IMO you want the ui to be minimal / not intrusive to the main game, to the point, and clear. The ui is not the game, it is a feature that supports it. Hiding features of the ui when it isn't needed is better than having it on screen the whole time. But when all aspects of the games ui is all pop ups you will be opening those menus every time. BG3 actionbar style ui is old and reused in multiple games yes, but if its not broken don't fix it, or you can say, keep it simple stupid (K.I.S.S.).
Solsata's ui is big, grey, and box shaped. The icons all have extensive dead space in the pictures, along with light coloring. The light coloring draws your eye to them in darker environment locations in game.
Video example: walking in a swamp at night.
I agree Solasta's UI can reduce dead space and change coloring. But those are superficial changes. I don't agree that actionbars are not broken, now that I've seen an alternative.
Personally, I'd rather have pop ups (maybe they can be smaller or a different location?) than seeing all my actions/spells lined up on my screen at all times. I also need to manually reorganize them when I change what my character is carrying or what spells he has memorized. And we are just at levels 1-4. At some point, perhaps an expansion, levels will reach 20. Full casters will have 22 spells memorized, not to mention class powers and consumables. It will look like a typical MMO. It's untidy and messy. I personally think UIs can be better and there's one example presented.
