Menu Ergonomics - PC Platform

[Fender Bender]

 

A lot of the options and functions, especially for items in our backpack, are convoluted and sometimes even redundant.

For example, if I want to harvest a storm lantern, I open my backpack and select the lantern. There  are three options on the bottom-right of my screen: "Use", "Action" and "Drop". I have to click on the "Action" button, then I have to go to the top-left of my screen to click "Harvest", and then I have to go back to the bottom-right of my screen to click "Harvest" again to confirm the command. And that's just for the lantern. The same applies to most tools in our inventory, as well as clothing. That adds up to a lot of unnecessary mouse movement.

It would be a lot simpler, in the case of the lantern for example, to omit the "Action" button and simply have 5 buttons listing the options right off the bat (see below).

 

 

[UTC-10]

I think the example menu is maybe too compact and certain actions should be appreciably separated from the commonly used actions.  It is unlikely that someone hitting Back would actually hit Harvest (using the example you provided) but I know of many a time when I thought I was selecting carrying out a given action and hit Back instead. 

I also think that maybe certain screens might be made more compact as a user selectable thing.  I sometimes find myself running the mouse all over the screen because of where the different screens for various actions leave the cursor.