There is a lot of discussion here about what kind of interface the game should have, at least with respect to the hotbar. Here's my $.02:
1) I want expandable hot bars. I have a large monitor and want to take advantage of that real estate. That's kind of why I got multiple large monitors in the first place. Please let me expand the bars horizontally and vertically.
2) I want an option to self-sort the hot bar so that the spells, scrolls, potions, etc., are all grouped with each other. Perhaps whether it is sorted or not can be an option.
3) I want the option to turn off automatic additions to the hot bars, so that I can decide exactly what I add. I know that sounds like it conflicts with #2, but I'm fickle.
4) I'm old. My eyes are not what they used to be. Finding those tiny buttons on the hot bar to scroll up and down or switch states isn't as easy as it used to be.
The user interface is second only to content in importance in a game, at least to me. A bad interface can make a less enjoyable, awkward, or completely unplayable. It is worth spending the time and resources to get it right.
#3 already exists. Since it does, you can manually do #2. I'm down with 1 and 4, especially 4, as I'm old too.
Is there anyone who has played D&D games before who are asking for the hotbar solution to remain? Or are they coming from MMO's and don't know of other kinds of UI's? Because for me it's a such a no-brainer that a hotbar just won't work when spell selections change all the time and the amount of possible spells is staggering compared to say DOS1&2. It wouldn't even work for spells only. But literally everything gets dumped there.
You have to constantly search for everything which is the biggest warning sign of a bad unintuitive UI. You can't tell your Misty Step spell from Amulet's or Boots' Misty Step ability. A glance gives you no information when a good UI would show which Long Rest / Short Rest abilities / Item abilities are still available at a glance.
Do they really know what they are asking for?
Yes, I've played other DnD games, and shock of all shocks, I've played MMOs too. Why? I'm a gamer, I play games. BG 1 and 2 both had hot bars and quick slots, as did both IWD games. NWN had hot bars, 4 of them. F1 through F12, with Shift, Ctrl and Alt also. DDO had hot bars, and so did Neverwinter. Two MMOs that are also DnD based, with DDO being more "loosely based" than actual. Nice try, I guess? You see, they exist to make gameplay more convenient. Instead of opening a spell book, finding the desired spell, and casting it, you open the spell book, assign all your spells to the quick slots of your choice, and then use the appropriate hot key when you want to use it in game. In BG there were also "Quick Spells", that you could set up.
