All the Powers that applied a form of Buff would go across the whole screen in Higher levels and get in your way:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/0BAdEIJ.png[/img]
Instead of showing an Icon for All the powers, only show 5 of the last applied buffs instead?
Zoomed in 200%:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/xfQvhyU.png[/img]
Maybe even have a user adjustable Slider in options? So they can remove or add more Translucency.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/olsPBqk.png[/img]
And we can get very fancy with what gets Tinted and what doest.. and by which Color, in the Shader.
(example of the Stylish Text Shader im working on shows this a little: http://youtu.be/5vS0YsmEZS4?t=23m33s)
Or perhaps option to show only buffs player has applied - to make it easy to see when buffs need to be refreshed?
This would be a nice feature, especially since an individual player should only have a few buffs to hand out. In CoX, [url=http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Empathy]Empathy[/url] was probably the busiest support set in terms of buffs, and at most, you'd only have to manage 5 buffs total. This is a far cry from the 20+ buffs and effects some players could rack up.
The only time when you might want to see certain other players' buffs would be if you're "tag teaming" to keep buffs covered on the team. I think this would only be a problem for short-duration, long-recharge buffs that are impractical to maintain on the whole team. I can't speak for everyone's needs, so I'll let others share their own experiences with watching buffs and if they frequently watched other players' buffs.
A more thorough solution might be to have checkboxes next to players' names in the team interface where you can check which players' buffs you want to see. I think this borders on being overcomplicated though.
CoX eventually compressed those icons to the point where they only took up a certain amount of space though, right? Either way I'm not sure I even needed to see that stuff in the first place.
R.S.O. of Phoenix Rising
I thought CoH overlapping icons so you could even see how many instances of a particular buff you had on you was both efficient and effective.
FIGHT EVIL! (or go cause trouble so the Heroes have something to do.)
Yes, if they were the *same* buff it would stack. However, on my controller I could easily rack up 10 icons (or so) just with standard buff icons.
I am in two minds on how to show these. To be totally honest, in most MMO's now I rarely pay attention to *what* buffs I have running at any point in time. There might be a couple or two that I *really* need to be aware of[1].
However, showing ALL of them at a time can be overwhelming. Especially if you have some on, some ticking off.
Whatever it is though, I would split buffs and debuffs into two separate lines for the *player* name plate, and quite possibly only show debuffs that other players have on the "team window" (if you need to use something to remove it off them).
[1] Thankfully addon systems can make this easier, especially if you can have a notification for when a buff/debuff expires/starts etc etc. To be honest, this is one area that most developers fall short on, but the community picked up on nicely
Well, as always, options is usually best. A "hide" option to not show anything, a "full" option that shows everything you could want to see, and an "efficient" option that shows only a condensed or truncated amount of important info should suffice.
They are talking about teams of potentially 10, so the thickness of the stacked display that Izzy is showing could become problematic.
FIGHT EVIL! (or go cause trouble so the Heroes have something to do.)
My thought is similar to AcceleratorRay's idea.
When I played WoW one of the more useful aspects of one of the addons I used was to highlight my own buffs on other people (as a druid healer it was a large QoL matter to be able to see the status of my HoTs at a glance). It may be useful if the CoT UI allowed people to choose which (de)buffs, or types of (de)buffs, are shown (perhaps even by adjusting their transparency) on their and other characters. Alternatively, select a number of (de)buffs that are always shown, even when the rest are hidden. Either option would provide a means for a player to easily see if any buffs need to be reapplied even when there are a dozen or so floating about on each PC.
- - - - -
[font=Pristina][size=18][b]Hail Beard![/b][/size][/font]
Support [url=http://cityoftitans.com/comment/52149#comment-52149]trap clowns[/url] for CoT!
