What do you feel is rough about the combat UI?
Let me see if I can sum this up, but consider that this is also something that can be very subjective, but it's my opinion nonetheless.
Taken from the tutorial:
I don't think the UI is bad per se. I just think it's way too empty and it needs more contrast, I like the icons and everything else
The monster is VERY basic, but I see why it is that way and I wonder if it will be changed later for something more fitting the style or something.. But it's easy to get distracted just by this. I think some kind of background, even if it's transparent and in a form of a box, it would be more fitting, and in fact, it would be a nice throwback to old PC-98 rpgs. I think everything should have a purpose, and the screen just feels empty. Here a couple of simple examples:
Notice one thing. The screen is full most of the time. There are various reasons for this, and I used old RPGs examples for a reason: There was always a reason to have the screen full. Old PCs were more limited in what they can show, so they had to reduce the picture they can show, like how you can make Doom smaller in order to run better in old hardware. But the way you make up for this is by making a full UI.
In the case of Etrian Odyssey, it is a more modern approach, and you have 2 screens to navigate, but the concept is basically the same, specially since you did something Etrian Odyssey do right, hiding the screen when attacking,
BUT CONSIDER WHY YOU DO IT AND WHY ETRIAN ODYSSEY DO IT: Etrian Odyssey screen is smaller and compacted, meaning that it NEEDS the space by hiding the UI to let you look at the action behind. Your screen is wider, and I know that has to do with the resolution of the game, but when you hide the UI, the screen looks more empty than it already is, and that's exactly why I think the UI can use more things to it,
BUT NOT TO THE POINT OF BEING TOO CLUTTERED. Another direct comparison your game has to Etrian Odyssey is the bar on top of the screen. I personally think the bar is way too small in your game, compared to, say, the one in Etrian Odyssey that even uses a day/night cycle.
This could help you in a couple of ways:
- The screen where the enemies will be will be a bit smaller, meaning that enemies being shown in there can be worked better, and if they are jarring to the rest, it can be forgiven and it will be less noticiable.
- Your heroes can have more focus on screen and it will be easier to tell them apart, more than it already is, but that's always good.
- The menu navigation will feel better than it already is. As in, it will come more naturally to look at the action bar once the turn is finished. As it is is ok, but I also think the "dissolve" effect takes a bit too long (I calculated it takes around a second or half a second, when it should take a fraction.
- Your vision will be focused where it need to be focused (For example, when you navigate, you know you need to look at that "Navigation square", and when you are attacking, you need to look at the "enemy square". Likewise, when the enemy attacks you, you need to look at "your character square".
To put it simple, your game looks way TOO basic, even for an RPG, specially since I know it kinda uses the standard template of an RPG maker game. Consider that, this being an RPG, this screen is where you are going to take more time in, so this is where the players will spend most of their time in, so you should try to make it as attractive as possible, something they don't mind being in rather than something they just wish to be over already, or something they feel bored to look at (wish, without offense, is my case), it needs to be something easy and quick to navigate.
Minimalist UI is good when you have a lot of things to show in your screen, for example, in FFXIII where everything is constantly moving, you can't have the screen being too cluttered, but when you have a couple of static images, is better to go to the other way.
You need to consider every aspect of the screen and why it will be used for, and to put it even more simple: The screen is empty and boring to look at, only a big empty background, with a really small enemy on screen, and your characters that take a bigger space on screen than the menu.
Lastly, to literally illustrate my point, I kinda photoshopped the screen with how it could look better in my opinion (Just center the skeleton a bit to the right:
I just want to help a little since I really appreciate your work, specially after what happened to your last game. I know these changes can be a bit more of work, so it's just an opinion as to why the game looks so odd for me. And I really like a lot of things, but I see the combat screen and I get turned off with it. Hope it helps, whether you consider it or not, and remember that is your game, and you can do as much as you please with it!
Hope to see more updates soon