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Reader UI of the Week: Seeing Cassilan's screen
Each week, WoW Insider and Mathew McCurley bring you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which spotlights the latest user interface addons. Have a screenshot of your own UI that you'd like to submit? Send your screenshots along with info on what mods you're using to readerui@wowinsider.com, and follow Mathew on Twitter. Welcome to another exciting edition of Reader UI of the Week. Today's subject is going to divide readers into two camps -- people who can tolerate clutter and people who cannot. Over the years, I've come to gain a tolerance and understanding of clutter because, frankly, I understand the laziness inherent in all of us. There is always a moment just after you reach for the mouse, begin to scroll, and suddenly weigh the time it would take to complete this task against taking another excellent bite of your Little Bacon Burger from Five Guys. I'll tell you right now, I just took a delicious bite of burger. I do a disservice to people when I attribute clutter to laziness. That's not the case at all. In fact, I find that I work a little better in an environment where I have to actively find something amongst other things. There's a type of juxtaposition or patterning that presents itself; I know where Shockwave is because it's next to the icon for Revenge on my bar, etc. So what does this all have to do with clutter, UIs, and functionality? Enough, I'd say. Cassilan's UI has a direct and stated purpose -- see the game's screen. See the action, see the adventure, and see the character in full glory. At the same time, a suite of addons is activated to add necessary customization and features not present at default. We can discuss the minimap, which is admittedly a little rough around the edges, but every bump can be smoothed out.
Reader UI of the Week: Gerzroz' UI
Each week, WoW.com brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs. Have a screenshot of your UI you want to submit? Send your screenshots, along with info on what mods you're using and some background information, to readerui@wow.com. Happy belated Mother's Day, moms. That's about the best I can do for mothers as the addon/UI columnist, unless someone develops a mom addon. Anyway, another week and another reader's user interface. This week we get to take a look at some simple art, give some castbar recommendations and tips, and talk way too much about minimap placement. Let's get to it, shall we?
EVE Online's answer to GPS
EVE Online is a vast setting where all players interact in one galaxy. While other MMOs are sharded across different servers, some with different locales, EVE places all of its players together. Its implementation ensures that many servers seem to be just one from the perspective of any pilot flying in New Eden. However, given the daunting size of EVE's explorable environment, there have been some players who took it upon themselves to map the known universe and release their findings as a resource for other pilots. Shayne Smart, aka Serenity Steele, is one such player. He's been getting some media attention in recent months as Vice-Chairman of the Council of Stellar Management (CSM). Beyond his duties on the CSM, Smart is also well-known to many players as the creator of EVE Strategic Maps, a spiral bound collection of star charts which some fans of the game find indispensable. You would think Smart would find mapping out 5000 solar systems (each with its own myriad planets, moons, stations, and other resources) a feat hard to top. But what Smart's done is found a way to use the in-game browser in the EVE client to act as a sort of GPS, tracking your position as you jump from one solar system to the next, and allowing you to better see your relative position in the galaxy as part of your overview. The cartographer's latest 'minimap' effort is presently 2-D only and in beta, though is well worth a look and quite simple to use. Click the gallery below for Shayne Smart's instructions on how to use the free 2D minimap within your in-game browser. Add GPS to your overview >> %Gallery-31177%
Addon Spotlight: Minimap mayhem
In the shadow of an ominous sense of addon doom, I wanted to talk about a problem that some of you may relate with. I have issues with cluttered user interfaces, specifically a messy minimap. I should really consider myself blessed that this one can be near the top of my list. Either my life is boring or I am very much a control freak.I've recently taken it upon myself to combat the rude nature of a cluttered minimap, only to find myself somewhat frustrated by a lack of viable options. I'm going to guess that many of you many be screaming Ace right now. To that, I say stow your bilge, my pretties. The Ace solution fails, which simultaneously surprises me and makes me sad. In my efforts to enforce my Spring Cleaning initiative, I recruited MinimapButtonBag to wipe up the little buttons that surrounded my minimap. This little Ace addon did the job about as perfectly as possible, with one glaring flaw. The little "addon that could" was a memory hog; a beast that defiled my allocated addon memory. The fact that it was stomping around with the same clout as my beloved AtlasLoot Enhanced and the godly QuestHelper irked me to no end.
