UI
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Video walkthrough of the biggest UI changes in iOS 7.1
Just introduced yesterday, iOS 7.1 features a number of notable aesthetic tweaks and enhanced UI options. You know iOS 7.1 is an important and noteworthy update when Apple itself advertises it on its homepage and even went so far as to put up a standalone webpage highlighting the update's many new features. That said, iPhoneHacksTV was kind enough to put together a video walkthrough highlighting many of these changes. The video is about 9-minute long and should get you up to speed on all the new bells and whistles Apple baked into its most recent and long-awaited iOS update. If you don't want to sit through the entire video, I've highlighted just a few of the more notable UI changes below. Updated 'slide to power off' interface Revamped Phone App UI Note that the "Call" and "End" buttons in iOS 7.1 have changed from rectangles to circles. Also note that the incoming call screen now relegates the photo of the caller to just a small circle in the upper right hand corner. Reduce Transparency and Darken Colors iOS 7.1 finally gives users more control over the general appearance of their iOS device. By going to Settings > General > Increase Contrast, users can choose to reduce UI transparency and/or toggle on a "Darken Colors" option. The result, when both options are enabled, really serves to increase readability across the board. For instance, here's what the Folders view and iOS homescreen look like with both settings enabled. Overall, iOS 7.1 delivers a plethora of important changes. Of course, in addition to the UI changes laid out above, the update also includes enhancements to Touch ID, the Camera app, Siri, and last but not least, the introduction of CarPlay. As a final point, iOS 7.1 also delivers some notable and much-needed performance improvements to users still using an iPhone 4. Touting the iOS 7.1 update, Apple writes that "iPhone 4 users will enjoy improved responsiveness and performance." Verifying Apple's claims, Ars Technica reports: There's a measurable improvement over iOS 7.0 across all of these apps, some more noticeable than others. In a few instances, iOS 7.1 very nearly catches up with iOS 6.1.3, which is impressive given the gap between the two operating systems in some of these apps. It's not a complete recovery from the original iOS 7.0 release, but it's about as good as Apple can do with hardware this old. The small speed improvements are present throughout the operating system, and this makes the iPhone 4 feel more responsive than it did, if not always as responsive as it once was. So what say you iPhone users, are you enjoying iOS 7.1? Any features you particularly like or dislike? Please chime in in the comments below and give us your take on Apple's latest iOS update.
The Nexus Telegraph: Between the lines of WildStar's quiet weeks
Did you miss us? I know, it was probably weird not seeing an installment of the Nexus Telegraph last Monday, since I sort of have a reputation for turning in everything early and without fail. (Like the week when I had no power and still turned in my columns.) But there's no need to worry; we're still going live biweekly. Or were you mostly missing the weeks in which we were absolutely swamped by WildStar news? It certainly seems a lot more quiet lately. We've gone from big system reveals to a few tidbits here and there; the two big stories over the past two weeks have been confirmation that we're not getting another big wave of beta invites and that the game's default UI is being revamped. These are both worth talking about, but in this case I think the silence actually says quite a bit all by itself.
The Repopulation adds adversarial camps, preps for Alpha 3
Above & Beyond has released its latest monthly status report on The Repopulation. In February, the design team added the adversarial camps stretch goal to its sci-fi sandbox, which will allow devs to "generate much of the game's content on the fly and help ensure that players do not have a static experience." Additional work was done on the title's customizable XML-based UI, the harvesting mechanics, and a fitting system for robotic pets. February's "largest changes" came in the form of additional world content, as the dev team is looking forward to adding more testers for Alpha 3 "in a few weeks."
WildStar's interface: Then and now
You can argue that in a game that allows for free modification of the user interface, it's less important that you get the whole thing right out of the gate. But with a game as action-oriented as WildStar, a comfortable default interface is going to play a big role in how the game feels to new players. The game's latest development blog shows off the game's old UI from earlier beta tests as well as the newest iteration, with the latter incorporating a great deal of tester feedback to make the whole thing better. The revised UI takes up less crucial space in the center of the screen, also known as "the space where players are watching for telegraphs." Core actions are more central and easily accessible, while additional bars are positioned along the sides. The new UI also does a better job of displaying the health and resources of the player at a glance. If you've played the game but aren't terribly fond of its default interface, you may want to glance at the development diary and see if the redone setup is more to your liking.