Hmm... i was thinking that the Debuff shares the Same bar as the Buff. :)
Ex:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/vMzOWBl.png[/img]
In the above example, the Teal (1st Bar) is Movement Speed. Run, SuperSpeed, and what have you affects the 1st Bar. But someone just Siphoned some Speed and Slowed you (the DeBuff), which would show in a DARK'er Teal. :)
Of course, if its not a Self Buff, but a teammates buff, instead of it being DARK'er, it could be LIGHT'er. ;)
ex:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/woWw0D2.png[/img]
ex: TeamMate Buff and Enemy DeBuff
[img]http://i.imgur.com/ll3ESGP.png[/img]
And both can Blink or Glow as they are about to Expire. :D
Potential Types of De/Buffs (my list not from anything I have seen from CoT):
- ToHit/Accuracy (could be the same or different)
- Damage
- Defence
- Resistance
- Heal
- EndRecovery
- Movement (all types - Run/Fly/etc)
A significant portion of the problems with tracking MY De/Buffs is if we assume that the powers are NOT Toggles but Clicks with set durations like most MMO's (ie: De/Buff Target for 15 seconds). If the De/Buff is a Toggle then its easy to see when MY De/Buff has expired.
Option 1 - Display De/Buffs based on Type
Pro's
This has the benefit of stacking all De/Buffs of the same type on top of each other - either in a layered stack like CoH allowed or a numbered stack.
If a De/Buff does more than 1 type (ie: +-ToHit/+-Dam) then the 1 De/Buff would apply two icons.
Cons
Difficult/impossible to quickly and easily determine when your De/Buffs are about to or have worn off.
Even if there is the option to only show De/Buffs from you if you apply more than 1 of the same type (ie: FF Defender) the 3-5 different +Def buffs are all stacked together.
Improvements
De/Buffs applied by me are always "on top" of the stack and/or have an additional identifier (bright outline, dotted/rotating outline, etc). This way I can see when there is no Icon with an orange outline (my buff) I need to reapply it. If we use the Numbered Stack if the Number is Orange (for example) my De/Buff is still on the target but if the Number is white my De/Buff is not active.
Option 2 - Display De/Buffs based on Power
This is similar to the way FFXIV and many other games do it where each Action that applies a De/Buff gets its own icon. If the same Action is used by me it doesn't stack only reapplies the De/Buff (restarts the duration of the effect). If the same Action is applied by someone else the effects stack.
My De/Buffs always appear at the front of the list of icons so I can see mine vs others.
Pro's
Easy to see when Power X is about to wear off/end.
Cons
Potentially lots of icons
The Phoenix Rising Initiative Rules Lawyer
I've been giving this some more thought, and I like where Izzy is going with his idea. I'd like to take it a step further beyond what Darth Fez and cybermitheral described. Instead of watching [i]buffs[/i], let's watch [i]stats[/i] instead. This might sound strange and unorthodox, but hear me out. I even have a picture!
[url=http://postimg.org/image/8xig2hwkp/][img]http://s28.postimg.org/eloqte0x9/cot_buffs.png[/img][/url]
Each of those circles represents a stat: HP, damage, damage resistance, and defense, respectively. Based on the color and pattern of the circles, you can quickly determine each player's current status.
[list]
[*]When the circle is [b]colored solid[/b], the stat is at it's [b]default value[/b] (full health, 0 damage resistance, etc.).
[*]When the circle shows a [b]dotted outline[/b], the stat is [b]debuffed[/b] (low health, negative damage resistance, etc.)
[*]When the circle shows [i]only[/i] a dotted outline with [b]no color[/b], the stat is [b]floored[/b] (likely due to defeat)
[*]When the circle is [b]white[/b] in the center, the stat is [b]buffed[/b]
[*]When the circle is [b]solid white[/b], the stat is [b]capped[/b]
[*]When the circle's outline begins [b]flashing[/b] (not illustrated), one or more of your buffs affecting the stat are [b]about to expire[/b]
[/list]
By watching stats instead of buffs, you can easily determine whether or not a player actually needs your help. If players could choose which stats to watch, they could focus on stats that matter to them and filter out everything else. If you really needed details, perhaps hovering over a circle could show icons of buffs that are affecting the stat.
