Anyone who's played Warhammer Online knows how incredibly flexible their heads-up display is. Just about everything can be moved, adjusted, or tweaked. Plus, if Warhammer hasn't provided the exact display module you want there's a very good chance that someone else has and you simply need to download and install it. Let's analyze why Warhammer's HUD is one of the best...
Positives:
+ One of the most adjustable HUDs I’ve ever used. The developers realized that not everyone likes their displays placed in the same places so they gave the player the ability to reposition and resize the modules from the very start.
+ One of the most customizable HUDs I’ve ever used. Whole sites have sprung up offering downloadable add-ons to tweak every aspect of the HUD possible. If you don’t like how the HUD looks, download and install a more attractive skin. If you don’t like how warband parties are displayed, download and install an add-on that displays them more to your liking.
+ There are one to five hot bars to hold all your skills at a fingers reach. You can even scroll through a specific hot bar for even more choices.
+ The Tome of Knowledge is a great feature of the heads up display as it tracks all of your character’s accomplishments from their first step into the game. It is easy to navigate and holds such information as how long you’ve played the character, how many titles you’ve received, which accomplishments you’ve earned, and how many RvR kills you’ve made.
+ The default quest tracker automatically adds any new quests you’ve accepted. Another good feature of the quest tracker is that if you want it out of sight you just click a button below the mini-map and it’s gone. When you want it back simply click the button again.
Negatives:
- It is difficult to keep track of your target at times. When there are a lot of characters in the area, as there are in an RvR battle, figuring out exactly who you have targeted and whether they are friend or foe can be tricky. True, the player can simply look in the upper corner to see whose portrait is beside theirs but this doesn’t always help. There have been times that I thought I had a friend targeted to heal them but found that I had an enemy targeted and drew aggro instead. Not a good thing to do in the middle of a battle.
- Various parts of the user interface are spread out to the four corners of the screen. This makes keeping track of your current situation a slow process as you scan each corner for updated information. This also slows your reaction time. You may be looking at your party’s status on one side of the screen and not notice the red dots sneaking up on you in the mini-map on the other side of the screen.
- The Party/Group/Warband default interface is way too big. It obstructs quite a bit of the players view when one is in a full warband.
- The mini-map does not allow you to draw on it to show party or warband members where an objective is, where the party will meet up, or which direction you’re supposed to go.
Thoughts:
~ While the HUD is fully customizable, it may be a bit daunting to figure out exactly how to customize it. There are hundreds of free downloadable add-ons that will customize the look and function of the HUD. The issues arise when you try to figure out if the add-on you want is compatible with the current version of the game, how to install it, how to configure it once it’s installed, and learning to use it once it’s in place.
~ This is a great entry point to creating custom HUDs as it is possible to create your own add-ons if you’re proficient with the Lua programming language. Even if you don’t know Lua there are ample resources available to help you learn so you can create a custom HUD for the game.
~ The macro interface is difficult to use. The instructions were vague and unhelpful. In order to create a simple macro I had to search for help on Google. Interestingly I’m not the only one who finds it difficult to create a macro in the game. There are videos on YouTube, web sites, and forums with better instructions. I think Warhammer needs to simplify this process so more people are able to use the feature.
~ Targeting is difficult in the game without an add-on. It would be wonderful if tab targeting were more intuitive. Sometimes I cannot figure out why it will suddenly target the mob that’s 5 feet behind me when there is one flailing away two feet in front of me. The range of tab targeting is also off. If I’m trying to target a player or mob outside of the tab target’s range then I have to click on them. If I can see them to click on them then the tab targeting should also select them.
Would Like:
* I’d love for Warhammer to pick the cream of the custom add-ons and integrate them into the game. This would allow the majority of the players to use them without them having to hunt them down, figure out how to install them, and maintain them through patch updates.
* I’d love to be able to change the shape of the default mini-map. It is movable but when placed in any spot other than the upper right corner looks very out-of-place and is a bit distracting.
* I’d like for the Public Quest information module to be movable. It is currently in the upper right corner next to the mini-map. Sometimes they overlap other modules making it difficult to view either of them.
* I’d like a refined Macro creation interface with a step-by-step guide for those of us who are macro-challenged.
Credit where credit is due:
Bioware Social Network. (2011). Warhammer online: age of reckoning forums. Retrieved from http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/subindex/203
Various Authors. (2005-2011). Warhammer alliance forums. Retrieved from http://www.whalliance.com/forums/
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