Depending on the scale of the changes, the artist I was going to work with on new UI, and how this update goes, it may be weeks or months before I do much UI stuff.
Fire away, I'll let it simmer!
Righto, below is a general idea of what I got in mind. Hopefully the walls of fortified text aren't too overbearing.
(Viewing the image in its own tab might be a good idea, for visual clarity)
Going from what I consider least controversial or difficult, and working towards the biggest pains in the backside...
1 - The face icons for the allied characters can have a function. The idea is that by clicking on a allied face, the player adjusts the level of Threat the party exudes. In this picture, Samantha has 40% Threat, in what I call "Introvert Mode". Ashley is drawing aggro, through "Extrovert" mode at 60%. Clicking on either portrait would shift around the threat level - "Neutral Mode" splits things evenly between these two. Assuming that in-battle party sizes don't change, this should be relatively easy to implement and be accessible for players. Each portrait has a colored border to indicate their threat mode, along with some text in the picture to precisely display the threat level. Some enemies might dole out particular aggro states onto characters, so that text will be important for that.
2 - In the center, we have a row of faces. They are used for tracking the speed of characters during the turn - the person most left is fastest, those towards the right are slower. The arrows and chevrons indicate to whom a character's actions are directed. Ashley's green arrow means that she is supporting Samantha in some fashion. Kuril is directly attacking Samantha, and Sam herself is using an area ability on the party. Kandros is directly supporting Kuril, but his ability is also causing harm to the party. I think this overall concept would be useful for organizing battles.
3 - On the left is the Skill Tray. The icons most to the left indicate the most basic ability of each action category, and each column represents an element. Neutral, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, Aether, Nether, and Abyss (not present yet). Each row represents a range of abilities that have a specialty or cost. For example, the Focused and Group melee options might have a cooldown system attached and minimal MP cost.
I do not know how many abilities you want the player to have, but I do have a philosophy on the matter: Too many not only clutters a potential interface, but also makes it harder to design battles - you wouldn't know what sort of action a player might wish to pursue. With the action categories of "Focused Melee", "Group Melee", "Condensed Magic", "Area Magic", "Defensive", and "Eromancy" in this tray, there is at least 64 actions. A GUI is a canvas for game designers, and like with a painting, it is possible to lose focus if you cram too much stuff.
Players won't easily understand how to play the game effectively if you have too many options, so it can be a potential lose-lose for both designer and player.
4 - Utilities. We are moving into gameplay ideas. The concept here is that the MC has a "utility belt", where he keeps potions, wands, runestones, grenades, ect. Unlike abilities powered by mana or waiting for a cooldown, these items cannot be normally restocked during battles and adventures, except at rest points. This should help make the concept of utility items a powerful thing, and also gives Aspasia a specialty during conflict - she might have the ability to resupply the player in a pinch.
5 - Attunement. Honestly, I do not like the current purpose of Attunement in the game - it is a cap on learning stuff, which doesn't excite me. I think it would be cooler as a mechanic during battles. The idea being, the player can enter a state where they are effectively an elemental Super Saiyan, kinda like the Avatar from Last Airbender.
6 - Focus. This is a resource pool that powers events and what I call "escalation". The first, is to spend points to activate encounter or companion events during the battle. Say, for example, Aspasia generating a item, to counter a goblin mage's fireball spell, or maybe lure enemies off the field for a bit. Basically stuff that is specific to encounters or friends, that other mechanics are not built for.
Escalation is basically the player activating the masteries of an action, and each activation earns points towards upgrading the masteries the move can unleash. While attuned and using a move of the same element, the masteries are further enhanced.
When it comes to gathering Focus, I am thinking defensive actions can generate these points. By not being hurt, the MC is gathering their thoughts and momentum to make a play of some kind. Be it a finishing move or buying time for a friend, you need to not be on the backfoot. Aside from that, the numbers on the far-right on the Skill Tray represents independent focus points that an action category has gathered. This gives a player a general focus pool, then specialized focus pools to help encourage move diversity.
7 - Lust. I am thinking that Lust could affect moves. For example, Kuril's "Jaws" action in the mockup could become "Hump" if he gets too amorous. While this may be a bit uncomfortable for Metatron, being dry-humped by a giant shark is probably preferable to being introduced to his maw. Kandro's "Healing Rain" turning into a "Milky Rain" would undoubtedly be very helpful for our succubi companions. Of course, turnabout is fair play...
That is quite the proposal! I can safely say that I don't intend to do anything of that scale in the near future, but some were already planned and possibly easy enough (turn order) that you may see fragments sooner rather than later.
Utilities are already ingame, just not used much - Aspasia's alchemy is all adventure-capped (she has an ability to replenish them) as is your healing potion.
I'll consider the rest.