In my opinion, this would give you a much faster and more accurate assessment of the team's situation than having to visually scan through a pile of icons. It also cuts back on micromanagement and redundancy of buffs since you immediately know who needs a boost and who doesn't, thus freeing up your attention for other things.
Sorry for the wordy example, but that's my current take on it.
EDIT: More examples.
What if you Right Clicked with the mouse on the Buff Stats Bar and a Context menu let you set its visibility, miniaturized view, expanded view, etc...
Hmmm.. Not as Tall?
ex: 10 players, 100% Zoom
[img]http://i.imgur.com/mkyEUpR.png[/img]
ex: 10 players, 200% Zoom
[img]http://i.imgur.com/ZF8kQFV.png[/img]
like that? ;)
Interesting. I wouldn't have any problem with that as a "condensed view" option. And "condensed view" is probably the one I'd use.
FIGHT EVIL! (or go cause trouble so the Heroes have something to do.)
Hmm.. i'll have to think about it.. but I'm guessing an adversaries [b]-Fly DeBuff[/b] applied to you.. shouldn't Slow your Run speed, right?
Would depend on if the game has:
-Speed
or
-RunSpeed
-FlySpeed
-JumpSpeed
-SwingSpeed
-BurrowSpeed
-SlideSpeed
I cant see the game, which will allow many different types of Travel Powers, to actually specify too much the types of movement speeds and De/Buff them individually.
Buffer: "Sorry Mr Tank I can only buff BurrowSpeed and you use a SwingSpeed Travel power - sucks to be you".
The Phoenix Rising Initiative Rules Lawyer
I'd probably be one of those people complaining that the Movement Stat Bar doesnt shows which one it was De/Buffing. :{
Hmm... i guess There needs to be a few different Movement Stat Bars for each Movement type? :/
ex: Fly, Jump, Run (all slightly different shades of Teal, Lighter to Darker)
[img]http://i.imgur.com/w3wqeKA.png[/img]
So, I'd imagine this wouldnt be an issue if an adversary used Immobilize, since it would bring down someone already Flying to the ground and they couldnt take off flying for the time being. If someone was Running, same thing.. stops them in their tracks. And the same if they were in the midst of Jumping.
But something like Hold applied to an Adversary that was Flying, wouldnt bring them to the Ground.
In this case, the Movement Stat Bar for Fly wont change at all, the Hold Stat Bar would show the DeBuff applied.
But a power with a Knock Effect will disrupt Flight, for 2 seconds. If you're 100 feet up in the Air, you might recover before you hit the ground and go back to Flying, but if you're closer to the ground (other objects), you might take some falling damage. In this case the Movement Stat Bar for Fly will get DeBuffed by -2000 or whatever brings down the bar down to 0 for those 2 seconds.
I want to continue advocating for watching stats instead of buffs. I've been having more fun with the concept. I tried to shrink my example down close to Izzy's example. Allow me to present version 2.0 of my idea above.
[url=http://postimg.org/image/l2n0minf7/][img]http://s21.postimg.org/s5uw24suv/cot_buffs_2.jpg[/img][/url]
The color scheme and stat values are the same as my first example. The little symbols above the bars indicate which stat the bars in its column represents. The number to the right of each player indicates how many buffs you have active on the player. The number would flash when one or more of your buffs on that player are about to expire, and hovering over the number would show icons of your buffs on the player to the right (like CoH showed them).
The idea is to be able to change the stats that appear in this view, and as you add more, the players' bars simply expand to accommodate. Again, this design is aimed at giving players a quick assessment of the team's current status without having to look over a ton of icons.
I find the colored bars to be a little hard to read because they're rather small, and it might be problematic for the colorblind, so I don't claim that the design is perfect. It might also be problematic if there is a huge variety of stats you want to watch. It is a more practical representation of my original concept, though.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/HC2jeTR.png[/img]
I like the Icons on top (highlighted in yellow). :)
Only thing is, maybe One teammate might receive a single target buff (maybe a few), so the column approach might not fit.
