[REVIEW] New Server Browser

[Weyland Yutani (DayZ) 1159]

I was excited to see the new server browser, but once I got my hands on it...I'm kind of scratching my head on the design.

1. Double Clicking a Server

• This expands the server info...why? I find it's a hassle to select the server on the left and go to the bottom right of the screen to 'connect.' Double clicking a server should connect. Give me a chevron to expand instead (Oo wait, there already is one!)

2. Time of Day

• Why is there icons instead of an exact time of day? Maybe I don't want to play night because nights are still extremely unattractive. Can we get a time instead of icons please?

3. Population Indicators

• Low, Medium, High just doesn't do it for me. The ambiguity here looks like a deceptive way to fill out servers that aren't at a desirable capacity. Can we get numerical values here please?

4. Dropdowns vs Checkboxes

• All those options a la checkboxes is an ugly design. Making a simple dropdown is a much slicker look and leaves for space and better options.

5. Redundancy

• Why are there 2 search text fields? Seems like a waste of precious space. Consolidating these is a better look.
• Expand/Collapse All Servers...why is this on the right side bar? Its confusing to the eye to see so much clutter. The chevron next to the server name is more than enough. 

6. Refresh List

• This should be on the top right of the search button.

7. Right vs Left Sidebar

• I think it might be worth a look to switch sides on the sidebar. Hard to say w/o seeing it live, but it might flow better?

8. Movable Workspaces

• I think it would be pretty neat of we had modules that could be moved around to suit our taste kinda like Adobes movable workspaces.

 

Edited November 19, 2016 by Weyland Yutani (DayZ)

[OliverPlotTwist 458]

1. I think this improves it honestly. It makes everything a tidier by reducing the amount of info on a single line. You get the basics of the server and if you want a bit more info you double click to see more.

2. I don't really see why a symbol is worse then a time. Yeah, I guess you don't see the exact time but knowing that would be a bit meta-gamy for my liking.

3. It took me a bit of time to get used to this change. But I think now that I've used it a bit, I like the change. For starters, it makes it harder for people to server hop from empty server to empty server so the can gear up. And I don't think it makes that much of a difference if I'm going to be honest. People can still find full servers easily.

4. I wouldn't say it looked ugly. It's definitely better then the last one. But I'm pretty sure this isn't the final version and it will most likely be updated both in looks and functionality. 

5. Well, one text box it for IPs and the other is for server names. I think that's fair. The Expand/collapse options don't really get in the way for me. I think it's a nice option to have there for people that want to see more detail about every server.

6. Again, I don't think it matters where the refresh button is.

7. Maybe, I think giving people the option to choose which side the sidebar is on would be a good idea. I think this one comes down to personal preference.

8. I don't know what you mean by this one. I'm assuming you mean being able to customised the browser. Which I'm for, but I doubt it would be something I use.

Edited November 19, 2016 by OliverPlotTwist

[Weyland Yutani (DayZ) 1159]

5 minutes ago, OliverPlotTwist said:

1. I think this improves it honestly. It makes everything a tidier by reducing the amount of info on a single line. You get the basics of the server and if you want a bit more info you double click to see more.

2. I don't really see why a symbol is worse then a time. Yeah, I guess you don't see the exact time but knowing that would be a bit meta-gamy for my liking.

3. It took me a bit of time to get used to this change. But I think now that I've used it a bit, I like the change. For starters, it makes it harder for people to server hop from empty server to empty server so the can gear up. And I don't think it makes that much of a difference if I'm going to be honest. People can still find full servers easily.

4. I wouldn't say it looked ugly. It's definitely better then the last one. But I'm pretty sure this isn't the fine version and it will most likely be updated both in looks and functionality. 

5. Well, one text box it for IPs and the other is for server names. I think that's fair. The Expand/collapse options don't really get in the way for me. I think it's a nice option to have there for people that want to see more detail about every server.

6. Again, I don't think it matters where the refresh button is.

7. Maybe, I think maybe giving people the option to choose which side the sidebar is on would be a good idea. I think this one comes down to personal preference.

8. I don't know what you mean by this one. I'm assuming you mean being able to customised the browser. Which I'm for, but I doubt it would be something I use.

Thanks for the reply!

