot of little cryptic pictures in front of me, but I can't tell what they are doing.
    Is this now the Torpedo Spread or the Rapid Fire icon? Is this Tactical Team or EPtW?
    So I hover over the icon and wait for the Quick Info.
    I did have this problem already as child, I just can't memorize or connect an icon to a function.

    By the way, I really love those new icons. It took a few moments to realize that the armor consoles are in fact a saucer frame. :D

    Probably solutions? Well those little energy/kinetic icons in the weapons consoles are a nice little help. But would it work to reduce the item size (not the icon size) a little and print the name of this console or the energy/kinetic or armor type on it?
  • amosov78amosov78 Member Posts: 1,495 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    kirksplat wrote: »
    2. My kdf ship with have a fed warp core.

    It's interesting that they came up with a different core mechanic for Romulans, yet they just gave both Starfleet and the KDF the same types of warp cores, despite Starfleet cores being deuterium based, while Klingon cores are tritium based. Since the difference was a big plot point during the late Dominion War episodes in DS9.

    I mean KDF cores could have had an inherent power drain resistance built into them amongst other things, for example.
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  • atatassaultatatassault Member Posts: 1,008 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    amosov78 wrote: »
    It's interesting that they came up with a different core mechanic for Romulans, yet they just gave both Starfleet and the KDF the same types of warp cores, despite Starfleet cores being deuterium based, while Klingon cores are tritium based. Since the difference was a big plot point during the late Dominion War episodes in DS9.

    I mean KDF cores could have had an inherent power drain resistance built into them amongst other things, for example.
    More reaction mass = more power. The Breen Energy Dissipator probably couldn't keep up with the power output of a Klingon warp core (assuming KDF ships have a same molar consumption rate as SF ships, KDF would be producing more power).
  • karhaekarhae Member Posts: 25 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    crypticttc wrote: »
    ... so the Sovereign core icon has been transferred to the "field stabilizing" warp core, which has a buff to shields. Finally, the Galaxy style core has been moved to the default/standard issue core that comes with a new starship.
    Switching icons around after people have gotten used to them.. That's a Charlie Foxtrot in the making if I ever saw one. Please cancel this idiotic change, or make completely new icons if you must change them.
    crypticttc wrote: »
    Ultimately we hope that these changes improve the STO experience . . .
    Um, changing these icons wouldn't even make my top 100,000 list of ways to improve the STO experience. Seriously?! Your UI staff had time available and that is what you went with?

    Much nearer the top would be fixing the gross inconsistencies in confirmation dialog boxes, dialog boxes that require scrolling because -- and only because -- the fonts were made larger in LoR but the boxes were not increased in size to match, screen-filling popups for actions I almost certainly do not want to take or containing information I almost never want to know, or hundreds of other UI 101 errors. Here are a few concrete suggestions for the next time you have bandwidth for UI improvement:

    1. Get rid of confirmation dialog boxes for things I have already committed to two or more times, for example the autonav feature asking if I want to stop at dozens of intermediate destinations or confirming I want to warp when I finally reach the sector border, or DS9 (and many other systems) popping a full screen dialog box asking if I want to go back just after I told it yes, I'm sure I want to leave.
    2. Get rid of confirmation dialog boxes for things that are trivial to undo, for example warping to a new sector; it's trivial to warp back.
    3. Add confirmation dialog boxes for things that are impossible to undo, like aborting a duty officer mission. (This is made worse by the UI for "claim rewards" and "abort" being almost visually identical in the first place.)
    4. Make that stupid trader (Mudd) stop interrupting everything else I might be doing to tell me he's leaving, even when I'm not talking to him in the first place.
    5. Enable the "beam out" button near the mini-map consistently. If there are multiple targets (like when leaving the academy) it can pop the same dialog box that the "low priority interaction button" in the lower right does now without making me hunt for the different way to trigger the leave function.
    6. Clean up redundant selection boxes and make them consistent, like when a Romulan beams down to New Romulus and two of the three options go directly to their stated destination, but the third pops another selection box that repeats the options.
    7. Make the dialog boxes that have one item that requires a scroll bar pop a slightly larger dialog window so that I don't have to scroll to that last (and it seems usually most desired) item.
    8. Clean up the overlapping trigger areas -- like the autonav for entry into Arucanis Arm taking us inside the Regulus Sector warp area. Also clean up gaps in trigger areas like the small seams along the borders of about half the sector boundaries that force me to back up if I had another dialog open as I approached.
  • dmfreddie_1426533189dmfreddie_1426533189 Member Posts: 84 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    I've never actually come across the enhanced consoles in my 3 years of sto...hhmm...
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  • frtoasterfrtoaster Member Posts: 3,352 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    1. It is now much more difficult to distinguish between consoles within certain categories. For example, all energy damage consoles look the same except for color. Similar comments apply to kinetic damage consoles, hull plating consoles, and alloy consoles.

