This has probably been stated before (in multiple posts), but I think it's important to create one full and comprehensive post that sums up what the User Interface for Battlefield 2 should contain.
EA and Dice could really learn something by observing competition's User Interfaces. Take Valve's Counter-Strike: Source, for example. You have a set of links on the left hand side that open seperate windows for each action. The windows can be resized and multiple windows can be open at the same time. The fact that BF2 uses one large maximized window makes it difficult to navigate around.
Here are a list of improvements (in no particular order) that I think should be implemented:
1. Resizable option windows (options, server list, stats, etc)
2. Multiple windows can be open at the same time
3. When comparing stats with another player, multiple stats windows should be able to be placed next to each other.
4. Server browser: The Server Browser should be more comprehensive. It should tell you which round (if each map is played 3 times, for example) the server is on for a particular map. If I want to play Gulf of Oman on a server that plays that map 3 times, I don't want to take the time to load the map and join the server only to get to play the tail end of the 3rd round. There needs to be a couple different options for full favorite servers. One option would be to notify me when a space is open on the server. The second would be to automatically join as soon as a space is available. During my wait, I should be allowed to play on a different server. If a spot is opened on my desired destination while playing, I should exit the current server and join the newly opened spot. This is something that CS:S has in their server browser and is much more reliable than clicking "Join Server" over and over again in hopes of getting in.
5. If I select a server in the Server Browser, the User Interface sometimes becomes so laggy that I cannot even select another one without first exiting the game.
6. I recently deleted the movie files that play behind the User Interface. It should be an option of whether or not you want those to play in the background. They only slow things down.
7. When EA has special notifications for me, it shouldn't require me to exit the game to view their message.
8. Buddy List. Sure, some people choose X-Fire, but I choose not to install extra bloatware on my machine to see if others are online and playing. When in-game, I should be able to select a player from the list and add them to my buddies list.
9. This is not necessarily UI related... but why in the world doesn't EA have an easy way for me to run the game in widescreen mode? Isn't that becoming the new standard for displays?
10. Copy and Paste should be allowed from Windows to BF2 (like for adding a server to your favorites). Why this isn't in there, God only knows.
11. Let me be able to see a server browser from outside of the game. Valve has this in the form of Steam. All of the same server options that are available in-game are available on the Windows desktop.
12. Better filters would be nice. For example, if I only want to play Gulf of Oman on a ranked server with 64 players that's not full and is populated and is not on its last round and has a ping less than 150, I should be able to find it quickly.
There's probably more ideas that people have out there, please feel free to share them. I plan on forwarding this to EA when the list is more complete.
EA and Dice could really learn something by observing competition's User Interfaces. Take Valve's Counter-Strike: Source, for example. You have a set of links on the left hand side that open seperate windows for each action. The windows can be resized and multiple windows can be open at the same time. The fact that BF2 uses one large maximized window makes it difficult to navigate around.
Here are a list of improvements (in no particular order) that I think should be implemented:
1. Resizable option windows (options, server list, stats, etc)
2. Multiple windows can be open at the same time
3. When comparing stats with another player, multiple stats windows should be able to be placed next to each other.
4. Server browser: The Server Browser should be more comprehensive. It should tell you which round (if each map is played 3 times, for example) the server is on for a particular map. If I want to play Gulf of Oman on a server that plays that map 3 times, I don't want to take the time to load the map and join the server only to get to play the tail end of the 3rd round. There needs to be a couple different options for full favorite servers. One option would be to notify me when a space is open on the server. The second would be to automatically join as soon as a space is available. During my wait, I should be allowed to play on a different server. If a spot is opened on my desired destination while playing, I should exit the current server and join the newly opened spot. This is something that CS:S has in their server browser and is much more reliable than clicking "Join Server" over and over again in hopes of getting in.
5. If I select a server in the Server Browser, the User Interface sometimes becomes so laggy that I cannot even select another one without first exiting the game.
6. I recently deleted the movie files that play behind the User Interface. It should be an option of whether or not you want those to play in the background. They only slow things down.
7. When EA has special notifications for me, it shouldn't require me to exit the game to view their message.
8. Buddy List. Sure, some people choose X-Fire, but I choose not to install extra bloatware on my machine to see if others are online and playing. When in-game, I should be able to select a player from the list and add them to my buddies list.
9. This is not necessarily UI related... but why in the world doesn't EA have an easy way for me to run the game in widescreen mode? Isn't that becoming the new standard for displays?
10. Copy and Paste should be allowed from Windows to BF2 (like for adding a server to your favorites). Why this isn't in there, God only knows.
11. Let me be able to see a server browser from outside of the game. Valve has this in the form of Steam. All of the same server options that are available in-game are available on the Windows desktop.
12. Better filters would be nice. For example, if I only want to play Gulf of Oman on a ranked server with 64 players that's not full and is populated and is not on its last round and has a ping less than 150, I should be able to find it quickly.
There's probably more ideas that people have out there, please feel free to share them. I plan on forwarding this to EA when the list is more complete.