Boards›Esports

Previewing our new esports HUD

Riot·7/23/2016, 6:05:24 PM·5 votes·41,634 views

TL;DR: We’ve been working on some improvements to the broadcast HUD to make esports matches clearer and easier to watch. Still a work in progress, but we wanted to share some of our early thoughts with you on what an updated HUD could look like and get your feedback. Read on for some more details and a progress video to learn more.

The current spectator HUD was released more than four years ago when League of Legends esports was still in its infancy. We think we can improve on the original design and make it easier and more fun for you to follow matches with all the information you need.

We've created a new HUD specifically with esports broadcasts in mind that we’re starting to share with players for feedback and wanted to share with you a sneak peek at our progress so far. We had two major goals when we started investigating new designs:

Get rid of the clutter and optimize for viewing the action. The current HUD takes up a lot of space on the screen, and often covers up important gameplay. To try to solve this, we’ve rethought the layout and have cut down and consolidated the elements on the screen.
Enable you to more quickly and easily understand the state of the game. At the moment, it’s not always easy to follow stats and info during a pro match. We’ve taken a pass at everything from readability of ult cooldowns to easier comparisons between lane match-ups.

Here’s a video that shows some of our work so far to create a cleaner and clearer viewing experience. We’re still polishing many of the features and incorporating elements you’re used to seeing on the broadcast, but it’s a good early guide to the evolving design.

We’re continuing to test the new HUD out and gathering feedback, and will follow up with more information on when you can expect to see this debut. In the meantime, please comment on how you watch and what you like and dislike about both the current spectator HUD and the new HUD.

134 Comments

Zoe Kim7/23/2016, 6:48:37 PM37 votes

Having the stats on the left makes it feel alien to me. I've been watching the LCS since season 3 and got used to having the stats on the bottom. Also as someone who is right eye dominant its very weird to have to look to the left side of the screen for something that is so crucial. Keystones could be added below the summoner spells or something, since they are a nice piece of information to have if you weren't viewing from the beginning of the game and missed them. Gold differentials are nice as Profcory has already mentioned. Make the gold differential shifted slightly to the side that holds it for the champion blocks, to make it easier to see who has the lead. Having it in the center and having it colored is nice, but having it slightly off sent and having the team color would allow for a quicker understanding of who has the lead. Another thing that Profcory brought up were parts of the HUD like kills and tower kills not showing up until one happened. I'm not sure what the design choice for these not being shown until one happens was but it doesn't make sense to me. I would much rather see every possible stat that a team could increase and have it start at 0 rather than having it appear when it happened. The Dragon counter has a bad design to it in the updated HUD. Currently the Icons only take up a small portion of the screen and aren't obtrusive. In the updated HUD they are given a large black bar under turret kills, kills, and gold. An adjustment to make would be to display them from the edges of the teams logos. Shifting the game time to the center of the HUD in a spot similar to the current HUD would make this possible.

Edit: someone mentioned player cams, possibly doing something similar to what OGN does would be a way to incorporate them.

TL;DR

Stats should be at the bottom
Keystones would be nice to see
Gold differential is nice, but make it shift slightly to the side who has the lead than being in the center
Parts of the HUD only showing up after they happen is weird, show them at 0
Dragon Counter is way to big, make it smaller

Gebos7/23/2016, 8:15:29 PM7 votes

To keep it simple, there's two main problems with this set up:

It feels lopsided and awkward with 70% of the info on the left
No keystones

Johr Dinh7/23/2016, 10:57:06 PM7 votes

Eyes are side to side, that's how we read information. This is top down, asymmetrical, it's distracting being on one side, looks like an old 4:3 monitor (which was fine at the time) but this isn't even centered which is just very uncomfortable to watch.

I understand the philosophy of using a widescreen monitor's space more efficiently like a UI for photo/video editing programs or something like that, but it doesn't work for this imo. Some have suggested spliting the bars on each side of the screen, and that may help, tho some say they wanna compare stuff side by side. A thin bar on the bottom with the same information would help, that's another route.

We appreciate the motivation to redesign the spectator experience for a cleaner, more efficient look, but this isn't it...not yet anyways. This just makes me feel like i'm holding my hand over my left eye while I watch LCS.

Lanceworks7/23/2016, 7:05:51 PM7 votes

I don't like how little ceremony a PENTAKILL gets.

The game timer should be in the middle rather than to right of team red side.

Also it is really hard to tell the different between the kill counter and the tower counter at the top. Maybe make the icons pop out a bit more?

spongey17/23/2016, 6:13:53 PM6 votes

I think it looks pretty good but I personally like all the stats on the bottom because it's easier to quickly glance at the bottom than to move your eyes across the screen.

