• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Why does the PS4's "Library" app STILL suck???

A

AwRy108

Member
I have a rather terrific amount of software on my PS4, but, due to the way that the system's UI works, much of it gets bumped off the main view and dumped into the "Library" app.

I went to browse my library last night, and, although SOONY made a few changes to it with the last big firmware update, I quickly determined that it's still pretty terrible. Here's why:

  • It's slow to load in the icons
  • The icons & fonts are too big, so too few of them are displayed at once
  • The entries display almost zero information about content unless you click through them, despite the large amount of empty space that accompanies the icon
  • There's no "list" viewing option
  • Non-game apps (eg. Amazon Video) still show up in the Game-only sorting option
  • Entries for betas are listed, even if the beta no longer exists
  • Entries for demos don't actually denote that they're demos (WTF???)
  • There's no way to generate a list that contains only installed titles
  • The "Library" app should be located at the top of the UI
Doesn't SOONY have a means of gathering user feedback about the usability of their UI's? Or even an internal team that evaluates the usability and effectiveness of their UI's as time passes? Seeing as they've sold 20+ million consoles, it only seems sensible that they keep out in front of things like this, as the library of games is only going to continue to expand.
 
D

Derpyduck

Banned
Just another reminder of how slow Sony has been to update the OS/UI, despite the console being out over a year. Why do I not have the option to hide items in the Library? Why are the Destiny Alpha and Beta taking up spots on my list? Why is there no way to remove demos? Sony's OS team are awful.
 
D

Deadpool_X

Banned
I'm with you. I love my PS4, but Microsoft spoiled me with being able to pin what I want to see front and center. Shoot, even if Sony would give me the ability to make folders like Nintendo does on my 3ds and Wii U, I'd be happy.
 
F

Finale Fireworker

Member
I hate the PS4 OS.

Can anybody explain to me why all my games appear intermingled with the system apps? Is it recently played up front? It drives me insane, there is no organization to it.

God I miss the XMB.
 
SerTapTap

SerTapTap

Member
I don't mind the look of the default view, I like the big icon only view. Add much "details" beyond that and it'd get insanely cluttered. I do wish they would give a list view (though I think it's the same or more items per page than XMB ever had as-is) and most important let us hide stuff like demos and betas or even just games we wish to disavow. Amazon being in Games is totally a bug or something that should be fixed.

I wouldn't really say it sucks though. It's vastly better than the download list and aside from the lack of sortability, better than XMB by a lot as well. I'm not sure why icons are slow to load, but even Steam Big Picture has issues with this so maybe it's harder to do timely than I think.
 
H

Harp

Member
Why do people make such a big deal over a few secs of loading an icon, why not just read the name of the game. Also your 15 most recent games are on the main bar. Your telling me your constantly playing 15 games between playing the last game?
 
wit3tyg3r

wit3tyg3r

Member
The entire PS4 UI needs to be completely overhauled. I really dislike the main XMB with all of the apps and games jumbled together. I know that it puts your most used apps/games on there and the most recent app/game shows first, but I really dislike having zero organization.

I would almost prefer something like the Library to be the primary interface (but, of course with all of OP's suggestions and critiques taken into account).

I really hope they fix this soon. It's a hot mess and it's rather difficult to find exactly what I want, especially since 100% of my PS4 games are digital.
 
B

Bravo123

Neo Member
My main gripe with the Library section on PS4 is that there is no way to quickly launch installed games.
It's counter-productive having to press on the game you want, wait for the game-page to load then press start.
Should be a 1 button press to launch/download a game from library.

Or just add folders Sony ;)
 
A

AwRy108

Member
Deadpool_X said:
I'm with you. I love my PS4, but Microsoft spoiled me with being able to pin what I want to see front and center. Shoot, even if Sony would give me the ability to make folders like Nintendo does on my 3ds and Wii U, I'd be happy.
Click to expand...

If the Library app on the PS4 was actually improved by making the bulk of the changes I mentioned, I don't think I'd want folders. I like how responsive and uncluttered the UI is, and I feel like Folders run the risk breaking one or both of these aspects.

Being able to "pin" things manually would be nice.
 
J

Jellzy

Neo Member
Zombie James said:
Is "SOONY" a thing now?
Click to expand...

Whilst it can be grating at times it's only fair. Communication regarding anything Playstation has been lacking especially in terms of OS updates and features etc. Ironically enough it's the one front where Microsoft has improved drastically. Not just communicating these improvements but also implementing them in a fairly rapid manner. Perhaps they should start using the phrase, '4theplayers'.
 
G

GreyOcelot

Member
are people really using more than 15 apps or games so often that they are going through the library all the time? this should be near the bottom on the priority list
 
V

VanWinkle

Member
The "Soony" thing diminishes what is an otherwise pretty good post. There are issues with it, and I really hope they fix some of that stuff. But yeah, you're looking for bad replies when you put that kind of stuff in there.
 
A

AwRy108

Member
GreyOcelot said:
are people really using more than 15 apps or games so often that they are going through the library all the time? this should be near the bottom on the priority list
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that any time you install a game--whether it's from the disc or via PSN--it suddenly takes priority on the UI, even if you don't launch said software. So, for instance, if you downloaded this month's free PS+ content, you suddenly have a significant chunk of your UI taken over by titles that you might not be actively using, despite wanting them installed for future access.
 
pr0cs

pr0cs

Member
I regularly get games listed with the wrong icon which is annoying as hell. I hope soony in their next patch adds at least some basic organization in the games library because what we have now is abysmal
 
G

GreyOcelot

Member
AwRy108 said:
Keep in mind that any time you install a game--whether it's from the disc or via PSN--it suddenly takes priority on the UI, even if you don't launch said software. So, for instance, if you downloaded this month's free PS+ content, you suddenly have a significant chunk of your UI taken over by titles that you might not be actively using, despite wanting them installed for future access.
Click to expand...

i mean, i understand i guess. but i'm never jumping around between so many different games and apps that i need to jump into the library more than once a month. just seems silly to want the library to be all robust when there's a ton of other shit they should be working on like custom themes/backgrounds, folders, suspend/resume, dlna, native audio/video w/ custom soundtrack support, friend notifications, etc etc etc
 
SerTapTap

SerTapTap

Member
family_guy said:
I've started using voice commands.
Click to expand...

