ArmA 3 Menu User Interface Discussuion

[Mitsu_ 75]

Hello at all.

This thread should be an open discussion regarding the current state of the ArmA 3 Main Menu Interface, its up- and downsides and how it can be improved.

I won't call this thread a feature or addon request as I'd like to gather feedback what the community thinks about the Main Menu from different perspectives.

Since the initial Alpha release in March 2013 we can all agree that the Main Menu hasn't changed that much. Bugs have been reviewed and resolved, sections have been added for new players (Learn) but other than that the Main Menu

never got a graphical upgrade.

I'd like to start of and collect the positive and negative aspects of ArmA 3's Main Menu.

+ Compared to ArmA 2 the UI has been graphically simplified, giving it a much cleaner look

+ The Main Navigation is easy to navigate and well structured, hiding less important sections from the beginning but still making the available through submenus

+ Satellite Shot (Background Video) adds a dynamic aspect to the rather static Main Menu

+ whatever you may have in mind

- Main Menu doesn't utilize Steam features like in-game friendlists

- No option to alter the Background content (Images could be a good alternative to the satellite shots)

- Lacks a 'polished' look you'd expect from a game of this quality (Main consideration)

We'll how could we improve it you might ask.

I personally would like to see to which extend Main Menu is moddable.

I know you have access to some UI Elements (ALiVE Loading Screen for example) but I've never seen anybody attempting to fully alter the main menu.

If it is moddable I wouldn't expect the community to give the main menu a more polished look but we could gather feedback and hopefully convince BIS to have a second look on the Main Menu and hopefully rethink

their decision on not upgrading the Main Menus look since the Alpha release and add a bit of graphical fidelity and hopefully more features, aswell as integration of certain Steam features.

Since I didn't want to post this without having at least an idea on what the Main Menu could look like I decided to start out a rework of the Main Menu myself.

This approach is definitely different from ArmA standards and I know it has a main stream touch to it. Still I'd call this a possible idea to fix certain issues the Main Menu has currently.

Please, keep in mind I'm not trying to make our beloved ArmA 3 look like Battlefield, COD or whatever game you might think of. It's all about giving the users (us) a more enjoyable experience

when navigating throughout the main menu.

Feel free to give your feedback to my concept.

Screen #1 - Subnavigation closed, Friend list opened

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/content_link/pk8Bmx2AmrLc3r7IEuVB8ZuMz84yGmBoAhCQUtHz328Thor0R6kb5T235Cmw84lP

FIXED Dropbox link https://www.dropbox.com/s/udn7q7yra5nsj2q/a3UIRework_nomenu.png?dl=0

Screen #2 - Subnavigation opened, Idea for modal windows

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/content_link/vAeR5Gh7hDmHfJNhL7czssoiwAQS7tfjCzeWYAZg52apOqQoy5805ZcdgyVhGfEx

FIXED Dropbox link https://www.dropbox.com/s/7l55k5yptzwrrl8/a3UIRework.png?dl=0

I don't expect anyone to hop on photoshop or illustrator to do a rework but I'd like to hear your opinion to the Main Menu's current state, which flaws it has and how it could be improved.

Thanks for reading!

- Mitsu

Edited September 20, 2014 by filipbasara

[the_demongod 31]

Interesting topic for a thread, I never thought I'd see anybody talk about the main menu much.

I don't see any issues with it. It looks as "polished" as any other game's is to me.

And to be quite honest I don't think it's worth the effort to 'fix' it, because it does the job just fine. I probably spend an average of 7 seconds in the main menu every time I go there (maybe once or twice per play session for a total of 14 seconds).

You have the Shift-Tab overlay to deal with friends, the background content usually hasn't even appeared (after the TV static fade in) by the time I'm out of the menu, and it really doesn't need to be any more polished than it already is.

But I am definitely interested to see where this thread goes, especially if someone did decide to hop onto Photoshop or GIMP and do a GUI mock-up.

Cheers

[Mitsu_ 75]

Interesting topic for a thread, I never thought I'd see anybody talk about the main menu much.

I don't see any issues with it. It looks as "polished" as any other game's is to me.

And to be quite honest I don't think it's worth the effort to 'fix' it, because it does the job just fine. I probably spend an average of 7 seconds in the main menu every time I go there (maybe once or twice per play session for a total of 14 seconds).

You have the Shift-Tab overlay to deal with friends, the background content usually hasn't even appeared (after the TV static fade in) by the time I'm out of the menu, and it really doesn't need to be any more polished than it already is.

But I am definitely interested to see where this thread goes, especially if someone did decide to hop onto Photoshop or GIMP and do a GUI mock-up.

Cheers

Thanks fo sharing your opinion. I agree on some points you've mentioned such as the time that it takes for a user to "deal" with the Menu until the user reaches the section he was looking for.

It's rather short and quite simple to use.

Fixed the links to the "mockup" i did. It's really different but really basic aswell.

[TSAndrey 1]

A friend list would be nice, but other than that it's fine, if you don't consider the server browser as part of the menu, cause that's horrible.

[squirrel0311 16]

A friend list would be nice, but other than that it's fine, if you don't consider the server browser as part of the menu, cause that's horrible.

Yep, the server browser is the only thing I would care to see changed. (Don't think it counts though.)

