Get ready for some awesome red boxing coming to your Eve Online.
Dev Blog: Stay on Target!
Hi my friends in space,
CCP karkur here, back with another super-exciting devblog for you. Last time you heard from me I was on Team Avatar, but I’m now on Team Pony Express; a team that has been tasked with the tall order of improving the EVE players' experience.
We are currently working on a number of things for Retribution, the upcoming EVE Online expansion, but today I'd like to tell you about what we are working on right now to improve your Tactical Awareness.
This devblog is a bit different from those I've written before because we are still fairly early in the development process rather than approaching feature completeness. In fact, as I write this no code changes have been submitted (so let's just hope my computer doesn't crash!). We are just so excited about this stuff and having so much fun with it that we want to share it and start a discussion with you right away.
When you are engaged in combat, whether it's against other clever capsuleers, dumb AI or clever AI, it can be hard to understand who is really hurting you. Of course many of you will have mastered the skill of reading the damage messages in the log (or have such amazing reading skill that you are able read the damage notifications as they flash for a split-second in the middle of your screen) but sadly those messages don't really register that well for many of us.
To be honest, in the heat of the battle, this is pretty much the only thing I get from them:
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Yellow text = "I'm glad because I know I'm doing *some* damage"
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Orange text = "I don't like it"
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One of the things we are working on is to give you a visual indicator of who is dealing the most damage to you. Before I go into how we are planning to do that I just want to stress that we are not telling you who to shoot or making decisions for anyone, we are simply displaying the information that is already available but in a more comprehensible manner.
So how are we doing this?
First, to make it all look nice and fit together, we are changing the aggression brackets as well as the targeting UI. Our UI Designer CCP Sharq has made the pretty mockups and we are now working together on making it all come alive in the game client.
Here are screenshots of how it the looks in the client right now:
click image to enlarge
click image to enlarge
Let me now explain to you how we see the damage indicators working:
When someone has you targeted, the new 'yellow box' targeting icon will appear around their bracket. It will blink very subtly (or maybe not at all, we are still playing with it).
When they start aggressing, the 'yellow box' will turn red (but it will still be pretty subtle). However, as the hits start coming in, a new 'hit icon' will flash around the bracket, one for each hit from that pilot. The opacity of the icon will be determined by the damage of the hit. If they are shooting at you with a weapon that has short cycle time but each shot doesn't deal much damage, you will see many faint hit icons, very rapidly. If they're shooting you with something that really, really hurts, the hit icons will be very strong when they flash but you might not see them as often if the cycle time of their modules is rather long.
We have not yet come up with an exact calculation method for the opacity of the hit icon but we are working from this right now:
- opacity = hitHP / (ourShieldHP + ourArmorHP) * magic
That is; the opacity of the hit icon will indicate the impact to YOUR ship. If the hit takes a big chunk of your hitpoints (HP), you will see the attacker's hit icon flash strongly even if it was a pretty lousy shot for their equipment.
Another thing we are working on is to allow you clearly see who is in targeting range. We have experimented with many graphics and I think we are about to settle on the very minimalistic 'in targeting range' icon you see in one of the image above. Everything you can target will have this icon added to its bracket, but it will disappear when they go out of targeting range.
We do have more in-space UI changes planned but since we have not started implementing any of them I don't feel that it's the right time to talk about them right now, plus this blog is way too long already!
We will be closely monitoring how our changes impact client performance and will react as needed. And yes, should you desire it we will most likely be offering you a way to turn off the new Damage and Targeting Range indicators.
I just want to reiterate what I said in the beginning that this is very much work in progress! Therefore you should not take anything I say or show you here as a promise, as it will change as we continue our work in the next few weeks; this is simply what we are trying right now.
Please give us feedback and we will do our best to answer any questions you might have.
That’s it for now, looking forward to hear from you 
- CCP karkur
Love it!!! =D
If member of PL likes it, i am obliged to dislake….so there it is.
CCP are squares no more, now they are joining google circle jerks.
vote hexagon
round > square
fuck that shit, the bars were clear and easy to see, the cirles are fucking retarded
Circles take up less room on the screen – go find something else to whinge about
My little ponies takes less space than eve but im still not going to install it.. Just saying…
I like the round brackets & targeting
However, the HP bars are far superior to the HP circles imo.
