[Zocky]

hm, if i can agree that ui in g1 was not exactly the best, i can't say i agree that g2 ui was awefull....would be cool to se some explanation...

[drunknmunkey]

About G2 UI: In my opinion it looks dreadful, like something that was thrown together at the last minute.. I love the looks of R1+R2 UI, finally they went for a nice design! I'm not talking about the interaction, just the looks..
Just my opinion, everybody is different
Just saying that I couldn't get into the world of G2, hope that doesn't make me a bad person or someone who "should be converted"..

About shader models: If you know what you are doing, shaders can be written/converted pretty quickly.. The biggest part of making games is making the tools for constructing the world, characters, questlines etc, the engine (eg. pathfinding, collision detection, rendering the world, quest engine, combat system and so on), shaders are a minor part in making a game IMO.
And I'm pretty sure all DX9+ versions follow the same syntax (the C-like language you program shaders in before compiling them).

But back on topic: I like the screenshots (not the square cannonballs though), and I'll buy it regardless of DX11 support DX11 support is not a dealbreaker to me, but just something that would be cool to add in.. Looks like it will be alot of fun.. The crocodile sort of reminds me of the small island around Tortage (Age of Conan), got instant flashback to AoC
I hope they keep the concept of buried treasures, no pirate game is complete without treasures!!

[Nisarg]

No, there are significant changes in the HLSL for DX10.x/DX11 as compared to DX9c. They are similar but most of the code from one just won't work in the other. I'm not sure but I think that even some of the data types are different in SM 4.x and SM 5.0.

The HLSL for DX9c and versions like DX7 and DX8.x was quite similar, with only added features, I think, in each new version.

As for the G2 UI, the coloured bordered for highlighted or equipped items weren't so good, IMO, though I really like the translucent black background. What I don't like in the UI screen is all that dark pale blue, in my opinion, it doesn't match the yellowish and bright world, a medium brown, maybe with a wooden texture, would have been more suitable too.

[Avatarion]

http://www.worldofrisen.de/english/gallery_pic2494.htm

I hope the character equipment screen will be scrapped for something better. It usually does during development. I can see the "inventory" being selected and then "equipment". "Alles" is for "all", and if you select that, it will align all your items in a long scrollable list. So I guess that means the inventory is just as I feared, a list inventory. The same kind they used in TES:Oblivion and Witcher 2. It's all "thanks" to consoles and their pad controls. I really hope Piranha Bytes will make a different UI for the PC version. Let us utilize THE MOUSE since we have it.

See this inventory: http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/63/...1620520725.jpg This is what I want. It's PC-friendly.

The quickbar on the bottom of the screen looks fine. It's just like in Risen 1.

[Nisarg]

What I don't understand is how exactly would a list inventory be better for consoles, rather than the one in Risen. Surely it would be faster to use the directional controls to get to the item you want than scrolling down a list, like G2?

[Avatarion]

What I don't understand is how exactly would a list inventory be better for consoles, rather than the one in Risen. Surely it would be faster to use the directional controls to get to the item you want than scrolling down a list, like G2?

I don't know. You have to ask the developers. It seems to be a common trend today.

Somehow they think this http://www.worldofgothic.de/screenshots/gothic/89.jpg looks/works better than this http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/1...7_02_super.jpg

Somehow they think this http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysid...len_potato.jpg looks/works better than this http://image.com.com/gamespot/images..._screen002.jpg

This http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/8/9396/z9396318O.jpg is better than this http://livingwithanerd.com/wp-conten...-inventory.jpg

This http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespo...0screen006.jpg is better than this http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/...77675508_o.jpg

This http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0...7_22_super.jpg is better than this http://www.manapool.co.uk/wp-content...10/bg2soa2.jpg

Now add Risen 1 and 2 here.

I think you get my point.

You know, just because consoles don't have a mouse and can't point at things properly with the analog sticks, doesn't mean they don't have LEFT and RIGHT along with UP and DOWN in the directional pad. So you're right about that. The list inventory just doesn't make any sense.

