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New User Interface

U

Ulfberht

Member
First I wanted to say how much I absolutely love Hero Labs. I haven't posted before but I have been using HL for awhile now.

HL is a great system but one of my main concerns is the User Interface. The application looks like it was made in the early 2000's and could use a nice new interface. Realm Works for example has a beautiful face and I would love to get something going for HL.

On top of a more appealing interface I also think it would be good to have an "In Play Mode" with a better view for when you aren't designing the characters and more for when you are playing in game. Something that is also touch friendly. So many computers anymore have touch screens and it would be nice to have those options like the iPad app. Touch friendly buttons and maybe portrait mode.

If this isn't in the works would it be possible to get the source so I could design my own UI?
 
We do indeed have something "in the works" for this - we're not far enough along to announce anything yet, but we definitely want to update the UI, make it friendlier for touch screens, different sizes of screen (like portrait mode), etc. Keep an eye on our social media and monthly newsletter - when we have something to show, we'll post it there. :-)
 
Given the tools already provided by LWD, you can design your own interface.

You'll need the Authoring Kit if you don't already own it.

Though you probably can't change it as much as you'd like.

You can change the color, layout and others.
 
Colen said:
We do indeed have something "in the works" for this - we're not far enough along to announce anything yet, but we definitely want to update the UI, make it friendlier for touch screens, different sizes of screen (like portrait mode), etc. Keep an eye on our social media and monthly newsletter - when we have something to show, we'll post it there. :-)
Click to expand...

That is the best news I've had in awhile.

Thanks!
 
daplunk said:
Android
Android
Android
Android

I'll grovel and beg if required.
Click to expand...

Android would be nice but that doesn't help the people with Microsoft surface or people that use their laptops. A new UI would probably be much easier than an entirely new app.

Hopefully both in time!
 
One has the potential to significantly expand the player base however bringing in more funds to build all the things ;)
 
Colen said:
We do indeed have something "in the works" for this - we're not far enough along to announce anything yet, but we definitely want to update the UI, make it friendlier for touch screens, different sizes of screen (like portrait mode), etc. Keep an eye on our social media and monthly newsletter - when we have something to show, we'll post it there. :-)
Click to expand...

Where can I stand in line to be a beta tester? 😎
 
I wholeheartily support the OP!

I just bought HL today and as a RW user I have to say: not only does it looks dated, how things work in HL are confusing as !@#$!

Just a few things I stumbled about in the first hour of using it:
- Why does it even show me updates that are already installed? I installed the HL main update like 5 times until I found a youtube video (thanks chiefweasel!) that told me I only need look out for the red !
- Where in HL can I see which books I own? I bought the rulebook package and the bestiaries and went through license update thing. So appearently I'm fine, but I don't really find a list of what I own.
- Why am I greeted with char creation everytime? I'm a noob, but I assume most of the time you don't want to create a new char, but edit one or even create other stuff (especially as GM)
- In the dashboard it took me a while to realize I have to click on the targeting thingy to activate a character instead of just clicking on the name
- And why is there no button to remove a char from the portfolio? Why the need to go to the menu?

This are just the things I can think of on top of my head from the first hour of using the tool! I'm am willing to learn and will consult youtube tutorials for that, but for many users the learning curve will be too steep and they will not buy after having seen the demo, I fear.
So a better User Interface will not only make the lives of existing users easier, but also lower the bar for new ones.

I don't mean to be rude, just want to give honest feedback. You're products are great overall!

PS: If you need a beta tester for the new UI, that isn't set in his ways yet, hit me up!

PPS: You might want to add a "legacy style" option, when designing the new UI as longtime users of any given software are usually no big fans of change ;-)
 
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tkarn said:
A HeroLab with Realmworks look & feel would be nice. Maybe a Realmworks plug-in ....
Click to expand...

Having the HL functionalities right in RW would be my wet dream! Not having to run an additional software would be great! But let's be realistic and just hope for a better polished UI.

Bringing it up to RW standards would not only be a major improvement, but also do wonders for corporate identity!

RW isn't the pinnacle of usability either, but it absolutely okay for nowadays standards and we are, of course, talking extremely complex software here.
 
I was thinking about this today actually...

My concern is Realm Works can be challenging to move between tabs. Having it as separate apps or at least separate windows is actually much more efficient. You can switch from seeing the combat stats to check something about the story really quite easily because it's currently separated.

Agree though, I much prefer the look and feel of RW versus HL.

What I'm curious about though is are they doing more than just a UI over-haul? Is there plans to expand the functionality and if so has the community been consulted on the wish-list of features.
 
I find the GUI of the iPad version of HL to be pleasant enough.

I have two young kids that can play DnD with HL on their iPads for character sheets.

I still confusing myself with the desktop version.

ONE IMPORTANT CAVEAT - HL is blazing fast on my laptop compared to RW and most of my software. It never crashes, it is easy to navigate among characters in a portfolio and to pop into the tactical console. Whatever GUI improvements are made should not be at the expense of performance.
 
daplunk said:
My concern is Realm Works can be challenging to move between tabs. Having it as separate apps or at least separate windows is actually much more efficient. You can switch from seeing the combat stats to check something about the story really quite easily because it's currently separated.
Click to expand...

MNBlockHead said:
ONE IMPORTANT CAVEAT - HL is blazing fast on my laptop compared to RW and most of my software. It never crashes, it is easy to navigate among characters in a portfolio and to pop into the tactical console. Whatever GUI improvements are made should not be at the expense of performance.
Click to expand...

Those are very important and valid points you raise!
 
Time to start being constructive!
As we don't know what's in the works, we might as well start uttering our wishes. I hear good things about the iPad version, which I can't verify lacking an iPad. But I thought I just post things here that I stumble about right along with a suggestion of how I think it would work better.

So my first one:

- Toolbar or Ribbon Menu
I was sceptical when Microsoft introduced ribbons but have come to appreciate them and devolop a dislike of traditional menus as the enforce too many clicks. As I primarily use the GM Tools for now, I'd love to have a GM Tools toolbar or ribbon present at any time, so I can access the encounter builder (which is lacking a shortcut) or tactical console with a single click.
I know one click instead of two doesn't sound like a big difference, but it's the percieved smoothness of the user experience that counts and there this makes a huge difference.
 
Would be cool if that ribbon had a drop down menu showing the last time 10 monsters you added and when clicked it shortcuts to the add x amount of that monster popup.
 
daplunk said:
Would be cool if that ribbon had a drop down menu showing the last time 10 monsters you added and when clicked it shortcuts to the add x amount of that monster popup.
Click to expand...

The ribbon is a terrible idea for a lot of laptops where the screen tends to be a lot wider than it is high. A significant portion of the 768 or 1024 lines on the screen gets taken up by the ribbon.
 
daplunk said:
Would be cool if that ribbon had a drop down menu showing the last time 10 monsters you added and when clicked it shortcuts to the add x amount of that monster popup.
Click to expand...

Good idea!

Farling said:
The ribbon is a terrible idea for a lot of laptops where the screen tends to be a lot wider than it is high. A significant portion of the 768 or 1024 lines on the screen gets taken up by the ribbon.
Click to expand...

hmm... so make it optional or able to be minimized? Just like in many other programs where you have a menu in which you can check the toolbars to displayed. If you're working on a laptop, just uncheck all toolbars and you're fine.
 
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