Problem with setting up my interface

[Lonehwolf]

Hello, been stuck for weeks now and can't get myself to move anywhere really. Currently using Pitbull4 +Bartender4 (as well as a ton of other addons, but these are the ones which visually matter the most).

Some things I need to make sure to have:
Keep it Lightweight, since I ain't got no monster computer.
Make it informative.
Keep it clean and free from clutter.
Avoid eye strain lol ;p

Currently my interface looks something like this:
>>PIC HERE<<

Resolution is a widescreen 16:10 ratio 1280x800. (Laptop monitor)

What I would like to do, but apparently failed hardcore at:

• Lowest UI scale (bar slider completely to the left). I need to keep the interface as clear as possible for VuhDo healing addon and to see where the heck I'm going. No walls of frames at the bottom containing my bars, I don't need that at all.
• Player's profile as well as target below the character's model. Clean and visible, not too big. Shows buffs below, debuffs above for both. Target of Target near the Target, smaller icon, shows only debuffs (above the frame). Dark color palette would be the best since I prefer dark colors, light ones hurt my eyes.
• Health, Mana, Level, class and as much information, clearly and cleanly visible as is possible. No profile picture necessary.
• Using kgPanels or something similar, I'd like to construct smooth dark frames for the action bars to be at (by bartender4). I really have no idea on how to do this. I want it lightweight but need it to look kind of "solid" and smooth. Not annoyingly in the way, so if it's slightly transparent would be better than just pitch black.
• Mini Map Bottom right, possibly something pretty minimalist but very visible nonetheless; quest objective tracker top right, everything needs to be visible (aka usable items for the quests)
• TitanPanel present, or something similar which provides helpful information regarding money, armor repair and such.

I've tried using pre-compiled interface packages which went as close as I wanted as possible but in the end turns out something or other will annoy me. The ultra-minimalist unit frames were a headache to get information out of. At worst, the unit frames must be visible, faded no more than 50%.

Any help with doing any of this? Atm my interface is a mess, I'm having trouble working with Vuhdo as it stands, too much stuff, no real idea what to do lol, but without it things would get so much harder -.-

[zero-kill]

Try this one: Skullflower's UI. This is the compilation I use most often for my smaller display laptops, and it's rather lightweight too. Knowing what your level is would be easiest through whatever you'll wanting to track XP with - maybe a chat relay that will print out "xp to level: ##".

Honestly any UI you get in the minimalist section will have its own caveats, so just look through the screen shots and see what you like and dislike about each, use a little ingeniuty and you'll design your own perfect UI.

[Taroven]

Originally Posted by Lonehwolf ...Currently using Pitbull4... ... Keep it Lightweight, since I ain't got no monster computer. Make it informative. Keep it clean and free from clutter. Avoid eye strain lol ;p Resolution is a widescreen 16:10 ratio 1280x800. (Laptop monitor) ...[*]Player's profile as well as target below the character's model. Clean and visible, not too big. Shows buffs below, debuffs above for both. Target of Target near the Target, smaller icon, shows only debuffs (above the frame). Dark color palette would be the best since I prefer dark colors, light ones hurt my eyes.[*]Health, Mana, Level, class and as much information, clearly and cleanly visible as is possible. No profile picture necessary.[*]Using kgPanels or something similar, I'd like to construct smooth dark frames for the action bars to be at (by bartender4). I really have no idea on how to do this. I want it lightweight but need it to look kind of "solid" and smooth. Not annoyingly in the way, so if it's slightly transparent would be better than just pitch black. ...[*]TitanPanel present, or something similar which provides helpful information regarding money, armor repair and such.[/list]

Pitbull is NOT lightweight and is likely lagging you more than you think. You want an oUF layout, no questions asked.

My oUF layout (link in the Addon Author button on the left) tries its best to save vertical screen real estate while still providing all relevant information. However, our preferences differ - I prefer seeing bars only for mana to avoid further frame clutter, and level is delegated to nameplates or tooltips if I really need to see it (most times, that's a no). My layout does carry a dark palette compared to most.

Note that as long as you know your class colors you don't need any sort of class display aside from your unitframe colors.