Circles are rather confusing as to which is armor/shield and will further confusing newbies.
Keep HP bars, but circles sound good for the rest of it.
First thought is yuck second thought is it might work… THIRD THOUGHT LETS TEST IT FOR A FEW DAYS TO MAKE SURE
Testing is for the weak
Why not if you got time to mess with the UI (not saying you shouldn't)
you make a LUA interface so you can make everyone happy?
If you like Triangles/Bars/Circles well let the customer customize it
if you like better check on your drones let the customer customize it.
if a customer want scrolling combat text next to there ship let them customize it.
if a customer want a difrent font / chat pane let them customize it.
there is nothing wrong with customisation as long as CCP hold on to the core classes that executes commands. like key press assignements, etc.
this is one of the best strength i can see in Wow and the biggest flaw i can see in Eve, im not buying the idea that it helps botters ot be able to customize it. OCR is already in use what i can understand so customizing or not customizing will not affect this only give more options to the player.
amen — test this expansion for the love of god
CCP creates these devblogs not only for us to look at them, they also want feedback, which means they are testing it on us all while it is work in progress.
Do not say to wait until it is done.
Target in range of what?! I have several mods with diferent ranges.
Don't like the new looks that much either, but i'll just get used to it and go on.
not your module ranges, but your ship's overall targetting range…
Targeting range aka locking range, I suppose.
You do play Eve, right?
Am I the only that can't see anything in the round icons? Absolutely confusing.
Three bars stacked vertically >>>>> way more easy to absorb info from >>>> some unfathomable round stuff
Right, because the way it is in those screenshots if you knew what they are is SOO hard to grasp.
So tell me which of the 3 will be shild armor and struct ???
3 layers is easy, 3 parts of a cicle aint. (probable clockwise)
ok so now with watchlist. you gona have 10 little circle icons?? and drones? or are they going to use 2 different representations of the same info ????
why not stick with shit that works
Because you are -A- will you not get circles. You will be getting triangles.
aweeesome, triangles RUUULE
the circle or stacked bars doesn't matter once you get primary target you die.
This is true, altho sometimes the client fools u into thinking ur just being targetted, when really u was alpha'd some time ago, but theres 850 ppl on the field and the server just hasnt gotten round to telling u ur dead yet.
On another note, why do jita spammers/trader bots get all the hw – give null sec moar!!
-A- not willing to accept change. Go fucking fig.
Are you saying that after you are told what each are that you won't remember what is what? Is it that hard to remember? If they are overlapping you just look at the top of your screen. Everything you have locked up is still there in a nice clear line.
Also he said nothing about changing the watch list.
Bottom line just turn it off if you don't like it.
as it is working now, it might be the same way, just put your curser on one of the 3 bars and it might solve the miracle of which one is which^^
Just saying its counter intuitive. And im worried that they will use 2 (or more) different ways to show the same info.
Which one is shield/armor/structure on the round…. things?
whichever one turns red first is shields you nitwit
seriously how many times do you think will you have to see it before you figure it out? answer: 1
omg really — go back to wow — oh wait someone killed everyone there
While they are thinking about this…. (And I like what I saw there so far) Why can't we have rising damage/repair numbers like other games? Instead of that silly box in the center of the screen?
Red = damage, rising slowly from whoever took it (Default limit is you and whatever you just shot at…)
Blue = repairs, rising slowly from yourself or your target…
Expand perhaps to those on your watchlist (for the logi types)…? (Drop down option?)
And while they are it, I'd like a little bit better indicator that my drones are taking damage or being targetted. (Since they intend to change the AI to perhaps be less friendly towards drones…)
Expand Drone Watchlist. Put somewhere near top of screen, underneath targets or as close to as possible, preferably on the right by the overview.
Don't rush to thank me.
go back to wow
How about health bars like in wot.. Oh wait.. We allready had them…
it dosnt only look like crap it also gives you information youd never ask for … wow brilliant ccp
Round = Pie. Square = Cake. Is Cake > Pie or Pie > Cake?
pie. nuff said.
Cake obviously
sooo round…
icky circles
i hate change
i vote hexagon
It looks pretty so far, but I hope it is not turning into a graphics performance killer as it in old times.
1000 drakes shooting at once… the poor soul that doesnt have his brackets off on the receiving end of that :S
This is my main concern
tbh, you should have your brackets off for that anyway….
