Why are people complaining about It? Is it because of how it looks? (I quite like it with its minimalism) or is it the occasional delay and skip in the options and items or something else?
Just want to know what the problem is.

Just the fact that you have to ask tells me you play on console?
If not, you have really low standards.

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1278538-skyrim-ui-pc-specific-redesign-no-2/ =)

It's the generally low navigability. I didn't have much of an issue with it until I took up enchanting, but when I did, man did it come down hard what a PITA it is to navigate through a menu designed for a console on a PC.

I'm guessing you're on a console?

It is horrible on PC, hotkeys show a certain key....but are actaully connected to a different key (shows 'R', but you have to hit 'F') dont work properly...it doesnt always select the thing your click on, slow, font is small on HD resolutions, single column list with lots of empty space on the screen.


Basically it is a PC interface nightmare.....but I hear it does work good for consoles.

On the PC it's awful.

If I'm not really careful about half my dialog selections end up wrong. I have to keep rolling the options up and down until the one I want finally lets me highlight it. While bartering I get kicked out half the time while trying to select the Misc items.

If it worked, if the mouse and curser actually did what they were supposed to do, it wouldn't be half bad (but could be better), but as it is I am pulling my hair out every time I have to use it.

It is really first noticable in CC. Just trying to get to the other options to edit the characters features can be difficult at times.

It's clunky and not made for use on PC.

It is horrific on PCs. This mod helps a little:

http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=667

But still, it's so clunky. The mouse moves like it's stuck in molasses on the menu and it's so easy to miss what your aiming for. I don't know how often I've accidentally sold my best weapon trying to click the one above or below it.

The interface was very obviously designed for consoles and, while I've gotten somewhat used to it now, is still an inconvenience on the PC.

It’s not very user friendly for the PC users, however for the console users it is pretty much spot on. I can see quite easy how the UI works smoothly on console, but for those of us who use a mouse and key board to navigate it does feel like a pain to get to the right spot in the tree at times. Also when browsing through inventory or talking with NPC’s it’s not really super user friendly for the PC users. Of course if you use a Xbox 360 controller I’m sure it would feel a lot better.

It's awful on consoles as well.

The skills menu is the worst, I shouldn't have to cycle through all the other skills just to find the one I want to look at, they should all be in a list on one screen.

yeah, I'm on console. Its ok but I really envy the PC UI on comment #2's link. Pl0x Bethesda, port this to console.

My favorite thing is when you are trading with a merchant, clicking on their "misc" category will usually exit the trading session completely. Navigating to it with the WASD keys seems to work, but not clicking with mouse. It's stuff like that.

No, they shouldnt. The current UI is horrendous for PC because it was built for thumbsticks. And they didn't change anything.

Its does a fair job on consoles but its still crap design. The favourites quick menu autosorts everything alphabetically regardless of type which makes it a pita to quickly find spells or items. The user menu's for things like enchanting is crap as its a massive list to scroll through every time with no catagorisations. Alchemy is a little better with its recipe based listings. But generally having only 2 quick select slots and a crap tastic "pause" list makes it frankly anus gravy to use.

I currently use the menu mod linked to, but I cannot wait for wakeupbrandon's to come out, omfg!

Because it's [censored] - to be blunt. It looks nice, but it's clunky, slow, unresponsive and requires a lot of unnecessary work to find information that should be readily available -- really a prime example on how not to do an interface for PC use.

No idea how it works on console with a controller, though.

I'll add that the Favorites should trigger subcategories (e.g., weapons, spells, potions/scrolls, shouts/powers). Half-Life did this in 1998, after all. (sigh)

Disclaimer - I'm not in the "OMG HORRIBLE" camp. It's a usable interface. It's just not quite right.


Honestly, I'm more interested in function than look. I'd prefer it to be messier, if that made it more functional. Minimalism can be a good thing (complexity, in and of itself, isn't necessary a virtue), but just doing it for "ooooh, pretty!".... meh.


This is the big part. Many parts of the interface are pretty clearly designed around the controller's "push thumbstick to slide" action, rather than the mouse's "click and drag" action. While the mouse and keyboard can approximate the thumbstick actions, it's somewhat awkward.

There are also some parts that just aren't designed well, regardless of what you're using.

Container interface, for instance - (keyboard commands) When you're putting items IN a box, "R" puts one item, "E"/mouse click uses an item. When you're taking items OUT of a box, "R" takes ALL the items, while "E"/mouse click takes one.

This is inconsistant design - it can lead to a variety of annoying mistakes. Like drinking those potions / eating those alchemy ingredients, when you click on them (you were just clicking to TAKE stuff, but can't click to PUT stuff). And because of that training you to avoid clicking on things when in a box, you get into the habit of pressing R constantly to PUT stuff.... and then keep pressing it when you go to TAKE, and you get all 800 pounds of alchemy ingredients that were in your storage box. Which you now have to put back in, using many presses of R.


So yeah - it's a usable interface. But there's clearly room for improvement.

The inability to even sort items out along with each menu having like additional sub menus, lots of wasted canvas, makes it a bad design. On PC it is even worse. It is as if they did not even bother to put any type of thought once they ported it over. That is just either lazy or lack of care.

Console interface for my PC inputs. People have already mentioned everything, but I'll reiterate the need for hotkey categories and more responsive navigation.

Additionally, I highly, highly, highly miss the old "Hotkey" system. This favorites menu is a let down...having to pause the game to switch weapons or pick shouts from a list is annoying.

In Morrowind, Oblivion and FO3, you could hotkey things to the number pad. 4 was always my bow, 5 was melee weapon, 2 was usually my healing spell/item, 3 was levitate when that was available, etc.

Its mostly PC players, because quite because a useable UI for both controller and mouse, are probably mutually exclusive. It works okay, with a controller, I'm hardly dazzled by it.

On a PC I think it'd drive me mad, I know Oblivions did, and the arguments about that UI raged for weeks as well.

On the other side of the coin, I'd rather they designed a UI that worked well enough for consoles, knowing that PC users have the option to mod it. Then the screams of "omg, I shouldn't have to fix the game for bethseda", when frankly I think truth be told, they'd rather spend their limited budget of time on actual game content.

Arguments stopped around about the time the construction kit came out to a certain extent.. and it will again.

You can assign hotkeys 1-8 in the Favorites menu. Hover your mouse over an item, then press the number.


(It doesn't work very well for dual-wielding weapons & spells, but it's fine for two-handers, bow, and sword&board.)

You can avoid the clicking problem by clicking out to the right of the category word Instead of on the word itself.

What I dislike is that my Q list is so long by now I am scrolling up and down to find what I need, and if I used up a given type of potion, it disappears and I need to go into inventory to find it and favourite it again. And in the middle of a good fight, I don't want to go into inventory, pause the game, go make coffee and whatever. So the Q is the least of 2 evils, it pauses too and you can drink 6 or 7 potions or do the equivalent of getting a good nights sleep, and it really isn't implemented very well.

Wish it wasn't so.

I also like to play in third person, and as such I can hardly tell what spell I′m wielding. So was soul stealing 7 or 8, I can't see what spell I just chose in the middle of a fight. I like that they try to keep U.I. minimalistic, too many games have addons and an U.I. so bloated the game is somewhere far behind the bars and timers.

But I cant see durations of my fireresists, or if my Ironskin is active or it′s something else. I just was in a dungeon and my Magicka would replenish to full before I cas't the spell. I had just fought a dragon and drunk every potion in the game. But I had no idea if the game had bugged or it was a potion effect. Well it stopped doing that and my magicka rerturned to normal.