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CK2 Dev Diary #86 - Character View Redux

Greetings!

Today I’d like to show off the new Character View, which we affectionately refer to as the ‘Redux’ version. The old Character View, despite having been redone several times already, was still plagued by not having enough space for the various elements (traits, in particular) and having random buttons floating all over the interface (Leading Troops Toggle, Artifacts, Barber Shop, etc). Our primary goal has been to free up space and facilitate the addition of new buttons, and here’s the result:

DDCharView_YourCharacter.png


This is how the Character View for your own character will look. As you can see, a lot of things have been reshuffled to create more space. We’ve kept in mind that certain habits are hard to break, so some of the more commonly used things are still in their original place, e.g. the ‘Arrange Marriage’ button, and the information you need at a glance is in the same general area as it used to be, e.g. the Levy Size number. We’ve replaced the text with icons, and all icons now also have tooltips - this means that, unlike before, we actually explain the concepts of the various lists you see, such as what the difference between a Trait and a Modifier is.

Some elements have been removed, such as the ‘Dynasty Tree’ button, as clicking the Dynasty Shield itself fulfilled the exact same function.

The old ‘Combat modifiers’ icon (the two crossed swords) have been replaced by a new icon (orange with a sword and chess piece) in order to make it more clear that you can hover it to see useful information. We’ve also added a similar button that shows the total effects of any Artifacts a character has (yellow with a goblet and helmet). This icon is also visible in character lists, making it useful for tracking down characters which hold artifacts on their persona.

We’ve also exposed the Personal Combat Skill value of characters in the list of skills. More on this in a future DD, but rest assured that it’ll have an enhanced impact on your gameplay experience!

To preserve some sense of mystery I’ve censored some of the buttons pertaining to expansion features using pictures of confused ducks, I’ll go into more detail on what the buttons entail in later DD’s.

This is how it looks when viewing another character:
DDCharView_OtherChar.png

As you can see, it’s similar to the other view although with more censored buttons. The main difference, which may take some time to adjust to, is the new location of the Plot button - though it is now in a way more convenient location overall.

We’ve tried to shuffle as much information as possible to the right of the view, in order to make it easier to get the information you need at a glance - Active diplomacy (such as wars), levy numbers and stats are all lined up and easy to view.

While we don’t expect everyone to instantly embrace the new layout, we did it out of necessity and managed to use the space we had available in a very effective way - and after having spent months using it internally, I don’t believe there’s a single one of us in the Dev Team that could go back to the old layout. :)
 
Nice! I'm hoping in the future for an "Adapting Austria" dev diary, detailing the map changes to Austria, as was done for other regions.
 
Health and fertility are supposed to be hidden.
Maybe not showing the exact numbers then, but at least group the modifiers so it's easier to read instead of having to look at every trait and modifier?

Like having:
Health +2
  • Strong + 1
  • Brilliant Strategist + 1
  • Hunting Focus + 1
  • Depressed - 1
 
where is liege picture?

Good point where do you see your liege when you have one? Back to the drawing board.

I take it they are trying to fit the new layout in the old dimensions. When alot of the crammyness could be resolved by just adding a bit more space for extra lines for the icons that need them most. An inch would be enough imo.
 
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It's great that there is work done on the UI, but I'm not a fan on the chosen disposition. Several proposals done in the page 4 of this topic are imho superior - push dynasty on the right, stats closer to the portrait, give more place to the titles, group the buttons better (some are separate on the top-right in the current proposal afaict).

I'm not convinced either by having the same place used for different actions depending on if it is your own character or another character. That seems like a potential source of confusion if anything.

Health and fertility are supposed to be hidden.

They are supposed to, and I wouldn't mind not always having perfectly accurate data (there is always charinfo when needed :D), but knowing the cumulative effect of modifiers as suggested by @LeSingeAffame would be great. When you get several at once, having to check them all and do the math is an unecessary time-waster.
 
Maybe not showing the exact numbers then, but at least group the modifiers so it's easier to read instead of having to look at every trait and modifier?

Like having:
Health +2
  • Strong + 1
  • Brilliant Strategist + 1
  • Hunting Focus + 1
  • Depressed - 1
Yeah, sure, it makes sense, why not. Its only that apart from some rare artifacts and temporary modifiers health penalties come from sicknesses and afflictions and those are easily recognizable so it is not a big deal to assess the total health by a quick glare on the character page.
 
Don't forget that some health and traits modifiers are long-lasting. Is it immediately obvious that brilliant strategist gives +1 health ? I don't think so, but it will matters for all your character's adulthood. Traits like anxiety can also last very long.

So some summary would be great to better asses the risks associated with temporary events like illnesses.
 
Not totally digging it at the moment...
would prefer the sortment on the right side to be more similar to how it currently is...
how about something like this? (quick paint shuffling, sorry for the bad work with white spaces :p )

but nice that the traits and modifiers get more space!

Counter argument, the Buttons are too close in your example, in some cases it'll cause misscliks specially with cancelling plots and goals. Also the buttons are a bit high. Not really what I want to see first when I click on another character.

Essentially screens are read like a book, top left to bottom right, not seeing the Dynasty/religion/culture immediately next to the character portrait creates and awkward look flow. The current character window has the Dynasty/religion/culture right next to the portrait it just so happens that it also extends to the right border.
 
dang it. i got thrown aloof again this week just like last week not expecting a dev post today, your day change is still messing me up!
 
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Any chance you could turn the stuff circled in red into buttons, so we can press them and a get a list of everything in that category in anew window? I know there's more room now but who knows it may still get cramped eventually, and by doing that you would ensure that there was always a way to find what you are looking for.

In addition to this, I tend to acquire a bunch of random weak claims when playing an Islamic ruler or random vassal things happen. It'd be nice if clicking on the (previously asked for "claims button") would come with a map mode. I often have trouble clicking through and finding what I have claims to +where they are because I have no idea how I got those claims in the first place.
 
I love this rework, especially the additional room for traits and combat skill being displayed as a stat.

However if I could offer some constructive criticism I do agree with some of the other comments that the stats are too far away from the portrait. Stats are the first thing I look at and I don’t like how they’re off in the far corner.

Still a vast improvement though.
 
Great!
Could you also, please, make more room for children? 10-15 years of intensive seduction and that part of the screen becomes incomprehensible and a nightmare to navigate through. Two rows would do but you could also add a toggleable button to show/hide dead relatives.

Not even seduction. Sometimes I have just a particularly virile ruler with extremely fertile wife and concubines.

Potential new functions are always exiting, but the new character screen... let's say it's not love from first glance.
Maybe this will simply take some getting used to.

I think you really wanted to say "titles, in particular". Especially for nomads. :eek:
Never really felt I lacked space for traits. Unless you've added more of them?
But at glance it seems titles have even less space than before. :confused:
How about giving titles entire row, and adding another row below for claims and truces?

I'd disagree about the traits. My rulers tend to definitely start to pile them on. I can kinda see titles still being an issue on the new screen, but then again how often do you need to click on individual titles? Claims and diplomacy can also definitely be an issue though.
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