The 1st green Bar (red arrow) is the Health. Seems obvious. But the others arent intuitive enough for me at 1st glance. :P
The Numbers on the right (red arrow) scare me a little, because I'll be wondering which one of those bars its referring to, like if it was telling me stats about the 1st green bar? or maybe the last Bar the number is closest too? :(
Yep, reading your explanation tells me what it really is (and they can always Mouse Over it to see the details), but 1st time players might sweat it out trying to figure it out just from observation alone, not reading any manuals. ;)
Looks interesting though.
Tracking of different De/Buff for Movement Types
I really don't see this happening. One of the problems outlined in this thread with how CoH did De/Buff Tracking was the huge amounts of Icons, so having 1 per Movement Type wont help with this.
Instead we have a -/+Movement De/Buff icon and when you are under the effect of this you get the generic icon.
But what if the power does only affect a limited number of Movement Types and I don't use any of them? (This is as assumption that CoT will have powers that De/Buff separate Movement Types - if this is NOT going to be then the next bit can be ignored)
Like a power that does -Fly but I only use Slide Movement powers? Im not affected by that Debuff as I don't have a Fly power so it should not appear on my Debuff list. If the power also did something else then I would get whatever icon for the OTHER effect that is on me.
How to display De/Buffs - By Type
Lets assume that the 7 Effects that can be De/Buffed from my list above are all there is. Im sure there are others but its a starting point. The idea is to display based on Type rather than power.
- ToHit/Accuracy (could be the same or different)
- Damage
- Defence
- Resistance
- Heal
- EndRecovery
- Movement (all types - Run/Fly/etc)
Now we also need to add in Health and "Endurance" or whatever it will be (Power, Mana, Mutant Gene-X, Drive, Happy Thoughts, whatever), and potentially even Momentum.
So this takes us to 9 or even 10 (I don't think your team members Momentum will be displayed based on a post by Tannim222).
Now Health and End are defaults so we can see when our teammates are about to die or run out of juice. These should be always on and the largest of the displays.
We now need to have 7 other icons for Buff/Debuffs that are not solely based on colour.
Also as mentioned above assume a team of 10 people and we don't want half the screen lost :)
We could use an "Above/Under" system to show the strength of the De/Buffs where we have a baseline for 0 (no De/Buffs) and all De/Buffs add a column on top (Buff) and under (Debuff) based on the strength. Or a number is displayed on top/under the line to show exact values. Each column/number would also need a Heading/Icon.
Thoughts?
The Phoenix Rising Initiative Rules Lawyer
Thats Silly. I kinda need to know when i can best utilize my Momentum, especially in an AV like fight. Team leader needs to tell its team members the order of Optimal Momentum usage. and if you're like me, I dont type allot when i fight. Well, besides times im not leading a raid. :/ So, just look at the team members momentum bar Drop and that signals me to go next. No Chat TYPY Needed! Scrapper Lock here I Come! ;)
The only time you should hide the Momentum bar is when you are targeted by someone Not On The Team, Legion, etc...
An any Ally* should see it, but an Adversary* wont. ;D
I believe that's a misquote. From the Momentum thread I said Reserves won't show up in the team window. I also said for our current version of Momentum is character based not team based as in no separate team momentum bar. And it may be difficult to tell a team the order of optimum momentum usage because Masteries may use Momentum differently, and power sets may use Momentum differently. Unless the leader is really familiar with the combination of sets / Masteries involved it will be a tall Oder to track each individual on a team and know what their optimum usage is.
With regards to the buffs / debuffs appearance I understand the desire for simplification. I do think that the number of possible buffs and debuffs would make the horizontal meters too cumbersome to fit within a full team window. The horizontal version is a bit more promising though I'm unsure of the size providing an adequate at a glance comparison per team member I'm sure that there would be people that would squint at their screen trying to discriminate between meters that are close in value to one another. As in a 50% difference would probably be distinguishable but a 10% difference may be hard to discern.
