Last week we drew our weapons, showcasing the Solarian - Morningstar.
This week, as promised, we are bringing you the redesigned hotbar.
This is what the hotbar looked like during the March playtest. The character portrait and weapon slots were anchored to the bottom left of the screen, which meant players constantly had to move their attention to the corner to fire weapons or use abilities.
And beyond the layout, there was a bigger problem: a classical hotbar would not work for Starfinder 2e. The ruleset is too complex for that. For example, you can amplify spells by spending additional action points, each class adds a set of unique abilities, weapons have multiple ways to be used, and more.
We needed something built specifically for this system.
We explored several layout directions before landing on this structure. The bar is split in two: the left side holds your common skills and items, always within reach. The right side is reserved for abilities provided by your class, feats, and background, and it's unique to each class depending on the needs.
At the center, your character portrait and weapons, always front and center where you need them. Action points and movement are displayed at the top, so you always know what you can do on your turn.
Icons unfold upwards to display more options, for example, heal using 1AP, 2AP or 3AP.
The new layout with the visual treatment applied, but now it belongs in the Starfinder universe.
Still work in progress, but already a clear improvement over where we started, hope you liked it!
Gen Con is happening and we have a little surprise for you. Stay tuned! 👀
See you in the Drift 💫
The Epictellers Team
🪐 Join our amazing Discord community
✨ Wishlist on Steam if you haven't!