One of the coolest parts about finally being able to customize our SWTOR user interfaces is the fact that not only can we enjoy them for ourselves, but we can share our personal UI creations with the community. The game’s ability to accept altered .xml files also makes it easy for players to try out other UI creations without having to copy every little tedious step in-game. One SWTOR community site is doing just that– they’re assisting the community by offering players the tools to share their custom player-made UIs.

I am, of course, talking about SWTORUI. The site was launched in April. Here’s a bit about the folks behind the scenes:

“The staff at SWTORUI would like to welcome you to our interface customization community for the Bioware game StarWars: The Old Republic. (Yes, we are those same crazy people that brought you EQInterface, WoWInterface, EQ2Interface, RiftUI and more!)

We welcome you to use our forums and discuss your plans, wishes, etc. for AddOn development in SW:TOR.”

On SWTORUI, not only can players browse and download custom UI layouts, but they can share their own and take part in the community forums. The interfaces are organized into different categories based on class, role, and type of gameplay. For players new to the custom UI importing world, there is a handy FAQ on how to install UI layouts. There’s even a picture-based guide.

There is also now a community thread on the official forums about the UI creations seen on SWTORUI. It can be found here. The thread has even seen action from BioWare’s staff members. Be sure and check it out!

New players and veterans, PvPers and PvEers alike, have room to improve their game by taking a step back and rethinking their controls. I continue to meet experienced players with the oddest of key binding habits. A poorly thought out control set-up is a huge hinderance to success. After the break we go over concepts that can help gamers of all levels improve their bindings.

This guide will cover what to take into consideration when deciding where to bind your abilities, as well as talk about a few optional modifications to your control set-up. Finally I try to convince you to revolt against the norm and make the biggest keybinding decision of your life. As a disclaimer, I commonly sacrifice convenience to maximize in-combat performance. Never waste a mouse button on your mount when you can put a combat ability there.

One of the coolest game update 1.2 additions is the ability to finally customize SWTOR’s player user interface (UI). This feature has been asked for since early beta, and it’s easy to understand why. Most modern MMOs all have ways to tailor the UI to meet a player’s needs. A good UI is helpful for so many reasons, and can be crucial to all types of gaming playstyles.

In today’s MMO world, options are important. This is especially the case when it comes to a player’s UI. Luckily, BioWare finally got the hint and gave us our customization options. The feature is available for player testing on the PTS server currently. After playing with it a bit, I decided to write a basic primer on some of its features and options.

What the hell does a yellow triangle mean?

All new games come with their share of new symbols.  Hopefully, a quick run through of some important ones will prevent headaches come launch.

First and foremost, learn to love the map (M-key for the win).  The map includes a pretty good legend that identifies most of the regularly encountered symbols.  Unfortunately, poking around a map is usually a low priority for people jumping into an exciting new game.

With launch just around the corner, why not brush up on the map interface and symbols to help hit the ground running.

Last week, I started a series of articles on the user interface in Star Wars: The Old Republic. In the first part, I focused on tank and DPS classes. It can be found here. This week I’m focusing on the healer UI.

Of all the class roles, healers probably have the most to gain from a well-organized and well-structured user interface. Why? Because a healer’s business is the UI, and you know, a lot of other important things. There’s a common jab toward World of Warcraft’s healers: It’s easy to fall victim to fire when all you do is make green bars stay green. It’s sometimes known as “healer tunnel vision”. And yes, there’s no denying the importance of those health bars, but the simple fact is that there’s more to healing than health bars.

Healing isn’t an easy job. Whether you’re healing for a tough raid boss, a 5-man PUG that seems to have forgotten how to not come close to dying every two seconds, or a hectic PvP match– you’re a vital part of the team. And you’ve got your work cut out for you. Healers have to focus on their own health, the health of those around them, the tanks, cooldowns, mana, and the fight and surrounding environment. If unexpected AoE damage happens, a healer has to react quick. If the player has to run from a cloud of poison, they need to be able to toss heals out while on the run.

Most MMO gamers rank the user interface, commonly called the UI, as a pretty important MMO feature. In fact, I’d go as far to say that a good UI is almost crucial to a successful MMO in today’s gaming universe. The UI determines how you see the game world, and how you control it. If the UI’s too blocky and huge, it’s hard to see what’s going on around your character. If it’s lacking any information, you risk running around blind.

So what makes a perfect UI? That’s a hard question to answer. Most players are rather particular when it comes to what exactly they want their UI to do. Some players enjoy a very minimal UI with a large viewing area, and others enjoy as much information on their screen as possible. Most players will tailor their UI to their class, role, and what type of gameplay they enjoy. A raider’s UI may look entirely different from a PvPer’s UI, for example, or it may look exactly the same. The galaxy’s the limit when it comes to what players imagine as their ideal UI setup.