Ï like BGs inventory system a lot actually, and couldn't stand the NWN one. I don't mind the inventory covering my screen when I enter it - I don't enter the inventory while running around, unless it's in games like WoW where I have loads of ground to cover, and can auto-run (using num lock).

I think Baldur's Gate had an attractive inventory interface, but it was not very functionally designed. First of all, it was too restrictive in terms of space - and the UI screens were all opaque, taking up the entire area.

Neverwinter Nights was miles ahead in terms of functionality, and it was a lot more lenient with inventory space. Also, it was transparent and non-intrusive.

The radial interface received a lot of flak, which I don't understand. It was never meant as your primary way of interacting with the game, merely a base from which you could access everything. You had tons of hotkey slots, and every primary function had a corresponding hotkey.

Overall, i'd say the NWN UI is one of the best i've seen for a game that complex, and I have no idea why it was criticised so much. Apart from aesthetics, it was superior to the NWN2 UI in just about every way.

I don't think that it was criticized that much. At least not in the reviews I read. The one big problem it had was that ugly-ass minimap. Then again, the maps themselves were ugly tilesets, so that was kind of inevitable.

The NWN2 interface really had me scratching my head. All that they had to do basically was copy the first game but they kinda screwed it up. Still, it was better than the interface for any console-to-PC port that I have played.