Another shit and useless change that CCP wasted time on. Once again CCP is useless and has never played this game, always making everything worse.
I think in space UI is well due for some overhaul at the expense of bittervets
looks good
I wish instead of the lame warp the observer sees, they could get a cool UI hit like the one in the latest star trek movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ-Ee5BhZF8
When the FC is target calling faster than you can lock up – pretty does not matter. I only care about 'efficient'.
Its nice to get outside the 0.0 blob warfare sometimes… then pretty is one of the great aspect of EVE.
I concede! Blob Wars are not the only consideration.
u should know better primaries just melt vote hexagon.
The number of people complaining before its even coded, let alone tested by players, is fantastic. If I were CCP, Id move buttons around every couple months just to mess with these rigid whiners.
This is far better for visually impaired players. Three little tiny bars stacked one on top of the other sometimes makes it hard to see which is which and how much damage your target is taking. The new circular format makes it very clear because they are seperated.
They are clearly separated now… with the circles its harder to tell when the shield damage ends and the armor damage begins.
If it makes you feel better the right bar is the shield. If they didnt have the same amount of damage on both armor and hull you could figure out which is which but right now the screenshots dont really help
Also structure will be at the bottom most likely.
The problem of this new and "easier" design however is that every noob who is new to EVE will ask the same question. "Where is what?"
So how is this better when the idea is to make it easier for noobs? It isn't.
I agree witch is witch?
If they wanted to make it easy it should be 3 cirlces in side each other mutch like your own hp in your HUD.
if a noob asks you what is what, just tell him to take that 1 tritanium from that can you jettisoned for him and show him^^
Well, even for a noob it will be awesomely hard to do one shot to an npc to see where shields are, and a few more for armor. It should take you less than 2min. to figure that out. And maybe, just maybe, they might tell you in the tutorials as well.
Imagine a house where people say it's got a good design and then start asking "Where is the door?"
Sure, one will get used to it, but why ignore the signs? What more could be a sign of a bad design than people asking what's what? A good design does not leave you with questions.
Rounded edges on the targeting boxes….in before an Apple IP lawsuit.
To be honest I'm curious if mordern day HUDs in F-22's use boxes or circles. Sniper scopes still use boxes for reason, no? ( I think sniper scopes also have other gauges & are a lot more static then HUD's though )
This might just be me, but I personally think that instead of replacing the flashing box with the solid circle, that the circle should spin. The red/yellow one for targeting, not the shields/armor/structure.
dont fuck with the current easy-to-read 3 bars for hp. important to easily identify which is what.
jizz in my pants
this looks awesome, looking forward targetig something and kiiiillll iiit , yessssssss
Whatever… Can I haz new shipz noa?
I must say the rate of which the German giggle man posts things these days is very delightful.
While i like a refreshing new UI. I dislike the readability of circle bars.
Which one is shield / armor / hull ?
Just as a person who does not play Eve doesn't know what the fuck the three stacked bars mean, an hour into the circle bar you will easily be able to tell what's shield hull and armor. It's not like the bars are freaking rotating or something. Shield will always be on the right, armor on the left, hull on the bottom.
Unless of course its shields on the right, armor on the bottom and hull on the left.
"Shield will always be on the left, armor on the right, hull on the bottom.
Unless of course its shields on the right, armor on the bottom and hull on the left. "
Say this ten times, without a mistake and do it fast.
I say: "Top to bottom: shield, armor, hull."
up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, select, start?
why not change the color scheme ? circles are not that bad, but change the default (non-damaged) bar color – shield blue, armor green, hull yellow – which gets more and more red as damage is applied – FIX
its 2003 all over again!
From a ergonomic standpoint, squares would be better then circles, since our eye is better at reading and interpreting straight lines and corners then circles. So as far as I'm concerned, they just need to implement the new stuff but with squares instead of circles. And I agree also that keeping the HP bars all together is better.
my vote is for mini cthulu shapes
Cthulu cares little for your petty mortal wishes and will still devour your soul…..
WTF!? Who suddenly decided that round shapes are the new black?
Bracket chances are ok but that circular hp thingymagik is shit. Also armor and shields are wrong way around.
I can dig it
We will have to say "red circled" or "yellow circled" instead of boxed =( hurray for change for the sake of change.