• Hail Guest!
    We're looking for Community Content Contribuitors to Stratics. If you would like to write articles, fan fiction, do guild or shard event recaps, it's simple. Find out how in this thread: Community Contributions
  • Greetings Guest, Having Login Issues? Check this thread!
  • Hail Guest!,
    Please take a moment to read this post reminding you all of the importance of Account Security.
  • Hail Guest!
    Please read the new announcement concerning the upcoming addition to Stratics. You can find the announcement Here!

What about a new style of helthbars?

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I find the current healthbars system quite annoying, especially the mobiles on screen list with lots of healthbars.

All those healthbars may be useful but they certainly distract the player from the game area (especially when you want to find a specific one). Single healthbars are surely useful for pets and when you need to pre-cast and move around of course :D

So here is my new idea:


the bars will use the same filtering system of the mobiles on screen list, but they are over the mobiles head instead, and if you grab the healthbar of a single creature the bar overhead disappear obviously :)

I'm still undecided about the bars colors if to keep them red or to use the notoriety color instead, for poison and mortal strike I could use a little symbol on the left/right to indicate the effect instead of coloring the entire bar too...

Also note that this new healthbars have much better performance than the other ones :p

So what do you think? yes, no, maybe? :D

EDIT: 1 more thing! I forgot to mention that the clickable area of the bar/name will be this one:

so it will be easy to click even the faster mobile :D
 
Last edited:

Khyro

Sage
Stratics Veteran
I like the way they look, clean and simple. My personal preference would be to color the whole bar yellow/green if they have mortal strike/poison. I also think keeping the healthbars red for all notoriety, but maybe change the name based on notoriety? Or maybe an option so we can switch it around and see what works best in testing.

My only concern is trying to get a specific healthbar when you have a lot of stuff stacked on each other. That's one nice thing about the current mobiles, is you can typically find it in the mobiles list if you can't find it in the mass of enemies. I love the idea though.
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I like the way they look, clean and simple. My personal preference would be to color the whole bar yellow/green if they have mortal strike/poison. I also think keeping the healthbars red for all notoriety, but maybe change the name based on notoriety? Or maybe an option so we can switch it around and see what works best in testing.

My only concern is trying to get a specific healthbar when you have a lot of stuff stacked on each other. That's one nice thing about the current mobiles, is you can typically find it in the mobiles list if you can't find it in the mass of enemies. I love the idea though.
The name already changes with notoriety, but what I noticed with a red bar is that it might give the wrong impression. Like a champion spawn in felucca whit many mobs, you see all red bars, then a red player comes by and you won't notice him...

For the piled up bunch of bars I'm thinking about different options (but I need to do more tests to see which one is best)... like right click to hide a bar for a couple of seconds giving you time to dig the bottom ones or shift + drag to get the healthbars of all the bunch, or perhaps there is a better way... :D
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
here is a better idea for the overlapping bars: a "rolodex" effect.
Basically you point the top bar, and with the mouse wheel you cycle the overllapping bars in that location :)
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
ok, the rolodex effect works well, and I think it's the best solution for the problem of overlapping bars.

about the bar color, I've decided to keep the bar red and alter the transparency like this:


as you can see the name color is well visibile in the first picture and it will avoid mistaking one thing for another.
The second picture shows how the bar gets highlighted when you move the mouse over it or you have the current target of that mobile.

In order to make the bar easier to see, there will be no properties when you move the mouse over it, so the tooltip won't bother you when you need to target or you are searching for a specific mobile in a stack of bars.

To match this new bars style, I've also created a new minimalistic status style so you can match it with the bars:


Let me know if you have additional ideas about this system before the release :)
 

Khyro

Sage
Stratics Veteran
I like the concept and am excited to try it out. The only thing I can see from the concept you provided is maybe the gap between the name and healthbar could be made smaller, similar to the status healthbars?
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I like the concept and am excited to try it out. The only thing I can see from the concept you provided is maybe the gap between the name and healthbar could be made smaller, similar to the status healthbars?
yes, I can do it like the status so it will use less space :)
 

whitesmith

Slightly Crazed
Stratics Veteran
UNLEASHED
Hey crazy idea...
Anything known bosses, or bosses with ??????? HP, auto pop-up their health bars?
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Hey crazy idea...
Anything known bosses, or bosses with ??????? HP, auto pop-up their health bars?
there is no way to know that... every mobile hp goes from 1 to 25, that's all the server send :(
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Hey crazy idea...
Anything known bosses, or bosses with ??????? HP, auto pop-up their health bars?
although if we make a list of all the main bosses, I can make a bar on top of the game area (like the old games), perhaps even a target boss action :D
 

