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Reader UI of the Week: Ozmorgius' UI and simplicity for tanks
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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. Since Reader UI of the Week is written before (obviously) the date of publication, my opening remarks about the present are actually predictions from a past devoid of clairvoyance. However, today (yesterday), I can say with the utmost confidence and fact (prediction) that patch 4.1 went off without a hitch, children are playing in the streets (of Azeroth), and sunshine and rainbows (of the double variety) have graced our presence. Truly, we live in an age of kings and men. Speaking of that, I need to watch the second episode of Game of Thrones. Enough of this! Enough, I say. You're here on business, aren't you? A stalwart soldier in the fight against UI clutter and an investigator of all things creative. This week's Reader UI of the Week comes from reader Ozmorgius, whose bottom bar-based user interface is simple enough to take care of clutter but advanced enough to be an effective death knight tanking user interface that facilitates rather than hinders. Let's take a look, shall we? %Gallery-19902%
Reader UI of the Week: Triple play with Shaynk's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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. As we push forward toward patch 4.1 and the ensuing fun and merriment that awaits all patch launches, we must temper our excitement with good, old-fashioned introspection. What better way to introspect (whatever!) than to explore one of the community's fascinating user interfaces? There is a sense of curiosity, a kind of magic moment when you look at a screenshot of someone else's user interface and, for a split second, realize that you are looking through their eyes. Every day or night they sit down to play World of Warcraft, this is what they see. It's like Being John Malkovich, except without the controlling part or the John Cusack part. Today's interface gave me that sense of wonder for a longer time than the average. Why? You'll see ... %Gallery-19902%
Reader UI of the Week: Simple symmetry and Wavelength's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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. If Reader UI had a theme song, what would it be? According to my play list while writing (and for those of you who follow me on Twitter), you know it's probably one of the songs that appears on my Aqua play list on Pandora. So with that in mind, you can pretty much guess my mental state while putting together Reader UI of the Week. This week, I wanted to go with another smaller UI, something that feels laptop or low-res focuses, while still keeping things nice and neat. A few weeks back, I said that I wanted to categorize the reader UIs that I spotlight in order to better facilitate the information that people could gain from the articles. Well, I've finally figured out my little system. Wavelength's UI is the first to be hit with my super category system! %Gallery-19902%
Reader UI of the Week: Coding, Lua, and Efn's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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. Reader UI of the Week is jam-packed with Lua goodness today, and if any of you master coders out there want to share some resources for the budding developers out there, now is your time to shine. We're looking at Efn's UI today, one that relies heavily on his own coding and simple addon creation in the spirit of Grid, Pitbull, and more. For the perfect tweaks, though, there is nothing better than doing it yourself. %Gallery-19902%
Reader UI of the Week: Clean up with Jeska's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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. Oh, hello there. I didn't hear you come in. Make yourself at home while we talk about Jeska's user interface, a pretty cool center setup that makes tracking hunter cooldowns and timers a breeze. And since Jeska is playing on a laptop, we can discuss some more tips and tricks for laptop users. Before we begin, though, I want to put the call out again for more submissions to the column. No, we aren't running low -- you guys are great at submitting and putting cool stuff in my email. Rather, I want to begin to categorize each user interface in terms of DPS, healer, tank, PvP- or PvE-focused, and all that, so that new readers have an easier avenue to finding interfaces that fit their playstyles. Here's what you can do: Make it absolutely clear which spec or role your UI best represents, and take screenshots that can exemplify that. That's it! And please, please, please remember to put "Reader UI of the Week" in the subject of your email; if it's not that, I'm not going to get your email. Yay for UIs! Submit your user interfaces, screenshots, and descriptions to readerui@wowinsider.com. %Gallery-19902%
Reader UI of the Week: Preserve priority with Sakuyan's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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. It's Tuesday! Oh, boy! Reader UI of the Week! I've been dealing with a bit of addon upheaval these past few weeks, as a few dormant addons have come back into the fold after a long time laying low. It has completely thrown off my UI, until I muster up the willpower to change things a bit. Does that happen to you? This week, we're going to be checking out Sakuyan's user interface. I chose Sakuyan's setup because I really enjoyed the explanation and images that accompanied the submission, and I wanted to talk about screen priority. This UI is tailor made for just that conversation. %Gallery-19902%
Reader UI of the Week: Todoroku's tower
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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. After a wonderful weekend at PAX East, I return to the convention-less world of writing, World of Warcraft, and cleaning a perpetually messy living room. Oh, how nice it is to get away from it all. PAX East was a lot of fun this year, and I very much appreciated all of the kind words from fans. I had no idea I was in any way recognizable. Since we're back to reality, that means more insight into our own user interfaces by taking a look at some of the WoW Insider community's creations. This week, Todoroku's user interface is under our magnifying glass, exhibiting some nice panel work to make a comprehensive healer UI. Let's take a look. %Gallery-19902%
Reader UI of the Week: Going transparent with Quatho's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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. Welcome to Reader UI of the Week, WoW Insider's weekly user interface column, where your UI is the star! Last week's edition changed the format up a bit, but this week we're going back to form and checking out a pretty cool setup by Quatho. I chose Quathos' user interface for a couple of reasons, most notably to highlight how cool transparency can be when crafting your user interface, as well as working from a laptop. Many people email me asking for laptop user interfaces, and whenever I can, I do like to oblige. So sit back, relax, and let's jump into Quatho's UI.
