Edit: this topic is not about the menus. It is about the HUD visible while roaming the world.

So if http://www.ausgamers.com/features/read/3048710 Ausgamer article is correct and Todd can be quoted as saying that "one of his big goals for Skyrim was to create an in-depth RPG, sans clutter", I have to point out that they haven't done it very well.

The HUD clutters the screen far more than it should:
- The compass is huge.
While I do think that it needs to be up all the time (if BGS is going to insist on designing the game around quest markers *grumble grumble*), it's far bigger than it needs to be. Everyone remembers Oblivion's compass. What was wrong with that implementation?

- The status bars are huge.
It's great that they only come up when they're needed during combat, but do they have to be spread all across the bottom of the screen and do they have to be so thick? You could slice the bars in half in both dimensions and they wouldn't lose any functionality. The way the health bar depletes is also unnecessarily complicated and can surely only serve to obfuscate its reading now that we have to bear in mind that it depletes from both ends towards the middle. Not a massive problem but it isn't as intuitive as BGS say they are aiming for.

- Pop up text is too big and too central.
At 1:54 of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9MBqdME14I video you can see what the pop up that announces a skill increase looks like. This is in the middle of combat, yet not only is the text announcing the increase huge, it is accompanied by a level progress bar that extends even further towards the centre of the screen. Is this later information needed in the heat of battle? I personally got by fine on Oblivion's system of having the level progress bar in the character menu tab. Not once did I want to have that information thrust in my face. Not only that, but the text and the bar both hang around for far longer than is necessary.
A better way for pop ups to be shown is in the style of the sneak attack indicator, seen at 1:39 of the same video. This pop up is clear, concise and well placed not to get in the way.

I'm excited for Skyrim and I love TES etc etc etc, but sometimes what Todd says the team sits down to achieve and what we're actually shown in demo are worryingly distant from each other.

I agree. They could be a little more subtle and out of the way... I mean big and bulky is too much, Im thinking about it displaying on my 40inch and Im thinking its gonna be way too big and Im half blind.

Todd... if you're listening, consider the scale of the HUD.

I still hate the font in the 'skill up' messages. http://cdn.devicemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Skyrim-Logo-485x284.jpg says Skyrim, both literally and figuratively. The font in the HUD and http://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Skyrim-skill-trees.jpg could be from Halo or Mass Effect if you ask me.

Agreed. I thought Oblivion's HUD was fine - just too big.

Well, although I'm not very happy about the bulky everything and obnoxious levelup messages, I can't see anything wrong with the font. At least it's clean and elegant now.

The font is so HUGE that my pet Clannfear will probably mistake it for an enemy and attack it. :brokencomputer:

I agree I didn't like what I saw in the E3 demo. Course this will be modded if Beth doesn't fix it themselves. The pop-up messages are really annoying.

I rather like the HUD, I don't think it intrudes on the action on screen.

That reminds me of the forum skin being changed here at March 2010. It was up to the public to fix the problem.
While the leaders sat on their hands.

And the fan fiction fell off the cliff....

Why can't they make the HUD elements toggleable, and please both the people who love a HUD-free environment, and those who like the status bars? I can't believe that they just assume that people don't want HUD elements and decide to remove everything. Personally, I'd prefer a more complicated HUD.

I didnt believe it at first when I saw their main screen hud. The font is far too large as well as wildly inappropriate. Its far too modern. I dont remember about the compass but I imagine your right. The health bars are so terrible that everyone I show the video to notices them. firstly, they are boring and with no border on them i cant gauge how much health I have. Secondly all three together take up the whole screen! why!? I really hope they are going to fix all this for release. I'm sorry, as a designer I say that its not the kind of minimal that is functional, its just minimal and confusing. Just to not leave off sounding so harsh, I think the inventory system looks good, as well as the skill system.

I completely agree with you greatcarbuncle.

Unfortunately from what I've seen of the user interface it looks extremely console friendly and horribly clunky for a personal computer, when Todd Howard said he thought Apple's user interface was something inspiring to aim for I facepalmed so hard, but what is important to keep in mind is that all the demonstration gameplay that we've seen has been from the Xbox 360.

Hopefully there will be a seperate personal computer user interface, if not, oh dear.

It's 360 the font has to be huge!

pre alpha/ beta build bro

The UI is a lot better then oblivion, and honestly the HUD is better then almost any FPS if you consider that there is no Regenerating health (on the scale of CoD, BF games, ect) and the addition of magic and stam. And the big level up sign seems to be more ceremonial? Its better then "Hey you leveled now go to sleep" And why are you complainging about this anyway there will be mods.

Mods. :celebration:

It really bothered you that much?

Accio Darnify!

This is the only thing I've seen that I have a problem with...the HUD. What I'm hoping is that it was that way for the demo so the journalists, etc., could see clearly. My personal preference would move it all back down to the left bottom corner like Oblivion. I really don't want a bar blocking the sky when I play. I'm hoping that's adjusted for the final game.

:tes:

I agree, I also dislike the HUD, especially the huge ugly font.

The only thing I don't like is the level up messages, and then again, it's their placement. Place them over the compass, I never use it when fighting!

But the bars are alright. Even the health bar, it's perfect. complicated? what's complicated in "the less red you have, the less health you have"?

I dont mind the style, it just needs to be 25-30% smaller =x

I am glad someone noticed this i realy hope it gets sorted before the game comes out. The font is to much like fallout and should change or at least MAKE IT SMALLER because the size ruins the whole imersion of being in another world and makes it look more like any other video game.

:goodjob:

I know, let's go back to the daggerfall HUD, it eats up 1/4th of the screen.
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/3483/screen30nh.gif

The e3 demo you saw was made months before E3 the hud could be alot different now. Plus it was shown on 360 may vary a little as well on pc

Didn't they say something about toggleable hud?