Larian Studios Forums Divinity - Original Sin Divinity Original Sin - Beta Beta UI Wishlist (Menus, Controls, Etc.)

(Edited post thanks to others' feedback!)
Now that we've moved to beta and Larian is going to start to "polish" the user interface, here's my wishlist of must-have improvements. I adapted this from my old thread "List of suggestions/issues/bugs - Alpha 1.0.167," but since others also agree with some of the ideas (like a key ring!), I'd be interested in everyone's other thoughts. Cheers!



USER INTERFACE IMPROVEMENTS WISHLIST



INVENTORY/CHARACTER AND TRADING MENUS/CONTROLS

1) All items of an identical type (except equipment) should stack with each other in the inventory and trading menus
Items that should stack, but don't: all "junk" (i.e. (large) bottles, broken bottles, (flower) pots, globes, lab junk, plates, tubes, vials, vial racks), arrow shafts, arrows/arrowheads (identical types), books (including all identical recipe and blank skillbooks), bonedust, empty bottles, folded shirts, golden cups, golden spoons, nine inch nails, parchment, pillows, pixie dust, rope, soap, starfish, wooden figurines, apples/bottles of beer/cups of water/drudenae/hams/herrings/logs/minor healing potions/roasted pork dishes/skulls (only some items of these types currently stack with each other), "Cyseal Pie" and "Cyseal Fish Pie" (duplicates?), etc.

2) A "Sort By Type" inventory sorting option should be added

3) Items should be consistently arranged in the same item grid slot order in all NPC trading and current player inventory menus

4) Left-clicking (rather than left-clicking-and-holding/dragging) on an item within the inventory menu should allow you to pick it up

5) A key ring (functioning as an "openable" container) to automatically store all acquired keys should be added

6) Inventory container fixes (backpacks, pouches, barrels, crates, etc.)
Newly acquired items should automatically stack with identical items already within a container in player inventory; keys and quest items within a container in player inventory should be automatically "used"/recognized in-game just as they would be if they weren't in the container

7) Activating a character via its portrait or the "F1"-"F4" keys should also switch to that character's inventory or skills menu, if open

8) An option to tag/mark items as "junk" for later quick/one-click sale should be added

9) The price listed for a stack of items in the trading menu should be displayed both for one individual item and for the entire stack

10) An option to manually type the number of items to move/trade from within a stack should be added

11) Each NPC's Identify/Repair ability levels should be displayed in the NPC's trading menu

12) The effects of both the player's Barter ability and the NPC's attitude on price should be shown in each item's trading tooltip

13) The value of every stat/ability modified from its base value should be displayed in a different color in the inventory menu

14) Ability tooltips that still need to describe exact percentage/numerical effects
Armour Specialist, Body Building, Willpower, Charisma, Lucky Charm, Offense Rating (doesn't include +3/level effect of Lucky Charm)

15) After drinking from a container (bottle/cup/mug/flask/etc.), an empty container should generate in the player's inventory

16) After using a shovel, both your weapon and shield (if previously equipped) should be automatically re-equipped



CRAFTING/IDENTIFICATION/REPAIR MENUS/CONTROLS

1) Crafting overhaul
Anew dedicated crafting window in which items can be combined should be added; recipe information for at least those recipes the player has successfully crafted should be explicitly listed in the format "A = B + C" in the journal; for sample mockups, see: http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=34882&Number=494715#Post494715

2) Loremaster/Identify overhaul (current click-intensive system is extremely tedious, and adds no challenge)
If a player has an identifying glass and sufficient Loremaster ability, all items (items that are picked up, as well as items displayed in all trading menus) should be identified automatically (except those beyond the player's ability)

3) Blacksmithing/Repair overhaul (current click-intensive system is extremely tedious, and adds no challenge)
If a player has a repair hammer and sufficient Blacksmithing ability, a new "Repair All" icon/button usable only outside combat should repair all items equipped by the party with one click (except those too damaged for the player's ability)



