rfactor2 - interface (especially server browser)

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10speed

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Besides the rain effects, physics etc. I'm wondering what we are going have as a user interface in rfactor2. As soon as you have joined a server the current UI is fine with me. You can access settings, setup, chat, liveview and livetiming with one click, far better than in GTR Evolution.
But the server list seems to become incapable of handling the large amount of servers. By default it let's you display 400 servers at the same time. Yes, you can increase this number to a maximum of 1000 servers. But still that is not enough, therefore you often have to refresh the server list. Also there is no "filter" option, and the "friends list" sometimes does not work properly.
Will there be a preview of what is planned concering the UI for RF2?
 
Indeed, a snappy & intuitive user interface is also one of the keys to user satisfaction.
 
The first time i launched rF I thought: "OMG, this is the most confusing UI I've ever found on a driving simulator".

That probably has changed on rF2, and of course we also got the option of changing the UI by ourselves, as it's customizable.

But apart of that i hope we'll have much more options to mod it, as it lacked in some aspects.

Regards
 
Rantam said:
The first time i launched rF I thought: "OMG, this is the most confusing UI I've ever found on a driving simulator".
Click to expand...

I actually liked it first time. It didn't give me that "this looks like a console menu" feel of the SimBin games. /shrug

The only thing that I think really needs an overhaul on the client end, it would be nice to change cars within a carset/mod without having to disconnect from the server.

(PS @ Rantam: HistorX is still my favorite when I just feel like a good drive! Cheers!)
 
Well, I've been working on user interfaces for some years, and i've been playing games since the 80s. Not sure if that makes my opinion valuable in some way, but for sure that creates in your mind some kind of pattern about what you expect to find when you start a new game/program :D

For me it's something like renting a car. You always expect to find the steering wheel and pedals in the same place, and also buttons and other controls. But not only that: you expect that the process of starting and using the car will be similar (if not the same) to what you've seen before. And we aren't talking at all about the style of the elements, materials used, etc. Is totally independent.

In my opinion the most important things of an UI are:

  1. It should be intuitive enough. If the user needs to learn how to use it then something is not right. When creating an UI always try to get into the mind of the worst user you may find (skills wise).
  2. The user should never need more than 3 clicks to reach the place he's looking for (sometimes this is not possible, but the UI creator should have it on mind)

And this is totally independent of the looking of it (backgrounds, fonts, textures and other elements).

When i first launched rF1 I can't say it was intuitive for me. The "Customize. Control. Connect" thing is nice from a marketing point of view, and yes, it's original and different. But is confusing for a new user, as it doesn't say anything about how or where the process of selecting series, car and event is. Now that i think about it I may be that unskilled user i was talking about above... :D

About the look or style of the UI, it wasn't bad but i looked a bit dull to me (I'm saying this with all the respect for the creator/s). But of course that's something subjective. Anyway it's clear that making an impressive UI (from the styling point of view) was not a priority for ISI, and i really understand that, as rFactor has much more important things to offer that just a good look :)

Anyway, it seems that rF2 will be much better on this aspect (both style and structure/functionality). So kudos ISI! :cool:

Well, just my two cents.

Best regards

Ps. I'm not again innovation or new ideas. Everything can be improved. But there's a thin line between that and generating confusion when it comes to UIs :)
Ps2. Thanks for these nice words about our mod!
 
I believe it is really hard to make balance between functionality, intuitive solution, ergonomics and finally look&feel. let's compare iR/nkpro against NFS for example ;)
Personally my first feelings about rf1 GUI was the same as Rantam's. After some time I learned it and has no more complaints. But I also found alternative (xUI mod) which made access to all features in very convenient way. However I cannot say that this is eye candy.
On other side 'iphone-like' GUIs look good but only on presentation video spots. In practice may be inconvenient, forcing user to wait for end of scrolling/fading/animating etc.

So, from marketing point of view, I think that gui should be beautiful-looking. But finally there should be an option to change it by modders. In other words, if UI will be moddable, any design given by ISI is good enough

best regards
 
'rFactor Server Spy' was/is a very good server browser available at Planet Pointy:

http://www.planetpointy.co.uk/software/rfactorsspy.shtml

Unfortunately, it has lost the ability to launch rFactor (since the last patch), but when it did launch the game it was perfect. It lists all of the servers, unlike the in-game browser which often misses many games which appear in Server Spy.

I often find a game in SS for which I keep having to refresh the in-game browser to find and join, and they eventually appear. The SS code is great for finding servers, just not so great as you cannot join from its interface anymore.
 
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