This are ideas how the UI could be changed to make the system less cumbersome.
Let's start with the information on crafting leves.
LOCAL LEVE SYNTHESIS
Add info like leve rank, DoH class, support needed, number of crafted items and requested items (for example 2/6), levequest location/NPC, and if you already recieved the required materials to the journal.
Example:
Local Levequest | Class | Requested Item | Support | Location | Deliver to | _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Got Ingots | Blacksmith | Iron Ingot 0/4 | Common | Limsa Lominsa Upper Decks| [Bango Zango]| (Icon) Work of Friction | Leatherworker | Leather Bracers 0/4 | - | Camp Bentbranch | [Ayled] | (Icon) (Icon)...missing or recieved materials / quest finished or failed "[]" indicates a button to open the map and show the NPCs location
When selecting "Requested Items" in the synthesis window the same information should be visible in the following window.
By selecting one of the leves for synthesis, leve information like the name of the leve, the requested items and remaining number of sets of materials are shown in the synthesis window. Also, the required materials are put in the synthesis window and you select either main or offhand tool, just like it's done now.
The step of selecting which item to make should be skipped and you just get the normal confirmation window.
After the synthesis is done you don't have to select the leve again but can start the next synth right away.
Example:
[Requested Items] [Recipes] Materials [Clear] [ ][ ][ ][ ] [ ][ ][ ][ ] Use [Main Hand] [Off Hand] [Cancel]would look like this after selecting a leve
Got Ingots Iron Ingot 0/4 Materials 4/4 Materials [X][X][X][X] [X][ ][ ][ ] Use [Main Hand] [Off Hand] [Cancel]
RECIPE SYNTHESIS
First off all, there should be 2 buttons.
- Recent Recipes
- Recipes
When you select "Recent Recipes" you get the selection window as it is now.
When scrolling through the recipes the materials, support and trainings required for said item should show next to the list so you can see what is needed and what you already posess.
Example for Carpenter:
...
Bronze Gig ----------------------------------------------------
Bronze Hatchet -> | Earth Shard 6/344 | Sheep Leather Strap (Grey) 1/9 |
Bronze Javelin | | Animal Glue 1/0 |
Bronze Pickaxe | | Bronze Hatchet Head 1/1 |
... | | Maple Hatchet Haft 1/4 |
----------------------------------------------------
After the selection of the desired item the materials are put in the synthesis window and you select the main or offhand tool followed by the confirmation window. For crafting with the recipe lists, the item selection window, where you select what you want to craft with the selected materials in the synthesis window, should be removed.
There is no need to ask what you want to make after you selected what you want to make already.
NORMAL SYNTHESIS
For normal synthesis, and all other synthesis variants too, there should be a simple "repeat" function that just repeats what you just did.
Example:
You just crafted an iron ingot. You select [Repeat Synthesis] and the required materials are put in the synthesis window and you are taken directly to the confirmation window and can start the synthesis.
Maybe add the option to select main or offhand tool in the confirmation window if you should decide to use another tool for the synthesis.
I'm sure there are other things that can be improved but that's how I'd do it for now.
Maybe we can even have a single window with all information and synthesis options in the future.
Edited, Feb 24th 2011 1:47pm by RidingBean
