Note: keep in mind this feedback is based on my experience with the NA (EME) build, some things may work differently here but I believe most of it is about the same.
User interface is a huge part of any game, especially when it comes to MMORPG. I'll start by saying that TERA's UI is actually much better than most MMORPG titles I've played. It's not overloaded with dragon art all over the place, or huge spherical jars representing HP and MP bars. Players also have quite a lot of control over the interface, which you'll rarely find on most other MMORPG.
With that said, there are definitely things that could be improved in my opinion. I'll highlight the ones that concern me the most.
UI scaling
As I stated before, TERA gives a lot of control to the players when it comes to customizing the UI. But giving too much control can sometimes be an issue.
One of the best examples is UI scaling. Players can change the scale of the main UI and also separate elements with increments of 1%. This means some combinations will inevitably end up with bad results because of blurred icons or text. The text itself is also scaled with every 1% change, which makes most scaling options show distorted text.
There's also an issue related to scaling where certain values will result in an odd number of pixels between the LMB and RMB shortcuts. I know it may seem trivial but it's a sign that UI scaling hasn't been dealt with properly before it was released.
Some scaling values will also result in the same shortcut tray having different sized icons and spacing between icons. For instance, the left/right trays may have icons that are 32x32 pixels and others 33x32 pixels depending on how you set the scaling values, as well as different values – like 2 and 3 pixels – for the gap between icons.
My suggestion would be to test all different scaling options on the most common resolutions – 768p, 1080p, 1440p, 2160p and maybe a few others. Then based on the results, limit users to the options that won't end up in distorted UI elements. Maybe add a bar from "small" to "large" with the recommended options, as well as an option to toggle the old scaling system on and off for players who use atypical resolutions.
Snapping and alignment
This is another issue related to players having too much control over their UI. Sometimes I find myself struggling to align elements such as the HP/MP bar to the lower center of the screen, so having the option to snap elements to the middle vertical or horizontal axes would be very welcome.
Having the option to snap UI elements to other UI elements would also help with customization. You would be able to quickly snap the bank/companion storage to your inventory or pocket tab instead of having to adjust every single variation in pixels until you get it right.
I actually created a ~1 hour sketch to suggest how the snapping feature could work with the shortcut trays. There's a bunch of elements missing, but then again this is just a sketch for something I'm not getting paid to do. lol
- To allow the player to snap the left and right extra shortcut trays, I moved the previous/next tray buttons to the area above the LMB/RMB shortcuts.
- The button to toggle the left and right extra trays was also removed. Instead of being a permanent toggle button as a part of the main tray, they would be those simple left and right arrow buttons on the main tray. If you click them, the arrow buttons disappear from the main tray and you get the left or right extra trays. To disable the extra trays, all you have to do is click that X.
- The left and right trays would still have a click and drag button, and with "UI snapping" enabled you would be able to snap them to the sides of the main tray. If you move the main shortcut tray, the left and right trays would stay attached to it.
- This concept also shows proper scaling and alignment, with no distorted icons such as 33x32 pixels or different pixel values between icons. Of course the icons themselves look blurry because I resized them quickly with Photoshop.
And yes, this is based on a screenshot – with disabled UI – of the last few minutes we had in Kaiator (EME server). 😥 RIP
Disabling elements
While we're at it, how about being able to disable/hide UI elements? For instance, what use do I have for the XP bar on my Lv. 70 characters? Or the Quest Tracker after completing all main and region quests? Quests that appear when you join a dungeon aren't particularly useful. I know you can shrink the Quest Tracker, but having the ability to completely disable it through the Options window would be great.
I also have no use for the huge Elite (TERA Club) or Founder (Veteran) icons. I'm not sure if you can disable them or if Gameforge servers show them at all, but I'm assuming it's the same as it was on EME's NA servers. I know that I'm an Elite/TERA Club owner because I can see I have the benefits without a huge icon to remind me of it. I also know that I have a Founder (Veteran) status because, well, it's permanent isn't it?
Locking all UI elements in place
The lock icon which turns red when enabled is currently only capable of reminding where you left the UI element. For instance, if you close your bank window and the lock icon is disabled, the bank window will appear at the default position next time you open it. If it's enabled, it'll appear where you left it before you closed it.
But this icon should serve another purpose: it could be used to prevent unintentional reposition of the UI elements. In addition to remembering the last position of the UI element before the player closed it, enabling the lock icon would completely lock it in place so the only way you could move UI elements would be disabling the lock icons.
The chat and minimap windows work like that, I don't see why we shouldn't be able to do the same to Inventory and Pocket Tab, Bank, Special Storage (the pet bank, I'm not sure how it's called here), Trade Broker, Skills, Card Collection, shortcut trays and so on.
I'm sorry for the wall of text, I tried to keep it as concise as possible. I know the chances of such features actually being implemented are close to zero but in case someone from Krafton/Gameforge sees it, here it is.
