Small, detailed HUD

WhatsItMattR

I want to keep it small, and with as much information as possible. As you can see, the icon will change depending on which skill is picked. The little square things will change color according to how close the player is to overheating his weapon.

Is there enough detail? Should I add more? I was thinking of maybe adding wires,tubes or pipes. Is it too small? I like the rust, but some parts of it I know don't look so great. Any critiques would be appreciated.

moose

Looks pretty cool, its somethin to look at, and conveys what you need for this.

Will you have something that displays the abilities that you currently have? or will it only show the active one? Maybe that is something to consider. It will involve showing more icons, but if you work it right it should be ok.

I think the orange is a little distracting, it looks a little more like clouds than rust, since its so soft. id also suggest no wires/tubes/pipes,

have you tried centering the text and blips the vertical centerline of the box? it may help to solidify it a bit.

WhatsItMattR

Thanks for the comments!

My first design had it so that you could see all the abilities you have but I couldn't get a good layout for it that I thought looked good. The way you will change abilities will be like changing a weapon.

I took your advice and changed it a bit. You're right about the rust, definitely looks better.

Not sure what you mean by blips the vertical centerline of the box.

Non-Centered

Centered

Daedalus

kool shape but i personnaly would remove the rusty texture.
a bit to distracting IMO. especially if it of displaing Info it need to be clear and sharp. Brushed steel could be interesting.
i also prefere the first one.the not center one.
BTW what the small white square are supose to reprensent??
ammo? chargerd power??

Cubik

"The little square things will change color according to how close the player is to overheating his weapon."...
Do away with the rust and make the metal between the circle and the meter a bit wider. Try adding some height on the blips and lessen the distance between them.

moose

to clarify the vertical centerline: bump the text, and blips down 3 px to center it verticly in the box. Its much nicer and cleaner right aligned, i was only commenting on its vertical alignment.

what does this look like on top of a screenshot? it may help tie the rust together, if the rest of the game has that similar feel.

WhatsItMattR

Did some work on it, got rid of the rust. I feel like it needs some more color. Was thinking of maybe changing the metal color to brown.

Also played with the idea of having all skills viewable.

Irritant

IMO, the top one was the best, but you went in the wrong direction. You should have just decreased the "orangeness" on the right edge.

nkoste

The HUD doesn't have to be a masterpiece in itself. You need to have a high recognition factor in your numbers and make the user able to tell the values apart with a simple glanse. I think you should leave the metal clean, try adding some color to the actual blips instead. It'll make it easier for the player to tell them apart faster. Rust is just some sprinkled detail, which is way overused IMO. Your metal looks really good by itself. What you need is good usability as if you were designing a webpage. It'll make it easier for the player to concentrate on the actual gaming rather than spend too much energy on reading the HUD.

example:


Looks good so far

*EDIT: Sorry I should try reading the posts before I reply.*

They'll change color according to overheating . My advice keep them plain and simple, so they don't distract the player from receiving the most important information. Perhaps start with a different color than white - a cold color perhaps making a transition to warm as it overheats.

moose

i like the increased size of the bars, seems more solid.

as for the other abilities, it is difficult to see what exactly they are. What about a series of circles to the left of it that show all of your abilities, with some sort of highlight on the active one, as well as the larger icon? or maybe below the whole unit, in a smaller form?

i like the desaturated version a lot more too.

WhatsItMattR

Irritant: The rust is something I was skeptical about using. It wouldn't fit very well within the game. I think it looks better without it and makes it look more clean and less distracting.

nkoste: I like everything to have a certain level of detail and I think the HUD function and look is a very important part of a game experience. I want to make the coolest looking thing I can, but still have that simplicity that makes it easy to use. I agree with you on keeping it simple. I'm trying to find ways of giving the player the information they need but without using just numbers.

Here is something I was toying with. A light on top, that changes depending on what the situation you are in. It would pulsate and color the rest of the HUD.

WhatsItMattR

[ QUOTE ]
i like the increased size of the bars, seems more solid.

as for the other abilities, it is difficult to see what exactly they are. What about a series of circles to the left of it that show all of your abilities, with some sort of highlight on the active one, as well as the larger icon? or maybe below the whole unit, in a smaller form?

i like the desaturated version a lot more too.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, it is hard to see them but each character only has three or four so it'll be easy to remember which icon is which skill.

I'll see what I can do with your suggestion though. Thanks for the feedback. I like the bigger bars too.

Irritant

I like these last versions - very nice.

nkoste

I like it too. I like how the color is an active part in displaying info.

KaosNKorruption

I like how it is now, minus the colored bar on the top. I would also make the vertical bars a little bit taller to fill the bit of empty space underneath, otherwise, it looks a little unbalanced from top to bottom.....(if you can understand what i'm saying.)