Interface

Interface is one of the most important issues to me because if the interface is difficult to use or just not efficient, then the gameplay suffers immensely. All three of these games have very different interfaces. If you are used to playing any of the three and are switching to one of the others you will have an adjustment period.

Nice view

Landscapes that extend

How the 3 interfaces compare

Ultima Online is one of the better interfaces because Origin has allowed the user in-game options to map hot keys. Without the hot keys, you had to use skills from a chart, which is just too slow and difficult. A veteran player is one who has a very efficient hot key list to cast spells and use skills quickly during the heat of battle. Everquest does not have this hot key system built in. They use a button system that consists of boxes that you drag skill buttons to. Each box has 6 slots for a skill and then there are several of these boxes. There are hot keys to switch in between the boxes and then the number keys 1-6 use the buttons. To me this was never as quick as the macros you could use in Ultima. UO literally could have almost 3 hot keys per button on the keyboard by using the shift, alt, and control + the desired key. With these numerous abilities you could adjust your style of macros to your style of play, which is very user friendly. Asheron's Call uses a system that is a blend of the two. It has a series of hotkeys that are matched to the numbers and also an out of game system where you can set up your configuration for various hot keys. It is not as extensive as Ultima's, but gameplay is not hindered as it is in Everquest.

Some kind of seaside fort

Another view

Status bars

The next thing that is important to note is how the games display status bars and such. Ultima rates the worst on this one. Its status bars must be dragged from the player and adjusted on your screen. When inspecting other players or monsters, their status bars must also be pulled off of the creature after a few clicks. This is a process you don't want to be bothered with when you are trying to defeat an opponent. Asheron's Call has the status bars of the player displayed at the top of the screen. You can see the health, stamina, and mana counts as a bar, or a bar with the numerical values displayed for a more accurate value. Compared to the UO system this is superior. Also when inspecting a creature you merely click it once, which you must do to target the beast, and a window pops up on the right hand side of your screen showing the monster's health as a percentage. Then if your character passes a skill check, then the monster's stats are displayed, showing you the exact numbers for each of its attributes. Everquest uses a very similar system, however they do not show specific values. Most of the EQ status bars are just plain bars. When you look at your character sheet you can see many of the numerical values, but you usually are not in this screen when you are battling for experience.

Nice!

What's that purple stuff?

Forming parties

Grouping and being able to note the conditions of players within your group is also another key feature. Ultima Online doesn't allow players to party-up formally. They must rely on their friends to not mistakenly swing their sword on them instead of the monster. They also must use the same tactic used to see monster health for their comrades. Users must click and drag the health bar from the players who you wish to keep track of. Asheron's Call allows people to group up in large groups. However, the interface for viewing the other members' health is horrible. You can only see one member's attributes at a time and because of the view Asheron's Call takes, it can be difficult to simply click on players to see their health that way. Lag plays a part in giving delayed refreshed values for health and the like as well. This makes the job of life mages and other support characters a challenging one indeed. Everquest has an excellent system for grouping. EQ only offer about half the maximum number for a group compared to AC, but viewing your friends' status is much easier. Beside each player's name in the group there is their relative health bar. Although you cannot see the number values the bar is very accurate, and when a player takes damage the bar is refreshed almost instantly. Everquest as one of my friends always tells me, is a game about cooperation and attaining a common goal. Many of the difficult creatures in EQ like dragons and the other dimension creatures require teams of players who work well with one another. This interface that Everquest has adopted really works well with the style the game has created for itself.