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Please allow full HUD removal — Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst Forums
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Please allow full HUD removal

Big fan of the original Mirror's Edge and as soon as I started playing Catalyst it felt so great being back on the rooftops. The feel of the original is still here and that's all that matters. However, after having completed the first two missions I've stopped playing missions, hoping that full HUD removal will be available before I continue. I asked before buying the game whether running vision/HUD can be removed and was told both could be turned off. However, this is not true. The bright red GPS marker is constantly present during missions and 90% of the open world free-roaming. The GPS marker can SOMETIMES be turned off during open world runs but not always.

The GPS marker has two effects on my gameplay experience:

1. It takes away from the puzzle solving/navigation aspect of the missions. I'm in no hurry to get from A to B and actually enjoy figuring out where to go myself. The constant "guide" and hand-holding makes me spend more time looking at the red dot rather than the architecture.

2. It ruins the atmosphere/immersion as well as obstructs my appreciation of all the art in the game. The artists working on the game clearly went out of their way to create truly beautiful landscapes and colorscapes with a ton of fascinating architecture. But, imagine watching a work of art such as the Mona Lisa or some famous sculpture while a burning-bright red bee is constantly moving around the artwork. Our eyes are incredibly sensitive to movement and by reflex always process any movement of the GPS marker. Maybe its just me, coming from a FPS background, that keep noticing the marker constantly? I just want to "take the HUD off" and immerse myself in this beautiful world the developers and artists have created.

The original Mirror's Edge had zero HUD and its part of what made it so visually captivating. Nothing obstructed you from experiencing the world the artists had made. If you were lost you could hold down a button and the screen would move towards your next target. Simple. Immersive.

This game has, like so many other games do, too much HUD. Does no one in the developing team ever mention immersion as a big factor in making and selling a game? Anyway, this is becoming a bit of a rant but it is only because I like the game so darn much and it is 90% there for me. Just allow me to get rid of all cyborg/terminator text gps minimap HUD stuff and I'll be 100% satisfied. Use other cues like sound and controller vibration. Even the helicopter chases are ruined for me with the huge minimap telling me exactly where the helicopter is and exactly how much time I have left. I would have enjoyed theses chases a ton more had they been like the original; hudless... Allow me to use my own eyes and ears to locate and avoid the enemy. Same thing for all the openable doors. Just make the openable doors look different from other doors. The big red "OPEN" text is unimmersive, just like the contextual prompts when grabbing computer chips and so on. The computer boxes look really distinctive. I learned after half-an hour how they look like and that I need to press X to open them. No need to remind me everytime.

So, please, in the next update allow for the option to COMPLETELY remove the HUD. And/or have a button (like L3 on ps4) assigned to switch on and off the GPS marker.

Comments

  • I think the reason for this is the open world aspect of this game. the last one was level based and semi-linear, so there wasn't a need for a HUD like that, as there was only one way to really progress.
  • I don't have the game installed right now so I can't test it again, but try using the following console command: UI.drawEnable 0

    I'm not sure if it removes the helicopter minimap and enemy indicators, but from my testing it definitely removes the mission marker.
  • CDM510 wrote: »
    I think the reason for this is the open world aspect of this game. the last one was level based and semi-linear, so there wasn't a need for a HUD like that, as there was only one way to really progress.

    Yes, but the missions are still linear levels like in the first game.

    Regardless, it's been my experience with at least two recent games that they allow full HUD removal regardless of whether they are linear or not. DOOM and Far Cry Primal both allowed full HUD removal (FCPrimal especially benefited from this. Can't recommend enough.)

  • I don't have the game installed right now so I can't test it again, but try using the following console command: UI.drawEnable 0

    I'm not sure if it removes the helicopter minimap and enemy indicators, but from my testing it definitely removes the mission marker.

    Yeah, I wish I had it on PC, but my version is the PS4 one. Thanx anyway!
  • killchan
    64 posts
    edited June 2016
    in this game , using UI.drawEnable 0 does what it says a little too much: the map won'show locations, icons, safehouses or captions anymore, and you won't be able to see the pause screen.
    this solution looks still good to me, too bad I had to create a user.cfg cause I can't figure out how to open the console while playing.
    EDIT nevermind, it's the key next to !1. perfect. just what I needed.
  • You can disable everything but the quest icons in the settings. I played the whole game with all the HUD turned off, but I did use full runner's vision because it helps in not getting stuck.
  • MichaelT wrote: »
    You can disable everything but the quest icons in the settings. I played the whole game with all the HUD turned off, but I did use full runner's vision because it helps in not getting stuck.

    No you can't. Perhaps, you are thinking of the health and focus bars. In that case yes. But, as I wrote in my post, I'd like to have the option to turn off the "gps" mission marker as well. Ideally, I'd like to turn off interaction prompts, helicopter minimaps, etc as well. My definition of a HUD is any information that you could not possibly see in the real world without wearing a helmet or google glasses and so on.
  • Ah yeah I forgot about the helicopter minimap and the interaction promts. ESPECIALLY THE INTERACTION PROMTS. These things need to go away, I know how to open a door by the end of the game. You're right, they should allow for that.
  • FaithConnors
    133 posts
    edited August 2016
    UI.drawEnable in the console (~) either parameters 0 or 1. Means No/yes

    You could make a macro to press all the buttons for you so you could simply have toggle keys. Or, just press tilde and press up arrow once or twice after typing the command and pressing enter to get previous command.


    Unfortunately i think the red sky beam marker is still shown unless you are at a point where you have can waypoints off.
    "Yeah yeah I'm sure the birds are real impressed Faith, but once you're done showing off think you might concentrate on some actual work?!!" - Merc
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