My impressions of the user interface.

[nataliacd1972]

I'm using version 080, but I don't really use the new menu, so I don't really know what improvements it has had in this beta.

Evolution now has 3 generations of menus, the legacy one, the side bar (that I think comes from version 7) and the new one. This is done for example when selecting an airplane, each one also has a different dialog box, and with different functions.

The legacy dialog box allows you to select an airplane and its paint scheme, with a 3D view that allows you to move and zoom, as well as allowing you to delete and rename an airplane. It also allows you to see its description and specifications.

The sidebar dialog allows you to select an airplane and scheme, with some filters and the airplane is displayed as a thumbnail. In this you can no longer delete or rename an aircraft.

The new menu dialog box, allows many filters, also shows the description, but not the characteristics of the aircraft. In this the plane is shown with a thumbnail and you cannot choose the scheme (you have to go to another section to do so). You can't delete or rename it here either.

I personally use the legacy and the sidebar (which I find very useful especially for gadgets), because in the new one you have to take too many steps to do simple things that are done much more easily with the others. Also the size of the fonts is excessive (I suppose they are useful for viewing from a TV, but they are horrible on a PC monitor).

Modernizing the user interface seems fine to me, as long as it is improved. As an idea, I would make the new menu with the same structure as the legacy one, perhaps with direct access to the most common functions (select plane, scenario, exit the game).

It would be necessary to unify the dialog boxes (put one that has all the functions) and modernize the appearance of the dialog boxes that are accessed from the new menu to those of the legacy (edit airplanes, for example)

Another thing would be to be able to choose the font size, or create a TV mode and PC mode. I don't know if this is related to being able to choose the resolution in full screen and, since we are at it, I would like to know if there is any progress in this and in alliasing or a roadmap for its implementation

 

[flightengr]

The point of the new menu system is that you can control it using the InterLink DX controller. You don't have to grab the mouse; you can navigate through all options using the roller wheel and the buttons on the controller. That's why it seems like a lot of clicking with a mouse.

 

[RemyHeli]

I am not sure if the new menu will be retained in the future, as he´s not finalized and rather looking as beta test, possibly in views to replace the original menu bar now hidden by default.

I have found many issues with the new menu, all already reported here, such as:
- random freeze
- hundreds missing localizations
- hiding status messages at the bottom
- etc.

 

[nataliacd1972]

The point of the new menu system is that you can control it using the InterLink DX controller. You don't have to grab the mouse; you can navigate through all options using the roller wheel and the buttons on the controller. That's why it seems like a lot of clicking with a mouse.

I know that it is designed to be used with the Interlink DX, but that does not mean that there are too many steps to take for anything and that the rest of the things that I have already said are not well done, because, how do you manage the aircraft editor with Interlink DX if it is a legacy menu dialog box? It is a PC simulator and not a console game, which will always need a keyboard and mouse, although it is very good that some very common functions can be controlled with the Interlink, the interface should be focused on the use of mouse and keyboard . There are options such as configuring the graphic quality, sound, etc... that are normally used the first time you install the simulator and rarely have to be changed, so using Interlink for that doesn't make much sense. Other functions necessarily require the use of the mouse and keyboard, such as import/export aircraft, the aircraft editor or the quick search filter.
And I agree with RemyHeli that it is unfinished and has many bugs and I make this comment given that beta 080 focused mainly on this menu, but practically no one so far has commented on it.