[Maladiq]

Somehow they think this http://www.worldofgothic.de/screenshots/gothic/89.jpg looks/works better than this http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/1...7_02_super.jpg



This http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/8/9396/z9396318O.jpg is better than this http://livingwithanerd.com/wp-conten...-inventory.jpg

1. Yes, it is a million times better The G1 inventory interface IS better than the one in G2.

2. Oh, the horror, why did you have to remind me of the god-awful Witcher interface?

[Avatarion]

1. Yes, it is a million times better The G1 inventory interface IS better than the one in G2.

2. Oh, the horror, why did you have to remind me of the god-awful Witcher interface?

The Witcher 1 inventory was clear and coherent in a sense everything was in plain sight. You did not have to scroll up and down constantly to access something. It was the sheer amount of junk you could acquire in the game that made it confusing at times.

As for G2, and all the other examples I made, accessing items is still much faster than having one long list of things, due to the reduced amount of scolling needed. Sub-categories help in Dragon Age's, Dungeon Siege 3's, Risen 2's etc. case, but there is no reason why it shouldn't a big table of items where you can also use side arrow keys and not just up and down.

[Kraszu]

The Witcher 1 inventory was clear and coherent in a sense everything was in plain sight. You did not have to scroll up and down constantly to access something. It was the sheer amount of junk you could acquire in the game that made it confusing at times.

As for G2, and all the other examples I made, accessing items is still much faster than having one long list of things, due to the reduced amount of scolling needed. Sub-categories help in Dragon Age's, Dungeon Siege 3's, Risen 2's etc. case, but there is no reason why it shouldn't a big table of items where you can also use side arrow keys and not just up and down.

No the G2 inventory is much slower because there are no categories what you screen shot doesn't show is that in G1 you use left/right arrow to change categories, and in each category the items are placed based on price, and those on top are the most used one, your screen shot also doesn't show how fast the scrolling it, it is couple times faster then in G2.

I don't care which one looks better. Inventory should be made to give fast access to item that you want not to stare at it for long periods of time, as long as there is not problem with seeing what is in your inventory I have no problem with it, you can see much more in bigger res as the sze of icons scale.

[Kraszu]

The Witcher 1 inventory was clear and coherent in a sense everything was in plain sight. You did not have to scroll up and down constantly to access something. It was the sheer amount of junk you could acquire in the game that made it confusing at times.

As for G2, and all the other examples I made, accessing items is still much faster than having one long list of things, due to the reduced amount of scolling needed. Sub-categories help in Dragon Age's, Dungeon Siege 3's, Risen 2's etc. case, but there is no reason why it shouldn't a big table of items where you can also use side arrow keys and not just up and down.

In Gothic/Risen there is no limit to how many items you can have so you end up with much more different items then in The Wither. I don't think that this would ever work without scrolling there is the point where icons get too small.

[Larisa]

They Witcher 1 had really small item icons. And that Dragon Age (I think) is better that the old school one, it just looks cleaner.

Inventory should be made to give fast access to item that you want not to stare at it for long periods of time, as long as there is not problem with seeing what is in your inventory I have no problem with it

I'd say the quick bar is for fast access to items that I don't want to stare at. I should spend a decent amount of time in inventory (sure, not hours at a time ) comparing items, prices, deciding.

[Kraszu]

I'd say the quick bar is for fast access to items that I don't want to stare at. I should spend a decent amount of time in inventory (sure, not hours at a time )

You can actually see the quick bar all of the time so it is more important how it looks.

comparing items, prices, deciding.

But then you read, and stare at numbers fancy graphics doesn't add to that, you can see how the weapon/armour look when you equip it very convenient in Gothic games no need to drag it on yourself just click, the only thing that they could add is a screen where you can see how do you look from front but that is just a detail that isn't of much importance. They should also add your current equipment stats to be visible at all time, that would not make it look more pretty but it would make it more convenient.

[Avatarion]

No the G2 inventory is much slower because there are no categories what you screen shot doesn't show is that in G1 you use left/right arrow to change categories, and in each category the items are placed based on price, and those on top are the most used one, your screen shot also doesn't show how fast the scrolling it, it is couple times faster then in G2.

I don't care which one looks better. Inventory should be made to give fast access to item that you want not to stare at it for long periods of time, as long as there is not problem with seeing what is in your inventory I have no problem with it, you can see much more in bigger res as the sze of icons scale.

I think you fail to see my point here. It's not that G1's inventory was superior, it's that G2's inventory had far more potential. The outlook of the inventory was far more accessible.

Now, if you had given G2 faster scrolling speed and arranged the items in price order, as well as given it full mouse support and item categories, G1's inventory would not have stood a snowball's chance in Hell in comparison.

