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UI Adjustments: Battlescape

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H-Hour:
This thread is an attempt to start a slow, step-by-step process of re-evaluating the UI. The GUI Design thread in the Artwork forum has long been throwing around ideas, but there's been no focus on any one thing nor a clear sense of what is do-able at the moment. This thread will focus on the battlescape and I will modify this first post to keep track of what we're working on and what has been settled on.

This will be a heavily moderated thread. Posts should make clear proposals or constructive comments on existing proposals. Posts should also focus on what is do-able in a short time frame. This is not the place to completely revamp the whole UI, and for now the GUI Design thread remains the place to suggest new art styles for the UI. Mockups don't need to be drawn in the existing UI style, but should be able to be implemented in the current style.

Current Focus: Reducing the buttons and complexity
The current default HUD has a lot of buttons on the screen. Let's try and figure out some better ways to group the functions and reduce the complexity of the interface. In addition, there are some features of the althud which reduce the buttons as well as some additional information (particularly soldier stat bars) that should be incorporated in the default HUD.

Specs

* The HUD should be designed within an 800x600 frame. I think our overall UI minimun will likely be 1024x768, but working towards a smaller frame may help us compress where we otherwise might not.
* The proposed HUD should be implementable with the current art style.
* All HUD work has to be approved by Bayo, our resident UI man. He more than anyone else knows what is POSSIBLE.

H-Hour:
First, I want to do a little bit of where-we're-at-now, so that everyone sees what is already available. Proposals should reference a specific change to the default HUD. Attached are screenshots of the default HUD and the Alt Hud, with some notes on what might be used/changed.

The default HUD

* There have already been some productive suggestions for how to streamline the weapon selection, one from Kildor and one from mor2.

* It might be worth thinking about how we can combine the soldier's information, including buttons for popups to inventory/stats, in one location in the bottom bar.
* Also, I think it could be a good idea to try and find a good way to combine all the time reservation buttons. The standing/crouching reservation is particularly unclear without the tooltip.
The Alt HUD

* The level selector really reduces the complexity of finding the right level and the space it requires on the screen. I suggest we try to incorporate it in some way.
* Grouping the buttons that don't actually control actions on the battlescape -- the end turn and options button (what's the other one?) -- is a good idea, I think.
* Having the player stats for health, TU and morale is very good and should be used.
* The buttons below the weapon may be too compressed, because it's not entirely clear what all of them do.

H-Hour:
I have a couple questions for Bayo to start:

1) We can do horizontal bars for health/etc, but is it possible to do vertical bars as well?

2) Is it possible to insert a button onto the edge of a container, as the attached image shows, and would this break with the existing UI style too much?

3) Is it possible to have a box that collapses when not in use? I'm thinking of the left-hand weapon. If there is no weapon, can you change the size of the box or is this not changable based on such parameters?

Bartleby:
and the new gui should work with 16 soldiers, not?

H-Hour:

--- Quote from: Bartleby on October 20, 2010, 01:16:56 pm ---and the new gui should work with 16 soldiers, not?

--- End quote ---

I think it should work with 8 but be easily expandable up to 16 when the time comes. If Bayo is happy with this, I'll add it to the specs above.

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