PDA

View Full Version : No indication that currently Unity version is run



Verencius
October 31st, 2019, 21:04
There is no distinct feel or logo of the Unity version.

notrealdan
October 31st, 2019, 21:08
The installer, updater, and launcher for FGU look and work almost completely differently than FGC. Many of the interface components in the main program (especially the new Assets function and the Images/Maps function) also are distinctly different. Even the icon for FGU is different.

notrealdan
October 31st, 2019, 21:25
It occurs to me that, with the confusion about the incorrect installer link that was sent out when the beta went live, maybe you're actually running FGC, not FGU. Could you post a screenshot of what the Fantasy Grounds launcher looks like for you?

pollux
November 1st, 2019, 05:41
The start menu items are super confusingly named if you have both FGC and FGU installed. I renamed by start menu shortcuts for FGU to be obvious and distinct, but I definitely had a few minutes of confusion about which was which when I first installed. If you RAN one of them, it was clear to me (based on visual differences). But knowing which icon to click on was not at all obvious to me. The icons are different, but not different enough, and not named distinctly enough for me to know which was was immediately.

LordEntrails
November 1st, 2019, 06:41
I assume it's intentional that the icons and names are very similar. From a product branding and marketing perspective, its often desired to keep things similar and familiar. It helps to carry on the brand.

As for those of us running both, as you know you can rename the shortcut so it's easier to distinguish. I just have the shortcuts in different places. But, whatever works for you :)

Andraax
November 1st, 2019, 17:09
My classic version installed under start menu "Fantasy Grounds". My fgu version installed under "Smiteworks".

pollux
November 2nd, 2019, 16:32
I assume it's intentional that the icons and names are very similar. From a product branding and marketing perspective, its often desired to keep things similar and familiar. It helps to carry on the brand.

Except that FGU is a separate new product. Smiteworks has committed to supporting and selling both FGC and FGU concurrently for some significant overlap period. This means that now have TWO products, and need branding that distinguishes them. They seem to use the FGC vs FGU branding to distinguish between them right now, and they could (should!) finalize this branding and reinforce it with the startup menu entry names. Doing so would improve the initial install experience for anyone that has both products installed.


As for those of us running both, as you know you can rename the shortcut so it's easier to distinguish. I just have the shortcuts in different places. But, whatever works for you :)

For the moment, essentially EVERYONE has both products installed. And in the future, for some transition period, a large fraction of users will have both versions installed. There are certainly lots of simple things that a customer can do to distinguish between the icons once they know which is which. But there is positively a moment after installing FGU that is unnecessarily confusing, because none of the startup entry menu names reference classic or unity and you're likely to have to just randomly click between them to figure out which is which unless you happen to notice some small and previously irrelevant detail that separates them. Making it clear what you're clicking on can only make things easier and more pleasant for new users.


My classic version installed under start menu "Fantasy Grounds". My fgu version installed under "Smiteworks".

This is true, but assumes that you remember that FGC is not under that folder. Both programs are made by Smiteworks, so the folder name doesn't tell you which is which. And if you launch from a desktop or taskbar icon, you'll have no recollection of whether the Start Menu icon is or is not in a smiteworks folder. Also, on Windows 10, it's common to find a new program via searching the start menu rather than scrolling it. In this case, you won't see the folder at all... just 2 confusing similarly named startup entries right next to each other with little indication of which is which. The icons differentiate, but are too small to see in the startup menu search interface.

Zacchaeus
November 2nd, 2019, 16:44
My icons are completely different.

pollux
November 2nd, 2019, 17:14
The start menu items are super confusingly named if you have both FGC and FGU installed. I renamed by start menu shortcuts for FGU to be obvious and distinct, but I definitely had a few minutes of confusion about which was which when I first installed. If you RAN one of them, it was clear to me (based on visual differences). But knowing which icon to click on was not at all obvious to me. The icons are different, but not different enough, and not named distinctly enough for me to know which was was immediately.


My icons are completely different.

I'm talking about the NAMES of the start menu entries, not the images. I made this more clear in my initial post in this thread, quoted above. In my most recent post, anyplace I say "icon" I really mean "the name of the start menu entry". I have since renamed my entries so I'm not positive what they shipped as, but I believe they are "FantasyGrounds" and "Fantasy Grounds" respectively, distinguished only by whitespace. It would be much less confusing if they were "Fantasy Grounds" (for classic, which can't be changed for existing installs) and "Fantasy Grounds Unity" for new FGU installs.

The icons also aren't THAT different. Particularly when you account for the user-interface for Windows 10 start menu searches, an example of which is attached to this post. When you search the start menu for "Fantasy", you see one medium sized icon (that is legible) and several tiny icons (that are too small to distinguish given the similar color scheme). The start menu entry NAMES are perfectly readable, they don't help you figure out which is which. I'm not advocating to change the icon images, which as you note are different within the theme/color-scheme/brand. But having slightly different icons is not a substitute for having distinct names for the start menu entries, especially because a key bit of Win10 UX squashes the icons beyond readability but presents the entry names clearly.

Note that in my screenshot, I've already changed the FGU start menu entry names, they did NOT previously have "unity" anywhere in the text.

Zacchaeus
November 2nd, 2019, 17:41
I see.

Looks like Unity overwrote Classic on my start menu (assuming that classic was ever there in the first place - I never looked or noticed). I only ever use the toolbar to launch stuff so I'm never in the Start menu.

I agree with you though; if you are using the start menu then some distinction would be in order.

Moon Wizard
November 2nd, 2019, 20:44
Thanks. I've filed FGU-637 to track the issue.

Regards,
JPG