Pennyfeather7/23/2016, 8:02:21 PM6 votes

While I respect the other commenters' opinions (and I'm sure you do too since you're asking for them) I think a lot of the derision about beauty and readability are a result of an understandable aversion to change. Given a season with a new HUD, I'm sure the changes would grow on people, and new viewers wouldn't bat an eyelash. Now, my feedback: – I prefer the Time centred on the scoreboard. – I'd prefer the Baron/Dragon live-status indicators to be located on the top hud element. – Rather than the green circle, I think returning to Ultimate ability icons would be valuable information and still readable now that there's a distinct outer circle showing the remaining cooldown. – I'd prefer to see all scoreboard elements from the start of the match, not only when a team puts up a tower or kill. – I'd like to see Trinket and Active Item cooldowns displayed if possible. – Finally, I really like being able to see Champion info in the current spectator client (MR, MS, armour etc.) especially because I like to see pros' skill order. I can totally understand sacrificing this info, though as a shoutcaster I'd still want to have access to it somehow so I can inform the viewer.

Solerian7/23/2016, 6:18:14 PM6 votes

I think the layout is overall pretty smooth and fixes a lot of the issues of the last HUD, but I really wish you'd figure out some way to bring back player cams. I like seeing them, as it helps separate watching eSports from just spectating these players in game. Also, just like physical sports, you can always see the player and the game, so that's important imo.

Tanzil7/23/2016, 6:24:00 PM5 votes

Can we have this in-game client? With the Caster audio broadcasting through the game? I would like to spectate the game my own way to be honest

Zieka8/3/2016, 3:54:06 AM4 votes

This doesn't seem to be much of a benefit to any viewer other than maybe those viewing it on their phones. The asymmetry is really distracting from the game itself which is where the focus should be. Additionally, cutting off width of the viewing area offers a less immersive experience as it conflicts with the natural field of vision for humans. Also, the sidebar when collapsed feels awkward with its current dimensionality (maybe shift to 2 rows oppose to the 2 column layout).

When viewing the game currently, I mostly focus on the bottom panel with the items because it has almost all the information you need in a much more compact view with much more clarity (simple line items). I would love to see a version where you start with that panel and add summoner and ult information/timers.

To me the new design feels like it takes what was clear with the old design and then breaks that information across multiple lines and stacks it, ultimately making it slower to consume.

Gator Raid7/23/2016, 7:04:51 PM4 votes

I like the new layout, but would prefer the stats on the bottom. Having them on one side makes the screen feel uneven and messes up that smooth up-down-center eye movement pattern.

TheDairyArea7/23/2016, 7:09:00 PM4 votes

I think the info at the top of the screen would be more clear and easier to comprehend if the difference in team color was more apparent. The dragon timer being placed above the minimap is odd to me also. If I'm playing the game I tab and look to the top of my screen for that info, so I think it would just feel more natural if moved to the top of the screen.

Morphasz7/23/2016, 7:24:28 PM4 votes

I like the idea of a new HUD, but I am not impressed with this model.

DeathlySushi7/24/2016, 2:00:00 AM4 votes

I don't want to sound negative but I tried watching this whole match and the new HUD actually gave me a headache. My focus kept being drawn to the left side instead of the center and it was really distracting. I appreciate you guys trying to change things up and make things better , but this is not better.

Davô7/23/2016, 6:18:35 PM3 votes

If the stats move to the bottom then the hud would be perfect!

Sariok7/23/2016, 7:56:21 PM3 votes

This isn't good...

Profcory7/23/2016, 6:23:53 PM3 votes

I like this a lot. My favorite feature is the individual gold differentials, it's nice to be able to look at a glance and see who has the advantage.

The one part that seems a little weird to me how the kill and tower counters didn't appear until after at least one happened. It kind of feels like if they didn't show the point totals in an NBA or NFL game until one team scored, rather than just showing 0-0. Also, the top bar actually feels a little too small compared to the screen.without those stats to widen it a bit.

Overall, though, seems like a nice update.

NABoardsAccount7/23/2016, 8:12:06 PM3 votes

Ok, ill make it as short as i can.

I wold prefer to see how much gold each player has over gold diferentials. Its not the same to have 500 gold differential when each player has 15k than when they have 5k. PLace it where the differential is but in each players box.

Mastery Chosen (thunderlords, strength of ages, winspeaker, etc) should be visible and below the ultimate cooldown indicator and above gold.

I prefer the old dragon and baron counter, it was better and it didnt filled such a big space. This new one feels less exciting.

Game timer is better on the left of the teams names or in the middle splitting each team dragons, not on the right.

