Screenshots: 6.5 vs. 2007 and Explanations

[Jestor]

I'll be putting up screenshots of 6.5 vs. 2K7 to illustrate why I greatly prefer 6.5's interface to 2K7's.

I realize that I, along with a lot of others, have said this point a lot, but I do believe a visual illustration would be much more effective.

[The Wolf]

I'll be looking forward to them, as I greatly prefer 6.5's interface to the current one as well.

[Anisoptera]

Good idea, but just make sure you include how much easier the transactions screen was.

[Jestor]

Exhibit #1. The Standings Screen

We'll start off with something simple. Granted, there may be a way to do 6.5 in 2K7, but I'm just going off the basic screens for now.

6.5


2K7


6.5's Advantages Over 2K7

A one-screen look at the top 3 statistical leaders in each league that updates on the fly
As someone who quick-sims a lot and prefers a very broad overview, this is very critical to letting me know at a glance who some of the best players in the league are.

Plus, if I'm tracking a certain milestone, such as .400 BA or 60 HR or a sub-2.00 ERA for the season, the fast-update of this screen allows me to see that in real-time without having to pause the game, go look at the league leaderboards, then start simming again, etc. It creates a real sense of excitement when you're watching the sim fly by and eyeing that hitter or pitcher.

For those who prefer a more leisurely pace, simply having that information on all one screen is still a very nice basic reference for who the top players in the league are and make a great starting point.

2K7's Advantages Over 6.5

A cleaner, easier to read font
In my opinion, this is the sole advantage of 2K7 over 6.5 on this screen. Admittedly, the games played and magic # could appeal to some, but since the magic # appears late-season in 6.5 anyway, the only information benefit would be games played, and I don't know how many people see that as a vital statistic to know.

[Jestor]

Originally Posted by The Wolf

I'll be looking forward to them, as I greatly prefer 6.5's interface to the current one as well.

Glad to hear it

[Jestor]

Originally Posted by Anisoptera

Good idea, but just make sure you include how much easier the transactions screen was.

Believe me, that's one of my hugest interface pet peeves, so that's going to be included.

[The Wolf]

Go, Jestor, go! Maybe you can persuade the powers that be to make OOTP 9 look like 6.51 instead of OOTP 2006.

[Jestor]

Exhibit #2. Roster Screens
Now we're getting into something noticeably more complex and it's a situation where 2K7 has some tangible advantages, but overall I prefer 6.5.

6.5


2K7




6.5 Advantages

Compactness of Information
In one screen, you have a quick-glance at your team leaders, roster, hot & cold streaks and pertinent team league rankings. This is extremely handy in figuring out a starting point for possible moves or adjustments to be made to the team. That old, former All-Star, still-solid 3B in a slump and your team's way down in the standings? Maybe you want to try trading him for pitching, your franchise's weakest point.

Hot & Cold Streaks
Granted, I don't use this information all that much personally, but it probably weighs in for a lot of GMs who manipulate the lineups and pitching staffs much more stringently than I do. I can't find this screen in 2K7. That's not to say it isn't there, of course, but it's not immediately easy to find.

Ease of Access to Minor League Affiliates at Same Position
Continuing with the old 3B example from above, say you want to see if you've got a guy down in AAA who's capable of carrying the load. In 6.5, all you have to do is click on AAA, AA, or A to look and it's easy to jump between levels and compare players without ever having to leave the screen.

In 2K7 you have to click on the affiliate, then click on the roster, and to compare you have to go back to the other screens... It turns into much more of a click-fest, which is time-consuming.

Easier to read Numbers*
I'm asterisking this because it's probably a matter of personal preference, but I find the numbers much easier to read in 6.5, particularly the reds and oranges.

2K7 Advantages Over 6.5

News Stories
The news stories I'll admit are a nice touch and really help the immersion factor and feeling that it's like a local newspaper reporting on the team. Links to the main news stories are a decision I lean more towards liking as well.

Expanded Statistics
Top 5 as opposed to Top 3, as well as a complete look at the pitching staff's statistics. That being said, however, I find the difference between Top 3 and Top 5 to be fairly negligible in terms of figuring out your team's top performers, the information is nowhere near as compact, and furthermore, 6.5 handles the pitching statistical presentation just as well (more on that later).

[Jestor]

Exhibit #3. Pitching Staffs
This one is one of those things where it's not the information, as both screens present basically the same details, it's the presentation that's a huge difference.

6.5


2K7


6.5 Advantages

Left/Right Screen Orientation
Some may call this a personal preference, but I disagree. Reading the numbers and comparing ratings/statistics is much easier on the eyes in a left/right presentation as you see in 6.5 as it's much easier for the eyes to shift from left to right and vice versa..

