Request Pinball Arcade Interface - Time for an overhaul?

Pinball Arcade is my favourite game right now and Farsight have done an outstanding job with the pinball tables and gameplay side, and getting me interested in the pinball community in general.

However for me the one area of TPA which I feel needs work is the interface.

I'm interested to see if other players are happy with the interface as is, happy if it was tweaked slightly, or like myself believe it is due a complete overhaul.

I own the iOS version with all Tables and the 360 version, below is a quick list of issues I feel are evident across both systems:

Swirly background - why?
Whilst browsing which table to select the music changes to match, can see why but a bit annoying
When selecting a table a sound effect taken from that table is played eg "It's Alive!" from Monsters Bash, this is annoying after literally the 2nd time of hearing it, and could be skipped altogether, just want to get to the table and pinball quicker!
Whilst loading tables the swirly background and music stops, ok for people who are used to it but for new people it looks like the game has crashed, I don't think anyone would be too bothered if the swirly background/music was removed completely
Menu sound effect is annoying, what is it meant to be exactly? Its especially annoying when inputting initials on tables
Why have a whole screen when selecting what table to play, why not have a nice clean high res list instead?
The whole idea of pressing the pinball start button to select a table in the menu seems gimmicky, you do that when playing the game anyway, so it's not necessary in the main menu as well
Flyers seem very low res and not pretty to look at, almost seem like an after thought
Table Details could be expanded upon massively, why is there not a link to the ipdb's specific table page, official youtube promo videos etc

iOS only - When downloading tables every month it always defaults to the Arabian Nights music and swirly background for some reason, as we have to redownload the maps every month could this just be changed to a simple loading bar eg no gimmicky swirly background or Arabian Nights music?
iOS only - Already mentioned on other threads but purple Solar System carpet - why???

I actually like the fact that the music changes and it plays a sound effect when you choose a table. I think those are very nice touches. I do agree on the flyers and that the table details could be expanded a bit. Ultimately though I just want to play the tables (and in the case of the 360, more than the original 4)!

I would like a list system where it would give menus organizing tables alphabetically with options to switch to chronological, manufacturer, designer or custom. Maybe a user rating system could be implemented as well. I do like the appearance of the table shown in 3d with the attract mode. I would like to keep that in a window when the table is highlighted on the menu. Just needs to be a quicker way to navigate things.

I would prefer they work on fixing the tables. Once the tables are perfect they can work on making the menu pretty.

When we have 20 tables or so, they'll have to change the menu interface, but for now I'm with brakel: Get the issues with the gameplay (physics, lighting, etc.) ironed out first.

Although I do think it does need some work I'd rather see them put their development time into fixing existing issues and supplying new tables at this point. When they get to around 20 or so tables working perfectly on all platforms maybe revisit the UI for an overhaul. The UI seems like a small thing to fix but in reality it's tied to almost all other game functions so it would be a time consuming process to replace it with something better. Yes, it is kind of a pain at times but it works for now so they should just leave it alone while they spend their time on more important things.

The ui is perfectly funtional. Keep it untill next year and give it an overhaul when we celebrate the 1 yr anniversary.

I agree about no hurry on it. Until we reach about 20 tables it is pretty manageable and fine as it stands.

Something like Hyperspin would be nice, just the game's title logo would be tasteful. I'm not really that bothered though, just a little bored...

I'd like a total redesign to the entire menu system, I've played with some ideas in my mind.

I would merge the main menu and the table menu into one column-based layout. Leftmost column that is presented when the game is launched contains a list of available machines (with just their title images in a fixed-sized boxes). The options for the selected machine would appear next to it in the centre column. To the right of that would be the panning view of the machine with the start button laid over it. To the left of the machine list there would be a hidden filter column with options for sorting by manufacturer, release date or name (plus any other useful filters you might think of).

The way this works is that when the game is launched, the machine list would be visible on the left with the last played machine selected, its options on the centre and the panning view on the right. Move the layout left or right by swiping on touchscreen devices/trackpads (allows you to hide the left and centre columns altogether and enjoy the view of the machine), some sensible buttons on consoles. Reveal the filter bar by swiping. When you select a machine from the main machine list, the list automatically hides to give most screen real-estate to the currently selected machine.

What this does is it allows you to quicker return to the machine you were playing last time you quit the game. It allows more flexible and quicker navigation - no more waiting when returning from table menu to main menu and vice versa; they're both basically present at the same time. Finally, it's easier to find the machine you're looking for with the filter bar and more compact machine list.

I can mock some of this up in the weekend and post a picture it if someone's interested in seeing it.

I liked the PHOF layout, nothing was really wrong with it.

I would like to see a table select menu in a design similar to what Tuomas was describing utilizing columns and filters. Would be quicker and more intuitive, especially for touch devices. Obviously, what we have now works. A redesign should be something to shoot for down the road.

Tuomas has a good idea there; you could either eliminate the extra sequence of the panning camera and just start the game or have an option for a full-screen pan. Anything that's more iTunes-like is good in my book.