Reader UI of the Week: Crafting a UI for a disabled player
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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. I'm a sucker for doing things differently, and this week's Reader UI is no exception. Emails usually inspire me with topics to cover, and this particular email made me think long and hard about the software and hardware that I use. Combined with the fact that I'm fairly fresh off of the Razer Naga Epic review, I've got some opinions on alternative ways of controlling WoW. World of Warcraft and Blizzard in general have been responsive to disabled gamers' concerns in many ways, from giving fights and encounters text emotes instead of just sounds to a large amount of UI customization in scale and effect. A largely customizable user interface, in fact, is something not to be taken for granted, as it can help help with a good number of motor disabilities, visual impairments, and issues dealing with the loss of a limb. In addition to the UI itself, World of Warcraft and the MMO genre have spawned a huge market for peripherals that help disabled gamers achieve a level of interaction that might never have been possible at the start of the genre.
Reader UI of the Week: Javey's UI and the UI crashing blues
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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. Reader UI of the Week is going to take a personal twist this week. First, I will present a tale of user interface sadness and woe, and second, I will discuss the all-important backup plan ideology. Last night was truly a catastrophe for my user interface, and many of you will hopefully lend your good wishes and support to my sad, grieving heart. This week's UI comes from Javey, who uses LUI as his base setup and adds on some needed functionality that doesn't come stock with the excellent full user interface replacement. While LUI's design is not his own, Javey does still need to make the right decisions when it comes to completeness, as LUI does not provide every piece of the UI puzzle, especially for healers. Your knowledge of heal-intensive interface components will still be tested even if you use a full UI replacement package.
Reader UI of the Week: Skulldamage's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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. Another week, another Reader UI of said week. I've got a pretty contentious one for you guys, too, so buckle up. This week, we're taking a look at Skulldamage's UI. The general aim of this enhancement shaman's UI is keeping the number of addons active to a bare minimum, including some potentially important ones. What we have, then, is an exercise in keeping as much of the default UI as possible while having enough competency tools to raid effectively. Let's see what we're working with.
Reader UI of the Week: Razariel's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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. Reader UI of the Week fans, I have a few announcements before we begin this week's thrilling tale of interface creation and customization. First, we've switched over to a new email address for reader UI submissions. The new email is readerui@wowinsider.com. New email address! Use it! Good times. Submit! Second, I'm pretty close to finishing up my panels for distribution, but I'm looking for a free hosting solution. If you have any recommendations, email me at mat@wowinsider.com with the subject "Panels hosting ideas." All right, let's get on to business. So far, this expansion has been pretty great for user interface customization. We've got new UI elements for the player and even for boss encounters like Atramedes, Nefarian, and Cho'gall. The user interface is more important than ever! This week, we're going to look at Razariel's UI, a dual-purpose DPS/resto shaman setup that lives mostly in solo and 5-man content. Razariel's setup is one based on paring down addons to a manageable level while still keeping the fun alive with portraits and a heavy amount of free space.
Reader UI of the Week: Uth's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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@wow.com. Reader UI of the Week makes patch day fun! Unless it's one of those rolling restart types of patch day -- then you're just spamming your refresh key and running around in circles. Either way, I do hope you'll join us for a little user interface discussion. This week, I wanted to showcase Uth's UI, a non-assuming, simple affair that aims to be versatile as well as easy on the eyes. Much like last week, we have a player who alternates between two roles -- healing and DPS. The need for versatility forces many players to fashion their UIs into a catch-all configuration that easily morphs into the specified role at any given time. I like user interfaces that have a bit of bend.
Reader UI of the Week: Adam's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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@wow.com. Ladies and gentlmen, boys and girls, I welcome you to another wonderful edition of Reader UI of the Week, WoW Insider's community user interface feature where you, the reader, get to show off your screen. This is my 50th Reader UI of the Week, marking a huge milestone for me. I have been having the time of my life writing for WoW Insider, and I cannot believe it's already been 50 weeks. It's almost my one-year anniversary. What are you going to get me, community? You still have time to pick out the gifts ... This week, reader Adam shows off his UI that has to play two roles for two different classes. Many people are playing alts these days, and user interfaces are playing multiple roles more and more. Let's take this opportunity, then, to talk about ways the UI can be set up for multiple classes and multiple roles. Let's get this party started.
