Cluster action bar solution

[MunkDev]

So I've been looking into creating an action bar extension lately that would supposedly replace other action bar solutions and have it tailored specifically for controllers. One thing that's lacking with the FFXIV setup is the ability to always see your spells and cooldowns on your bars, which is why I've been trying to create something that keeps all that information visible at all times, while trying to retain a sleek look. Well, it's a lot harder than I thought to make it all just work well, look good AND feel intuitive.

I'll show you what I've got so far, but I'm very open to new ideas on how to improve this solution, since it's looking a bit cluttered and jitters a bit too much when modifiers are pressed in the current configuration. Arguably, the size of the main buttons are in the upper range of acceptable scale and the round style along with the arched placement of the modified buttons might be making things worse rather than better.

If you're confused about what the clusters represent: each controller button has 4 states, which consist of unmodified, shift, ctrl and ctrl-shift. The unmodified input is the large button in the cluster, but while a modifier is held, the large button changes into the modified action instead.

This system is adaptive to the range of inputs on a given controller. With a DualShock 4 or Xbox controller, this equals to 60 bindings drawn on screen. The Steam controller has even more than that. That's a lot of bindings to show at all times, but it has to be doable in some way or another. Grateful for any suggestions.

Note: Icons for static bindings are currently missing and replaced by a temp icon.

[Nynaeve]

I've gotten into the habit of always using my Steam controller for D3, but I've not, of yet, truly attempted using it extensively for WoW.

The general look is aesthetically pleasing, and I certainly can't say it's any more cumbersome looking than ordinary bars.

That said, if you keep this orientation/style/popout, will there exist a setting to allow the popouts to grow upwards or downwards, as opposed to sideways? I personally find it slightly off-balance, with it popping out to the left.

Additionally, can the action button clusters be moved independently of each other (or in groups), or are they all tethered together? I can't be the only one who puts the minimap in the bottom middle.

Without trying it out, I can't really give any opinions on the feel, but the overall idea seems lovely.

(Take all of the above with a grain of salt, as I'm somewhat obsessive about such things and my opinion is likely in an extreme minority.)

[Resike]

Maybe you could create a fast animation where the smaller cluster swaps place, size and strata with the bigger one, so it would be easier to follow whats happening on the screen.

[MunkDev]

That's one of my points and I also like to keep symmetry where it makes sense. The reason I placed them on the left was because the right side is rather busy because of charge counters and placing them on top or below would increase the horizontal span of each button, since the 3 mini-buttons are wider than the large one. It's already crowded as it is.

I was planning on allowing them to be moved independently, since I like to cater to custom interfaces and this might just ruin any chance of playing with this action bar addon and something like ElvUI.

I think a solution like this is generally wasting too much screen real estate. Have there been any other unconventional action bar addons that do something similar in terms of placing buttons? The round button concept is not necessary at all, it was just what I thought would be cool, but I don't think it's helping the case.

[Nynaeve]

Originally Posted by MunkDev I was planning on allowing them to be moved independently, since I like to cater to custom interfaces and this might just ruin any chance of playing with this action bar addon and something like ElvUI.

Awesome to hear, even if you don't keep the same button configuration.

Originally Posted by MunkDev I think a solution like this is generally wasting too much screen real estate. Have there been any other unconventional action bar addons that do something similar in terms of placing buttons? The round button concept is not necessary at all, it was just what I thought would be cool, but I don't think it's helping the case.

It's taking up a bit of real estate; however, this is equal to what, four bars' worth of buttons? It doesn't seem to be taking up any more space than having four small-sized to normal-sized bars shown.
I'm sure there's a configuration that'll take less space, but it all boils down to how much information you need/want visible at one time, I suppose. What's your ultimate goal, here? More information, or minimalism? Some attempt at a hybrid via the popouts?

[MunkDev]

You're probably right, actually, but I also need some space for XP/Rep bar, stance buttons and a pet bar, even if the idea is that the pet will be controlled using the action bar anyway. I'd also like it to somehow feel like one big bar, instead of free floating clusters spread all around.

One of the issues I think new players have with controller gameplay is the bucket load of bindings that are just handed to you (although you're of course free to configure your setup however you want) and it might be cumbersome to keep track of it all for a beginner. Having played with this setup for quite some time, I still look at my bars occasionally since I don't always remember all my spell bindings. I'm aiming at providing a little bit of both worlds; all your controller bindings are always visible, but in a way that's not taking up the entire screen and (ideally) only uses icons and short text strings.

Placing the modified buttons under the main button and moving the hotkey indicator actually looks alright though:

Btw, this is what the bindings look like without the extension enabled:

Weirdly enough, the extension shows 4 more bindings, but it looks like a lot less. Might be because of the menu bar, pet bar and bags though.