If one was to create the most easily accessible RPG inventory possible to manage a large amount of items, you would probably use something like the inventory in G3 or Risen 1. You would not use a single long line of list, rather a big table of items, each with their own icons. You would give it mouse support, because, let's face it, it's far more practical to select and click on things in a menu, than scroll back and forth and fiddle with the arrow keys on a gamepad.

They Witcher 1 had really small item icons. And that Dragon Age (I think) is better that the old school one, it just looks cleaner.

That depends on how many items the player will hoard in his inventory. A single list inventory will inevitably become impractical if the player can only see a max of 6-10 items at one time and has to constantly scroll up and down to reveal the rest of the items in his inventory.

Compare that with G3 and Risen 1 inventories, where you could see about 30+ items on one "page". A small push on the scroll bar on the right side of the inventory would reveal another 30+ items...

[Maladiq]

I beg to differ. There is NOTHING worst for a game UI than mouse support. It should be banned by law, if you ask me.

The perfect inventory for a game would be: categories like in G1, larger number of columns like in G2. With A and D you would scroll horizontally in the same category, while with Left Arrow and Right Arrow you would change the categories.

[Avatarion]

I beg to differ. There is NOTHING worst for a game UI than mouse support. It should be banned by law, if you ask me.

The perfect inventory for a game would be: categories like in G1, larger number of columns like in G2. With A and D you would scroll horizontally in the same category, while with Left Arrow and Right Arrow you would change the categories.

How so?

If you had to get from item #1 to item #20, your way would be to scroll down to item #2, then to item #3... until you finally get to #20.

Wouldn't it be better to just point at the target with your mouse and click on it? You skip a whole 18 items in-between in a fraction of the time it would take to scroll it.

The only thing faster than a mouse is perhaps a touch screen, or better yet, direct neural interface between the computer and you!

[Maladiq]

The only thing faster than a mouse is perhaps a touch screen, or better yet, direct neural interface between the computer and you!

Really?

I remember in g1 scrolling around 20 items/s the least. In risen it took me about 2 seconds to localize and point at the item I wanted it it were in the category of the inventory I was in and in sight. If it was in another category in the middle of the page, I waste at least 10 seconds finding it, in comparison to items in g1 (fast category selection, and price arrangement) where it wouldn't take me more than 5 seconds to reach most items (exception: beginner's weapons for the sole reason that the engine didn't group weapons as well)

[Zocky]

I guess to each his own counts here, but i still KB only interation with inventory old and slow. I'll take mouse interation every day in week. It's just much faster.

Again, that's just for me.

In g1, it took quite some time to switch between categories and find specific item. Just....slow.

[Talek]

I do not care much for speed-based inventory accessibility. In my games, I rarely used it for anything else but swapping weapons, selling items and placing stuff of my quick bar and I never once complained about a single part of it. Once I entered it, I would take time to look through what junk lies there (and mumble about the amount of unnecessary items like ladles and brooms which could have applicable use for secret +xp points) . However, what I hate most are standard square inventories (with supposedly limited space; keyboard-based or mouse-based alike) because you have to query the whole inventory before you find a specific item (either browse with your eyes, or move the pointer so you know whutcha pointing at). List inventories on the other hand work very well if font size is appropriate (dont remind me of the oblivion one), and usually look decent (Kotor, witcher 2) which is what I consider to be a good UI. That said, G2 inventory stood out as an exception to me because I liked how I could span the space across my monitor and arrange the items the way I want them via gothic.ini. Then I would go to Coragon's every now and then, fill up that chest of his with my leftover items and treasures and just sell the rest to him. Also, you could see the 3D model of the item in question upon selection which is exactly how it should work IMO with a list inventory. Annnd the colour and item size did not pain my eyes. They were brilliantly spanned out within their squares.

That said I kind of fancy the new Risen inventory (much like I adore the witcher 2's), though I'd like a different font.

[Nisarg]

The part about having to hover over each item only happens if the icons are not distinct enough. In G1/G2 the armours were arranged in according to their stats, and also looked so clearly distinct that you knew before highlighting which one it was you wanted. I think that the Risen 2 inventory should be like that of Risen 1's but with added keyboard support.

[Dino]

Well one thing is for sure, that's some good looking graphics.