Khyro

Sage
Stratics Veteran
I think a boss bar sounds awesome :)

Here's what I can think of:

Eodon
  • Dragon Turtle (Dragon Turtle Champion Spawn)
  • Zipactriotl
  • The Myrmidex Queen
  • Juo'nar
  • Virtuebane
  • Ozymandians the Lord of Castle Barataria
  • Anon the Mage
  • Tyrannosaurus Rex

Stygian Abyss Dungeon
  • Medusa
  • Slasher of Veils
  • Stygian Dragon
  • Abyssal Infernal
  • Primeval Lich
  • Ancient Lich [Renowned]
  • Acid Elemental [Renowned]
  • Devourer of Souls [Renowned]
  • Fire Daemon [Renowned]
  • Fire Elemental [Renowned]
  • Gray Goblin Mage [Renowned]
  • Green Goblin Alchemist [Renowned]
  • Pixie [Renowned]
  • Rakktavi [Renowned]
  • Skeletal Dragon [Renowned]
  • Tikitavi [Renowned]
  • Vitavi [Renowned]
  • Wyvern [Renowned]
Peerless
  • Dread Horn
  • Travesty
  • Chief Paroxysmus
  • Lady Melisande
  • Monstrous Interred Grizzle
  • Shimmering Effusion
Champion Bosses
  • Semidar
  • Mephitis
  • Rikktor
  • Lord Oaks and Silvani (two separate bosses at Forest Lord spawn)
  • Neira the Necromancer
  • Barracoon the Piper
  • Serado the Awakened
Underworld
  • Navrey Night-Eyes
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I think a boss bar sounds awesome :)

Here's what I can think of:

Eodon
  • Dragon Turtle (Dragon Turtle Champion Spawn)
  • Zipactriotl
  • The Myrmidex Queen
  • Juo'nar
  • Virtuebane
  • Ozymandians the Lord of Castle Barataria
  • Anon the Mage
  • Tyrannosaurus Rex

Stygian Abyss Dungeon
  • Medusa
  • Slasher of Veils
  • Stygian Dragon
  • Abyssal Infernal
  • Primeval Lich
  • Ancient Lich [Renowned]
  • Acid Elemental [Renowned]
  • Devourer of Souls [Renowned]
  • Fire Daemon [Renowned]
  • Fire Elemental [Renowned]
  • Gray Goblin Mage [Renowned]
  • Green Goblin Alchemist [Renowned]
  • Pixie [Renowned]
  • Rakktavi [Renowned]
  • Skeletal Dragon [Renowned]
  • Tikitavi [Renowned]
  • Vitavi [Renowned]
  • Wyvern [Renowned]
Peerless
  • Dread Horn
  • Travesty
  • Chief Paroxysmus
  • Lady Melisande
  • Monstrous Interred Grizzle
  • Shimmering Effusion
Champion Bosses
  • Semidar
  • Mephitis
  • Rikktor
  • Lord Oaks and Silvani (two separate bosses at Forest Lord spawn)
  • Neira the Necromancer
  • Barracoon the Piper
  • Serado the Awakened
Underworld
  • Navrey Night-Eyes
nice :)
I have to make space for 2 bosses at once then, I'll think on something :p
 

Khyro

Sage
Stratics Veteran
nice :)
I have to make space for 2 bosses at once then, I'll think on something :p
I think the Forest Lord spawns is the only one that has two, so if needed you could probably ignore Silvani and just make it for Lord Oaks.
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I think the Forest Lord spawns is the only one that has two, so if needed you could probably ignore Silvani and just make it for Lord Oaks.
yeah, that could work too, but I think I will release first the healthbars then I'll start to work on the boss bar.
The tricky part will be testing the boss bar... :D
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
here it is roughly what I have in mind for the boss bar:



the name I can make it appear only when you have the mouse over the bar so it won't take much space :p
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
ok, I've compiled the boss list, now I have to search for a portrait :/

Anyway, here it is the list, if you find someone missing let me know:

-- Eodon Bosses
["dragon turtle"] = true,
["zipactriotl"] = true,
["the myrmidex queen"] = true,
["juo'nar"] = true,
["virtuebane"] = true,
["ozymandias the lord of castle barataria"] = true,
["anon the mage"] = true,
["tyrannosaurus rex"] = true,

