game-interface
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A look at the updated UI for Final Fantasy XIV
The first major update for Final Fantasy XIV is tentatively dated for a little more than a week from now, and Square-Enix is beginning to discuss the specifics about what the new update will contain. With the most recent reveal centering around the user interface, players can get a look at the improvements coming to one of the game's least-loved features, and the updates range from smoothing off the rough edges of targeting and mouse interaction to the substantial improvement of more inventory space. The latter will be welcomed even by those not put out by the interface, as another 20 slots will be added to both the character's inventory and the retainer's inventory. Other updates include improvements to the chat client, ranging from keyboard shortcuts to the ability to create custom tabs for players. There's also a redesign of the current Attributes & Gear panel into two separate interfaces, with the Gear window having much improved functionality and the Attributes window providing a better rundown of information. Players can take a look at the preview for a full picture of how the UI will be altered to improve Final Fantasy XIV as well as a quick look at what some of the new windows will look like and how they can be customized.
WoW Rookie: Keyboard shortcuts
WoW Rookie is brought to our readers to help our newest players get acclimated to the game. Make sure you send a note to WoW Insider if you have suggestions for what new players need to know.Accept this fact: to be good at playing WoW, you need to learn to use your keyboard at least some of the time. You don't have to bail on your mouse, but it's very helpful to learn some of the very basic keyboard shortcuts that will make your life in the game that much easier. (Easy is good, right?)Using the game interfaceThere are hotkeys for almost everything you do in-game. You can find most of them by just hovering your mouse over the icons that you click -- as no doubt you may have already noticed. Let's start with the button bar that you use to bring up your Quest Log, Spellbook and other things. You'll see that when I hover my mouse over the gold cup icon, a tooltip pops up. The L in parentheses after "Quest Log" means you can just press your L key to bring up the log instead of clicking the icon. (Don't worry that it's a capital L, just press lower-case L. When a keyboard command is capitalized, it's written as "Shift-L".) After the break, you'll see a list of keyboard shortcuts for the game interface.