It would also be good if we could use the new game client to see live broadcast so we can choose which part we want to see, like other games already have, with us being able to choose a commentator language (i am not from NA but i like to watch the US stream because i understand english and its more entertaining than my language one).

Kill announcements should be more celebrated than old ones, not less... specially quadra's and penta's.

Errlang7/23/2016, 7:42:59 PM3 votes

Having the stats on the left is extremely distracting.

fuzzy nukes7/23/2016, 8:52:22 PM3 votes

I understand that updates are always needed, but I just don;t like what they're trying to do here.

netsuad7/23/2016, 7:48:29 PM3 votes

Having lots of stuff on the left is super weird and akward

AchillesStrokin7/23/2016, 6:55:39 PM3 votes

I like the format of the sidebar taken from watch.lolesports.com. I usually pop out that sidebar, put it on my 2nd monitor, and watch the games from gaming.youtube.com in "theater mode", since the twitter scrawl at the bottom of watch.lol...com doesn't interest me.

I'd like to see the "Baron Powerplay" graphic that broadcast usually puts up integrated into the spectator client. I like the gold layout at top center, but think that kills need to be emphasized - **bolded **or made a contrasting hue. It's a bit hard to pick out the information with just a glance.

something that you may need to talk to the API guys about, but I think in addition to the gold differential in the center of the left column, that 2 of them "gold in pocket" and "gold in inventory" would be kind of interesting. Kind of like a way to tell that "Sure, Reignover is up 400 gold but he's spent 1.1k on potions and elixirs, and hasn't backed in a while so he has 1400g in his pocket, so Xmithie is actually ahead at the moment on items and stats..." I don't know if that'd clutter the interface, sliding the "total gold differential" up a bit and squeezing in a "practical gold differential" underneath it.

Tract7/24/2016, 3:23:05 AM2 votes

Very bad decision for League's future as an Esport. No player cam takes some of the feel away on its own. Having the HUD on the left just feels strange, at least put it on the right. It doesnt show nearly enough either. I personally dont even feel the current spectator HUD is that crowded at all. I have no problem with it in any way. We really dont need this much to be taken out. This new HUD just doesnt show enough at ALL. I really really dislike it, I dont even know if I am interested in watching the LCS anymore if this is how it will look every time. Why cant we see the gold, they keystones at least, its just not good. I am sure that the dev team put alot of effort and thought into it but personally I just really dislike the feel. It has just too little, and is in the wrong part of the screen. One of the biggest issues I have is the player cams tho. It just takes SO MUCH OF THE PERSONALITY OUT OF THE ESPORT. We dont need this much visability, the old hud was fine. Put the player cams back. Please. This HUD could work, but it would need major changes before I personally consider it an improvement over the current HUD. I mean no offense to the dedication and effort of the team behind it, but I feel that their vision is somewhat misaligned with that of many of the viewers, including me. It is certiantly salvageable in my eyes, but it just needs more, less is not always more, it doesnt need to be this trimmed down. And PUT THE PLAYER CAMS BACK.

kDrakari7/24/2016, 4:46:17 AM2 votes

I REALLY hate having the action not centered. I wouldn't mind if one team's stats were down one side and the other on the other, but not having the actual gameplay centered is really uncomfortable to me.

MangoSm00thi37/23/2016, 6:46:30 PM2 votes

Can you make the background of the bar transparent but with a little color, so you can still see the action on the side but the stats bar wouldn't be blocking the game play? It may just be me, but I'm just used to the stats being on the bottom, I think it just looks better that way. And the last thing is that instead of the champion portraits, just put the player cams in there. I personally don't think we need to see the portraits, but I enjoy looking at the player cams sometimes.

III BAKURYU III 7/23/2016, 6:34:09 PM2 votes

The stat board on the left is a little annoying also what was up with the old version? This set up and the older one are the same, but more annoying sure the camera can have a higher bird's eye view when the action starts but if someone is in the bush to the left at bot you can't see them.

ALSO WHY does riot ALWAYS Have a new set ups for the viewers or a Patch that shakes things up for the LCS. Tower changes literally few weeks before Playoffs and a few weeks before WORLDS 2016 ??????????????

Kürama7/23/2016, 6:54:46 PM2 votes

It's ugly and doesn't blend with the thematic of the map.
The animations of kill announcement are gone, now it's just bland.
Mid-screen announcements are gone, now it's hard to follow who killed who (which player killed which player, not champs)
Having everything on the left side of the screen is looks, stupid to be honest. It blocks off a portion of the screen whereas the old HUD doesn't and hurts my eyes.
Everything at the top looks cluttered and unclear. It now requires effort to retrieve information from the top.
This HUD is a turnoff and ultimately accomplishes nothing you wanted it to accomplish.