Check out Carousel. It's an extremely compact Broker display that uses the mousewheel and changed-information events instead of shoving everything into a bar.

It'll be more trouble than it's worth to find the "perfect" prebuilt UI. Honestly, load up with the default UI and add/replace elements as your needs dictate. I always start with unitframes, kgPanels, and MSBT then move on from there for the rest as I see things I dislike.

[Lonehwolf]

Thanks. as with all minimal interfaces it does have that great clean look about it, but the information lacks greatly. I'll be focusing on healing and I have to constantly check on the players' state, having no clue about their health %, values and such would definitely be a pain. Wish I could figure out where to find good pitbull 4 layouts and how to import them.

The unit frames I'd have to change completely. The fact that it's so lightweight (very few addons) is pretty good tho. Gonna give Skullflower a shot.

Regarding Pitbull: I just can't go without it. I like it's in depth customization and covers everything I could possibly want. I'll be giving this to a mate of mine, but I might switch Pitbull for oUF in his case, since his computer is slightly weaker. We'll see how it goes.

[Taroven]

Glad you found something you like. If you're curious about the choices I made when creating my oUF layout, read on.

The definition of "minimal" in a UI is "only what's actually needed". Small bars and a toned-down look are all just part of the UI's style, while the actual minimalist portion is in the displayed information: If it's not necessary, it's not shown.

What more is needed? How much of that info do you really, honestly use? Personal experience over the past three years henceforth.

I know for certain that I've never cared about a unit's current hp (very specific fights need not apply), I just want to know what's missing so I can use the most efficient heal for the situation - Which is displayed quite clearly in combat.

Percentage hp is already covered by the bar itself (most people give me weird looks when I tell them that's what the bars are there for, oddly).

Max HP I can see just fine on my tooltips, which are located near the unitframes anyway. It's not relevant during combat and never should be.

A personal mana display is nice for some things, but just a bar is fine for all intents and purposes. I only display raid mana bars because as a Druid healer, I'd like to know if my innervate is better used on myself or someone else.

The only other relevant displays I can think of are dispels and aggro, which a simple glow gives plenty of information for without getting in the way.

Personal opinion: Everything beyond the above is information overload and pretty pointless. I find healing easier and much less stressful - Actually rather fun - when I don't have four lines of text cluttering things up.

I'm not saying my layout is perfect for anyone but myself, as everyone is different. However, it covers the essentials perfectly for me and seems to fit your desired UI style quite well. Four other healers in my guild use the layout, and the only things they've asked for are readycheck status, LFD icons for 5mans, and maintank frames - All of which are being released within the next day or two.

[nightcracker]

If you want a really lightweight UI, you should try out my ncUI.

[Lonehwolf]

Now moreso than back then, I find the indication of health and mana to not be as necessary. I downloaded healbot (switched it from vuhdo, and liking it), and altho i feel like healing truly reached a new level of easiness, i find myself well in control of what I'm doing.

Health and Mana indicators I at this point personally use them purely for knowledge about the character. Gives me a general idea of his gear, and I kinda hate asking my mates "what's my mana, and what's yours" >.<

At this point the only things I'm not really satisfied with are simply:

aMinimap - I want this to the right (but I believe I have some addon which is killing my ability to move stuff around. This was the case with VuhDo as well).

Unit Frames - I just suck at finding the right style for them. What I have ain't bad, but just not what I believe would suit me best. I need to find some badass ones.

Performance wise, more than happy. I can hold a stable 30fps in dalaran during peak hours, and fps plummets to 70 or so when leveling. I still need to fix those two though

[haylie]

A workaround for the amount of hp/mana would be to simply put this info in the tooltip. That way you only see it when you want to.

It's hard to tell what might be preventing you from moving the minimap, maybe post a list of your addons? Anyhow, aMinimap can be configured through lua as well, try this: open aMinimap/aMinimap.lua and in lines 8 and 9:

    OffsetX = 27,
    OffsetY = -27,

Change those two numbers around till you get what you want.

As for unitframes, well, your definition of "badass" will likely differ greatly from mine