It would be nice if there was a multiplayer lobby where all my friends could join and then once a game was found, depending on the game mode/mod we would all join the same game on the same team.

[Sniperwolf572 758]

The mockup design looks very nice (excluding the exit modal UX). :D

Main menu should already be moddable, like the rest of the game. You might not be able to add new features like the steam friends and whatnot, but the look should all be in the data open to modding. Many total conversion mods altered main menus since early days of OFP. Not that radically, but I don't see any large hurdles stopping anyone from doing so.

Main reason nobody has ever done an extensive mod of it is probably due to the high effort - low reward thing. Main menu is rarely a focus point and it's basically a crossroad to get you your favorite thing to do.

[Mitsu_ 75]

Yep, the server browser is the only thing I would care to see changed. (Don't think it counts though.)

It would be nice if there was a multiplayer lobby where all my friends could join and then once a game was found, depending on the game mode/mod we would all join the same game on the same team.

I think adding a friend list where you can join somebody is quite easy to be achieved and by easy i don't wanna say i would be able to do it but by the documents steam offers for steamworks integration it seemes to be achievable "quite easy".

[fn_Quiksilver 1633]

Some of the most high quality/expensive things I own were packed by the manufacturer in plain $2 cardboard box. I like to think they poured all their money into the product rather than the packaging.

[Mitsu_ 75]

The mockup design looks very nice (excluding the exit modal UX). :D

Main menu should already be moddable, like the rest of the game. You might not be able to add new features like the steam friends and whatnot, but the look should all be in the data open to modding. Many total conversion mods altered main menus since early days of OFP. Not that radically, but I don't see any large hurdles stopping anyone from doing so.

Main reason nobody has ever done an extensive mod of it is probably due to the high effort - low reward thing. Main menu is rarely a focus point and it's basically a crossroad to get you your favorite thing to do.

Thanks for your feedback. Yeah i did this over night and the exit modal was the last thing i added before falling asleep on my desk :D

[the_demongod 31]

Coming back to this thread, I am actually quite impressed with your mockups, I would not at all be unhappy if they implemented this design.

However, a design like this would not work with the ESC. pause menu, and I think it's more important to have a consistent menu layout throughout.

[Mitsu_ 75]

Agreed, consistency has to be prioritized the most in my opinion. If I had the motivation to completely rework all UI elemtents (main menu + ingame) I might come up with something that has a fresh look to the rather software type of user interface and still be fully functional, user-friendly and consistent. Still it's a lot of work. I reworked the in-game hud once but it's nothing worth sharing at this point. Still I hope BIS is adding atleast steam features to the Main Menu and I think the community will greatly appreciate that.

[iceman77 18]

A3 UI is far more streamlined than it's ever been and it actually looks and feels decent for a change. I'm sure it could use some social networking optimization and all that jazz for extra bells and whistles, but is it really needed? I'd rather BI focus on other things as we already have plenty of avenues which to socialize.

[A.Cyprus 16]

I could be imagining it, as it's been a long while, but didn't Breaking Point have a total conversion style menu screen? And by conversion, I mean themed as opposed to layout.

That kind of thing helps immersion and gets you more excited and in the mood (for the game type :p) but as some of you have said, I'd rather see effort pumped into the engine or mod itself. Nice to haves.

Friend list integration is also a nice to have for me. I'm currently happy with the simple expandable approach BI have taken. Everything is logically situated in one menu and doesn't require too much cursor movement around the page to get to the desired option.

I'm not sure but I expect I'd be less happy with it spread out along the top of the screen.

Server browser UI changes - now THAT'S something I'd up vote!

Thanks for the thread. Differing opinions but still a good idea for discussion.

[semiconductor 309]

Main menu is fine. Locked DLC icons and newsfeed is a little bit annoying but at least it isn't polluted with social/friendlist/twitch/youtube/facebook/reddit/twitter/tumblr and other similar junk.

[mamasan8 11]

I don't mind the main menu but some things have gotten changed.

Like for example the editor. It used to be that I could press ESC -> Space to shut it down but now Space doesn't work anymore because "Yes" isn't autoselected anymore. What was the point of removing that?

[dunedain 48]

I rather like the sober look and functionality of Arma3 menus.

Although I wish they will put numerical hints for the sliders in the sound and controls panels so I don't have to get into config files, very much like how they did for the video option screen.

Apart from that not much complains here. Maybe a colour code which displays in which difficulty setting you completed a mission and a couple of FOV sliders with/without ads would be nice.

Edited October 6, 2014 by dunedain

[pappi_man 0]

I really don't like it. It's just way way wayyy too big. As long as we can resize all the button/font size. Then I'm fine.

[Bouben 3]

I really don't like it. It's just way way wayyy too big. As long as we can resize all the button/font size. Then I'm fine.

Isn't it already possible in the video options (interface size)? I don't know if it works for the main menu, though.

[BL1P 35]

Main menu is fine for me, Server Browser needs a lot of work, and steam instead of gamespy still doesn't work.

[654wak654 25]

I really don't like it. It's just way way wayyy too big. As long as we can resize all the button/font size. Then I'm fine.

Like Bouben said, that's already a feature since the game came out, and it's pretty obvious when you open the video settings, did you even look at the settings :391:.

[big_t 1]

The Main menu is not bad, as other have mentioned: the server browser needs help in a big way.

your mock ups look good though!