GUIs

[bayo]

Hello,

I just finish UFO:AI last week. I play it few years ago, and i am globally impressed by the evolution of the game. But, i dont see (or i missed that) an improvement of the GUIs (base management...), it seems to me, nothing have change.

Currently, I work on the web, so a think a lot about GUIs, how to improve it... If someone interesting by, i think i can work on this aspect of the projet, and i hope it can improve some elements. I do not think i have time yet to code something, but i can create prototype, or maquettes (last week, i already take a little time for that).

So, is there any discussion about GUIs (or part of GUI), or persons interesting by thinking about this question ? Have you see some lack on part of the game ? A GUI to improve (for example the geoscape have maybe some little problems, i can explain) ?

I am new here, so i realy dont know how this projet work, and if you need help ?

Thanks a lot for your comments.

[ghosta]

We need any help, that is available

Maybe you can take a look at
http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Especially http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/Proposals/New_UI

[Destructavator]

One quick thing - if someone designs a new GUI, would it be possible to make it more compatible than the current one with widescreen displays?  With the present one in the SVN, everything is stretched out / scaled horizontally on my new computer (which has a widescreen display) out-of-proportion.

[bayo]

Thanks a lot ghosta, maybe i can talk with BTAxis on the wiki.

Destructavator: generally, for simple GUIs without a lot of controls, it's something easy (geoscape). Else, it needs sometime to have more than one version of the controls (position and size), to optimise the space. But sure, it can be a constraint for the developpement, because more and more users have widescreen.

[BTAxis]

The new GUI mockup was made centered around the concept of draggable components. So depending on the implementation, it should work great with widescreen resolutions. You'd just have a bigger area in which to drag the components.

[bayo]

Well, i post some comment into the wiki without any reaction. Maybe you dont work a lot with this wiki, or i say unused thing. MediaWiki is a very nice tool for collaborative work, anyway i can't talk alone.

To not spend my time for nothing (because i dont know if my work is usefull) i upload all i do in this PNG. (Technical problem to upload something bigger than 1 MB into the forum, or something not an image into the wiki (PDF or ZIP can help, maybe)).

http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/images/2.2.1_comment_and_proposal.png

If someone is interested by that, i can move it as a real text into the wiki (but its some hours of upload, a lot of images , and continue to work on.

[Mattn]

hi,

some nice ideas - but i must say that i haven't seen all those in the forum or the wiki until you posted it here, sorry

the images you posted are a little bit too small to get anything out of them. where are the original posts?

[ghosta]

I really like it

[bayo]

Its an HTML document converted into PNG. Little images are just thumbnail, but original one are 1024/xxx (4/3). Ok, i will move it into the wiki today (or in few days), if iv got the time.

I look at the code yesterday, and iv got a little question. Everything is in C (src/client/cl_). I am not sure, but if i test to change something, maybe i am more interesting by C++ to create complex GUI. There are maybe no technical problems with using both C and C++, but is your project allow C++?

[Mattn]

but is your project allow C++?

sorry, no, the game itself will stay c

but if you know c++ and wanna contribute with gui - have a look at the mapeditor (could need some tweaks, too)

also please upload the images - some ideas are looking interesting.

[bayo]

I move it in a new page http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/Proposals/GUI_comment
I link the page nowhere, if it need to rename it? I am very interesting
by any little review, every comment can help to understand how think the UFO:AI user,
what he need, how to improve thing...

Is there any "tutorial" or documentation about the src/client/menu (nodes...)? I
begin to understand a little the software architecture, but a good documentation help a lot.
I dont find any high level explaination in the Doxygen (a global view of how this thing work).

I will take a look at the mapeditor, but yet, i am not very interesting by GUI out of the game.

[Mattn]

sorry, there is no other docu than the doxygen generated.

i had a discussion with geever a few days ago and we finally thought that the best would be the introduction of a third party (GPL + C) lib - but this would result in a shitload of work. and that's why we didn't do it yet - we first have to focus on stabilizing things for the next release (no, no date given yet - still a long way to go .. )

so if you know a good C + GPL lib that is doing menu stuff via openGL and is cross-plattform (at least *nix (linux, windows, bsd, solaris), windows) then please let us know and we can talk about this topic again.

It would also be an option to rewrite our menu system to support moving windows and so on.

[ghosta]

I have thought about the soldier assignment to the dropship:
Currently you just assign them to the craft. This is more or less boring...

You know that I dont like the starting positions being outside the craft. And I also dont like the thoughts about assigning UGVs to weaponslots. In my opinion every starting position should be inside the craft. And the assignment screen is also part of it:

Basically there should be the aircraft in the background and the available starting positions inside the dropship as slots for adding soldiers and ugvs. The soldiers need a 1x1 square and the ugvs a 2x2 square. The assignment works more or less the same way as equipping your soldiers with weapons. Maybe there also can be a "eqip soldier" button and some information about the soldier and the equipment he is wearing.

[Kildor]

bayo, you should look to current 2.3 version, it has some improvements in GUIs, i/e/ remove single aircraft buysell/production

[bayo]

Mattn> i never use any library like that else GLUI, but maybe its not helpfull for your projet. I search C lib and i only find http://libagar.org ; but you also need a skinable GUI?, and i dont think it is. To improve your own "src/client/menu" maybe the more important thing is to provid a generic scrollbar.

ghosta> Its a good idea to use the aircraft like that to assign soldiers, i can create a preview to see. Starting positions outside the craft create sometime strange situation, specially when you already show an alien near your soldiers at the first round. Maybe authors do it to have a faster gameplay? I also never know why alien dont shoot down the aircraft at landing

Kildor> i compile and use the 2.3.dev, but yet, i dont take the time to look at it very well. But i see a lot of improvment.