-- Stygian Abyss
["medusa"] = true,
["slasher of veils"] = true,
["stygian dragon"] = true,
["abyssal infernal"] = true,
["primeval lich"] = true,
["navrey night-eyes"] = true,

-- SA Renowned
["acid elemental renowned"] = true,
["ancient lich renowned"] = true,
["devourer of souls renowned"] = true,
["fire daemon renowned"] = true,
["fire elemental renowned"] = true,
["gray goblin alchemist renowned"] = true,
["gray goblin mage renowned"] = true,
["pixie renowned"] = true,
["rakktavi renowned"] = true,
["skeletal dragon renowned"] = true,
["tikitavi renowned"] = true,
["vitavi renowned"] = true,
["wyvern renowned"] = true,

-- Mondain's Legacy
["dread horn"] = true,
["travesty"] = true,
["chief paroxysmus"] = true,
["lady melisande"] = true,
["monstrous interred grizzle"] = true,
["shimmering effusion"] = true,
["meraktus the tormented"] = true,
["ilhenir the stained"] = true,
["twaulo of the glade"] = true,

-- Classic Champions
["semidar"] = true,
["mephitis"] = true,
["rikktor"] = true,
["lord oaks"] = true,
["neira the necromancer"] = true,
["barracoon the piper"] = true,
["serado the awakened"] = true,
["the harrower"] = true,
["the true harrower"] = true,
 

Khyro

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Yes, I briefly played around with the new healthbars last night and they are oustanding! I have an EM event tonight, so I will see how they hold up during that chaos.

I thought of one more for Eodon you can add to the boss list, "The Great Ape".

ok, I've compiled the boss list, now I have to search for a portrait :/
Where do you search for the portraits? Is it something I can screenshot from in-game for you, or do you have to look through the art files for the correct image?
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Yes, I briefly played around with the new healthbars last night and they are oustanding! I have an EM event tonight, so I will see how they hold up during that chaos.

I thought of one more for Eodon you can add to the boss list, "The Great Ape".



Where do you search for the portraits? Is it something I can screenshot from in-game for you, or do you have to look through the art files for the correct image?
let's hope it will be stable during the event :D

all the default portrait that the client has (before the devs decided to stop making them with SA), are inside: UserInterface\Pinco's UI\Textures\portraits
unfortunately everything from SA is missing so I need to search some pictures that looks like the creature we need and make a portrait out of it somehow :/
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Ok, checking all the default portraits + all the old portraits I had of the pre-6.0 UI, there were just a couple easy one missing, give it a try and let's see what happens :D
 

Khyro

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Boss bar is awesome! Tested on Navrey and looks great. I'll make rounds to the other bosses when I can.

Lag at the EM event was very minimal, compared to what I used to get prior to all your optimizations. I think i maintained around 20-25 FPS on a character that idles at 35-40 FPS. Prior to the optimization i'd be lucky to get 10 FPS at an EM event.

Just a couple notes on the new healthbars:

- When people are rezzed, they don't get a healthbar back until they go off screen and come back.
- Same if you pull out the bar for someone then close it, they won't get a healthbar back over their head until they go out of range and come back
- It became very difficult to see who needed healing/curing with everyone grouped together. A suggestion: A threshold option that can be set to always highlight healthbars if they are < x% of health (for example, set to always highlight healthbars that are 80% or less health, otherwise fade them until moused over). I think this would help those taking damage stand out a lot easier.
- If the above is implemented, there may need to be another way to identify which healthbar is 'active' -- maybe a feint highlight in yellow/white/etc. around the bar when its the active one?

Other than that, they worked great! Not a single error in the errors folder during the whole event too!
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Boss bar is awesome! Tested on Navrey and looks great. I'll make rounds to the other bosses when I can.

Lag at the EM event was very minimal, compared to what I used to get prior to all your optimizations. I think i maintained around 20-25 FPS on a character that idles at 35-40 FPS. Prior to the optimization i'd be lucky to get 10 FPS at an EM event.

Just a couple notes on the new healthbars:

- When people are rezzed, they don't get a healthbar back until they go off screen and come back.
- Same if you pull out the bar for someone then close it, they won't get a healthbar back over their head until they go out of range and come back
- It became very difficult to see who needed healing/curing with everyone grouped together. A suggestion: A threshold option that can be set to always highlight healthbars if they are < x% of health (for example, set to always highlight healthbars that are 80% or less health, otherwise fade them until moused over). I think this would help those taking damage stand out a lot easier.
- If the above is implemented, there may need to be another way to identify which healthbar is 'active' -- maybe a feint highlight in yellow/white/etc. around the bar when its the active one?

