UI is better in X4, but...

[wizaerd]

One of the things I miss from previous entries in the X Games, are windows. Persistent windows, and multiple windows. You could open a window with stats on a ship, choose a second ship and view a separate window. Being able to look at and evaluate 2 things at once. In X4, in the map, it's so click intensive to get info on your ships. Then if you wish to compare to a different ship, gotta go back to the list, select it, right click, choose Information and navigate to the appropriate tab. Which of course closes the information of the first ship away. It's all just so very modal. The map UI is better then the complicated menus, but it's too "streamlined" to be efficient for an empire. Just my $0.02...

[Tomonor]

Was this an X3AP feature? I don't recall ever having the ability to have multiple windows/tabs open.

[Alan Phipps]

Also, isn't there a ship type direct comparison tool in the in-game encyclopaedia?

EDIT: Yes, once in the encyclopaedia, ship comparison is the 3rd button on the bottom of the menu on the left.

[Flippi]

Was this an X3AP feature? I don't recall ever having the ability to have multiple windows/tabs open.

Additional windows have been in the X Series since at least X2. In X2, you even got 6 of them if you wanted (unless OP is talking about something else here). They also allowed you to remote control ships and turrets when in the same sector.

[Tomonor]

Was this an X3AP feature? I don't recall ever having the ability to have multiple windows/tabs open.

Additional windows have been in the X Series since at least X2. In X2, you even got 6 of them if you wanted (unless OP is talking about something else here). They also allowed you to remote control ships and turrets when in the same sector.

Uhm, those were cameras in X2 and it was a certainly unused feature, at least in my books.

[Flippi]

Uhm, those were cameras in X2 and it was a certainly unused feature, at least in my books.

You can call them that of course. But it's the closest to what OP described. And I wouldn't call them unused. Underused would be a better term for it. Like quite a few other lesser known features of the older games (Bartering system anyone?).

[wizaerd]

Also, isn't there a ship type direct comparison tool in the in-game encyclopaedia?

EDIT: Yes, once in the encyclopaedia, ship comparison is the 3rd button on the bottom of the menu on the left.

That compares general ships, not my ships unless I pick all their current options as if I were building a new ship. Nor does it show their default orders/behaviors. Having to click so many times to see info, such as default orders and settings, then starting over to pick and look at a different ship, but to me, it'd be nice to be able to look at the info of multiple ships and make navigating to the orders screen a little less click intensive.

[chew-ie]

Having an advanced window manager like UI would be awesome

I also miss the target cameras. In X³ I always configured them to show my wingmen