I do think the prominent meters of health, energy, and momentum should be displayed as meters. One thing to keep in mind is how those various buff meters could be moving about rising / falling as buffs and debuffs fly about. Power icons may not provide an adequate gauge of exactly how a buff / debuff affects a character but it does make it simple to know what is affecting a character positively or negatively. Maybe the symbols aspect is the way to go, utilizing the symbology and color of the Augment / Refinement schema within the team window instead of an icon based on the power being applied. If multiple powers are applying a same type of effect, provide the number same stacked effects within the icon. I would say it should be possible to hide all icons, show only buffs, show only debuffs. We could even play with the upward / downward facing triangle, upward being buff downward beneath the buff indicating debuff - though I wouldn't want to cause confusion in that Refinements are not a negative affect ;). I know it's not as in depth as what has been expressed in this thread but it does avoid the congestive issues of a plethora of colored meters.
Player facing though I think the actual power icon should be shown within the character data window, this way if an undesired buff is applied, the player can click the buff icon and remove it.
[hr]I don't use a nerf bat, I have a magic crowbar!
- Combat Mechanic -
[color=#ff0000]Tech Team. [/color]
So...
[img]http://i.imgur.com/DLyOgb3.png[/img]
Yellow = Buff
Red = DeBuff
Option 1) 1 bar each for De/Buff. Might not be good on the eyes. :/
Option 2) 10 Bars Max (well Softcap at least) for De/Buffs. Seems much better ;)
And the Compacted View: (before and after)
[img]http://i.imgur.com/C5Sy90b.png[/img]
Compact view Doesnt Have To show 5 De/Buff Stats. Less might look better. ;)
http://i.imgur.com/0BAdEIJ.png
I still think the CoH method was very good. I can still remember the meanings of every single one of those Icons in Izzy's very first example and know exactly what's going on at a glance. And it was just one click on that little blue triangle/arrow to make them appear or disappear. Easy-peasy.
FIGHT EVIL! (or go cause trouble so the Heroes have something to do.)
As long as we can choose how its shown: by Power Icons, by Stats, etc... all is well. ;D
Word. Agreed. Options are always best when possible :).
FIGHT EVIL! (or go cause trouble so the Heroes have something to do.)
Here's a crazy idea: give buffs (and perhaps debuffs) their own UI element(s) so that players can place, and size, it however they like.
On a tangentially related note, it would be awesome if we could freely move characters about in the party frame. I find this especially useful if someone in the group requires more attention than others, so that I can have them at the top (or the bottom) of the roster rather than buried somewhere in the middle.
- - - - -
[font=Pristina][size=18][b]Hail Beard![/b][/size][/font]
Support [url=http://cityoftitans.com/comment/52149#comment-52149]trap clowns[/url] for CoT!
Not strange in the slightest. Although WoW doesn't allow this *by default* in its UI, there are several addons out there that DO allow you to do this.
This is part of the power of the addon community as well. It allows players to develop stuff that developers might not necessarily have the the time/have thought of showing it that way for the community at large.
Whilst the *default* WoW interface you can play the game with, there are several "QOL" addons that I feel are much better than Blizzard defaults. But this is not universal. Other people prefer different addons (either through aesthetics, or features that they need over ones that I use most... or even "laid out better for them in the menu options".)
Wildstar has a "focus frame" option, where you can add people to a dedicated window to keep track of them seperately. You also have a "focus target" option as well, so you can actually track several different groups.
Hell, with s certain addon, you can actually arrange the players in the group/raid into their own "groups", but purely for you own visual feedback. The default Wildstar addon doesn't actually allow you to do this, but this is something that a player added for their own useage.
Not what I tried to describe. I would get rid of the horizontal meter bars for the buffs /debuffs as there would be quite a bit more possible types of buffs / debuffs that require to be shown, there's simply not enough room for the number of bars necessary to show them all.