Other than that, they worked great! Not a single error in the errors folder during the whole event too!
good, if you test bosses, check for the portrait, that's the thing that I probably missed :D

nice to know that the lag on EM event is finally set :)

The bars not coming back I think I can fix easily (if I find how to replicate it...) :p
For the highlight I can change the priority so that bars with lower HP gets selected first when you use the mouse wheel, otherwise you can try the "most injured" target (or I can improve them anyway). The problem of having the bars always highlighted is that they will remove the ability to see the notoriety of who's coming (since all the bars are red), and you may very easily miss a red player incoming... I have to to some tests and see what to do about it :D
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Boss bar is awesome! Tested on Navrey and looks great. I'll make rounds to the other bosses when I can.

Lag at the EM event was very minimal, compared to what I used to get prior to all your optimizations. I think i maintained around 20-25 FPS on a character that idles at 35-40 FPS. Prior to the optimization i'd be lucky to get 10 FPS at an EM event.

Just a couple notes on the new healthbars:

- When people are rezzed, they don't get a healthbar back until they go off screen and come back.
- Same if you pull out the bar for someone then close it, they won't get a healthbar back over their head until they go out of range and come back
- It became very difficult to see who needed healing/curing with everyone grouped together. A suggestion: A threshold option that can be set to always highlight healthbars if they are < x% of health (for example, set to always highlight healthbars that are 80% or less health, otherwise fade them until moused over). I think this would help those taking damage stand out a lot easier.
- If the above is implemented, there may need to be another way to identify which healthbar is 'active' -- maybe a feint highlight in yellow/white/etc. around the bar when its the active one?

Other than that, they worked great! Not a single error in the errors folder during the whole event too!
ok, I found out the problem of the bar not returning, basically there is a cap of 20 bars active at time, if one get closed, it's possible that another one pops out (especially if there are more than 20 mobiles in the area). So if you for example pick a healthbar (and there are more than 20 mobiles), another one appears over someone else head, and if you close the healthbar the old one won't come back because there are already 20 bars around. The fact that the bar appeared when they came back inside the screen could be just luck because maybe in the meantime someone else got out of range or died...
In the end the problem is more complex that it seems and I don't see an easy way to fix it... I could keep a placeholder for the healthbars that you drag, but that will just reduce the cap for a mobile that maybe won't need a healthbar over head ever again. So it would probably be good for you to play with the filters instead so, for example if you want to play like a healer, you enable only blue and green, if you want to deal damage you just need gray, red, maybe blue too (for places like lord oaks champion spawn) and stuff like that :)
 

Summoned

Lore Keeper
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Is there a button to turn the bars off? My guild was doing exodus the other day and there was a bar over the book you click to enter and it would not let me click the book. A health bar was over it a bit but the book still highlighted but when I clicked it, it said it was not the book. (I think it was using the health bar and not the book)
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Is there a button to turn the bars off? My guild was doing exodus the other day and there was a bar over the book you click to enter and it would not let me click the book. A health bar was over it a bit but the book still highlighted but when I clicked it, it said it was not the book. (I think it was using the health bar and not the book)
at the moment there is not, but items don't have healthbars (and double-click the healthbars does the same action as double clicking the mobile), so probably there was something (or someone) else in there :D
if you drag the normal healthbar for a mobile the bar overhead disappear anyway :p
 

Summoned

Lore Keeper
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
There was. There was a guild members health bar over the book and even though I could click the book, I couldnt click it though the health bar... even though the book highlighted. Makes the ui unplayable.
 

Pinco

UOEC Modder
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
There was. There was a guild members health bar over the book and even though I could click the book, I couldnt click it though the health bar... even though the book highlighted. Makes the ui unplayable.
you can drag a normal healthbar of that player the the overhead bar is gone :p
In any case until I'm sure the boss bar works for every boss I won't add the option to disable the bars overhead. Since I have no way to test it myself I must rely on people to test it, and when I add the option to disable new features people just run to disable it because everyone is scared as hell to try new things... 90% of UO players would still have windows 95 in a 486 if they were not forced to upgrade, it's like the people in the middle ages that used to burn everything and everyone that says something new :D
 

Summoned

Lore Keeper
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I think your updates are one of the reasons I keep playing and I thank you for your hard work. Makes the game enjoyable. I don’t play often and one of the hunts I like to do is exodus. I will try to drag off the players bar in the way.

Thanks!
 
Top