The case against heirlooms
So I've been leveling my lowbie hunter through the fifties, in part because I'm such a fan of Happy Days (note - that's not at all true) and mostly because I got the bow off of Garrosh so it's time to get my hunter to max level. Ironically, it was the fact that I got this heirloom that has me realizing that I hate heirlooms. Why? Why do I hate these bringers of bonus XP, these delightfully powerful pieces that free you from the tyranny of gear upgrades for up to 85 levels? How could I have anything but praise for them? Well, here's how. The first, and most often cited reason, is that they make dungeon loot unimportant. You end up chaining dungeons, and almost any and all gear that you get is sharded or vendored. When boots or gloves drop it's a party, but helms, shoulders, chests, legs, cloaks and weapons are at best saved for future transmog. (Being a mog addict, that's what I'm doing anyway.) You can't even reasonably forgo heirlooms - I've actually tried to do so, and switching to the various quest greens and blue drops over my heirlooms means doing markedly less DPS (I'm a hunter, DPS is all I do) and getting crap in my dungeon runs from the heirloom clad tank and even, in some cases, the heirloom clad healer over it. Heirlooms are the expected norm nowadays - if you don't have them it's noticeable. Doing PvP on an heirloom clad hunter? Trivial. No one can stop me. I've actually stopped going. I tried going heirloomless for a while - all the people I'd annoyed seemed to come out of the woodwork for revenge. Ultimately, for myself at least, there's two issues with heirlooms - I like and want to preserve the bonus XP they grant, while disliking and wanting to remove the way they grant power and remove the fun of gear acquisition. So what am I suggesting?
Tamriel Infinium: Elder Scrolls Online combat 101
As I had mentioned in previous articles, it's become apparent that readers don't have a clear picture of The Elder Scrolls Online. I can certainly understand where this comes from; the advertisers have held back a lot of specific information about ESO. Although we have had one trailer that included in-game footage, it didn't really give us a good taste of what it feels like to play the game. It certainly didn't show what the game has to offer beyond PvP. Although PvP will likely be a lot of fun in ESO, I know that not everyone will pick up or wants to pick up the game strictly for that reason. This week, I would like to dive into a bit of the combat basics. Creative Director Paul Sage and his crew have given multiple demos showing the combat of ESO, and even a few of our own reporters have hopped onto a demo PC at a convention or two to experience the game firsthand. I certainly suggest you read those write-ups if you're looking for the overall experience because today I'm talking about combat specifically. How does it work, and more importantly, what will it feel like?
Apple comes to its senses, will re-center iOS 7 page indicators
You're welcome. All it took was my threat of a strongly worded letter to get Apple to correct the egregious wrong that it had committed in letting the iOS 7 page indicators drift aimlessly to the left. It seems that Apple's latest iOS 7 beta corrects the alignment of the tiny dots so that they are indeed perfectly centered once again. The image above (full-size version here), which was created by Marc Edwards, director and lead designer at Bjango, shows how the centering of the page icons changed between various iterations of iOS. The drift began during the "iPhone OS 3" days, but became more pronounced in iOS 7. Now, with the upcoming release of iOS 7.1, the world will be set right once more. OK, OK, so it almost certainly had nothing to do with my article, but I'm still extremely glad this little niggle has been addressed. That is, until iOS 13 launches and we realize those mischievous dots have begun rolling to one side once again.
Leak reportedly shows Nokia Normandy's Android interface
We've heard a number of rumors recently about Nokia's Normandy phone, which will supposedly ship with an Android-based operating system. Shots of the handset, with its lack of a hardware shutter trigger, capacitive buttons and LED flash, appeared back in December, and now mobile tipster @Evleaks has posted what could be the first shots of Nokia's alternative take on Google's open-source platform. Three leaked renders of the device show support for dual SIMs, lockscreen notifications, a dialer screen and what appears to be a custom version of Skype's mobile app. Nokia's Normandy project is said to be a low-end Asha equivalent that runs a forked version of Android, meaning it won't be associated with Google's apps and services (similar to Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets). As we know, Nokia's mobile business is currently awaiting the all-clear for an acquisition by Microsoft, meaning the project might never see the light of day. The leaked shots suggest Nokia has made significant progress with Normandy, but we'll have to wait and see if the project forms part of its new owner's future plans.
Norrathian Notebook: EverQuest Next Round Table roundup, round three
Quick on the heels of our second Round Table roundup for EverQuest Next and EQN Landmark comes the third, filled with the next bushel of questions! In these (lucky) seven queries, devs asked players to give their opinions on starter zones, modding the UI, length of the day and night cycle, grouping, preferred Landmark building styles, and the role of NPC merchants. And of course, devs also offered their personal opinions on these topics. Did you participate in all the polls the first time through? If not, we've got them all right here for you. Go ahead and join in the discussions; it is never too late to voice your opinions! You never know when your comment might be the one that turns the tide of thinking or offers a new solution no one had considered before.
