For more screen shots of Bixxi's nifty wee tiny UI and all the information on his choice of mods, join us past the jump!
Here's the word from Bixxi himself about this marvelous UI:
When designing the UI, I basically started by looking at other UI's like Mazzle but found they don't really do things the way I like them. So I started to pick and choose addons and after a few days of trial and error, the basic structure was in place.
My interface is very much a work in progress. I constantly try out new addons and if they suit me (like Chronometer for example) they go in, if they don't (like Quartz and CowTip last week) I kick them out again. The underlying concept is minimalism -- I want as much info as possible without cluttering my screen with more doodads (and losing valuable screen real estate) than absolutely necessary.
Bear in mind my screen is quite small (1280x800) and I'm playing on a 13.3" laptop, so space, contrast and readability are important. Most information panels are transparent and faded out a little bit to make the text easier to read.
One thing you might notice is the toolbar. "How is this guy a 70 Mage and only has 1 toolbar?" Well, this comes back to the space-saving thing. The toolbar you see can be "flipped" up and down with two buttons on my mouse, for things I might need out of combat -- conjure water, teleports, Gnomish transporters, portals, and the like. All the combat actions are mapped to keys anyway -- things like Frost Nova, Blink, AP, trinkets etc. are all bound and I just know where they are. They are also strategically located on the keyboard so that, for example, I can hit PoM with one finger and Pyro with another on the same hand, while using the mouse, to move ;)
As I play a DPS class, knowing where I stand is important to me. That's why I'm a big fan of Recount, which you see in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. It also lets you analyze how and why you died, who broke polymorph, and the like.
Just above Recount, I have Chronometer timer bars popping up when I cast spells that have a duration. This way I can see when, for example, when I have to re-sheep a mob on a big pull without having to target it constantly. In heroics, where trash mobs hit for 7.7k+, missing a breaking sheep can be deadly!
Some of the other addons: X-Perl Unit Frames are excellent. They flash like a fruit machine in standard mode so I've toned the settings down quite a bit, but they do an awesome job of telling me whats going on with my group. Fubar and various plugins for that let me know all the standard stuff like reagents, money, coords, time and when I need to repair. Lukewarm MageTimers (on the right side under the threat meter) lets me know when my abilities are cooled down. (the actual action buttons for them are hidden)
Also, I run the WowAceUpdater about once a day, which automatically downloads all the latest updates for your addons. Highly recommended!
And a bonus screenshot -- one of the earlier renditions of this UI including Bixxi's Sheep Timer!
I can't imagine trying to play WoW on a 13.3" screen, but it appears that Bixxi's got it down to a science. His compact UI is full of lots of good information all at your fingertips. I really like the graph mod too! Add to it the WoWAceUpdater functionality (which I have mad love for) and I've no doubt that this UI will continue to get better and better as it did in the short month between first submission and current incarnation.
As always, if you'd like to show your UI off to the rest of the Insider crowd, send along pictures and all the 411 to me at readerui@gmail.com. Yours could be next!
As always, if you'd like to show your UI off to the rest of the Insider crowd, send along pictures and all the 411 to me at readerui@gmail.com. Yours could be next!
Subscribe
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-17-2007 @ 9:55PM
Jexxar said...
Congrats on your amazing streamlined UI Bixxi, it's always interesting to see how people can customize their screens to give them exactly what they need for the screen real estate that they have available to them. Keep up the good work!
Reply
9-17-2007 @ 10:20PM
robodex said...
A bit too busy for my tastes, although it is OK.
Reply
9-17-2007 @ 11:33PM
Ryknow said...
i love the damage meter....nice scrolling graph and all. gonna have to check it out
Reply
9-17-2007 @ 11:48PM
Sherp of Ahrotahntee said...
I like the damage graph too. What addon is that?
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 12:42AM
Alan said...
What's the mod that modifies your ui and gives you that black bar. I have at least 2 chat windows open at all times, 3 if i'm looking at a combat log, so i need to start consolidating. Also, how it the raid interface set up? just xperl? mine looks more like the ctra interface but i like the space thats saved.
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 1:27AM
Replex said...
I too would like to know what DPS meter that graph is, thanks!
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 1:31AM
Replex said...
Sorry he said it, it is called Recount.
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 1:34AM
Felsir said...
It's recount (mentioned in the text) Check this for more graphs it can do: http://elitistjerks.com/f32/t13567-recount_graphical_damage_meter_raid_analysis_tool/
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 2:00AM
Nick Thomas said...
no quartz? =/
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 3:14AM
White Rabbit said...
Can I get a .zip of your interface? I use the same resolution and I love yours! please please please :)
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 3:48AM
Kryptonls said...
Not a fan myself... no HP or Mana values, (Get MobInfo to do this for you) and also, the bar along the top seems like a waste of space as you only have the place name there. ;)
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 5:09AM
Cavalier said...
Is this a Boss fight or N.A.S.A Launch Command? I like things simple. However it does look cool
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 6:19AM
Quiz said...
SEVEN mages and SIX paladins at Gruul! w00t!
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 6:30AM
MartinC said...
Grid mod? As far as I can tell, he's not using Grid. If you mean the graph, that's coming from Recount.
As for the UI, nothing earthshattering, and a lot of unnecessary stuff there. Not using Quartz is a definite minus. If you tried it and tossed it out, perhaps you just didn't understand what it was for, and were not aware of how to use it to the fullest benefit. Every caster should be using Quartz.
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 6:44AM
Razhlok said...
Some say too busy, but, I think you do a nice job of balancing a clean look, having the information important to a DPS class and having enough screen to see all the action. Good job!
I'll have to check out Recount. That graph is all kinds of sexy.
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 6:56AM
Argent said...
@14: look at the right hand side. that would be grid.
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 7:24AM
Keith Hoffmaster said...
How do you know he doesn't understand what it is for and how to use it to it's fullest? It's possible that he just doesn't like it.
I had Quartz for quite a while and had it configured in a way that was usable for me (and I like to go through EVERY setting available in an addon to see what it does). It had an annoying habit of repositioning its bars in the middle of the screen at random when I would log in. I even removed all other addons installed and left just that running to see what would happen and sure enough, the same thing continued to occur on the next couple logins.
I would usually just drag them back to their place but after a month of doing so (and applying every available update I could find in hopes of this annoying feature going away), I gave up on Quartz and found a combination of other addons which serve the same purpose, and much more to my liking.
Quartz isn't the end-all be-all for these types of addons, which is why alternatives are available.
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 7:42AM
Dan said...
Having all your bags on screen seems like a waste of space when it's at such a premium - why not hide them completely and bind 'open all bags' to a key?
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 7:47AM
dixonij said...
Go Paladin tank Go!
Not a bad UI.... a little too cluttered for my liking though. And just how the hell does one play WoW on a 13.3 in screen anyway?
Reply
9-18-2007 @ 8:07AM
andrea said...
a lot of addons that are not needed (for a mage), and none of the ones that you'd think you would. nice.
Reply