EC revisited. A begginers dream, a pro's nightmare.

[Mervyn]

So I recently experienced an EC user jumping infront of me and deathstriking me as if i was on foot. So I decided to spend the day setting up the EC again.

I added all my macros and set up my UI to pretty much match my CC setup.

Then ofcourse as soon as I went to leave my house i discovered i'd forgotten the open door macro..you know how it is.

I went to pvm before diving in the deepend to make sure I had no more surprises. And surprises I did have.. By default my spells were set to either target self (if it was positive) or target current (if it was an aggressive spell). All very well in pvm, just makes life a little easier. However in pvp you don't do this as you need to time the spells to interrupt your opponents casting and/or often hold them for other reasons.
So I went through and changed all the targets to cursor.

I then discovered, that changing the targets to cursor means you can't cast the spells as quicky??? as in targetting with a cursor counts as an action?? What is this nonsense??
So unless you play in no skill mode and set all the spells to target self or current, you can't cast as fast as classic client??

Then I thought i'd try some pvp anyway, as the advantage of being able to run fast may outweigh this ridiculous bug. So I approach another mage, the other mage starts casting spells at the same time as me.
OOops fail... there is no way to change the colour of your opponent's overhead spellcasting text from your own spellcasting text, and so ontop of all the crazy magic animations going on, you've no chance of differentiating what your opponent has casted from your own if you're near each other.

I can see why dexxers would love this, the abilitly to run faster and swap suits and weapons in one button with no disadvantages. And i can see why novice mages may enjoy it. But for me, I can't play with it.

Oh and incidently, user settings..healthbars.. try to uncheck "show word of death buttons on healthbars" then click Okay/Apply. Computer says no...

 

[PwnySlaystation]

You're using the targetting a different way to me, i've got mine setup exactly the same as Classic Client. Push Spell Hotkey, then another key for last target. The way you have it where it sets the target and auto lands the spell on them is how the really fast EU mages use it, Gandalf/Aj/Tetsuo. I'd say it feels horrible on a mage and on a dexer the added benefits of insta suit swap or item swap out do not outweigh the horrendous UI or bad graphics. In a big fight its just a mess on screen, hard to tell who is who without having their names above their heads at all times.

I tried it again the other day, lasted about 20 mins gave up on it.

 

[petemage]

Whats the point of this? Leaving your comfort zone and being suprised things are a bit different? I'm shocked!

I honestly dont get why CC players always salty and trying to start client wars.

 

[Mervyn]

no i'm using the targetting the same as you, traget cursor (so you have to then mousewheel up when you want to drop it) but yes if you set it to to cursor target/self so it does is automatically, it's quicker, however this as you know, is no good.

 

[Giggles]

I also have my EC set up to legacy targeting on my mage. I hit my hotkey and then scroll my mouse wheel between target self (towards me) and last target (away from me). I absolutely hate the EC targeting system while playing mages.
The real disadvantage you have as a mage running the EC is, you cannot field the east bridge of Despise without targeting yourself. The EC looks at those tiles as water tiles, and will not let you cast on them. Very annoying, and I have submitted countless bug reports on it.

 

[Giggles]

You can also turn on last target queue in the EC.

 

[Mervyn]

You can also turn on last target queue in the EC.

Yes you can, this would not assist in timing the spell drops. It has the same effect as cursor target/self.

 

[Mervyn]

I also have my EC set up to legacy targeting on my mage.

the problem with having legacy targetting is that you then can't set up a macro to say bandage your horse, or set a macro to spelltrigger the current target. And correct me if i'm wrong, but i think if you have legacy targetting the mobiles bar doesn't work?
It also still has slower casting recovery than CC

 

[Giggles]

the problem with having legacy targetting is that you then can't set up a macro to say bandage your horse, or set a macro to spelltrigger the current target. And correct me if i'm wrong, but i think if you have legacy targetting the mobiles bar doesn't work?
It also still has slower casting recovery than CC

Correct. You can't make a macro for mounting your horse or bandaging your horse with the legacy targeting. The spell trigger you would need to use like any other spell macro. Hit the macro for spell trigger, then scroll for target last.
I am more of a field fighter then I have ever been a duelist. So I can't comment with an educated knowledge of the timing difference. But I have dueled people as a mage in the EC, and I have won several of those duels. People tell me I cast incredibly fast. *shrug*

Might have something to do with the mouse wheel set up for targeting? I can land the spell almost immediately after its ready, or I can hold it, whichever is appropriate.

P.S. Mobile bar will still work, with either targeting system.

 

[Parnoc]

You really think you log in for 20 minutes or an hour or two and you're gonna be an expert? It takes time to learn, remember you been playing CC for a long time and tweaking all the time.

 

[OREOGL]

Monthly EC vs CC thread: Check!

 

[elster]

I actually use a really weird combination of target current and target cursor. I made a macro that when I cycle through my targets, it sets my lastTargetId to be the same as my currentTargetId to keep them in sync. This gives me "3rd party program esque" behavior that I can set my lastTargetId to the closest enemy, enemy with low health, closest friendly, etc. I'm not sure if I'm clear on what you are saying is the problem with cursor targeting. The cursor targetting is slower than CC? I don't know if I've noticed this. As for spell color, I'm fairly certain that can be fixed with a mod to the UI, obviously asking a little too much from an average client user to do this, though.

 

[elster]

The real disadvantage you have as a mage running the EC is, you cannot field the east bridge of Despise without targeting yourself.

