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Why oh why did they update FTL and make it look worse? Font, etc.

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 10:30 pm
by mrjonny666
There's a lot of good information around the web regarding font. What looks good and what looks bad. The change to the font from thick/bold to narrow and tall in the oxy and missile counters is awful. And its lacking symmetry to have jump labeled as such and ship icon replacing the ship label, and the wrench tool icon indicating settings/quitting the game is too close. I personally found the game design UI perfect as it was.

Guh. I wish I hadn't updated FTL. Did Into the breach get the same treatment? Was thinking of getting it.

Re: Why oh why did they update FTL and make it look worse? Font, etc.

Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2018 5:10 am
by 4n4rch1st
You got used to the old style. Therefore, you do not like the new style.
Or something like that anyway.

Re: Why oh why did they update FTL and make it look worse? Font, etc.

Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2018 7:21 am
by Jumbocarrot0
I agree with 4n4rch1st. Also the update has done more good then bad like critical bug fixes and modding potential. The UI change isn't horrible and makes the game unplayable, and even still there are mods like the sM Polisk Kit that revert the changes back to pre 1.6.

Re: Why oh why did they update FTL and make it look worse? Font, etc.

Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2018 2:18 am
by mrjonny666
http://theweek.com/articles/463196/how- ... read-think

https://artversion.com/blog/importance- ... ce-design/

There's a reason people have studied the crap out of this kind of thing. It just doesn't look good. They bucked a uniform trend which worked for thousands of games over 30 years.

As far as style goes, the oxy and mis counters are a completely different style to any other part of the UI, therefore making it clash.

Re: Why oh why did they update FTL and make it look worse? Font, etc.

Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2018 7:30 am
by 4n4rch1st
The change to the font from thick/bold to narrow and tall in the oxy and missile counters is awful.
The original numbers were fairly small. I'd consider the bigger text is better and more distinguishable.

And its lacking symmetry to have jump labeled as such and ship icon replacing the ship label, and the wrench tool icon indicating settings/quitting the game is too close.
That because the right hand of the screen is usually taken up by the enemy ship.

As far as style goes, the oxy and mis counters are a completely different style to any other part of the UI, therefore making it clash.
Yeah, and they definitely don't blend in with the new Shields indicator. Or the resources meters. Or the scrap meter.

They bucked a uniform trend which worked for thousands of games over 30 years.
What is this "uniform trend" I ask you? Those "thousands of games" don't really follow the same UI rules. What's specifically wrong with this particular game that is "bad" compared to say, another game?

Re: Why oh why did they update FTL and make it look worse? Font, etc.

Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2018 8:16 am
by 4n4
Please tell me someone is working on a mod to restore the old UI.

Re: Why oh why did they update FTL and make it look worse? Font, etc.

Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2018 8:29 am
by 4n4rch1st
4n4 wrote:Please tell me someone is working on a mod to restore the old UI.
Jumbocarrot0 wrote:and even still there are mods like the sM Polisk Kit that revert the changes back to pre 1.6.

Re: Why oh why did they update FTL and make it look worse? Font, etc.

Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2018 8:36 am
by Arfy
4n4rch1st wrote:
4n4 wrote:Please tell me someone is working on a mod to restore the old UI.
Jumbocarrot0 wrote:and even still there are mods like the sM Polisk Kit that revert the changes back to pre 1.6.
Yeah, but someone is still gonna need to rip it out of sMPK. (I actually haven't checked out sMPK in a while; so i'm not sure if they include a separate download for the Pre 1.6 UI)

Arguably it should be fairly easy.

Re: Why oh why did they update FTL and make it look worse? Font, etc.

Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2018 9:38 am
by Jumbocarrot0
4n4 wrote:Please tell me someone is working on a mod to restore the old UI.
mrjonny666 wrote:Guh. I wish I hadn't updated FTL.
Jumbocarrot0 wrote:and even still there are mods like the sM Polisk Kit that revert the changes back to pre 1.6.
Arfy wrote:Yeah, but someone is still gonna need to rip it out of sMPK. Arguably it should be fairly easy.
Wait no more, I have extracted those graphics from the sM:PK and, well it was so easy I'm anxious that I missed something but here it is:
The sMPK Nostalgic UI changes

Credits goes to @slowriderxcorps for his excellent work on the mod.
Check it out, it is akin to CE and Arsenal+ in new features to the game:
Image

Re: Why oh why did they update FTL and make it look worse? Font, etc.

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:40 am
by mrjonny666
Wow thanks a bunch. I'm glad to have this.