The UI is a resource hog. It is well known. Has been well known. Probably always will be well known. How the posters above are unaware of this, or even if they are serious baffles me.
The UI is a resource hog. It is well known. Has been well known. Probably always will be well known. How the posters above are unaware of this, or even if they are serious baffles me.
I'm running this on a Laptop, and with UI on I'm hitting 50-60 on most maps. Not tested without it, but as for UI being fit for purpose, I disagree. It can be customised and I get what I want from it. I only use it for visual referral in most cases as I use keyboard for everything virtually.
"You don't want to patrol!? You don't want to escort!? You don't want to defend the Federation's Starbases!? Then why are you flying my Starships!? If you were a Klingon you'd be killed on the spot, but lucky for you.....you WERE in Starfleet. Let's see how New Zealand Penal Colony suits you." Adm A. Necheyev.
I've tried reducing the number of UI panels I use to a minimum in order to improve FPS but that starts to present issues with game play.
I got rid of the "throttle" bar in space, but then that means Shift+R for full impulse and slipstream don't work for some reason unless you bind them to an action bar... for which I have literally zero room using the full four bars. So had to enable it again.
I disabled the mini map, because I know all the shortcuts and rarely need to even bother looking at it since I have the M key map and all the huge sparkling "I'm over here" quest markers on objects. But then I can't beam back to my ship from a ground map since the transporter icon is on the mini map. So I had to enable it... again. I've already had the XP bar disabled for eons along with the little bar showing what boosts you have active. So the only thing I was able to hide was the weapon panel. You can't even hide the small box for sensor analysis, otherwise I'd get rid of that too and try to fit it on my bar somehow.
Perhaps going as far as saying "unfit for purpose" was a little harsh, but it's a pretty crappy UI by any standards with very little options for trimming down or customising without impeeding on gameplay. The panels don't even fit togther in an aestheticly pleasing way either... a minor thing but it triggers me having the panels at different heights lol.
I miss the well thought out UI's of games of old. It may have been quite big, but I loved the UI for Starfleet Command. There was so much you could do, and it even looke the part. I think it would have looked better as a horizontal bar as opposed to a vertical one, but that harks back to the old 4:3 aspect ratio all CRT screens were back then.
Don't get me wrong, in most circumstances I'm still hitting between 50-60 FPS but it's very inconsistant and whenever it drops below 60 I really do feel it. Once you've gotten used to utterly smooth gameplay with FPS of 80-100 and above all the time it's really jarring and something I do not expect from such a basic game nowadays.
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definately something in need of a revamp. People were hoping that the Console UI would become an option for PC too and that the Console UI revamp would actually have an impact on the PC version, but nothing happened appart from better lighting.
Seriously, I can't even fit all my powers into the 3 horizontal rows anymore and the 3 vertical rows are far from a good solution.
The UI is a resource hog. It is well known. Has been well known. Probably always will be well known. How the posters above are unaware of this, or even if they are serious baffles me.
I am aware it has is higher than most other ui's but it has NEVER been an issue to warrant a complaint
"It appears we have lost our sex appeal, captain."- Tuvok
There certainly is room for improvement. Opening the queue tab tanks my frame rate from 119 down to 35 fps. I don't know what it is with these tabs but they are more ressource consuming than a modern AAA game with high end graphics.
There certainly is room for improvement. Opening the queue tab tanks my frame rate from 119 down to 35 fps. I don't know what it is with these tabs but they are more ressource consuming than a modern AAA game with high end graphics.
What are you doing in the queue tab that needs more than 35 FPS?
I checked the frame rate on the 'loading' screen and it was over 300 FPS. I'm just going to stay on that from now on because Best Frame. Rate, Evar.
I'm not entirely sure of the complaint basis here, because even if you're not getting a mega-skadillion frames per second with the UI on, this isn't a first-person twitcher, so how is the Frame Rate at the End of the Universe helping? What I don't see from the OP (or the Greek Chorus) is what an acceptable frame rate would be with the UI on--just kvetching and shaming.
But what the heck, let me try to explain this again: no matter what the developers would like to do, they only get to do what the business tells them they can do. A user interface that doesn't pull down the frame rate won't bring in new players, or generate a revenue flow in an otherwise free-to-play game. Yeah, that next lock box is what allows you to continue to not enjoy the UI. That next lock box is your BFF if you want to keep playing STO. I think I'd just let that issue rest where it is.
I don't know. I own a, well, computer. It is of the shelf, not the cheapest model, but mostly for "business issues". It's also not very new. I have no idea what my frame rates are. Sometimes I have troubles with games. But almost always I find complaints by people with this and that hardware specs about how the game doesn't work. Yet, it does for me. Granted, I don't play FPS games, where I have been told it matters more. But how comes that people with knowledge about computer setups and way better hardware than me seem to regularly stumble into problems I just cannot replicate with my definitely not optimized system?
My mother was an epohh and my father smelled of tulaberries
definately something in need of a revamp. People were hoping that the Console UI would become an option for PC too and that the Console UI revamp would actually have an impact on the PC version, but nothing happened appart from better lighting.