COMBAT MENUS/CONTROLS

1) The ability to attack enemies with "regular" (non-skill) attacks by clicking their icon at the top of the screen should be added
I.e. similar to how attacking with skills works currently

2) A "facing" indicator should be added to the circle under each enemy's feet to aid with backstab positioning



DIALOGUE AND NPC INTERACTION MENUS/CONTROLS

1) The effects of a dialogue choice on a Trait should be displayed next to the choice

2) NPC dialogue options previously chosen by the player should be "dimmed"/"grayed"

3) A more convenient method of ending an NPC dialogue at any time is needed
E.g. by hitting "ESC" to exit the dialogue screen, and/or moving the "end dialogue" speech option to the top or side of the list from its current usual position at the bottom in situations where dialogue can't be skipped for quest reasons, the "end dialogue" option may then be disabled

4) The player should be able to attempt to pickpocket each NPC repeatedly
But there should be a higher chance of discovery on subsequent attempts, due to the NPC being aware he/she lost something earlier



GENERAL MENUS/CONTROLS

1) "ALT" should consistently highlight all items/containers within the player's sight range
Currently, most items as well as chests (but no other containers, like barrels/baskets/crates/vases) are highlighted; however, some useful items are never highlighted (e.g. pillows, soap, whetstones), and neither are any "junk" items ((large) bottles, broken bottles, (flower) pots, globes, lab junk, plates, tubes, vials, vial racks although the non-highlighting of junk may be intentional); also, probably due to errors in calculating the player's sight range, many items placed on certain wall shelving or bookshelves, tables, sloped ground, etc. aren't highlighted (e.g. the fishing rod in the tutorial dungeon, items on the table in front of Esmerelda's shop, items on shelving/bookshelves inside Esmerelda's shop/Aureus's office/the cook's house/at the back of Bellegar's cave, items around the forge/anvil area above Cyseal west gate, the plants in the End of Time living quarters garden, items on the sloped paths just outside the lighthouse/just west of the cultist church, etc.); finally, although this should be an optional toggle in the main menu to satisfy both those who enjoy and those who hate pixel-hunting, there should be an option to make item/container highlighting always automatically active

2) The "chest" action icon color for containers that are "not owned" but not yet opened should be changed from yellow to white
This would assist colorblind players, as the "chest/door/hand" action icons for all containers/doors/items would be orange if "owned," and white if "not owned," with the label "[Empty]" added but the icon color unchanged if a container is empty

3) All keyboard controls should be fully reassignable in the "Controls" menu
Especially camera movement, so as not to interfere with using WASD for other controls; also ALT for item highlighting, etc.

4) The camera "zoom out" height/range should be increased

5) A "pause" function should be added
The game should auto-pause when a popup appears, or when the game menu is opened

6) All custom map markers should be fully editable
Currently, you can add a marker by left-clicking on the map (sometimes it's glitchy), and can delete a marker by right-clicking it, but there should be an easy way to select and edit the description for each existing marker as well

7) Pathfinding enhancements
Party members should always automatically avoid damage floors/environments (not only traps); where a damage area can't be avoided (e.g. a tight corridor), the player should be required to manually control any party member who must walk through the damage area; a new formation "Follow the exact steps of the controlled character" could also help

8) Hotbar/skill menu enhancements
Add a tooltip to each skill stating the skill category to which it belongs (e.g. "Fire Magic"); add new assignable keyboard shortcuts to switch between hotbars and/or increase the size of the hotbar switching icons; add the ability to assign an entire skill category to one hotbar slot, such that right-clicking the "Fire Magic" slot (for example) would open the player's Fire Magic skillbook menu; for sample mockup, see http://www.larian.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=34882&Number=494624#Post494624

9) Character creation enhancements
Add 360-degree rotation of character models; add a true "classless" option (with no pre-assigned attributes/abilities/talents/skills, and with the option to name the class); allow editing of starting skills and equipment