Ugh so true! Very annoying when you are doing a despise spawn. This and the bug where character models "freeze" on the screen until you see that character again. I'll be in vent asking "do you guys see someone here?! ...no? okay, just the EC bug"

 

[petemage]

You really think you log in for 20 minutes or an hour or two and you're gonna be an expert? It takes time to learn, remember you been playing CC for a long time and tweaking all the time.

Yea, but in the end those people are not here to learn it. Its just to start silly arguments. I'm just to old to start the same silly thing after trying the CC for like an hour and a half. It's propbably the same kind of people that still run ios vs android or microsoft vs. apple discussions

The whole point of the OP is to rant because he died lol.

"an EC user jumping infront of me and deathstriking me as if i was on foot"

 

[MalagAste]

Remember you played the CC for how many years before it became second nature... the EC won't be learned in 2 hours.

 

[Theo_GL]

Whats the point of this? Leaving your comfort zone and being suprised things are a bit different? I'm shocked!

I honestly dont get why CC players always salty and trying to start client wars.

I don't think it is a case of trying to create a client war as much as trying to open the dev's eyes to exactly why the EC is not catching on with much of player base. I admit I've been around for 13 years and I use the classic client. I really do want to use the new client for the obvious new features but every time I try to make the jump i get frustrated and go back to what is comfortable. I don't know why the graphics had to be so different I can't figgure out what half of things are in the EC. Why can't monsters in CC look the same way in EC? The backpack sorted into squares is great - but then why are the graphics so messed up in it? Look at the two examples in the picture in the first post. Look at the size of the conflag pots in the CC. Now look at the EC. Is there any reason they have to MICROSCOPIC? You have the full tile available - why not use it? My eyes can barely see these little items. Your playerbase has the majority of us over 40. Do a poll once. We don't need smaller icons.

I also can't stand the way text is handled. I find myself trying to talk to someone and instead hitting a zillion macros forgetting to hit the chat key first.

Its really too big of leap to be comfortable without alot of effort. I know there are a bunch of features and if you download and install the right 'skins' then it can be better but I don't want to spend hours trying to mod my screen - I just want to play. I don't know why the EC could not have kept similar graphics for most items and just had an interface like Guild Wars, Dungeon Seige, Diablo III or any of those games that are easy to pick up and play. Why does it need to be so customizable that it takes hours to configure it? Do some minor UI research then build a UI that works for the masses. Watch a crafter, a hunter, a PVPer and a t hunter play for a few hours then make a UI that makes them comfortable and they will all consider switching.

I know the CC has major limitations but I use it because I want to log in and play - not spend time trying to mod and setup the UI.

 

[The Craftsman]

Remember you played the CC for how many years before it became second nature... the EC won't be learned in 2 hours.

No it wont. But it should.

Remember its new players as well as existing/returning players who will be using the EC. The muddled, confusing unintuative mess that the EC is will only serve to make new players vote with their feet and cancel after the first months sub expires.

This is the 'new' client. It should be designed with ease of learning in mind to encourage new players, not be a barrier to entry. At least the CC has an excuse ... its nearly 20 years old. The EC was designed way way later and it seems no lessons in client design were really learned as far as accessibility is concerned. So whats the EC's excuse for being so user unfriendly ?

 

[Mervyn]

Theo you can change the chat style to match the Classic style, same with a lot of things. But one issue is, you need to really know someone who has used the client for years to find out how to set it up.

For example,
under healthbars, i unchecked "show close and extract buttons on healthbars"
believing this would do as described, which to be fair it did.
However it also meant that every time you pull a healthbar, and that person goes offscreen, you lose the healthbar???
What?? why doesn't it come up with a warning:
Warning never ever uncheck this option!!??

 

[elster]

So whats the EC's excuse for being so user unfriendly ?

What in particular do you find unfriendly/difficult about the EC?

Edit: I ask because it seems like most of the complaints are having difficulty setting it up to be similar to CC. A new player will have no client to compare it to, and won't care that it isn't like CC.

 

[MalagAste]

No it wont. But it should.

Remember its new players as well as existing/returning players who will be using the EC. The muddled, confusing unintuative mess that the EC is will only serve to make new players vote with their feet and cancel after the first months sub expires.

This is the 'new' client. It should be designed with ease of learning in mind to encourage new players, not be a barrier to entry. At least the CC has an excuse ... its nearly 20 years old. The EC was designed way way later and it seems no lessons in client design were really learned as far as accessibility is concerned. So whats the EC's excuse for being so user unfriendly ?

Actually the EC is more like many games others are used to like WoW and such as far as that goes... and they aren't used to the backwards ancient way of the CC so they aren't going to have any adjustment there either...

The problem is the entire game is overly complicated, undocumented for the most part, lacks a proper tutorial and many players are harsh, crude and unfriendly... so that right there will keep UO from getting too many "new" players... even returning players find that trying to use the Gen Chat to ask a question gets you cruel unwelcoming responses half the time... and we expect new players to be endeared to the game from this???

That and the fact that most player Vendors don't sell anything for less than 50k and you start with 1k of gold and get 32 off a mongbat or skeleton in Haven when you see prices of 5 to 175 million for things on vendors can't be very encouraging either...

I remember when I started and there were tons of players on every shard how extremely discouraged I was when there was literally NO WHERE to place a house... but back then I didn't have to major in calculus to build a suit of armor. Nor learn the 10 steps to altering a piece of GM crafted gear either... All I had to care about was if I was strong enough to equip it...