Instead, imagine the enhancement symbols for type of effects from CoH, which we'll use a similar method for our Augs / Refs. Use the triangle up as the buff indicator, triangle down (beneath the buff indicator) as the debuff. As buffs / debuffs are stacked, use a number within the buff / debuff indicator to show the amount of buffs / debuffs applied.
Again it simplifies the design and while it does not provide an accurate picture of the "stat value" of the effects being buffed / debuff, it allows one to know what buffs are being used, which are debuffs are being applied, and at least how many of like things are being stacked.
[hr]I don't use a nerf bat, I have a magic crowbar!
- Combat Mechanic -
[color=#ff0000]Tech Team. [/color]
Quick Mockup. Not sure if this was what you described:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/dmvRWoe.png[/img]
1) Arrow De/buffs with Numbers.. outside of Stat.
2) Arrow De/Buffs with Numbers.. inside of Stat.
1st row is all Movement sub-types
2nd row is Defense sub-types
3rd row is all Resistance sub-types
I dont know... I agree its more Compact, but More Compact doesnt mean a More Enjoyable Experience.
ex:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/NXDUzSH.png[/img]
ex: Zoomed in at 200%
[img]http://i.imgur.com/7gN2Xkz.png[/img]
Which do you think players will like more? 1 or 2?
My preference is 2.
Because I play mostly In your face AT's, and like to watch the fight unfolding... so i normally dont sit back at a safe distance and watch everyones stats and look at the tiny numbers next to the buff.
My playstyle is to take a quick glance at the stats (HP and End mostly) and my eyes go back to the combat. I would like the same to be done for my stats... An option to show Team stats the same way would be nice as well. ;)
This seems like a nice compromise between having a million icons and only viewing player stats. My opinion is that stats would provide more valuable information, but this sounds like a useful alternative. Others in this thread have suggested similar things.
Now when you say "the amount of buffs / debuffs applied," do you mean a [i]sum of the values[/i] of those effects or the [i]number of effects[/i] applied? I feel that the former would be more useful, but I assume you meant the latter based on your last paragraph.
If you meant the latter, I would also like to see some visual indicator that shows how much total value the cumulative effects are providing---a number, a bar, a colored meter, or some other such mechanism to indicate how significant the effects are. Why? There's a [b]big[/b] difference between [url=http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Body_Armor#Body_Armor]Body Armor[/url] and [url=http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Force_Mastery#Force_of_Nature]Force of Nature[/url], and when I'm trying to determine how well off my teammates are, I'd like to be able to tell the difference so I know who needs help and who doesn't.
...
Also, you sure work fast, Izzy! I've been using HTML5 to create my examples and I can't keep up. You got skills.
Try Inkscape. [url=http://microugly.deviantart.com/art/a-Quick-Guide-to-Inkscape-53832833]QuickStart guide[/url]. ;)
I'm not familiar with Inkscape, but it seems like a useful tool. I'm also not an artist; I'm a programmer. I only tinker with GIMP on occasion when I need some quick graphics.
But it's funny, Inkscape supports SVG which is exactly what I used to render the colored circles and bars in my examples. The difference is that I generated the graphics using JavaScript and changed their styles with CSS. The code is both hideous and beautiful.
More on topic, I want to highlight a snippet from your other post...
This is [i]exactly[/i] what I've tried to convey in my examples. I maintain that stats provide a very fundamental assessment of a player's current status, and it would be ideal to have a quick visual indication of stats that you choose to monitor. I think some clever UI design could make this work without causing your screen to look like Microsoft Excel.
I think you and I are on the same page in this regard, Izzy.
Hehe.. ;)
But i bet you dont have a Sacred Screen Area. ;D
ex:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/rqMLAJf.png[/img]
Basically the White Transluscent part is the Sacred Area, where I refuse to place any GUI elements. ;)
The Bottom of the screen can Vary on the Camera Work in specific games.
But in CoH/V, it was Very Close to the Bottom of the Screen, like show above.