It's more cluttered than it was.
It's less understandable at a glance.
It doesn't give the viewer more "game or action" space because a quarter of the screen is taken up by the ugly HUD on the left.

bjergerfan917/23/2016, 6:21:06 PM2 votes

Very cool! But the champion portraits take way too much of the screen up and I prefer it on the bottom

ahruss7/23/2016, 7:05:32 PM2 votes

Looks great, but two things would make it a lot better:

Use the ult ability icon instead of just a green circle to show its cooldown.
Add the keystone mastery icons somewhere. (like below the ult cool down, maybe)

Shadowatom7/24/2016, 8:59:17 AM2 votes

After Baron is taken, could a timer come up in the baron timer's place that shows the remaining duration for the baron buff perhaps? or maybe it would be better placed near the team's name/score.
For the pentakill, I have an idea of the champion's splash art coming up above the map where the kill feed normally would be, with the player's name and maybe the kill order, the player's stats (something along the lines of Xth career penta/kills this season/total career kills), damage dealt that fight, etc. Just to give a bigger celebration to penta kills.
I personally would prefer slightly larger icons for summoners and ults, but that might simply be personal preference.
I think one thing we lost in this is the ability to see where most of a team's gold actually is. We can see if someone is beating their opponent in gold, but who has more gold on a team, the midlaner or ADC? or maybe even the top laner or jungler, obviously this information isn't around anymore, and I think it is fairly important.
Because of how much information needs to effectively be represented and displayed during the games, I think it would be best if the player stats shuffled through a set rotation of stats (gold, KDA, CS, items, keystones, etc), with some things remaining constant (summoner spells, ult timers, player names, champions, maybe KDA or CS could go here).
I've actually watched the video over several times now and have gotten fairly used to seeing the stats on the left, and it actually seems fairly fine now that I've gotten used to it. Just center the top scoreboard with the gameplay section though. Also I think that the compacting of the stats is kind of pointless since it only shows the players' HP when we can usually see it on the screen during a team fight, so would recommend either taking it away during team fights (make it transparent perhaps) or add a few features to it such as CC effects.

Of course my other complaints are simply centering the game clock and having the dragon emblems come from the center and extend outwards, but past that I don't feel like there's too much wrong with this compared to the current one. Obviously a big complaint is player cams, and perhaps that could be remedied by the player cams coming up every now and then at the bottom of the screen after a big play (pentas, stolen barons/dragons, game winning team fights, etc).

Zephyrhawk7/25/2016, 1:51:55 AM2 votes

Really don't like the stats bar on the left side... Makes the viewing experience seem perpetually off-kilter when the game screen feels off center.

JFKN7/23/2016, 6:23:01 PM2 votes

Great job guys! It looks fantastic. My only suggestion is make the kill score by the teams symbol slight bigger or bolder for easier recognition. Overall amazing tho. Nice work.

KnightRider7/24/2016, 5:00:28 AM2 votes

IMO, this is horrible. It's just so boring. There are no player cams, which is one of the most entertaining things to look at when things are happening or just happened. It's just so flat and boring. It looks much more suitable for a side bar for a twitch stream or something. It feels like it's just some overlay that's lazily added by OBS or something. The only singular thing I find nice about it is the gold difference. I honestly think this is one of the most uninspiring and flat designs I've ever seen. Just meh. The left side would be WAY better if it wasn't just big squares for each champ 100% covering a large slice of the screen. Look at the champ images in the old client, how they are rounded squares with gaps between them. It just looks and feels way better. This new design looks like something someone would do how has zero photoshop skills and can only make squares.

Like others have said, moving everything from the bottom middle where people are used to seeing it, just to be different, isn't appealing. I shouldn't have to look way off to the left to see important things. They should be in the middle like they are when we are playing and like where they are currently.

The dragon counter just looks horrible, And what's with this single highlighted edge next to things? Are we trying to make flat Windows Metro designs or when Apple change IOS to have a flat design? What's next, flat ribbons in the launcher like in MS Office? People hate both of those because they are just lifeless and boring. Please get away from that crappy design philosophy. It truly does suck and it's boring.

The kill feed is nice though.

Crazy4aday7/23/2016, 8:57:21 PM2 votes

This new HUD just makes the game feel very weird and just not right. I definitely encourage a change to the HUD but not changes that change the location and what stats are shown I believe it should include small changes. But if this HUD is much be implemented then at least move the left star bar on the bottom of the screen and smaller. But in all I do not like this change to the ESports HUD.

DREADN0UGHT7/23/2016, 6:13:43 PM2 votes

Looks pretty fucking neat!