    2. Color is used to represent rarity in this game. Using color to also represent console type creates problems. For example, I can see someone mistaking a polaron damage console for an energy damage console of another type.
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  • dmfreddie_1426533189dmfreddie_1426533189 Member Posts: 84 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    karhae wrote: »
    Switching icons around after people have gotten used to them..

    Actually the new warp core icons do vaguely relate to cannon.

    The Sovereign had adv. shielding in Nemesis that could stand up to a Scimitar for a good fight (better than a mogai) and 6 different shield facings (which pre Sovereign ships didn't appear to have) hence the shield bonus, the Defiant was always quick and manoeuvrable hence the engine bonus, and the Galaxy was well...the Galaxy...which many more were made (dominion war) so would suit standard I guess...

    Anyway thats my logic relating to cannon...and to be honest they haven't really been around that long...its the tac / sci / engi console that have been around since the start of the game...

    I could never remember all the buffs for a console so mould always have to mouse over now it's easier as they are colour coded to weapons and energy levels. Less thought on my part, plus slightly easier for new commers to the game.

    Still liking the UI update keep it up on generally improving the experience and making it more Trek :)
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  • mancommancom Member Posts: 784 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    The old consoles have very distinctive looks and it is super easy to tell them apart. The new consoles all look the same within their respective subcategories.

    Compare this to weapons: They not only have different colours, but also different, yet recognisable designs for each energy type.

    I think that this is a step in the wrong direction and a collosal waste of development time. The money spent on redesigning perfectly good existing icons would have been used much better had it been spent on paying a dev to work on things that actually require work.
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  • hyplhypl Member Posts: 3,719 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    mancom wrote: »
    The old consoles have very distinctive looks and it is super easy to tell them apart. The new consoles all look the same within their respective subcategories.

    Compare this to weapons: They not only have different colours, but also different, yet recognisable designs for each energy type.

    I think that this is a step in the wrong direction and a collosal waste of development time. The money spent on redesigning perfectly good existing icons would have been used much better had it been spent on paying a dev to work on things that actually require work.

    ^^^ This, x1,000,000. But no, Cryptic will go ahead and implement this needless change anyway.

    Seriously Cryptic, you need to drop this copy/pasta nonsense. A lot of those icons look too similar to one another and would be a bit difficult to tell them apart, especially if you're colorblind.
  • poeddudepoeddude Member Posts: 127 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    hypl wrote: »
    A lot of those icons look too similar to one another and would be a bit difficult to tell them apart, especially if you're colorblind.

    Then, oh I don't know, try reading them? I assume everyone who plays the game can read. If not there is really nothing anyone can do to help. :rolleyes:

    Right clicking brings up a pretty helpful description for most things.
  • crypticttccrypticttc Member Posts: 30 Cryptic Developer
    edited August 2013
    Thanks for the feedback on the icons, everyone!

    After looking at feedback we reviewed the icons for the engineering alloys and decided that they indeed did look too similar. I've already checked in new art for these icons that still has a uniform style but is more distinct:

    New Alloy Icons
    Star Trek Online - Starship Artist, former UI Artist
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  • frtoasterfrtoaster Member Posts: 3,352 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    crypticttc wrote: »
    Thanks for the feedback on the icons, everyone!

    After looking at feedback we reviewed the icons for the engineering alloys and decided that they indeed did look too similar. I've already checked in new art for these icons that still has a uniform style but is more distinct:

    New Alloy Icons

    Thank you for the change. Could you also consider changing the tac console icons and the hull plating icons? As I said before, it is difficult distinguish between consoles within a certain category if the only difference is color, especially when color also indicates rarity.
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    This content has been removed.
  • eeb3eeb3 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    One thing that kinda confounds me, is why only the Kinetic/Energy Resist Consoles, have different names for different ranks (instead of just one name) and getting small-differently looking consoles, while energy-specific resist consoles get all similar looking consoles and through the ranks the same name for the specific energy. Seems a bit of a headache to make sure things are working correctly or finding things on the exchange. When you don't know the name of the kinetic console you want since each one has a different name.
  • lordhavelocklordhavelock Member Posts: 2,248 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    crypticttc wrote: »
    ...After looking at feedback we reviewed the icons for the engineering alloys and decided that they indeed did look too similar. I've already checked in new art for these icons that still has a uniform style but is more distinct...
    Better, but still too similar. I could tolerate these, if I had to.
    eeb3 wrote: »
    One thing that kinda confounds me, is why only the Kinetic/Energy Resist Consoles, have different names for different ranks (instead of just one name) and getting small-differently looking consoles, while energy-specific resist consoles get all similar looking consoles and through the ranks the same name for the specific energy. Seems a bit of a headache to make sure things are working correctly or finding things on the exchange. When you don't know the name of the kinetic console you want since each one has a different name.
    Agreed. I mentioned this earlier in the thread. I really thing it's a waste of resources having all these different rank-up armors. Why? It just makes things more confusing. I wish they'd consolodate them: 1 Armor for Kinetic only, one for Kin/Energy, and then the various armors variant on energy flavor.

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  • atatassaultatatassault Member Posts: 1,008 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    crypticttc wrote: »
    Thanks for the feedback on the icons, everyone!

    After looking at feedback we reviewed the icons for the engineering alloys and decided that they indeed did look too similar. I've already checked in new art for these icons that still has a uniform style but is more distinct:

    New Alloy Icons
    I think people had more of a problem with the Armors instead of the Alloys; while subtle, the Alloys had shape differences, but the Armors only had color differences.
  • eradicator84eradicator84 Member Posts: 1,116 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    many bugs in the game did time really have to be devoted to something that wasn't broken?
    First of all. Bug fixing isn't really this guys job. You really want an artist fixing code bugs?
    From what I understand (could be wrong) there's a separate bug fixing team which works independently of the 'content' creation side of the business.
    And is why new content comes out despite bug issues.
    eeb3 wrote: »
    One thing that kinda confounds me, is why only the Kinetic/Energy Resist Consoles, have different names for different ranks (instead of just one name)
    That's always confused me too
    crypticttc wrote: »
    Thanks for the feedback on the icons, everyone!

    After looking at feedback we reviewed the icons for the engineering alloys and decided that they indeed did look too similar. I've already checked in new art for these icons that still has a uniform style but is more distinct:

    New Alloy Icons

    Much better! Great to see my suggestion of more concentric rings for higher ranks made it into the design. Seems to work well! Little patterns in higher ones is a nice touch too.


    Hopefully you can come up with something more improved for the platings and some of the tac ones.
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  • crypticttccrypticttc Member Posts: 30 Cryptic Developer
    edited August 2013
    Based on continuing feedback I've added more distinction between the energy type icons. They now have a different silhouette but still feel like they are part of the same "family" of items.

    I'm not sure if this adjustment will make it in time for this week's build, but will go in soon.

    Energy weapon console adjustments

    Thank you again for your feedback everyone!
    Star Trek Online - Starship Artist, former UI Artist
    @Cryptic_TTC on Twitter
  • voporakvoporak Member Posts: 5,621 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    crypticttc wrote: »
    Based on continuing feedback I've added more distinction between the energy type icons. They now have a different silhouette but still feel like they are part of the same "family" of items.

    I'm not sure if this adjustment will make it in time for this week's build, but will go in soon.

    Energy weapon console adjustments

    Thank you again for your feedback everyone!

    That definitely helps.
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  • lordhavelocklordhavelock Member Posts: 2,248 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    crypticttc wrote: »
    Based on continuing feedback I've added more distinction between the energy type icons. They now have a different silhouette but still feel like they are part of the same "family" of items...
    These are much, much better. I like these ones!

    You can find/contact me in game as @PatricianVetinari. Playing STO since Feb 2010.
  • psycoticvulcanpsycoticvulcan Member Posts: 4,160 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    crypticttc wrote: »
    Based on continuing feedback I've added more distinction between the energy type icons. They now have a different silhouette but still feel like they are part of the same "family" of items.

    I'm not sure if this adjustment will make it in time for this week's build, but will go in soon.

    Energy weapon console adjustments

    Thank you again for your feedback everyone!

    Much better! :)
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  • valetheonvaletheon Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    crypticttc wrote: »
    Based on continuing feedback I've added more distinction between the energy type icons. They now have a different silhouette but still feel like they are part of the same "family" of items.

    I'm not sure if this adjustment will make it in time for this week's build, but will go in soon.

    Energy weapon console adjustments

    Thank you again for your feedback everyone!

    Yes, much better. Looking back at the old ones now at how random the icons are, I like the more uniform(but still unique) look to the new ones so you can easily tell what's purpose of the console just by looking at it.

    Appreciate you keeping up with the Feedback :)
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