It's me, or the new UI is too cold and impersonal?

[Kliwarrior]

I really like the map of CK3 , but I've many concerns about the whole User Interface.

I know it's a Work-In-Progress , but day after day I don't see anything different except that grayed background an those squared portraits with a little shield on the right.

We always know that the CK2 interface was probably outdated and the new portraits system, (eventually inherited from Imperator) is great, but the whole CK2 interface was flourishing and truly immersive.
The new one is cold and poor. Nothing there brings you in the Middle Ages: just change the portraits using a toga senator or a serious man in frock coat , instead of a bearded man in half-plate, and it could be the Imperator UI, as well as the UI of Vic3 (if there was a Vic.3 somewhere).

Even the textual parts is so.. flat and minimalist.

It's me , an old nostalgic of a long loved game , or others here have the same feeling ?

 

[prismaticmarcus]

it's a work in progress. i'm sure it'll get prettier

 

[LordofLight]

It does come off as very "modern" to me. Or generic modern medieval game UI.

 

[DavidYung]

It does come off as very "modern" to me. Or generic modern medieval game UI.

Right. I think so too, generally, it lacks some oomph - with just some details it could be spruced up to have more atmosphere-genicity - if that's a word.

Maybe we could list some examples of where it has been successful in the past and what we would specifically like to see to get a different UI that appeals more?

 

[Ezumiyr]

That's what I thought at first. On the first screenshots, it looks very clean and elegant in a modern way.
But if you pay attention to more recent ones, you'll see that it has a stained glass theme. It feels a bit like romanic architecture overall - very simple, and probably a bit austere.
I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing btw. A game doesn't need to have an overloaded UI to have a personality. It can be in the details. I think it's better that way in strategy games as a general rule. For CK in particular, CK2 had a terribly not-user-friendly UI and they did a lot of work on it.

Here you see the notifications have this "simple stained glass" look:

Here it's on the upper part of the event screen:

Also keep in mind that there are things about the UI we don't know yet.
The sound design is important.
And we know that there will be effects like this one:

Yes, it may seem a bit generic, but that's kinda what CK is, though. It's a game set in the middle ages, but it has a very wide timeline and setting. If there's a strategy game that can have a UI that evokes "generic middle ages", it's this one.

 

[famaouz]

That's what I thought at first. On the first screenshots, it looks very clean and elegant in a modern way.
But if you pay attention to more recent ones, you'll see that it has a stained glass theme. It feels a bit like romanic architecture overall - very simple, and probably a bit austere.
I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing btw. A game doesn't need to have an overloaded UI to have a personality. It can be in the details. I think it's better that way in strategy games as a general rule. For CK in particular, CK2 had a terribly not-user-friendly UI and they did a lot of work on it.

Here you see the notifications have this "simple stained glass" look:

Here it's on the upper part of the event screen:

Also keep in mind that there are things about the UI we don't know yet.
The sound design is important.
And we know that there will be effects like this one:

Yes, it may seem a bit generic, but that's kinda what CK is, though. It's a game set in the middle ages, but it has a very wide timeline and setting. If there's a strategy game that can have a UI that evokes "generic middle ages", it's this one.

Where did you get the images?

 

[Pancakelord]

That's what I thought at first. On the first screenshots, it looks very clean and elegant in a modern way.
But if you pay attention to more recent ones, you'll see that it has a stained glass theme. It feels a bit like romanic architecture overall - very simple, and probably a bit austere.
I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing btw. A game doesn't need to have an overloaded UI to have a personality. It can be in the details. I think it's better that way in strategy games as a general rule. For CK in particular, CK2 had a terribly not-user-friendly UI and they did a lot of work on it.

Here you see the notifications have this "simple stained glass" look:

Here it's on the upper part of the event screen:

Also keep in mind that there are things about the UI we don't know yet.
The sound design is important.
And we know that there will be effects like this one:

Yes, it may seem a bit generic, but that's kinda what CK is, though. It's a game set in the middle ages, but it has a very wide timeline and setting. If there's a strategy game that can have a UI that evokes "generic middle ages", it's this one.

I'd add that the UI looks to be mostly 'tan on dark' - so it's good for playing at 2AM without blinding you completely. I.e. night mode as standard.

 

[Denkt]

Where did you get the images?

They are from the various dev diaries.

Yes as other said it is probably far from finished, here is for example how one graphical aspect have changed:

Spoiler: Temple from DD 4

Spoiler: Temple from DD 17

 

[StenKilla]

it's a work in progress. i'm sure it'll get prettier

"Work in progress" and "Under development" have lost their meaning in recent years im afraid

 

[Kaptem]

It communicates a medieval aesthetic in an unobtrusive manner, and I'm not seeing how people are comparing it to generic UI's, Simple ≠ Generic. Personally, I think it's a great example of less is more.

 

[klopkr]

it's a work in progress. i'm sure it'll get prettier

They really haven't shown any desire to change it. It's pretty much all following one design style. I don't think it's a big leap to think this is what we're gonna get.

 

[TheMind]

I like it, actually.

 

[Lordy's]

I also think that it looks fine. The characters look weird (something is wrong with the shading), the map is too empty, but the UI is good. Except for some elements that are clearly taking up too much space (all kinds of list elements).
Also some people seem to forget the most important thing about an UI: Ease of use. And with the new tooltip system, that's definitely an huge improvement.

 

[Denkt]

I don't care how it look, more important that it work.

 

[DeinonychusTaco]

Honestly, I'll always like CK2's aesthetic better, but at this stage in development it looks like this is what we're getting. It has at least demonstrated more detail and complexity in UI elements than I was afraid of in the very first DDs, so I do believe they are working on making it better (both "more informative" and "more pretty")

 

[Leivve]

You know UI is one of the last things made in game development right? You shouldn't even be contemplating what it looks like at this stage of development. You make a minimalist frame for it, build the game, then after you know what all the buttons and menus you need, THEN you go in and make it look nice.

Build the house, before you worry about painting the wood.

 

[Will Steel]

Personally, I don't see it as any more "cold and impersonal" than CK2 western UI already was. It does seem a more "modern-ish" and "generic" but that is a trend in most medieval game in the past two years.

I don't have a problem with that. CK1 UI was the only true "flavoured" UI, CK2 one just had colour palette changes.

But that said, I really, really hope we get culture/religion specific UI in some way. That cold blue stone UI doesn't fit anywhere outside the Romanesque culture area.

 

[McGrey]

Thing is, we rarely get a complete picture, only snippets of it. And I think that makes a big difference in how one perceives it. That beeing said, I wouldn't have a problem with a UI that is largely clear and simple with only a few smaller embellishments like the stained glas we see here and there.

 

[Razmorg]

Bannerlord kind of have the same approach with just a bit more grit and gradients. Works fine there. I think there's just something that's a bit too clean and simple with the current CK3 one.

 

[prismaticmarcus]

i bet most of the eye candy factor will come from portraits and events. what we've seen are popups really