Moving from bottom to top takes more time, because it's not the way most people in this game's target audience read naturally. It's much more difficult to retain the information as well, by going from bottom to top, top to bottom.

Vertical, Single-Column Staff
One of the major benefits of the left/right screen orientation is the vertical, single column pitching staff, which allows you to see the rotation and bullpen very quickly in the natural top-to-bottom way of reading, without having to do any left to right shifting like you do in 2K7.

The multi-column staff of 2K7 also makes it look a lot smaller than 6.5's and hence is more eye-straining and headache-inducing (at least so I've personally found).

Easier to Read Numbers*
I know I've mentioned this before, but I figured I'd hammer it home again.

2K7 Advantages

Hold Rating
I never use this rating. Maybe others do.

Ability to edit Columns (provided by Long_Long_Name)

Spreadsheet View Allows Customized Stats and Rating Comparisons (Provided by Ktulu)
You can set the screen up to view the pitchers ratings and important stats that the player considers most important, which likely wouldn't be possible in a L/R screen orientation.

[Long_Long_Name]

Originally Posted by Jestor

Hold Rating
I never use this rating. Maybe others do. But it's the only advantage 2K7 has over 6.5.

Well, there's always the possibility to edit columns. And that's a pretty big advantage.

[Jestor]

Originally Posted by Long_Long_Name

Well, there's always the possibility to edit columns. And that's a pretty big advantage.

I'm not certain how you do that, but I've included it in the 2K7 advantages

[Long_Long_Name]

Originally Posted by Jestor

I'm not certain how you do that, but I've included it in the 2K7 advantages

Well, using the Views button right above the players, you can select what set of ratings/stats you want to use, and customize it to your liking. You can see any stat, rating or personal information you want, displaying all the stats you want and taking off all the ones you don't want.


Also, correct me if I am wrong, but so far, your concerns are a bit cosmetic and deal with "little things". As someone who doesn't have a preference for either interface (but, for the sake of argument, I wish to keep the current one as it avoids a TON of work for Markus who can focus on other things, and is much better adapted to all the new features of the SI era), I'll say that you are making pretty good suggestions - adding leaderboards and reconfiguring certain screens for ease of use are pretty good ideas. It's a far cry from "this game is unplayable" or "trash the new interface altogether"; as I mentioned, I think going back would be a bad idea for two main reasons, but your comments so far I'm sure could help make the current interface better if they were integrated.

[Jestor]

Exhibit #4. Lineup Screens
This one provides a notable advantage for 2K7, but it's one that proves a double-edged sword, as it gives 6.5 an advantage, as you'll see.

6.5


2K7


6.5 Advantages

Left/Right Screen Orientation
As per pitching staffs. It's more natural for the eyes to shift left-right and right-left than move top-bottom, bottom-top.

Compactness of Information
In 6.5, there's no scroll bar as in 2K7. Every single hitter on your roster is visible in one spot without having to make any movement. Big bonus when you're trying to set your lineup.

Greater Contrast of Separate Line-up Buttons
See how the green buttons of the individual v RHP, v RHP + DH, etc lineup buttons contrast so nicely with the background and make them easy to spot? That's not the case with 2K7, where they're tucked underneath the menu buttons, with no contrast.

2K7 Advantages

Depth Chart in Same Screen as Line-Ups
This is the double-edged sword I was talking about. Yes, it's very convenient to have the depth chart able to be changed in the same place as the line-ups, but it also necessitates the use of a scroll bar in the roster. Now, with a L/R screen orientation, the scroll bar could be eliminated. Perhaps there's another way to get the depth charts on the same page as the line-ups while still being able to see all of the roster.

7-Day Lineups Button
A big plus for online leagues, I can see this being an advantage for simmers like myself as well, because now the 7-day lineup is much easier to get to, making a week by week sim that much more attractive.

[Jestor]

Originally Posted by Long_Long_Name

Well, using the Views button right above the players, you can select what set of ratings/stats you want to use, and customize it to your liking. You can see any stat, rating or personal information you want, displaying all the stats you want and taking off all the ones you don't want.

Good to know, thanks

Also, correct me if I am wrong, but so far, your concerns are a bit cosmetic and deal with "little things". As someone who doesn't have a preference for either interface (but, for the sake of argument, I wish to keep the current one as it avoids a TON of work for Markus who can focus on other things, and is much better adapted to all the new features of the SI era), I'll say that you are making pretty good suggestions - adding leaderboards and reconfiguring certain screens for ease of use are pretty good ideas. It's a far cry from "this game is unplayable" or "trash the new interface altogether"; as I mentioned, I think going back would be a bad idea for two main reasons, but your comments so far I'm sure could help make the current interface better if they were integrated.