That's close Izzy though I would simplify it further. The icon itself would be an upright triangle for the buff, and beneath it a downward pointing triangle with the appropriate debuff symbol. The number for stacked effects would be [i]inside[/i] the buff / debuff icon, not to the side. Though triangles aren't a must I only thought they would match the aug / ref appearance nicely and the upward point being "positive" and downward point being "negative". I would say sideways layered stacks would be an option over numerated icons.
[hr]I don't use a nerf bat, I have a magic crowbar!
- Combat Mechanic -
[color=#ff0000]Tech Team. [/color]
Just messing around with the Condensed view.
ex: Zoomed in at 400%
[img]http://i.imgur.com/mtOLVaP.png[/img]
1) shows the 3 most recent de/buffs. plus shows an icon for the sub-type.
2) shows the 3 most recent de/buffs. instead of an icon, shows the number equivalent for the sub-type. (Icon might be too small to see at 100% Zoom)
Could also... Hide the Icon/Number, showing Nothing.. just the background color for that Type.
Oh wait.. you mean something like this?
[img]http://i.imgur.com/yS1ywXZ.png[/img]
Something like that, though the number of stacked effects may need to be super imposed over the buff icon to always remain legible and save space. As a proof of concept it works.
[hr]I don't use a nerf bat, I have a magic crowbar!
- Combat Mechanic -
[color=#ff0000]Tech Team. [/color]
Hmm, triangles.
Aren't triangles being used for power enhancements too? Looks like a consistent scheme is coalescing. I like it.
Triangles can innately carry more information in a small space than circles or squares can because triangles can both point different directions AND they can interlock.
As a matter of fact, in that proof of concept, if you interlocked the triangles rather than putting them over and under base to base, it might save space and pack more information in a small area. If you want them to look less harsh, you can just round the corners instead of the faces and they'll still interlock.
Maybe triangles would also be useful as a shape for slots and icons in power trays too, for the same reasons?
FIGHT EVIL! (or go cause trouble so the Heroes have something to do.)
One thing you may want to be sure to include on those icons is ... duration timers. For things that are Toggles, they can be omitted, but for Clicks you're going to want some way to know how long the shortest duration timer on the stack has so that you're prepared to refresh it.
[center][img=44x100]https://i.imgur.com/sMUQ928.gif[/img]
[i]Verbogeny is one of many pleasurettes afforded a creatific thinkerizer.[/i][/center]
Actually, if they interlock, they [I]must[/I] point in [I]specific[/I] different directions.
[URL=http://s1363.photobucket.com/user/Foradain/media/tech_zps61c7ad6c.gif.html][IMG=450x300]http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r720/Foradain/tech_zps61c7ad6c.gif[/IMG][/URL]
Which limits the information direction can give you if they interlock. But interlocking does fit more triangles into a given space.
Foradain, Mage of Phoenix Rising.
[url=https://cityoftitans.com/forum/foradains-character-conclave]Foradain's Character Conclave[/url]
.
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Good point, but, yes, while interlocking to save space does limit the amount of added information, it's at very least one additional "free" binary source of visual information in a potentially space-saving configuration.
This can be used to good advantage--as shown in Izzy's proof of concept in the simple up/down orientation of the triangle denoting the binary buff(up)/debuff(down) dichotomy, which could still be done if interlocked side by side with points up and down to save space rather than base to base above and below as in Izzy's example.
This all may seem like being a bit fussy about space usage, but on a HUD that potentially blocks your view, it's worth a good long look.
FIGHT EVIL! (or go cause trouble so the Heroes have something to do.)
One question comes to mind. Will there be a way to remove buffs, debuffs and damage over time effects? If so it would be even more important to be able to display them in a way you could easily see.
I remember one thing from Guild Wars 1: debuffs affected the color of the health bars. A curse would turn it pink, poison green and some others just turned it to a darker hue. Regeneration and degeneration effects where depicted as little arrows on that bar, showing you how fast the the health of your ally was drained or refilled. It did not tell you what precise curse or condition the affected ally suffered from, but it told you instantly there was something you'd better remove. Something like this could be helpful, as minimalistic alternative to the above.