I've heard lots of people moaning and groaning about the new Collect window, but I think the main problem that's causing folks grief is that it's inconsistent with the rest of the UI. Every other subwindow on the Nav window has a tabbed interface. Collect uses a dropdown interface. It's not bad design... it's just counter to the way the rest of the UI works.
But, frankly, the entire UI is a mess right now. There are many subwindows not accessible from the main Menu. (Incarnate, Salvage, Recipes, etc...) There are duplicate windows that have exactly the same functionality... except when they don't. (Team, League, Pets...) There are inconsistencies, oddities, fossils, and more inconsistencies all through it.
The CoH UI is an old house that's been expanded, built on to, repaired, broken, rigged, jacked up, propped, and shored so many times by so many different builders that it's about to explode. It NEEDS a cleanup. BADLY.
That said, I think the Collect Window could be a good idea if it were to be more fully fleshed out.
First off, when I first heard about it, I thought 'Oh, this is the interface for showing me what I've purchased from the NCSoft Store and what Vet Rewards I've claimed. No, it only shows post-Incarnate and post-i21 'content pack' unlocks. Basically, if you're a VIP, it shows you the inverse of what Christy and Michael will. They show you what you have left to buy with merits, and this shows you what you've already bought.
That's great for what it is, but what I REALLY need is something that makes a little sense out of the steaming mess of information that's available from /mypurchases.
I recommend adding the following categories to 'Collect':
- Costume Bundles: Showing either 'Complete Bundle Purchased' with a list of items it contains or the individual items of a particular bundle a player has bought.
- Costume Items: Showing Individual costume items purchased if they're not part of a bundle, like the hiker backpack and the fireman helmet.
- Emotes: Showing emotes and costume change emotes purchased along with the command to activate them.
- Game Awards: Showing permanent awards earned in game that are not just badges, such as the Cabal Witch Hat, the Military Epaulets, the die7 emote, and maybe even the various accolade powers.
- Paragon Rewards: Showing rewards both earned, like access to various game mechanics, and claimed, like prestige powers, by tier.
As it stands now, 'Collect' is simply not done yet. It needs a lot of work. It CAN be a great feature, but it's not there yet.
Thoughts on the Collect Window
Yeah, Baby!
I've heard lots of people moaning and groaning about the new Collect window, but I think the main problem that's causing folks grief is that it's inconsistent with the rest of the UI. Every other subwindow on the Nav window has a tabbed interface. Collect uses a dropdown interface. It's not bad design... it's just counter to the way the rest of the UI works.
But, frankly, the entire UI is a mess right now. There are many subwindows not accessible from the main Menu. (Incarnate, Salvage, Recipes, etc...) There are duplicate windows that have exactly the same functionality... except when they don't. (Team, League, Pets...) There are inconsistencies, oddities, fossils, and more inconsistencies all through it.
The CoH UI is an old house that's been expanded, built on to, repaired, broken, rigged, jacked up, propped, and shored so many times by so many different builders that it's about to explode. It NEEDS a cleanup. BADLY.
That said, I think the Collect Window could be a good idea if it were to be more fully fleshed out.
First off, when I first heard about it, I thought 'Oh, this is the interface for showing me what I've purchased from the NCSoft Store and what Vet Rewards I've claimed. No, it only shows post-Incarnate and post-i21 'content pack' unlocks. Basically, if you're a VIP, it shows you the inverse of what Christy and Michael will. They show you what you have left to buy with merits, and this shows you what you've already bought.
That's great for what it is, but what I REALLY need is something that makes a little sense out of the steaming mess of information that's available from /mypurchases.
I recommend adding the following categories to 'Collect':
- Costume Bundles: Showing either 'Complete Bundle Purchased' with a list of items it contains or the individual items of a particular bundle a player has bought.
- Costume Items: Showing Individual costume items purchased if they're not part of a bundle, like the hiker backpack and the fireman helmet.
- Emotes: Showing emotes and costume change emotes purchased along with the command to activate them.
- Game Awards: Showing permanent awards earned in game that are not just badges, such as the Cabal Witch Hat, the Military Epaulets, the die7 emote, and maybe even the various accolade powers.
- Paragon Rewards: Showing rewards both earned, like access to various game mechanics, and claimed, like prestige powers, by tier.
As it stands now, 'Collect' is simply not done yet. It needs a lot of work. It CAN be a great feature, but it's not there yet.