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So instead of just continuing to voice my dislike in various threads, I figure it would be more constructive if I actually go into detail as to why I feel like the new dashboard and especially the hero picker, are a step backwards instead of forward. So while some of this may come off as harsh, that's simply because I am passionate about this game and feel like it's going somewhere it shouldn't. Now onto the meat and potatoes.
In my opinion, the new dashboard is bad. There is a bright pink background and many isolated windows on the screen. To me, this simulates a feeling of clutter and chaos, much like if I opened up a website had many obnoxious pop ups appear on my screen. Several things have been shrunken down in size seemingly at random, as there is a large amount of wasted space on the screen. Next, a huge portion of the screen is taken up by the dota 2 blog. If people want to visit it, they have a web browser for that so it is just a large waste of space. Everything feels disconnected and unorganized, unlike before where we had a nice simplistic ui that had everything connected and organized, with splash art in the center. It was simplistic to be sure, but easy to understand, and it just was appealing to me visually. This new dashboard looks like a bad website that tracks your stats in various windows, Instead of a nice rock solid platform and window system that we used to have.
Next, moving on to the cards. I know these have been in development for a while, as they have been in the game files, but I guess I'll give feedback on them as well.
Simply put, I don't understand them. Dota 2 is a game about a war between heroes, this weird card system feels out of place in such a setting, like every hero is just some sort of creature you play. Dota 2 is not a card game, so I do not understand these at all. Once again, I feel simplicity is better. The simple character portraits were easy to understand, and while the card display may be unique, it is not as "clean" or practical looking as the previous UI was. Upon death to a hero, You do not need to display the hero in a trading card. Again it just doesn't feel like dota 2 to me. The old portraits upon kill were fine. They stated who you were killed by, how they killed you, and didn't look like they belonged in a magic the gathering deck.
Lastly, since it is technically part of the interface and this thread is mostly about the dashboard, I'll touch on the hero select.
Oh my lord this is atrocious. That's really all I can say. It looks unique and somewhat stylish, but is horrifically impractical. Everyone is going to immediately switch to grid mode instead, which looks worse than before. The former pick screen had everything organized top to bottom from radiant to dire. This one actually seems MORE complicated and confusing than the previous one, and doesn't look any better to top it off.
So what are my suggestions? Honestly to be blunt, I really do not care for these changes whatsoever. The old Dashboard and Hero select were fine. They gave off a feeling of a solid platform and were simple to understand, not appearing cluttered or chaotic. The ui may have been simplistic, but it was much superior because of this. The old dashboard was a rock solid platform you could tweak, rather than designing a whole new dashboard and scrapping the previous good design. I really hate to say it, but I cannot find a single reason to use this dashboard or hero select over the other. Simple is better in a game as complicated as dota. If further changes were to be made to the classic dashboard, it should be done slowly. A large redesign was not needed when it was already simple, clean, and easy to understand. I hope this feedback was useful to you guys in some way, even if it came off as harsh at times.
Thanks for reading this wall of text.
In my opinion, the new dashboard is bad. There is a bright pink background and many isolated windows on the screen. To me, this simulates a feeling of clutter and chaos, much like if I opened up a website had many obnoxious pop ups appear on my screen. Several things have been shrunken down in size seemingly at random, as there is a large amount of wasted space on the screen. Next, a huge portion of the screen is taken up by the dota 2 blog. If people want to visit it, they have a web browser for that so it is just a large waste of space. Everything feels disconnected and unorganized, unlike before where we had a nice simplistic ui that had everything connected and organized, with splash art in the center. It was simplistic to be sure, but easy to understand, and it just was appealing to me visually. This new dashboard looks like a bad website that tracks your stats in various windows, Instead of a nice rock solid platform and window system that we used to have.
Next, moving on to the cards. I know these have been in development for a while, as they have been in the game files, but I guess I'll give feedback on them as well.
Simply put, I don't understand them. Dota 2 is a game about a war between heroes, this weird card system feels out of place in such a setting, like every hero is just some sort of creature you play. Dota 2 is not a card game, so I do not understand these at all. Once again, I feel simplicity is better. The simple character portraits were easy to understand, and while the card display may be unique, it is not as "clean" or practical looking as the previous UI was. Upon death to a hero, You do not need to display the hero in a trading card. Again it just doesn't feel like dota 2 to me. The old portraits upon kill were fine. They stated who you were killed by, how they killed you, and didn't look like they belonged in a magic the gathering deck.
Lastly, since it is technically part of the interface and this thread is mostly about the dashboard, I'll touch on the hero select.
Oh my lord this is atrocious. That's really all I can say. It looks unique and somewhat stylish, but is horrifically impractical. Everyone is going to immediately switch to grid mode instead, which looks worse than before. The former pick screen had everything organized top to bottom from radiant to dire. This one actually seems MORE complicated and confusing than the previous one, and doesn't look any better to top it off.
So what are my suggestions? Honestly to be blunt, I really do not care for these changes whatsoever. The old Dashboard and Hero select were fine. They gave off a feeling of a solid platform and were simple to understand, not appearing cluttered or chaotic. The ui may have been simplistic, but it was much superior because of this. The old dashboard was a rock solid platform you could tweak, rather than designing a whole new dashboard and scrapping the previous good design. I really hate to say it, but I cannot find a single reason to use this dashboard or hero select over the other. Simple is better in a game as complicated as dota. If further changes were to be made to the classic dashboard, it should be done slowly. A large redesign was not needed when it was already simple, clean, and easy to understand. I hope this feedback was useful to you guys in some way, even if it came off as harsh at times.
Thanks for reading this wall of text.