Seriously, I can't even fit all my powers into the 3 horizontal rows anymore and the 3 vertical rows are far from a good solution.
Some back end console improvements were added to the PC version. We [in all likelihood] will never get the console UI though. More back end improvements, well we can always hope but the interface design itself is essentially off the table (last it was mentioned by Cryptic [Livestream, IIRC]). I'd also like to add that this is only a change from Cryptic's pre-console statement (paraphrased) of "Well, maybe it's something we look into in future but we have no plans ATM to bring the console UI to PC." That might even still be Cryptic's official position (always beware of reading too much into off-hand dev comments) but whatever the case the console UI design should not be expected to be coming to the PC.
Also, how are people running out of ability space? I stick to two rows and a vertical bar and the only things I need to put on the bar are sector space functions and emotes. What else (besides rep powers, consoles, devices, and captain powers) are you guys trying to fit down there?
Post edited by duncanidaho11 on
Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
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OP, I've always complained and brought up this issue endless times. Only one time do I ever recall patch notes doing a fix attempt. For a very short time after, the activation bug was gone. I remember walking on DS9 activating powers and seeing them work. Too bad it didn't hold, and the delay and activation failures kicked in shortly after. UI FPS lag is still just as bad.
Such long-standing major problems with STO's why I no longer take the game too seriously, especially when there's so many other online games that aren't completely broken like this, even if they too suffer from balance problems and other issues. A fast-paced game where all powers don't respond and have to be keybound as endless rows to spam as a workaround to me is the definition of broken.
The UI is a resource hog. It is well known. Has been well known. Probably always will be well known. How the posters above are unaware of this, or even if they are serious baffles me.
Don't be too surprised. It wouldn't be a public forum without such replies.
Your PC performance is quite insignificant in this matter. You could have the fastest computer in the known universe and it would still be subjected to how the game is designed and how things are implemented to work.
What is most important to remember about this game, like any MMO, is that this is a client-server architecture. As such you have a very strict communication between the two, and parameters on both sides that dictate the final performance that you experience. This aspect of the game is something I think most people are generally familiar with.
However, seeing between the lines is something I believe could be harder to do. As in, seeing how exactly the GUI is rendered and how exactly data is displayed in the GUI elements... how often that data changes and how often the GUI is changed or rendered.
Think of comparing between a passive/static and an active GUI. Take Windows Calculator for example. Each button has a predetermined location and the values displayed are updated only once upon a triggered action. As in, they are displayed upon user interaction but halts their update cycle once user interaction ceases.
In STO, the "active" GUI windows seem to be empty grid layouts that actually load their GUI elements and the accompanied data as soon as you open the windows, and then also in real time. That means each time you open those windows said elements and data can be different each time. And then they may also change without your interaction. In other words, the GUI keeps checking toward the server and keeps loading off it in real time.
Think of it as the GUI being instanced, with each GUI element being alive and each element being individual blocks that loads into the GUI. The client is simply a frame holder but the server itself throws the elements and data into those frame(s) in real time or at tight intervals.
This type of communication has an impact on performance because we are talking more than just rendering off the graphics card. I hope this helped explain things a little.
I love the layout and customization and almost everything about the UI. Everything but this terrible input lag. If I click an ability not on CD if should activate. Instantly. Not after clicking it 5 time forcefully while yelling "raise them f****ng shields, b***h!".
WoW's default UI isn't better but the WoW UI is far more customizable.
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
So explain exactly what you meant then when you mentioned the American educational system and how its faultiness relates to dyslexia. I'm simply curious. If you did not mean to relate the two then why mention both in the same sentence the way you did?
So no I'm not "tripped up". I'm simply asking questions. All you reply with are insults and deflections.
Comments
Exactly
Using insults like that doesn't make you look any smarter than the person you're arguing with.
This thread is a disaster already.
@jodarkrider
I got rid of the "throttle" bar in space, but then that means Shift+R for full impulse and slipstream don't work for some reason unless you bind them to an action bar... for which I have literally zero room using the full four bars. So had to enable it again.
I disabled the mini map, because I know all the shortcuts and rarely need to even bother looking at it since I have the M key map and all the huge sparkling "I'm over here" quest markers on objects. But then I can't beam back to my ship from a ground map since the transporter icon is on the mini map. So I had to enable it... again. I've already had the XP bar disabled for eons along with the little bar showing what boosts you have active. So the only thing I was able to hide was the weapon panel. You can't even hide the small box for sensor analysis, otherwise I'd get rid of that too and try to fit it on my bar somehow.
Perhaps going as far as saying "unfit for purpose" was a little harsh, but it's a pretty crappy UI by any standards with very little options for trimming down or customising without impeeding on gameplay. The panels don't even fit togther in an aestheticly pleasing way either... a minor thing but it triggers me having the panels at different heights lol.
I miss the well thought out UI's of games of old. It may have been quite big, but I loved the UI for Starfleet Command. There was so much you could do, and it even looke the part. I think it would have looked better as a horizontal bar as opposed to a vertical one, but that harks back to the old 4:3 aspect ratio all CRT screens were back then.
