New Launcher design | We need you!

[Captainnana]

So for the past few weeks we have been working on the new launcher but we are still undecided on what design we should use for the UI so we thought there is no one better to ask than the people that use it!

We are looking for any ideas or suggestions you may have for the new launcher design we will then be using a combination of all of them to decide the final launcher design, we know that a people don't like change but things are going to change, hopefully for the better in the new launcher but don't worry our current plan is to keep the old design as well and just make the launcher default to the new one.

The whole backend of the launcher is being rewritten to use a more streamlined system which will make using FTB more accessible and run faster. Please feel free to post your designs below, wire frame is fine but it might be easier to understand if you add a bit of content so we can fully understand what you mean, we already have some internal designs but we would love to see what you come up with as well.

We want our default design to stay grey but we will be adding skinning to change that if you want to as well, we are looking to use our screen space better allowing more menu space as well as maps and texture packs per modpack.

Feel free to build upon others ideas and be aware that others may build on yours, don't claim that others ideas are your own and have fun with it! If you have any feature ideas feel free to post those as well, enjoy!

 

[motokazieracer]

mabye a cool senic ( think i spelled that wrong) picture when u click on a mod pack?

 

[CTMiner]

I like how sleek the launcher looks right now. I don't really care what you do with it, but I think you should keep the sleek look and feel.

 

[acc1dent]

1. Retina display mac support (text is currently fine, images are grainy)

2. FTB icon inside the mod pack info should be smaller. As is, it takes up almost half the screen on the default screen size.

3. A "Library" of available mod packs. You could browse this and select the ones that you would like to keep downloaded and up to date. This would seperate out similarly to how steam handles games. Games you have "purchased" (selected in this case) would show up in your library. This leads to #4

4. A virtual "store" to browse. This would include mod packs, and addons for the mod packs. This would allow easier ways to show maps and texture packs relevant to a specific mod pack. Currently if you go to maps, you see a list of all maps whether or not you have the related mod pack installed, or are looking for maps for that mod pack.

The store could list: Mod Packs, Maps, and Texture Packs

The Maps and Texture Packs would be nested under Mod Packs, so it is clear which ones they apply to, and it shows if you have the pack downloaded and asks you to download the pack first if you do not have it installed.

5. Options should not be a tab that is the same size as the rest of your navigation selections. It could be a gear box in one of the corners.

 

[TheCyberTronn]

1. Fancy, cool looking graphics
2. What acc1dent said.
3. Definitely what acc1dent said about the store!
4. An easier way to understand stuff
5. Somewhere to upload maps to (Something that gives you a code and only if it will not take up too much server room. I know a little about that. Don't do anything that will overload them)

EDIT
And I forgot... Let me keep Optifine in my Jar-Mods folder when updating. Please fix this! It'll save SOOO much time!

 

[MelonTank]

This would be so COOL if the console was built into the launcher, on like a separate tab or something ?

 

[Fatman X. Jones]

How about one of the features being making the UI native to the operating system the launcher's being used on? I may be in the minority with this, but I don't really like a UI that doesn't match with the rest of my operating system; I barely can stand running Steam in a full window, for example, because it has a non-standard UI interface, and end up loading my games from the system tray rather than the Steam library.

Natively skinned checkboxes, sliders, buttons and windows matching the UI of whatever Windows/Mac/Linux theme I have running would be pretty nice to see, and it'd be easier for newer users of FTB to start up their packs instead of having to adjust to anything like crazy dark greys with neon-white text and rounded-edged buttons that look plasticky and fake.

 

[Jyzarc]

I think you should fix important bugs first, like it almost always saying the servers are down, maps not appearing, modpacks not loading. And a way to get to the modpack folder without having to click edit mods and then open folder would be nice

 

[Ormusn2o]

I don't know if this is possible but it would by ok if you could tint color of the skin. It would by easier than making every single skin for every color and simple picking your own rgb colors would by enough for me.

