Is anyone else bothered by the sea of neon colors in WAR?

[ningrim]

One of the great things about DAoC was the muted colors used for names and labels, they had functionality without distracting from the overall feel of the game.

I watch these WAR rvr videos and it hurts my eyes frankly, especially when you get a bunch of people in a clump. Just a sea of neon green and red and blue names and circles around everyone. It really hurts the immersion.

Here you have this gritty dark world and my screen is just covered with cartoony neon labels everywhere, especially with lots of people and/or npcs in an area. It really bothers me.

I'll see if I can't find some good screenshots or video links to illustrate what I mean.

EDIT: if this isn't the right forum for this topic, feel free to move it

[iCanada]

I would bet you would be able to customize your user interface. Sort like how you can literally change the skin of wows.

[Mo0rbid]

I haven't tried WAR so I cannot say if I'm bothered or not

[Llamazerker]

its just kind of a mmo basic text for damage and names. you just use a mod for the style of text that you like. if you dont plan on using mods your really missing out i think.

[Ungotz Spiketoothz]

You can change around your UI quite a bit from the start, according to rumors/dev murmurs.

Also, all these WAR vids with all the bars? They're all REALLY bad video quality (Lawlyoutube), so the bars are probably a lot brighter in these vids than they will be for you when you actually play it.

[Aqueous]

MMOs almost always let you turn off floating names, and you can probably turn off the glowy target circle if you so desireth.

[Saracen]

MMOs almost always let you turn off floating names, and you can probably turn off the glowy target circle if you so desireth.


Unfortunately, this puts you at a serious disadvantage in pretty much all pvp situations except for 1v1 combat:/


If I had my way, they'd turn off the names completely and let us actually surprise each other every now and then.

[Mercer7]

I haven't tried WAR so I cannot say if I'm bothered or not

I was thinking the exact same thing. The videos are showing features that are work in progress, not anything permanent. ;)

[XShrike]

I remember some of the first complaints about the UI was it was nothing but, browns, yellows, blacks, and grays.

[Axxar]

Last I saw the UI it had a brownish look with yellow/gold/black and was very nice to look at.

[MrProphet]

It's good enough for me as long as it's customizable...which i hear it is :p

[Lesane]

the only thing I don't like is the shaman spell sounds, it seems very low quality and uninspired. the healing thing where you hear this metallic-ish noise every time. Hope it's just temporary. However the colors, uhmm I like them so far :p

[Tairathan]

I think the colors will probably look better in-game than they do in the vids or screens. Just gotta wait and see.

[serenityx]

i like the neon names in MMORPGS....MMORPGS are not the same without them

[Bucket]

Not keen on the nametag colours, but I'd like to add a little more colour to the rest of the world.

[EternalFeastOfSorrow]

There's a video out on YouTube that shows a Runepriest facing off against a Shaman and it looks like the freaking Disney World laser show. I think they're probably using "true" shades for testing and it will be muted for release (this was mentioned in explanation of the cherry red armor on a Chosen in one video). I'm still worried about the lag though.

[Utakata]

I'm sure there would be a UI change for the colors, if it affects you that much. Or maybe even a drop down menu of different pre-set color schemes.

I personally like colors, because of our good friend psychology. I won't go too in-depth, but colors can be an extremely useful thing in heuristics, or quick recognition/shortcuts. If you have a bunch of different colors in your chat box, for example: white is say, pink is shout, orange is party, green is guild, blue is system messages, then you can completely forget about your chat box and if your peripheral vision sees green you will know your guild is talking so you can decide to read it. Same goes for a lot of other things in the UI colors.

[Andolar]

I'm sure there would be a UI change for the colors, if it affects you that much. Or maybe even a drop down menu of different pre-set color schemes.

I personally like colors, because of our good friend psychology. I won't go too in-depth, but colors can be an extremely useful thing in heuristics, or quick recognition/shortcuts. If you have a bunch of different colors in your chat box, for example: white is say, pink is shout, orange is party, green is guild, blue is system messages, then you can completely forget about your chat box and if your peripheral vision sees green you will know your guild is talking so you can decide to read it. Same goes for a lot of other things in the UI colors.

Quoted for truth. Distinct colors along the range of the full visible color spectrum are the only way to ensure immediate peripheral recognition. Such as, high energy green for guild, low energy orange for raid, highest energy white for say, etc. etc. lowest energy red for yells. It all falls along the lines of various low-mid-high color energy levels of various combinations of nothing but RGB in singles (red), pairs (orange), or triplets (white). These are the easiest for the brain to process on the fly while having to do little if any real conscious or immediate cognitive processing. This is the same reason that the stop lights are red green and yellow (though I am not sure that the original inventor had this in mind, it is highly likely that it is one reason the color scheme stuck and has been standard for around ninety years now). Any color schemes that are absolutely and easily distinguishable from one another in almost any visibility level save 0 visibility or in general easily discerned during live combat in any situation are extremely viable and potent advantages to have.

http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/trafficlight.htm

In WWI the french army was still using their historic and flamboyant blue jackets with red pants in army uniforms and they were so sure of themselves that a soldier had to have èlan in order to win in battle and that translated into continuing to use the flashy, easily visible uniforms in battle. Much to their dismay, this led to an inexorable amount of deaths on the battlefield until the colors were changed, to be more drab, and blend easily with most terrain.

http://www.schipperfabrik.com/fr_uniforms.html

So, even though people may discourage colors that are easily distinguishable (I admit, neon colors are a bit of overkill), having brightly displayed colors to separate friend from foe in the field of battle in an online game, esp. an MMO is highly advisable.

[Azak]

They are a bit bright, but I'm reserving my final judgment till after I've had the chance to play the game for a reasonable amount of time.

[baso]

Yes I agree the colors seems to neon. But I am pretty sure this will change.

I can't find the link now but there was a discussion about dye color and the chosen had some red plate armor in a gamesday vid from barcelone.

Josh from Mythic said then that the colors they use now in dye are "pure" color, like red,green, blue and they will be changed by artists at later stages to fit each race.

Odds are the same thing goes for all of those details, like spell colors, the big circles on each player etc.

[Fexxe]

There's a video out on YouTube that shows a Runepriest facing off against a Shaman and it looks like the freaking Disney World laser show. I think they're probably using "true" shades for testing and it will be muted for release (this was mentioned in explanation of the cherry red armor on a Chosen in one video). I'm still worried about the lag though.
That lag would be the least thing to worry about mate =)

I've been in some BETAs in my life, and in all of them it has been laggy. BETA servers are always laggy, you might think it's a law that they should be laggy ;)