Funny, I remember following the developpement of POE from the beginning right until release and some of the last footage they showed, like a month from the full release, they were still using the spell icons and some UI items from Icewindale, like litterally. No one complained, yet it was copying another game...
It seems like UI is one of the last things to be worked on, once everything else is in place. Same was with PoE2, UI got final overhaul right before 1.0... and shockingly I found it to make the big difference. Currently, Phoenix Point is aparently to get a UI update next and I am looking forward to it - so far it felt very place-holder-y.
My main hope is that they make skill bar better then D:OS2. That's was one of the frustrations with D:OS2 but Kingmaker as well. Custom skill bars are all good, but I feel there must be a more functional default, like in IE games or Pillars. Something you can just take and play fairly efficently with every character. D:OS2 and Kingmaker require too much maintenance to be useful and with constant switching of skills, spells and items in both, it's a nightmare.
