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3D UI for VR

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 5:06 pm
by Hyperion
Most UI design is made for 2D interfaces like monitors, but as LT will be VR capable, it should probably have a 3D interface to go along with it. As such I've created a mockup of my idea for a good 3D-UI, which you can interpret as a VR version of a multiple monitor or multiple desktop display.

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The idea here is that you could switch between 2D and 3D depending on your hardware setup. If you're playing on a 2D display, the Red Boxes and Orange Circles are different multifunction windows that you can flip between, each displaying different categories of information, such as Comms and Trade on A, Mining and Sensors on B, Tactical and Strategic on C, Settings and Ship Controls on D, Radar/Starmap/Route Planning on E, and remote viewing on F. However if you are using a VR/MR headset like the Vive or Magic Leap, you could view your UI in 3D, able to view all the windows just by turning your head, your body, or grabbing the UI and rotating it.

Anyways, this is a very simple mockup, just to give a general impression of the concept and would still need a lot of work and testing to see if and how to make it highly functional and user friendly. If you have any thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them. :)

Re: 3D UI for VR

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:23 am
by Cornflakes_91
Why not just a sphere on which we can freely place windows?
Why keep the screen analogy if we arent bound by it at all?

Re: 3D UI for VR

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:01 pm
by Silverware
Cornflakes_91 wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:23 am
Why not just a sphere on which we can freely place windows?
Why keep the screen analogy if we arent bound by it at all?
The better idea, for VR (having actually played around with a Vive, god they are worth it) is to have window panes that you can move, rotate, rescale, and anchor to yourself or the world.
Desktops can then be created so you could flick between layouts, and each pane could, in essence, be a multi functional display.

Allowing you to make a Trade layout with windows that pull the local trade data, or a small ship combat layout with target information and your own systems showing, or a large ship combat layout with command panes for other smaller ships up.

Re: 3D UI for VR

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 4:45 pm
by Cornflakes_91
Silverware wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:01 pm

The better idea, for VR (having actually played around with a Vive, god they are worth it) is to have window panes that you can move, rotate, rescale, and anchor to yourself or the world.
Desktops can then be created so you could flick between layouts, and each pane could, in essence, be a multi functional display.

Allowing you to make a Trade layout with windows that pull the local trade data, or a small ship combat layout with target information and your own systems showing, or a large ship combat layout with command panes for other smaller ships up.
which is basically exactly what i said :V

doesnt matter what the individual windows do, point is the free repositioning.

Re: 3D UI for VR

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:28 pm
by Silverware
Cornflakes_91 wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 4:45 pm
which is basically exactly what i said :V
No you said on a sphere, I'm saying no restrictions to placement at all.
Believe me, sometimes you need to move it closer to be able to read the bloody things.
E:D has me half off the chair looking at the chat window :/
it's not the best layout.

Re: 3D UI for VR

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:30 pm
by Cornflakes_91
Silverware wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:28 pm
Cornflakes_91 wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 4:45 pm
which is basically exactly what i said :V
No you said on a sphere, I'm saying no restrictions to placement at all.
Believe me, sometimes you need to move it closer to be able to read the bloody things.
E:D has me half off the chair looking at the chat window :/
it's not the best layout.
if you need to move it again you have the sphere at the wrong radius :V
or, even simpler, not enough resolution in the glasses.

Re: 3D UI for VR

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:35 pm
by Silverware
Cornflakes_91 wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:30 pm
if you need to move it again you have the sphere at the wrong radius :V
or, even simpler, not enough resolution in the glasses.
How much have you used VR mate?
The current gen googles are not up to reading text on even a half res screen at the distance you would sit from your computer monitor.

Next gen should be up to it, especially with varifocal displays making it easier to focus on a specific point, rather than having a fixed focus depth.

Re: 3D UI for VR

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:39 pm
by Cornflakes_91
Silverware wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:35 pm
Cornflakes_91 wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:30 pm
if you need to move it again you have the sphere at the wrong radius :V
or, even simpler, not enough resolution in the glasses.
How much have you used VR mate?
The current gen googles are not up to reading text on even a half res screen at the distance you would sit from your computer monitor.

Next gen should be up to it, especially with varifocal displays making it easier to focus on a specific point, rather than having a fixed focus depth.
i did. which doesnt change my statement in the slightest :V

Re: 3D UI for VR

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 6:21 pm
by Hyperion
Of course the UI will need to be tested for radius, window placements and snapping, and other things. This is pretty new territory for everyone, so there will need to be a lot of experimentation.