GUI Design

[Mattn]

please upload and share it somewhere. that would allow us to start to implement different skins for the menus (like we have for the hud already.

[bayo]

... that would allow us to start to implement different skins for the menus (like we have for the hud already.

I really hope we will not doing it. Hud support different layout, not different skins. Skin and layout is not the same subject.

Supporting officially more than one skin is time consumption for nothing. And anyway everybody can already change the skin with pk3.

[H-Hour]

Yes, I think it's an improvement over the existing GUI. But I would also say on the art side I think you could do better. It feels a bit incomplete. Having messed around with the GUI system, though, I'm hesitant to make any critiques because I know you're quite penned in and there's not a lot of room to develop a different concept, short of doing a whole lot of work with the GUI scripts.

[Mattn]

indeed - replacing pk3 files would work, too.

[bayo]

Having messed around with the GUI system, though, I'm hesitant to make any critiques because I know you're quite penned in and there's not a lot of room to develop a different concept, short of doing a whole lot of work with the GUI scripts.

I dont want to be so much off-topic, but I dont understand what you mean. Sure you can ask or say what you need, what work and what dont. Anyway, please be more explicite, or open a new discussion. This thread already talk about many many things without a global coherency.

[mor2]

More pie in the sky ideas for the soldier panel, now with fiddlier buttons!

i love what you are doing 

btw what game are those guns icons from? they look familiar but i cant seem to pin it down 

First image is wrong :-)
There are more buttons on the sidebar (where radar, nation borders and so on placed). XVI button will be shown later in the game.

Also, by my opinion we need not repainting but complete redesign geoscape. But I like color scheme.

i'll try to give it ago for half an hour and will see how it goes (i warn you my paint skill are pitiful)

[mor2]

this the scheme i came up with http://i53.tinypic.com/311s6eh.jpg

1. i used green/blue/brown/metalic colored parts  so you can choose which theme works best for you. (i prefer less "glowy" theme)
2. got past the time frame i set for myself, so i didnt finish the options part and used icons instead (i was planing to leave it as is mins the the 'message options', should be in options).
3. the navigation moved to the bottom right corner, its great but in my opinion less precise/fast than working with the mouse.
the rest is pretty much the same.

EDIT:
side bar, naturally i prefer a side bar, since most monitors are or moving in the direction of 16:9 (so it keeps more working space for our globe) but there is not much you can fit in there, so as such its just a dead spaces for the most part.

[bayo]

* A circle is better is a square, then i think, a right bar is better.
* Scrollbar at right left, is uncommon.

[mor2]

i am not exactly sure what you said, beside liking the right bar (unless its intended so to mimic my enlgish?) .

you can flip it around but i think it has more natural flow in the reading direction.

[H-Hour]

For the top, I like the brown color scheme as it is slightly unexpected for an aliens game, but the buttons on the right look better. I'm not sure about the layout in general, though.

[mor2]

ok so how about this one how is the general layout feels now? any better?

i am trying to decide where to put the menus in II similar to what it looks now or at I as icons strip?

[Origin]

I like this last one alot, I think we should do something in this direction.

Not much to comment, exept I would personally prefer it on the right side of the screen. and do we really need the globe control panel? I mean using the mouse to rotate and zoom works fine (better even). It made sense in the old x-com games since the mouse control was pretty limited.

[H-Hour]

 

i am trying to decide where to put the menus in II similar to what it looks now or at I as icons strip?

I agree with origin about it being on the right side, including the scrollbar. I would say the menus should be icons, but we'll need to do some work to make it clearer what the icons represent.

do we really need the globe control panel? I mean using the mouse to rotate and zoom works fine (better even).

I agree the mouse is much better, but I think it should remain for those users who don't right-click. Otherwise we run the risk of assuming the player has discovered how to rotate when they may not know how. In the future it could be something that could be toggled on/off by the player.

[Crystan]

Otherwise we run the risk of assuming the player has discovered how to rotate when they may not know how.

Well if i renember correctly its now possible to add sequences to the geosphere screen? Iam not sure but i think bayo said something like this.
Then we can just add a tutorial check box in the options which start just after the campaign intro a tutorial.

[H-Hour]

start just after the campaign intro a tutorial.

You can't trust players to follow a tutorial either. If it were anything other than an absolutely vital function, I wouldn't mind so much. But if the player can not rotate the earth he can't play the game, so this needs to be as clear and present as possible.