Quite a few of the comments will be cosmetic and deal with little things, but there's quite a few of them that are larger picture, such as the leaderboards and screen configuration and of course, the transactions screen, which will be my final screenshot as it's the one that needs the most improvement, IMO.

Also, I'm not going to post all screens. There's some where 2K7 does an equal to or better job than 6.5 in my opinion and so I don't feel those need commentary

[Ktulu]

6.5 Advantages

Left/Right Screen Orientation
Some may call this a personal preference, but I disagree. Reading the numbers and comparing ratings/statistics is much easier on the eyes in a left/right presentation as you see in 6.5 as it's much easier for the eyes to shift from left to right and vice versa..

Moving from bottom to top takes more time, because it's not the way most people in this game's target audience read naturally. It's much more difficult to retain the information as well, by going from bottom to top, top to bottom.

Vertical, Single-Column Staff
One of the major benefits of the left/right screen orientation is the vertical, single column pitching staff, which allows you to see the rotation and bullpen very quickly in the natural top-to-bottom way of reading, without having to do any left to right shifting like you do in 2K7.

The multi-column staff of 2K7 also makes it look a lot smaller than 6.5's and hence is more eye-straining and headache-inducing (at least so I've personally found).

While I agree that having the pitching staff on the right all in a top to bottom fashion is nice, I much prefer the wider "spreadsheet" because I can set it up to view the pitchers ratings and important stats that I want to see.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Jestor

6.5 Advantages


Compactness of Information
In 6.5, there's no scroll bar as in 2K7. Every single hitter on your roster is visible in one spot without having to make any movement. Big bonus when you're trying to set your lineup.

I've never had a scroll bar in that view in v2007.

[JoeRockEHF]

Great post Jestor! You're summing up pretty much the same way I feel about stuff. I've downloaded the v8 demo and it is a HUGE improvement over v2006 but man, the interface for v6.5 is so much better all the way.

Edit -- While I'm thinking about it. I know other parts of v9 are more important to get done and get done right but exactly how hard would it to be to add a "Classic View" tab or something to switch interfaces around?

[Jestor]

Exhibit #5. Transaction Screen
This is the big one, the screen where 6.5 trumps 2K7 so much that I can't think of a single advantage that 2K7 offers. Well, there is one.

6.5


2K7


6.5 Advantages

Compactness of Information
I'll admit it, this is my favorite screen in all of 6.5 and one of my favorites out of all the text-sims I've played. You can see all 3 levels of minors, plus waiver wire, plus trading block, plus DFA, plus major league roster, plus 40 man roster plus star ratings all in one clear, easy to read screen. That's a lot of information in one package and it works beautifully. 9 boxes, each clearly marked.

Compare this to 2K7, where you're give four generic boxes and have to use drop-down boxes and can't quick glance all levels of your rosters all at once, making the process of deciding what minors and majors moves to make a much more tedious and time-consuming process in 2K7, as opposed to 6.5, where it's sleek and streamlined.

Major statistics at a glance for majors and minors
To be honest, this might be an option where it should be toggable whether you view statistics or ratings. For me personally, I use statistics + ratings for my minors to decide whether they should move up, but I always use statistics as a baseline.

Statistics would also be quite important for major league call-ups and demotions as well. Again, I don't see this in 2K7.

Clearly marked boxes
The different color lettering for the header and the background of the Major roster, 40 man roster, and Disabled List clearly distinguish them, especially from the Minors boxes and the DFA and Waivers are marked by their green lettering and smaller boxes, the Trading Block by its combination of white letters and no background.

Contrast this to 2K7, where the boxes look all the same and there's no distinguishing between them.

Team records for minor league teams
Okay, it's a very small, very cosmetic thing, but for me, it's one of the nifty things about this screen.

2K7 Advantages

Ratings Displayed
The one advantage 2K7 offers. Again, as I said in the statistics section, this should probably a toggable option. Now, I realize that having ratings as an option could be a problem in returning to a more 6.5-like interface since they take up so much real estate space, which would ultimately defeat the purpose of my intent here. Maybe the numbers could be made smaller?

[Jestor]

Originally Posted by Ktulu

While I agree that having the pitching staff on the right all in a top to bottom fashion is nice, I much prefer the wider "spreadsheet" because I can set it up to view the pitchers ratings and important stats that I want to see.

Good point you raise. I'll add it to the 2K7 advantages for that screen then.

[JoeRockEHF]

I LOVE the 'Transactions' screen from v6.5. Trumps v8 hands down.