Native Controller Support but no Xbox UI?

[BadWolf]

This is kind of a Deja Vu of Minecraft Windows 10 Edition which currently is at the same state. I'm not sure why there is this perfect controller support without the Xbox UI to make it a seamless experience.

I'm voicing this because I looked up and for some reason there has never been a mod for this and the side project that some over here started about this, has been closed on the github(or whatever other site) it was at. Very unfortunate because OpenMW is fantastic to play this way except when you are faced with the normal interface.

I'm mainly trying to reach the programmers that feel like me and may see this and feel like "hey, that's a great idea, let's do this!". I know this is a minor part but if someone is interested in really developing this feature/mod, I will go around and find screenshots of all the different UI whether it is for alchemy, repairing, and so on.

[Ravenwing]

Scrawl has Gamepad GUI on his list of post 1.0 features. I don't think this is super high on the post 1.0 priorities like distant land/statics and various shaders and such (he is our graphical genius after all) but I imagine it's still pretty high up on the secondary list of things to do. I too would like the larger UI option along with full analogue controls.

[BadWolf]

Scrawl has Gamepad GUI on his list of post 1.0 features. I don't think this is super high on the post 1.0 priorities like distant land/statics and various shaders and such (he is our graphical genius after all) but I imagine it's still pretty high up on the secondary list of things to do. I too would like the larger UI option along with full analogue controls.

That's good to know! Do you know where I can take read this list?

Also: I think the only place where you use the analogue sticks are a cursor is in the map. The Xbox UI is bigger UI with just choosing between different possible options instead of moving a cursor.

I imagine it's not a difficult feature to develop but then again I don't know how easy or hard it is to implement a system/feature across all areas of the game and how challenging it is to be able to just turn it on in the settings or when you plug a controller.

[BadWolf]

I'd also like to make a case for developing Gamepad UI sooner: I think what most people will find attractive about OpenMW is things that Morrowind just isn't offering modding wise. For example: Everyone will try OpenMW when someone makes better attack animations on par with Oblivion/Skyrim. I think the UI is the second most popular gripe people have with the game. While something like distant land is more impressive to have "out of the box", I think what people most care about is playing the game in a way that just isn't available through mods in standard Morrowind. I don't really see people switching from the version they currently have with the overhaul which took them just an hour to set up just for faster load times.

[Ravenwing]

That's good to know! Do you know where I can take read this list?

Well it's on his Trello board accessible if you're a patron for him on Patreon. I think the link would technically work, but it removes the point of it being a perk for patrons As to the rest of your questions, I'll let the devs themselves respond. I would like to put out there that I own the original xbox version, so if we do need to do some investigating on GUI I would be more than happy to pop it back in my old xbox and report back too.

[BadWolf]

As to the rest of your questions, I'll let the devs themselves respond. I would like to put out there that I own the original xbox version, so if we do need to do some investigating on GUI I would be more than happy to pop it back in my old xbox and report back too.

If there is any photoshop work to be done, I wouldn't mind doing that part. I know little to nothing about programming, but I'm pretty good with photoshop. I imagine just moving that GUI from the xbox files would be easier but if not, I wouldn't mind making all the graphical stuff. I'd just need to know what to do in what resolution.

[magamo]

I've been playing OpenMW with my DualShock 4 lately. I started with Morrowind on the XBox in yesteryear, and my opinion is that the elements of the GUI are just fine graphically, my personal wishlist for the controller interface would be:

More binding options, including binding button combinations and a few commands that were never really a part of Morrowind on PC (XBox had two-button combos for switching to 'next/previous weapons', and 'next/previous magic', which would just select the next or previous weapon or spell in your inventory, rather than limiting you to the quick menu options.

In dialogs and menus, abolishing the 'mouse cursor' movement, and instead selecting through items in a more 'digital' manner.

A binding for the main/options menu. This currently is unavailable from the gamepad, and I feel that a single-button quick load is pretty dangerous. I'm perfectly fine with the single-button quicksave however.

A gamepad based input method for the few places in the game that require this (name input and savegame name input being most prominent. Later ES games on console did away with the latter by auto-generating save game names [And imposed that on PC players]) -- This is a really 'low priority' wishlist item. Though switching back to keyboard to type a character name during chargen would be awkward in a couch-gaming situation.
These three things would make the game play a lot more fluidly, without changing any of the graphical elements.

[Jamble]

They have already made some meaningful changes to the normal PC version's interface as is, and keep in mind a xbox-based menu would be designing another completely new interface too.

Though one thing to consider maybe is D-pad menu navigation. A simple change such as the option of using arrow keys to manually scroll through menus might be a good middle-ground. Say on the keyboard you could use the arrow keys to select through items in the menu, those keys could be mapped to something like a D-pad, which would make menus less of a hassle to scroll through for those who like to use a controller. I think a couple of tweaks like that might at least make a significant difference for controller users without having to redesign the whole interface.

[BadWolf]

Though one thing to consider maybe is D-pad menu navigation. A simple change such as the option of using arrow keys to manually scroll through menus might be a good middle-ground. Say on the keyboard you could use the arrow keys to select through items in the menu, those keys could be mapped to something like a D-pad, which would make menus less of a hassle to scroll through for those who like to use a controller. I think a couple of tweaks like that might at least make a significant difference for controller users without having to redesign the whole interface.

That's actually a great idea, but I think the Xbox UI itself is much better to have in the game ultimately. Personally if I could, like, click the analogue stick whilein a menu to switch between cursor mode and highlighting-options with D-pad mode, that would solve the problem. It wouldn't be as good as having the Xbox UI itself, but it would definitely make it not a hassle to play. Looting stuff and talking to NPCs and flipping pages in books is very troublesome with the analogue stick.

I've been playing OpenMW with my DualShock 4 lately. I started with Morrowind on the XBox in yesteryear, and my opinion is that the elements of the GUI are just fine

I have a DualShock 4 and a 360 controller, but seeing as the 360 controller is the most popular one, and the DualShock 4 is (basically) the only one with a touchpad that you can use for the cursor, there should be Gamepad UI because the touchpad is just not present in most controllers.

[Varlothen]

I heavily encourage more interest in implementing the original Xbox UI or a similarly gamepad-friendly interface as this has been my number one reason for supporting OpenMW. As a person that first started playing Morrowind on the Xbox it could be argued by me that OpenMW wouldn't even be feature complete without it. All modern Bethesda games support their console style play on PC now, and with OpenMW's goal of revitalizing the Elder Scrolls III it makes a certain sense to finally bridge the gap of Morrowind's own PC and Console versions.