BlizzCon Day 1 - WoW UI Panel

User Interface

Tom Thompson and Derek Sakamoto led the discussion on the new elements of the default User Interface included in the expansion.

In October 2007, Lead Designer Jeff Kaplan submitted a slew of detailed design documents to the User Interface team which included the initial framework of the new Achievement System. It was proposed to reflect the design philosophies behind the game itself, as are all developments in the interface. Sakamoto, the lead developer on the assignment, spent 9 months in making the interface expandable to provide for detailed tooltips and explanations behind the sometimes wacky names of the Achievements, and to allow for characters to compare their different and similar achievements (accessible via right-click on the targeted player’s portrait).

The Death Knight Unit Frames iterated itself over time from a long sword encapsulated by a portrait and runic powers, to a jagged blade with a runic power bar, until they finally decided after months of development to scrap the more artistic elements for pure ease of use. Thompson comments that they develop different interfaces not to draw the eye to it, that it is there mainly for utility.

With the addition of the Achievement System, the pet bag, and the currency frame the UI Team had to rearrange the bottom menu bar. They allowed for all the new buttons by removing the lag meter and incorporating its tooltip into the system button, shrinking the bags, and adding a new achievement button to the menu frame.

UI Q&A

Are you going to implement a focus frame in the default UI?
It is already implemented in the beta.

Will there be/ has there been talk of a Confirmation Box for talent placement, along the lines of an in-game talent calculator?
We have considered it.

Will the 3.0 patch produce Compatibility Issues with addons?
Most addons will be compatible; however some will have to be updated. In general the process should “…flow pretty well.”

Any plan to integrate greater forms of buff integration such as “Pally Power” into the default UI.
With the exception being Totem Timers, no.

Will there be a “one bag” solution in the future?
No.

Will there be more action bars?
Maybe. Thompson: “I think the designers are heading this way.”

Suggestion for allowing cast-random macros extending into the pet/mount bag warranted a “Cool Idea!” response.

Will there be Built in Item Racks or Boss Timers?
Not yet, maybe in the future.

Will there be a stop-casting function added to the cast sequence macro set?
This is a tricky area because it leads to exploits.

An UI Designer sitting in on the panel announced that the caster’s “shoot” ability will follow autoshot and swing’s example of not reseting itself upon cast.

Is the current in-game threatmeter the final version of the Threat UI?
Yes.


From left to right:

Share On: