Updated: TP display - Concept ScreenshotsFollow

This is a continuation of The Party Status Window: TP DISPLAY! started by Keits (keits...i fully support your idea man), but since I'm going a slightly different direction, i thought the subject could stand to be changed to draw attention to the direction i'm seeking to go with this thread. In this thread, either post links to images that show concept designs for the TP display in the party window or make comments on what you'd like to see in concept images for the tp display, how you'd like it displayed. I have posted mine below.

here's what i was thinking, unless they plan to increase the size of the party window to allow for a bar.

Numeric TP Indicators Concept Screenshot

Tirrock is not my character, i took this screenshot from his website, and altered it. Being at work, i don't have access to my screenshots, so i had to use someone elses. I only put minimal time into it, but i tried to match the colors as close as i could to the ones used for health display. the shadowing in photoshop doesn't allow me to make correct shadows around the characters, but ideally, each character would be outlined in dark gray, making it much easier to see. what do you guys think?

EDIT: and for those that don't like to scroll down, here are the other screenshots based on people's input...
Dot Indicator Concept (dots for players under 100% all the way up to 300%)
Dot Indicator Concept (same as above, but only 2 players have reached TP...trying to show it with less noise)

Dot Indicator Concept Modified (no dots for players under 100% TP)

Mini TP bar Concept (with numeric indicators)

Numeric TP Indicators, Revised


Edited, Wed May 19 17:56:00 2004 by ninaru

also like what i had in mind when i read the post... nice work... the TP display is by far one of the most useful posts in here...

as a PS2 user myself I have to add a comment ^^ It may be blurry... but at least compared to my PC version it's possible to read without a huge eye strain (yay, the super-big resolution actually comes in handy) ^^ Anyways, that's an awesome idea! The TP fits so well there ^^ I hope this is one of the things Square actually adds...

~Kiz

A bit cluttered, but I like it.

well after hearing some comments about cluttered, and the idea about a dot that changes color with your TP gain, i modified the Concept Screenshot a little to accomodate for this. Since turning green once tp hits 100 doesn't quite jive with the game's existing colorizing for importance, i didn't use green. I used the same color indicators as the health. otherwise you can't tell who's letting TP build too high. anyway, onward with the screenshots.

Original Concept Screenshot
Modified Concept Screenshot

I also found this to be a viable option, although, if its implemented, i'd prefer that we have some way of displaying the actual percentage, for those that want to see it, but this is far less cluttered. also, you might be getting color shock looking at that. I just used the same TP values i did for the first screen shot, here's another example of how it could look if only 2 members have over 100%

Modified Concept Screenshot 2

give me some feedback and let me know if i should move those dots, or if i should post some with just green, or make the dot bigger?

personally I like the numbered percentage rather than the dot. It seems more useful to know how long untill another player's TP is ready. Also its just as easy to read, if not more so.

to add another bar, the party window must grow taller, and that's kinda a barrier...i'm not sure how it would work on smaller resolution computers when they have an alliance. atleast the option would be nice...i'll have to wait till i can get home to play around with making concept shots adding another bar. but would you really rather have 3 bars per person?

personally, if another bar is added, i'd like it to be for experience till next level. an indicator or a number works fine for me for TP. what's everyone elses thoughts?

Allow me to move the status HP/MP/TP window where I choose. Maybe I'll cover up the worthless radar.

Hehe it's all good ideas i just use "Subtle Bump" lol

Numbers please, not color-bubbles. Spare me, I'm colorblind.

Put my vote in.

Yay...I like!

I like the dots and the last example (which by the way solves the color-blind problem as well), but here's another idea:

See how the HP bar is longer and offset from the MP bar? The TP bar can be put in the offset portion. I mean this bar can be pretty small. It should start where the HP bar starts and go to the MP bar. Bar is gray until it fills up (at 100% TP) when it turns metallic blue (and maybe has a very slight blinking effect). At 200% and again 300% it changes color, but remains at 100%.

Sure it would be a small bar - but that's all that would be needed IMO. It would be enough to guage whether someone is at 0%, 25%, 50% or almost 100%, not to mention 100%, 200% and 300%.

Yes it will be small. But now you can tell when you have 1/4 HP and when you have 1/8 right? This bar really only needs to be able to differentiate between empty, half, almost full, and full. It doesn't matter if someone is at 78% vs. 87%. As long as you can differentiate between 72% and 27%

Ok. How's this?