They are pretty nice. I always use it for Capture Gallery because I use it fairly frequently but not often enough for it to not fall off the front page.

pr0cs said:
I regularly get games listed with the wrong icon which is annoying as hell.
Click to expand...

Is there a proper way to fix that? I just deleted and redownloaded the game when it happened, which worked but is a bit much.
 
J

Jonnax

Member
One day there might be a new firmware update to fix it. But I think Sony's pattern so far has been biannual. So we may be waiting a few more months.

Look forward to E3? Lol
 
M

mattp

Member
what's frustrating is, the basic ui of the ps4 works great. there's just a handful of relatively tiny tweaks that could be it SO much better to use

why isn't Library to the left of the main list? it should be where "whats new" currently is
hide fucking demos etc in library unless you toggle them on. and a few filtering options(with configurable default settings for these filters)
 
A

AwRy108

Member
mattp said:
what's frustrating is, the basic ui of the ps4 works great. there's just a handful of relatively tiny tweaks that could be it SO much better to use
Click to expand...

Pretty much this. Kinda sums up the story of all PlayStation hardware since the launch of the PS3. The frustration with the PS4's UI, at least for me, is that it's SO CLOSE to being exactly what it needs to be; but then it'll take SONY the next 5 years to get it to 100%.
 
E

Ebolarama

Banned
mattp said:
what's frustrating is, the basic ui of the ps4 works great. there's just a handful of relatively tiny tweaks that could be it SO much better to use

why isn't Library to the left of the main list? it should be where "whats new" currently is
hide fucking demos etc in library unless you toggle them on. and a few filtering options(with configurable default settings for these filters)
Click to expand...

Good ideas. I find the What's New section to be laughably cluttered. The streamlined friends feed for the XBO is very well done, if you're into seeing what your friends are up to. Maybe What's New should be tweaked to fit what is otherwise a clean and efficient UI.
 
S

SURGEdude

Member
mattp said:
what's frustrating is, the basic ui of the ps4 works great. there's just a handful of relatively tiny tweaks that could be it SO much better to use

why isn't Library to the left of the main list? it should be where "whats new" currently is
hide fucking demos etc in library unless you toggle them on. and a few filtering options(with configurable default settings for these filters)
Click to expand...

This is what drives me fucking nuts. The interface has great fundamentals and is quick as a whip, easily besting MS in both cases. But the feature-set is dogshit and has barely progressed since launch. A year and a half later and we still have almost zero customization. I really don't understand it.
 
noomi

noomi

Member
I wish my library didn't show games I downloaded and deleted. I still have destiny alpha showing up... when would I ever need to download it again?
 
Y

YianGaruga

Banned
The only thing that Sony was good at in the past years was securing great games for their platforms. UI and usability on Vita and PS4 and the Playstation Store are garbage. Something really needs to change
 
D

D-VoN

Member
Derpyduck said:
Just another reminder of how slow Sony has been to update the OS/UI, despite the console being out over a year. Why do I not have the option to hide items in the Library? Why are the Destiny Alpha and Beta taking up spots on my list? Why is there no way to remove demos? Sony's OS team are awful.
Click to expand...

Sony is a hardware company, not a software company. I guess that could explain a lot of it.
 
pr0cs

pr0cs

Member
Sir TapTap said:
Is there a proper way to fix that? I just deleted and redownloaded the game when it happened, which worked but is a bit much.
Click to expand...

I don't know, i'm scared to delete the game because I'd hate to lose my save game. Do you know if deleting the game deletes all associated saves too?
 
xrnzaaas

xrnzaaas

Member
I personally don't mind the library, because I don't own that many games (yet). What I hate is how hdd management is hidden. I want to instantly know how much space the games and the saves need (Apotheon needs 300MB - wtf) and how much free gigs are left. Same with online storage.
 
L

LifeLike

Member
Man Called Aerodynamics said:
The joke is that Sony's promised updates and fixes are always coming "soon" but never actually arrive.
Click to expand...

I'm still waiting for my Z3 Compact lollipop update. They told us beginning of next year last October. I suppose beginning of next year is the whole first quarter so they still have till the end of march to release it. Classic Sony. But then I suppose they're fixing all the bugs in lollipop before releasing the whole thing which is good thing. But it's always taking forever with them. :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Angeline Era Is A New 3D "Bump-Slash" Adventure Inspired By Hydlide & Ys
0
297
Bullet Club replied
PS5 update September 13, 2023 rolls out globally with new accessibility, audio, and social feature enhancements.
2
84
7K
ZoukGalaxy replied
  • Poll
Palworld has, once again, highlighted the on going deficiencies in PC Game Pass and the Xbox app on Windows 11 (Windows Central)
Hardware Platform 2 3
111
12K
Unknown Soldier replied
Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 3 Released: Over 1000 Fixes and Changes
Hype
1
781
Freeman76 replied
Tomb Raider Remastered Trilogy is the Best Way to Remaster Old Titles
9
762
Con-Z-epT replied
Top Bottom