Red is mainly for showing where things go. (Dividing lines, for example).
Blue circles are to show handles (for moveable parts)
This is not to scale.
What is different from the current UI as compared to the proposal? Very little aside from adding filters and position adjustments. The ability to filter and change positions makes a huge difference for some players though.
Log:
So basically the idea here is that your log could be separated so that you can look at just combat, just loot/exp, just system, other messages, or Messages (the (1) would indicate 1 unread message). The tabs would allow the player to switch between modes. Potentially, we could even include timestamps. Players can stick with the default (current setting) all or pick a specific mode.
Unread Message Icon
You would also see a notification of messages above the exp bar in the middle of the level and the role symbol. This would help players quickly identify that they have unread messages. (This might not be necessary with a tab for Messages, but it may be more work to add a tab for messages).
Popup Accept/Deny Message positions
In addition, the accept messages would be spread out so that each message would have their own section with the more immediately important messages in easier to reach places. These messages could then be moved by the player (possibly with a input pad option (6 directional arrows (up down left right forward backward)).
There could be an option as well to place them all in the current position for those that prefer that instead of having to manually move them there.
Notifications
The displayed messages would also be split up into three different sections so that loot/exp, messages (from players), and system messages are displayed in different locations. Position of each notification type could potentially be chosen as a setting (This could allow for all the notifications in one section (including the current default middle) or no notifications at all as well depending on the settings).
Settings Example (checkboxes for options):
Left Notifications:
[] Loot/Exp [] Mail [] System
Center Notifications:
[] Loot/Exp [] Mail [] System
Right Notifications:
[] Loot/Exp [] Mail [] System
The above example would allow you to say: Put Loot/Exp and System on the Left, Mail on the right, and all three in the center group. This opens up options for players that want to not see certain notifications or want to put certain notifications in more focal locations…
Concept
Basically the idea here is to make it so that players can get information important to them more easily without causing a major issue for players that prefer how things are currently (as there would be little change from the current UI aside from some extra functionality/filters).
The reasons behinds some of these ideas:
Log: The idea here is to allow players to focus on important things to them and to add a way to see if they have unread messages.
Unread Message Icon: Basically to help people not miss a new message.
Popup Positions: This is to help avoid distractions in critical events. For example, you might not want a Party Invite on top of your books when you are reaching to grab them. Especially not if you are mid-combat.
This can also be important for if you are queueing for something. Imagine if you finally got your matchmaking and someone decided right then to send you a party invite. Which activates first? If you join another party first, that might cancel your queue!
Also, ability to move popups around would mean, for example, if you plan to do alchemy, you could move your popups up so that popups won’t be in your way when doing some critical alchemy. (A Do Not Disturb option could also work for this).
Notifications: Sometimes notifications are just hard to read because of where they are. Or perhaps you want to turn off some notifications. By having three positions for notifications and the ability to turn them off, you can filter them for just what you care about or reposition them in a spot that works better for you.