Option in config menu to select either the MP bar or a TP bar. MP bar stays yellow. TP bar is blue.

I mean mages don't need the TP bar, and mele don't need the MP bar. Sure there are a few classes that might like both, but they'd be no worse off than now. And even for those classes that are able to use MP and TP, usually one is much more important to have visible.

Well as a RDM also I like to perform a WS when possible also, but the TP meter is basically for SCs and a RDM is generally not getting enough TP to be a consistent part of the SC. Sure a RDM will probably want the MP bar up so people can see his/her MP. They will still gain TP and it will still be visible to yourself in the upper left of course.

The problem with this would be that if you choose to have TP bar active then you can't see your own MP graphically, so maybe the upper TP bar would be a self-only MP bar when you select this option.

I'm starting to think this idea makes sense. Why waste the MP bar space on the WAR/MNK? Don't forget of the 15 classes, only 6 use MP (I think), and really only combinations within those 6 would need to have MP be visible at all times. I mean I don't really need to see that the WAR/WHM has 12/24MP.

EDIT: Based on the recent census - these are the top 5 combos:

Whm/Blm- 13.04%
Blm/Whm- 8.98%
War/Mnk- 5.55%
Rdm/Blm- 5.35%
Pal/war- 4.39%
Mnk/war- 4.37%

Of these WHM/BLM, BLM/WHM, RDM/BLM and maybemaybethe PAL/WAR would have their MP showing instead of their TP. That's only 31%. Without knowing the BLM/SUM percetages, etc., I think it is still fair to assume that in the majority of cases the player doesn't have to be showing his MP.

Edited, Wed May 19 16:49:05 2004 by gahoo

after long hours of hard work (ok so it wasn't really hours), i have 2 more concepts to post.




well i was right, upon implementing the mini bar that gahoo was talking about, i realized, the bar is far too small to be useful, but here's the concept anyway. note that i spent extra time making the numbers stand out so that they were more easily readable, like the numbers the current interface has (black outlines around the numbers). just so you know Gahoo, i tried doing it without numeric indicators, and it just wasn't cutting it...even with huge zoom on the graphic, it just looked far too puny to be worth any value...much like my linkshell leader's manhood. hehe jk Phoenixfire.

Mini TP bar concept (with numbers)

after completing this, i realized that the bars would simply be another gnat making my graphics car doing more work, and nothing more, you can barely tell the difference on the bar between 35% and 73%, and that's a considerable difference in TP. so i chopped all the TP bars off and left the numbers so that we'd have a more updated concept of how tp can be just numerically displayed.

Numeric TP Indication Revised

if anyone has any more suggestions let me know...next time i get on, i'm going to test out some things about expanding the party window to allow for another FULL bar, to see how much that pushes up the alliance windows. thanks for the feedback guys.

I agree. Numbers with no bar = win.

The one problem I have is this:


One of things that separates good players/parties from bad ones is COMMUNICATION.


By adding the dots for TP, it dumbs things down a bit, and relaxes some of the need for excellent communication within a party.




cheers

bump

i agree with your statement that communication is key to a good party. However, there's a difference between good communication and unnecessary communication to make up for an interface that doesn't display such vital information. I think it would actually help communication in a group, less macro spamming of

"HP:928 TP:55"
"HP:928 TP:78"
"HP:928 TP:94"
"HP:928 TP:107"
"TP:107 {(Ready For Skillchain!)}"

i also think that by going to the Party>Member List you should be able to see all ailments or buffs on each player, an experience bar, and attack and defense ratings. All of this is less important than being able to see party member's TP on the party window. Let communication be for things that matter 5 seconds later. once someone's told the party what their tp is twice, their first tp tell doesn't matter any more, and after they state their tp a third time, the 2nd one doesn't matter. when you are in a pt, you are concerned with what their TP is right now, not 5 minutes ago. that's just eating up useful lines in the party buffer. :) i believe that displaying TP on the user interface in the party window will really help keep communication for what its meant for.

ok...how about ur name starts flashig when your tp to 100% and above..like an Aura around ur name.what i'm trying to say its, not ur name..but the outside of ur name...

Couldn't have said it better but maybe for the mages already having problems there could be an option to turn the TP off and just show the HP and MP.

I really like the idea but two points to note >.> (mild killjoy warning on this - meh i'm old)

Probably not the best time to be submitting doctored fraps pics on a suggestion thread SE may or may not read.

spoilers warning in main post (for the 1% of players but still)