1. There is no need to double click though as there is a chevron to expand on the left side. I want to double click and join. I don't think I'm alone.

2. A symbol is worse than time because its ambiguous. You can't tell how many hours of daylight are left.

4. Design wise its bleghh. BI isn't known for having good UI's especially web related. Look at the bug tracker. Redone and it still is hard as hell to navigate. If you're not familiar with web icons you wouldn't even know where to sign up. Arrow in a box = sign up...no way Jose.

5. They should consolidate them.

6. Of course it does...its misplaced. Junior Designer 101. Nobody should have to search for buttons, it should be directly visible and easy to use.

[OliverPlotTwist 458]

20 minutes ago, Weyland Yutani (DayZ) said:

Thanks for the reply!

1. There is no need to double click though as there is a chevron to expand on the left side. I want to double click and join. I don't think I'm alone.

2. A symbol is worse than time because its ambiguous. You can't tell how many hours of daylight are left.

4. Design wise its bleghh. BI isn't known for having good UI's especially web related. Look at the bug tracker. Redone and it still is hard as hell to navigate. If you're not familiar with web icons you wouldn't even know where to sign up. Arrow in a box = sign up...no way Jose.

5. They should consolidate them.

6. Of course it does...its misplaced. Junior Designer 101. Nobody should have to search for buttons, it should be directly visible and easy to use.

No problem, this is a forum after all. It's all about having discussions.

1. The problem with using the expand on the left side is you lose the server your trying to expand. Just double clicking the server means you don't lose it. Maybe a compromise would be having a small join button on each server so you can just click that and join instead of needing to click the server then click connect. Or maybe having a small expand button on each server, so people can still expand it without losing it and people can still double click the server to join. 

2. I might be wrong but I think that's the point. You shouldn't know what time it is when you join a server because at some point the server will be day or night. I think the reason we get the symbol is because it was a compromise for the people that want to play on daytime servers. Most private servers keep the server at daytime so if the symbol shows daytime then more then likely it will be daytime 24/7. 

4. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't used the feedback tracker yet (mostly because I haven't run into any bugs that no one else has) so I couldn't comment on the functionality of it. However I do think the server browser isn't in an acceptable state for full release. Luckily the game is still in development so there is plenty of time to clean it up.

5. Yes, I agree with that.

6. I suppose but then again, it didn't take me more then a few seconds to find it and once it did, I remembered where it was. But I do agree that it could be displayed better. 

Edited November 19, 2016 by OliverPlotTwist

[Weyland Yutani (DayZ) 1159]

20 minutes ago, OliverPlotTwist said:

No problem, this is a forum after all. It's all about having discussions.

1. The problem with using the expand on the left side is you lose the server your trying to expand. Just double clicking the server means you don't lose it. Maybe a compromise would be having a small join button on each server so you can just click that and join instead of needing to click the server then click connect. Or maybe having a small expand button on each server, so people can still expand it without losing it and people can still double click the server to join. 

2. I might be wrong but I think that's the point. You shouldn't know what time it is when you join a server because at some point the server will be day or night. I think the reason we get the symbol is because it was a compromise for the people that want to play on daytime servers. Most private servers keep the server at daytime so if the symbol shows daytime then more then likely it will be daytime 24/7. 

4. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't used the feedback tracker yet (mostly because I haven't run into any bugs that no one else has) so I couldn't comment on the functionality of it. However I do think the server browser isn't in an acceptable state for full release. Luckily the game is still in development so there is plenty of time to clean it up.

5. Yes, I agree with that.

6. I suppose but then again, it didn't take me more then a few seconds to find it and once it did, I remembered where it was. But I do agree that it could be displayed better. 

Hello again!

1. Not sure what you mean about losing the server you're trying to expand. I just clicked the chevron to the left of the server name/description/etc on a few servers and didn't lose anything.

2. Yeah, I dunno...I think its shiesty especially when night is still so unattractive. Its deceptive and there should never be anything deceptive about a server browser. Server browsers are they for a person to navigate to something they want, not something the devs want you to want.

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

4 hours ago, Weyland Yutani (DayZ) said:

I don't think I'm alone.

Correct.

Double click would be nice, I fully agree with you here.