Valve updates Steam Mobile for iOS with new UI and more social options
Since Valve introduced Steam Mobile last year, you didn't need to be tethered to your desktop to purchase games or stay connected. Now there's a new version for iPad and iPhone, with the UI specifically tweaked for iOS 7. Notable features include offline chat, improved push notifications, and a streamlined friend interface that makes it easier to see invites, nicknames, mobile or Big Picture status and Facebook friend suggestions. There's also the ubiquitous stability and performance fixes, so if you just can't interrupt that Half Life 3 discussion while out buying milk, hit the source.
EverQuest Next to feature a moddable UI
We're going to go ahead and just spoil the outcome of the most recent EverQuest Next roundtable discussion because Lead UI Designer Jake Sones answers the central question within seconds of the video's start. Yes, EverQuest Next will have a modifiable UI, and while EverQuest Next Landmark won't have the option at launch, it will be built to allow it in the future. Senior Brand Manager Omeed Dariani still has more questions to ask Mr. Sones over the video's full running time, but they're about not the if but the how. Sones explains that the team is hoping to build the best possible UI for the game right out of the box, but everyone's idea of what is best will be different. So in addition to building a solid core UI, the developers need to leave space for players to modify the interface according to their needs. Take a look at the full video past the cut for more views on the overall process of making a modifiable interface at launch.
The Repopulation improves housing and inquiries in November
November is a time to go home, see your family, and quite possibly remember why it was you left home and avoid seeing your family for the rest of the year. The result is that it makes a lot of sense for The Repopulation to focus on things like hearth and home over the month of November. A status update for the last month has just come out, and it includes the usual array of incremental improvements along with some big new features. For example, the game has a new UI for placing structures within houses and nations, allowing objects to be rotated and scaled as the placer desires -- and there's the option to save the rotation and scale settings for easy cut-and-paste placement. A new calendar system was also introduced, and the inquiry system has been expanded to allow players a chance at tracing the source of an NPC's problems via the Diplomacy skill. Players looking forward to the sandbox title should take a look at the full rundown of November updates.
PlayStation 4's live launch event begins at 11PM ET, check out the UI first (video)
It's almost time for the PlayStation 4 to arrive. With just a few minutes left before consoles go on sale on the east coast, you should definitely check out our in-depth review if you haven't already. Once you're through with that, take a peek after the break for a nine minute video dive into the system's UI as Sony VP Eric Lempel shows off the system's menus, store, live game broadcasting features, social feeds and much more. Sure it's cutting the timing kind of close, but whether you're still on the fence, waiting for a delivery or sticking it out in line outside a local retailer, this will give a good idea of what the system can offer. Once you're done comparing it to Microsoft's demonstration from last week (and downloading the day one patch and apps), check out the Sony launch event -- the live stream starts at 11PM ET. The Ustream feed is embedded after the break, but you can also watch it on the PS3's Live Events app, DirecTV, or Spike TV.
Ouya user interface getting facelift this month
Ouya will receive an update sometime in the next few weeks that will improve the system's user interface, Engadget reported. Upon installing the update, the Android-based micro-console's UI will more prominently feature cover art for games in sections like the "Discover" page. Additionally, double-tapping on games will pull up a new menu that offers game recommendations and allows users to purchase and "like" games. The update will also add support for external USB storage and the ability to add games to your Ouya queue via the console's web store. This month's system update will automatically add BombSquad and Amazing Frog: The Hopping Dead to players' download queues as well, though they'll need to purchase either game to play them to completion.
Netflix updates Xbox 360, PS3, Roku and Smart TV apps with unified interface
As much as we love Netflix, we've always found it a bit odd that the browsing experience is fragmented between platforms. Jumping between PS3, Xbox and Roku devices can be a jarring experience, each offering its own spin on the Netflix queue with an inconsistent distribution of the service's best features. Even Netflix is put off by the mixed ecosystem: which is why it's launching a new, unified television experience today. "About a year and half ago we took a step back to think about Netflix's television experience across devices," explains company director of innovation Chris Jaffe. "What we saw was a mismatch in how Netflix worked relative to how regular TV works, where you just turn it on and things are happening." Jaffe explained that compared to the active browsing experience of traditional channel surfing, Netflix seemed static. "We also looked at the devices and realized that while we've got a great experience on the PS3 and some smart TVs, we've got an Xbox 360 experience that's very different." Fixing these problems required the company to rethink its interface from the ground up. We met up with Netflix to see the results.