Don't get me wrong, in most circumstances I'm still hitting between 50-60 FPS but it's very inconsistant and whenever it drops below 60 I really do feel it. Once you've gotten used to utterly smooth gameplay with FPS of 80-100 and above all the time it's really jarring and something I do not expect from such a basic game nowadays.
Looking for a dedicated Star Trek community? Visit www.ufplanets.com for details.
Seriously, I can't even fit all my powers into the 3 horizontal rows anymore and the 3 vertical rows are far from a good solution.
If I play SWTOR too much, it takes like 15 minutes after closing it to unload all the virtual memory. This, this exists immediately.
The game runs super smooth (frame rate is consistently high), when you turn the UI off no matter what is happening on screen.
"It appears we have lost our sex appeal, captain."- Tuvok
What are you doing in the queue tab that needs more than 35 FPS?
I'm not entirely sure of the complaint basis here, because even if you're not getting a mega-skadillion frames per second with the UI on, this isn't a first-person twitcher, so how is the Frame Rate at the End of the Universe helping? What I don't see from the OP (or the Greek Chorus) is what an acceptable frame rate would be with the UI on--just kvetching and shaming.
But what the heck, let me try to explain this again: no matter what the developers would like to do, they only get to do what the business tells them they can do. A user interface that doesn't pull down the frame rate won't bring in new players, or generate a revenue flow in an otherwise free-to-play game. Yeah, that next lock box is what allows you to continue to not enjoy the UI. That next lock box is your BFF if you want to keep playing STO. I think I'd just let that issue rest where it is.
you pays your dilithium, your gets the noms. I don't care who I sell to/
Some back end console improvements were added to the PC version. We [in all likelihood] will never get the console UI though. More back end improvements, well we can always hope but the interface design itself is essentially off the table (last it was mentioned by Cryptic [Livestream, IIRC]). I'd also like to add that this is only a change from Cryptic's pre-console statement (paraphrased) of "Well, maybe it's something we look into in future but we have no plans ATM to bring the console UI to PC." That might even still be Cryptic's official position (always beware of reading too much into off-hand dev comments) but whatever the case the console UI design should not be expected to be coming to the PC.
Also, how are people running out of ability space? I stick to two rows and a vertical bar and the only things I need to put on the bar are sector space functions and emotes. What else (besides rep powers, consoles, devices, and captain powers) are you guys trying to fit down there?
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
Such long-standing major problems with STO's why I no longer take the game too seriously, especially when there's so many other online games that aren't completely broken like this, even if they too suffer from balance problems and other issues. A fast-paced game where all powers don't respond and have to be keybound as endless rows to spam as a workaround to me is the definition of broken.
Don't be too surprised. It wouldn't be a public forum without such replies.
What is most important to remember about this game, like any MMO, is that this is a client-server architecture. As such you have a very strict communication between the two, and parameters on both sides that dictate the final performance that you experience. This aspect of the game is something I think most people are generally familiar with.
However, seeing between the lines is something I believe could be harder to do. As in, seeing how exactly the GUI is rendered and how exactly data is displayed in the GUI elements... how often that data changes and how often the GUI is changed or rendered.
Think of comparing between a passive/static and an active GUI. Take Windows Calculator for example. Each button has a predetermined location and the values displayed are updated only once upon a triggered action. As in, they are displayed upon user interaction but halts their update cycle once user interaction ceases.
In STO, the "active" GUI windows seem to be empty grid layouts that actually load their GUI elements and the accompanied data as soon as you open the windows, and then also in real time. That means each time you open those windows said elements and data can be different each time. And then they may also change without your interaction. In other words, the GUI keeps checking toward the server and keeps loading off it in real time.
Think of it as the GUI being instanced, with each GUI element being alive and each element being individual blocks that loads into the GUI. The client is simply a frame holder but the server itself throws the elements and data into those frame(s) in real time or at tight intervals.
This type of communication has an impact on performance because we are talking more than just rendering off the graphics card. I hope this helped explain things a little.
So how is a cognitive brain disorder that affects people worldwide a fault of one nations educational system? What an asinine comment to make.
While the OP may have problems on his end I do not. However my problem with the UI is the input lag which I do not believe to be a hardware problem.
original join date 2010
Member: Team Trekyards. Visit Trekyards today!
You sound like an Iotian.
original join date 2010
Member: Team Trekyards. Visit Trekyards today!
at least ya didnt say ferengi
Ring a bell.
original join date 2010
Member: Team Trekyards. Visit Trekyards today!
"He shall be my finest warrior, this generic man who was forced upon me.
Like a badass I shall make him look, and in the furnace of war I shall forge him.
he shall be of iron will and steely sinew.
In great armour I shall clad him and with the mightiest weapons he shall be armed.
He will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight him.
He shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe will best him in battle.
He is my answer to cryptic logic, he is the Defender of my Romulan Crew.
He is Tovan Khev... and he shall know no fear."
So no I'm not "tripped up". I'm simply asking questions. All you reply with are insults and deflections.
original join date 2010
Member: Team Trekyards. Visit Trekyards today!