Worst UI of Perks screen in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[Chande]

I heard this on many places but still I can’t believe this. I think it really has Skyrim to claim the title of "worst element of the interface in fact." It is presented as a menu of skills, which is mainly used leveling. That infringes nearly every individual standard on the design of user interfaces, and does so for one reason just- to show a quite picture. What is your opinion on this?

[mbangali]

The perk screen is absolutely horrible. Having to scroll through them sideways, one by one, and then try to navigate the clunky nodes is a headache every time. Trees should not be right next to each other, even though they take much more space than just one line, and it would be nice to see what actual perks you've picked. And trees that look like trees! They've obviously went for looks rather than usage!

[LotusN]

I love that people are this annoyed over such a small part of the game. There's nothing wrong with the perk menu. It's a freaking menu, and it's functional. I think the menu system is miles ahead of Oblivion. We should be thankful for that.

[AlisaDsa]

It’s functional, for a console controller. For a keyboard/mouse, there is no way u can call this mess of a UI functional, let alone better than oblivion's. Oblivions menus were the definition of functional. They were by no means pretty, and by no means were they simple, but they worked and they worked well. Skyrim’s menu cares more about looking pretty than actually working well.

[Mollyi7]

Personally, I think all of Skyrim’s UI is the cleanest and most beautiful UI I have ever seen in a game. Yes, I am playing on PC. No, it doesn't feel like a crappy console port. I don't understand why everyone is complaining about everything, this is literally the best game I have ever played. People really need to start getting over this. We get it, you hate the UI. I don't get why PC users want a different product than what everyone else is getting. For the record I have zero problems with the UI, so it’s obviously not Bethesda who has the problem here.

[Orochimaru]

Actually, the problem is with controllers. Trying to select certain parts of skill branches causes the selection to go off in a way it doesn't seem like it should (for example, tapping right on the thumbstick sends it flying up the tree to a later perk, rather than the one to the right of it). With the mouse, this problem doesn't exist, as you can click on the individual nodes of the skill trees to select them immediately.

[VazV]

PC users are often so quick to blame us console gamers for all of their complaints. Who said console gamers want things dumbed down? I am on the Xbox 360 and I'm not keen on the UI. I too find it fiddly, I don't like all the scrolling and things are too difficult to find. The perks UI is not very friendly and I often get onto the wrong perk. It's not necessarily any easier with a controller. I too would prefer a more structured and detailed layout. On a semi-related note, it's ironic that most pc users love their computers and hate certain other products because they are free to theme and make things look how they want without sticking within the boundaries of tired, structured grids of icons.

[Jung]

Actually having played both the PS3 version (for around 30 hours) and the last two days the PC version, I actually feel that the interface - including the skills menu and the admittedly rather clunky perk trees - is slightly quicker and easier to navigate on PC (using mainly WASD plus E and Tab, instead of fiddling around with the mouse) than with an analogue stick or D-pad on a controller. But of course "quicker and easier to navigate" doesn't mean that the interface is at all as good and user friendly as it could have been on PC, just not worse to navigate with a keyboard than a gamepad.

[Nimos]

I will admit that some parts of the interface are bad, especially the wasted screen space. Being a console port is really no excuse for this. I have found that the trick to using the interface for PC is to just use the keyboard instead of the mouse. Most of it isn't that hard to use once you get used to it, and it can be faster than using the mouse.

[Enos]

I would agree that it's a little awkward navigating the perks, at first. Now it's easy. A very minor issue in a huge, fantastic game. Why some people are compelled to start entire threads to rant over small problems with hyperbole like "worst screen in the history of UIs" I will never understand. Unless it's trolling, in which case I just fell for it.

[Shikamaru Nara]

This UI is functional, some of the worst UIs ever made are functional, that doesn't mean people enjoy using them. Do some genuinely enjoy Skyrim's UI, lists and starchart and all? If so, I'm glad for them, but a lot of us just plain don't. My main issue with the UI is the mouse. I am quite frankly astounded as to how badly they've implemented mouse support to their menus. And please, the argument 'don't use your mouse' doesn't solve the fact that the game routinely pretends the mouse is hundreds of pixels away from wherever it actually is.