Netflix will experiment with DVD-style extras for originals, Android app gets UI tweaks
Netflix made a couple of interesting announcements today, the first of which should be most pertinent to the Android users amongst you. The streaming video company has updated its app for the Google mobile operating system with a revamped interface that promises snappier covers, smoother scrolling and new action and navigation bars. Chromecast users should especially take note, as apparently the Netflix app has been slightly tweaked to play nicer with the TV dongle, such as improved lock screen playback controls. The only bad news? It still doesn't have support for the new profiles, although we asked and the company is still working on that, as well as broader HD streaming support. The slow rollout begins today, though you can hit Android Police for the APK if you're impatient. The second announcement is a little more experimental. Netflix's VP of Product Innovation, Todd Yellin, mentioned at the GigaOm Mobilized conference today that the company will begin testing enhanced content or extra features around its original shows such as House of Cards or Orange is the New Black. If that works out, he says Netflix is open to offering DVD extra-style content to other partner providers as well. "Hopefully if we try something like that," said Yellin, "We have that lightning bolt of an idea that it's more than just a tiny percent user game." For those who're in the process of giving up physical media, additional extras like these could certainly be welcome.
Battle and usability being improved in The Repopulation
Someone always wants to play a melee character. You could give everyone in an MMO the ability to shoot something dead from two zones over and there would be at least one player rushing into melee range to smack at it. Hence why The Repopulation has made a point of upping melee's viability by improving its ability to hit a moving target; if someone's going to do it anyway, it may as well be viable. Medical abilities have also been improved, and the game's crosshairs and aiming assistance have both received an upgrade. The other two major areas of improvement for the game's past month of development has been the addition of new content near Plymouth (including a truly massive cave network) and improvements to missions and mission templates to make the game easier to jump into. The inquiry system also allows players to collect data on the game world, and the Surveying skill allows players to figure out where harvestable resources are located. Take a look at the full patch notes for an in-depth look at how the game has changed as it moves ever closer to its beta test phase.
The Daily Grind: Do you like a simple, complex, or customizable UI?
Is it just me, or do MMO interfaces seem as though they're slimming down as of late? The bloated HUDs of the past are giving away to streamlined, almost minimalistic on-screen elements. Maybe that's just because I've been playing a lot of Guild Wars 2 as of late. Perhaps. But that's not really today's topic, now is it? I'm curious how you like your UI. Are you all about this sort of simple, streamlined setup? Do you adore a really complex interface that gives you scads of actions and information? Or do you just prefer it when a game allows you to modify it to your heart's content? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Latest DayZ video blog touches on usability, optimization
If you've got an extra 20 minutes -- and you're a DayZ fan -- Dean Hall's latest video dev blog is worth a look. Hall starts off with usability changes, and he shows off the new UI along with various context-sensitive improvements and functionality. He also talks a bit about DayZ's work-in-progress animations, its reloading mechanics, and a few other bits and bobs related to the standalone sandbox survival sim's ongoing development. Hall also touches on the network optimization delays that he mentioned at Gamescom. "In order to make our alpha period worthwhile, we want to release with this network bubble, which is the last task remaining before [the alpha]," he explained. Hall goes on to say that the task is currently being overseen by Bohemia Interactive co-founder Ondrej Spanel. Spanel is Bohemia's most senior programmer and is also responsible for co-designing the engine that led to Operation Flashpoint, the Arma series, and of course DayZ. We've embedded Hall's dev blog video after the cut.
Xbox One's still-in-beta dashboard, multitasking previewed in video leak
In a move that reminds us of the kid that leaked the first in the wild shots of the Xbox 360, YouTuber Jackson Carter has posted a two minute video claiming to show a working Xbox One. After flashing the console itself and a controller as proof, he focuses mostly on the UI, displaying its Windows 8-style tile layout. You can check out our detailed impressions of the console's UI right here, but this will be the first opportunity most have had to see the system's default menu -- multitasking, Ryse beta, Kinect 2.0 and all -- in motion. There's no info on exactly where this console came from, but our friendly narrator mentions he can't access other beta games just yet. While conspiracy theorists debate if this legitimate and/or intentional, everyone else can just take a peek at it embedded after the break. Update: The original video has been pulled from YouTube, we've embedded a working version after the break.