Reader UI of the Week: 2010 roundup
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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@wow.com. Happy 2011, everyone! I hope your New Year's was an excellent one. Reader UI of the Week is going to do things a bit differently today, as I return to where I began, so many months ago, and talk about the evolution of my own user interface as well as wrap up 2010 with a little review of the biggest things to take away from the column last year. In addition, we have a very generous offering from Vhei, last week's Reader UI of the Week, with a video describing how to achieve his setup and some links for the artwork. If you're an adventurous user, you may want to check that out.
Reader UI of the Week: Vhei's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings 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@wow.com. There is so much snow on the ground right now that I can barely leave my house, even if I wanted to. Insanity has engulfed the city; snow madness will soon set in. Why do people live in these terrible climates again? Oy. Hopefully, dear reader, you are somewhere nice and warm, kicking your feet up on the desk and giving yourself the break you deserve with some Reader UI of the Week. You might remember Vhei from a long while back -- in June, to be exact -- when we looked at Ve's UI. Same person, new name. Back then, Ve's UI was a nice, segmented interface that relied on strong border contrasts to separate interface elements from one another. I probably said something like, "I don't like spaces!" You know me all too well. Ve, now Vhei, has returned with a new offering, one that I very much enjoy, since I'm a sucker for good texture work. So stand back as I plow through this column like the snow plow that never showed up on my street. Please send help. There's so much snow.
Reader UI of the Week: Almagest's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, spotlighting 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@wow.com. Welcome back to Reader UI of the Week, WoW Insider's look into the community's interface folder to see what setups you, the reader, are sporting every day in Azeroth. Last week, there was a lot of positive response to Quantus' UI, a re-creation and slimming down of the popular Spartan UI, using the art and assets to create a much more compact version of the UI overhaul. I'm in the process of writing up a guide on how to achieve something similar, and like most things in life, it turned out to be a bit more complicated than you'd imagine. Welp. Look for it soon, though, and you too will be basking in some wonderful Quantus UI. Until then, we still have a giant community to comb for new ideas and inspiration. This week, I wanted to feature Almagest's UI, a nice setup for tanks that emphasizes buff and debuff visualization, as well as compartmentalizing each UI function with bold borders. Setting up something like Almagest's configuration is also a great way to take the next step up in UI management by learning simple uses for kgPanels. Let's have a look, shall we?
Reader UI of the Week: Quantus' UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, spotlighting 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@wow.com. I'm still taking submissions for another Community Choice Addon Spotlight! Email me your favorite addons at mat@wow.com. I have been enjoying Cataclysm way more than I thought I would. Sure, I knew that the expansion was going to be a great experience, and my beta testing time was filled with awesome dungeon runs and getting a feel for the lay of the land, but I never could imagine how the community could come together so quickly on the live servers. Everything has been really great so far, and I've been enjoying every second of it. A lot of my enjoyment of the new content has come from the fact that all of my addons and interface elements did not explode when the new content went live. Having a few weeks to tinker around with our UIs helped a huge amount in getting everything ready for the new expansion. Thank you, Blizzard. Let's do that every time. This week, Reader UI checks out Quantus' UI, a nice and clean user interface that takes a bunch of interface elements and does some unique things with them that I didn't really consider. I think you'll get some great ideas from Quantus' setup, especially the way certain elements on the bottom bar relate to each other.
Reader UI of the Week: Dinte's UI
Each week, WoW Insider brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, spotlighting 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@wow.com. Today is an auspicious day. Those of you stuck at work or dealing with other responsibilities are clamoring for the chance to jump into the new Cataclysm content. Fear not -- Reader UI of the Week is here to distract your thoughts for a few moments, letting you breathe a sigh of momentary relief from imagining the vast depths of Vashj'ir, the embattled earth realm of Deepholm, and the multitude of new, fun dungeons you could be playing right now. Patience is a virtue, no? This week, Reader UI looks at Dinte's UI, a quirky, constantly under construction piece of work that offers a minimalist approach to healing without sacrificing the screen space needed to do the job effectively. At first, I was skeptical, but after reading the philosophy behind the setup, I was more sold. I think you'll enjoy this one.
Waging WAR: Guide to addons
This week in WagingWAR Greg takes a look at the basic interface offered in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Well, he said he would take a look, but then he mumbled something about needing a blindfold first. Instead, he writes about all the great ways it can be changed via third-party add-ons and shows us why WAR's modding community really is just the bee's knees. Let's be honest with ourselves right off the bat and agree that the WAR default interface, although functional, is lackluster in some respects. That's not to say that the developers of WAR made a disastrous UI for us to play with; in fact, the truth is quite the opposite. The standard UI is functional, genre-standard, and provides all the necessary information at a glance. It gets the job done. It also offers a layout editor that allows for simple, easy customization. But sometimes, someone else's idea for a UI element is simply better. Thankfully, WAR supports the Lua programming language and enjoys a strong and talented modding community. Continue reading for the lowdown on what I consider to be the best of the best of what WAR's mod community has to offer as of patch 1.4.