 

[upinsmoke1234]

Moving the texture pack tab and map tab in to the mods themselves and sorted by what packs they are compatible with
EX: You click on the direwolf20 pack and click on the map button that shows up you get a listing of maps for it that are compatible with the DW20 pack and you pick one.
^also i think the maps should support versioning so they stack its not much of an issue atm but it would help so you dont get a screen-full of the DW20 map uploads as his seasons go on.
also seconded on the whole library idea OR maybe just sorting out like a most played top 3 packs at the top
also i thought it would be a good idea if the mod description pane supported HTML so you could link to each of the mods webpage and other cool stuff (heck maybe you could even embed to that)

 

[HaoSs]

i will just comment the old launcher and what my players find hard to use.
Even if the modpack list is there. a lot of players ignores it,Create profile button is to small,Download server button, recommended button etc don't look to good there... So probably " select what you want before next step launcher ? "
Ideas: I like the black and orange. so will stick with that

-First screen. Log in window Half screen / Other half. Change your minecraft skin with review ( load skin via file or link ? )
Select modpack button in the middle (orange) If the modpack was already selected replace with launch (Change mod pack next to it. Gray color )
-Second screen: half/half. Modpacks on the left. Info and modpack mods list on the right. You need to select a modpack (recommended by default), before you can continue.
Big Launch that glows after you selected the modpack. ( Expert-Mod button next to it ,Gray color. Moves you to other scree for advanced users. For older version. Server download,Textures,Edit modpack. etc )

Also the launcher needs more 3D. like the scroll bar from the modpack select that is right now,but for all buttons. Also a thin line of orange around the buttons will lock nice. A sharp light orange. Id like the launcher to feel new with more high tech 3d, but clean with minimal buttons for normal user. And tons of buttons and options when you hit expert mod.

Also there is a picture of the sharp colors i have in mind. You can go a clean light-black for background ( more darker then now ) but the buttons will luck cool with this stile http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/6265/bitdefender433x650.jpg ( luck at the orange flames )

 

[AliveGhost]

The console not closing with the client

 

[upinsmoke1234]

It does for me and you can disable the console if you dont like it

>edit HaoSs your link does not work it the site has no hotlinking

 

[AliveGhost]

Hmm, whenever my client closes, the console closes with it. Also, it's not the fact that I don't like it, it's just that I'd prefer it if it didn't close when the client closes, so the log can be easily pasted

Also, as other people have said, keep the sleek design! Just smooth movements, as a pose to sharp changes, smooth and subtle seems to work well with the launcher!

 

[upinsmoke1234]

sorry my bad I thought you were saying that the console was NOT closing when you exited the client not that you wanted it to stay open a workaround for this is to check the reopen launcher after exiting minecraft in the options tab

 

[REDX36]

How about one of the features being making the UI native to the operating system the launcher's being used on? I may be in the minority with this, but I don't really like a UI that doesn't match with the rest of my operating system; I barely can stand running Steam in a full window, for example, because it has a non-standard UI interface, and end up loading my games from the system tray rather than the Steam library.

Natively skinned checkboxes, sliders, buttons and windows matching the UI of whatever Windows/Mac/Linux theme I have running would be pretty nice to see, and it'd be easier for newer users of FTB to start up their packs instead of having to adjust to anything like crazy dark greys with neon-white text and rounded-edged buttons that look plasticky and fake.

Java DOES have a library for this called SWT, the only downside is that there needs to be a seperate jar for each platform, the SWT jar needs to be embedded within each jar, and they would have to rewrite the whole UI part. Still, its VERY robust, would love to see FTB using it.

 

[Etienne Beaule]

I like how sleek the launcher looks right now. I don't really care what you do with it, but I think you should keep the sleek look and feel.

I would just make more place for new options and make the technical options smaller to free up space.

 

[HaoSs]

thx for the warning. updated the link

 

[TerrafirmacraftDude]

It would be nice if you would add the ability to choose any mod in the launcher and be able to create your own personal mod pack. also maybe add smart-moving mod and the camp mod. both are cool and nice little additions to the game. And maybe add the ability to add new mods that the user wants.

For Example- I want to play TFC, yet the download isn't easy. Adding it to the launcher would work, but there's also the issue of maybe joining a server. The one i want to use requires
1) TFC
2) Smart-moving
3) Player-API
4) Forge Universal build 486
5) Custom-NPC's
6) Elegant Punt (& in extention the mods addon Whitehall, both add bigger boats)
7) Simply Horses

Of course all these could be added but isnt there a better way? And if there isn't these mods deserve to be a TFC pack. but i don't know, just seems like it would work and be a really cool idea to just be able to go to a search bar that you type the mod name and add to a pack that you create, not just a pre-determined pack by someone else.

Also if i wanted to add better than wolves mad, could i do that with the new launcher?

 

[Yuka]

Not sure if this counts as "design," but something I always wished the current launcher had, the ability to re-size/ fullscreen it would be an extremely welcome change, over here at least.