EPTHowever, I think things can be improved upon, not on our side of things, but blizzards spectator UI.
Patch 1.3 took a step in the right direction, but I feel there is still a lot of work to be done.
So, what do you think Blizzard can do to help improve the UI and the viewing experience of the game.
I personally, think they have a long ways to go of tweaks and changes. These changes would only effect spectators and referees in game and not the players themselves. These changes should also affect replays as well.
Firstly, I would like to see if they can improve upon the information tabs. They did a small improvement the last patch, but perhaps it was in the wrong direction. I don't necessary enjoy the individual boxes they put in the production tab, instead of keeping it under one larger box. Maybe a mix of the two are in order. I'm loving the fact that they colorized everything according to the players colors, it is especially helpful in mirror matchups.
Suggested Improvement: Put the names of the players in the information tabs somehow.
Also, what about expanding upon the boxes? Just think of this from a Day[9] daily perspective, or a training perspective. What about a build order tab? If you want to see how someone opens up, an in game partial build order tab would do wonders. Something like a drop down list in the information tab, that will give the build order of one of the players up to 25 food. This will give players an idea of how each player opened up. You could either have one open at a time, or both to compare in mirror matchups, or just to see if a 4gate > 3rax, or 15hatch > 3gate expo...just some examples
I would also like to see on the resources tab, the total amount of resources mined in the match. This would allow us to see the economic advantage someone has by doing certain opens, or during a crazy 5base v 5base game, who has had an economic advantage throughout the game.
Current Title Bar: Blizzard made the right step by adding the in game title bar, but it is still undesirable. I love the fact it automatically adds the colors of the players, and we don't have to see people fumble with these bars in the middle of the game if someone changes. I do think it is a little too big/clunky. It seems like it's too far down and should be at the top of the screen more, not 1/4" down. It's also a little too thick. Something a bit thinner. Another thing is the supply count, isn't that a little redundant now that we show both the players money and supply in the upper right?
Suggested Improvement: Resize and tweak it. Add a best of series. I know it's hard to add the series score in the matchup when this is just an in game thing, so what can we do with this? How about blizzard adding a new group/playlist to the game? The tournament list. Where, the player making the game will set up a mini tournament in game. Invite the players to the game, set how many rounds, and current score. This way, the Title bar will show how long the series is and the current score. When a game is done, the players can automatically be invited back into the next game, because when choosing the tournament, the maps would be picked out a head of time? What are your thoughts on this, I know it needs a lot of refinement, but do you see the general idea?
Time to head to class, so I'll check back later. What are your suggestions and what do you think of mine so far?
