Stellar Frontier's GUI

[Sandtrooper]

SF's GUI is dull, but thanks to the game's way of assigning the GUI bitmaps to the races in "SF_bmp_misc.sec", you can create custom "skins" for all 4 (or more) races, here is such an example for the Terrans:



It's basic (yeah, I'm that bad at regular graphics, see me in the hockey department, I'm good in it), but it shows how its only for the Terrans (I'm gunna make the others, stay tuned), but IMO, the GUI needs an overhaul. The wireframes can be a problem though, as they're all green, so the choices are:

* To recolour them to be race-specific (like in my Trek Mod),
* Or lower the colour of the GUI graphics.

C & C?

PS: The code:

Code:

VideoWindow    Terran    Video           GUI-T-vid         1  200  stationary    0   100
MainWindow     Terran    Background      GUI-T-ui          1 1024  stationary    0   100
MainWindow     Terran    LeftPanel       GUI-T-lpanel      1   96  stationary    0   100
MapWindow      Terran    Map             GUI-T-map         1  400  stationary    0   100
ChatWindow     Terran    Chat            GUI-T-chat        1  200  stationary    0   100
ChatWindow     Terran    Scroll          GUI-T-scroll      3   16  stationary    0   100

[Sandtrooper]

 

I am literally pulling my hair out after trying to make every race have its own skin, but SF interprets it as a skin for ALL, not for each race. I wish I knew how the coding works, because I've assigned 4 SEC files for each race, and every race has the Terran skin, not their own!

Code:

miscellaneous bitmaps {
#INCLUDE GUIA_bmp_misc.sec( [race]=Arcean )
#INCLUDE GUIT_bmp_misc.sec( [race]=Terran )
#INCLUDE GUID_bmp_misc.sec( [race]=Drengin )
#INCLUDE GUI_bmp_misc.sec( [race]=Pirate )

[NiteHawk]

Hey Sandtrooper,

Unfortunatly there is no way to create multiple GUI's. I will explain as best as I can, it's more geeky.

All bmps require a name (that SF calls apon), and the names cannot be the same, for example, if you do:

Code:

MainWindow     Terran    LeftPanel       sf-t-lpanel      1   96  stationary    0   100
MainWindow     Pirate    LeftPanel       sf-p-lpanel      1   96  stationary    0   100

It will pick the FIRST LeftPanel name, it will not overwrite a variable, sort of speak. So if you define several leftpanels, it will use the first one, (or the last one, I forgot, but the bottom line is it is one assigned per name).. The issue is, if you do something like:

Code:

MainWindow     Terran    LeftPanel1      sf-t-lpanel      1   96  stationary    0   100
MainWindow     Pirate    LeftPanel2       sf-p-lpanel      1   96  stationary    0   100

It will also not work, for reasons that there is no way to design what images SF uses, SF LOOKS for LeftPanel, you cannot change this, if you could, then it would be possible. Unfort, it was left out, so it is not possible. This is how you would do it if it WAS possible:

In sf_bmp_misc:

Code:

MainWindow     [race]    LeftPanel[nr]       sf-[r]-lpanel      1   96  stationary    0   100

In server.scn (or server.dat for online sol):

Code:

miscellaneous bitmaps {
#INCLUDE sf_bmp_misc.sec([race]=Arcean,  [nr]=0, [r]=a)
#INCLUDE sf_bmp_misc.sec([race]=Terran,  [nr]=1, [r]=t)
#INCLUDE sf_bmp_misc.sec([race]=Drengin, [nr]=2, [r]=d)
#INCLUDE sf_bmp_misc.sec([race]=Pirate,  [nr]=3, [r]=p)
}

====

If you take a look at other files, such as the colonies bmp file, you can see there example:

Code:

   colony  [race]  Minor[nr]       sf-[r]-op    36  24  time         50   100
   colony  [race]  Major[nr]    sf-[r]-co    36  32  time         50   100

The reason why THIS works, is because you define the colonies as WELL in design_colonies, defining WHAT images should be picked, which is:

Code:

  [race] Outpost .01 Minor[mr]     3 sexplode [nr]001 [race] 35000     12 ([mr]1004,[mr]5020,[mr]2004,[mr]5501,[mr]7003,[mr]0001,[mr]4010*0*1*0*0*35,[mr]4011*0*1*0*0*35,[mr]4502*0*1*0*0*35)
  [race] Minor   .01 Minor[mr]     3 sexplode [nr]002 [race] 35000     12 ([mr]1005,[mr]5021,[mr]2004,[mr]5502,[mr]7003,[mr]0001,[mr]4012*0*1*0*0*35,[mr]4011*0*1*0*0*35,[mr]4502*0*1*0*0*35)
  [race] Major   .01 Major[mr]     3 sexplode [nr]003 [race] 35000     12 ([mr]1005,[mr]5022,[mr]2004,[mr]5503,[mr]7003,[mr]0001,[mr]4012*0*1*0*0*35,[mr]4012*0*1*0*0*35,[mr]4502*0*1*0*0*35)

Everything works out here, if you look, nr/mr are numbers, so it will never clash with another name, this will create such names as Minor1, Minor2, but never the same name. MR works the same way here, as you see they call the image name including numbers, which you simply cannot change right now in the interface, so it will only have LeftPanel, etc, etc, to work on, not LeftPanel1, LeftPanel2, as it should be, if you could design.

===

To sum it up: When defining the name assigned to the BMP, they cannot be the same, else it uses only one of the bmps you defined, not all of them. However, you cannot change the design of the interface, thus you cannot use different BMP names, so you must use LeftPanel, Video, Background, etc as names. If you could change the design as well to reflect with different BMP name calling, it would work, however, it is internally coded, (If we get the coding it can be transfered into a file for editing) but right now you are stuck with one interface.

I'm sorry if you still don't understand, I know it's strange. I am also apologize if you understand how to mod totally, and know this stuff very well, but I'd like to explain it/why it's not anyways. I'd love to see a totally remade interface, when we have more then 256 colors to use

[Staker]

I have the interface that The_Obliterator Created for Terran... And it isn't for 800x600

[Jibbit]

New Gui i threw up in a couple of hours. this is 24 bit which SF will take. Makes it cleaner and can be changed to any color you want

[ChillFactor]

one single thing that would make this GUI perfect is to change the color on the right panel buttons (census, planets,etc./ bcast, team, irc) so they are more eye-friendly... perhaps change green/yellow for black...

After that is should look tasty lol

[Sandtrooper]

change the color on the right panel buttons...perhaps change green/yellow for black...

Not possible, hardcoded. It's probably controlled by the displayengine file embedded with the EXE.

Lemme explain more: The buttons are whatever color the panel in SF-ui####.bmp is, say if it was dark red, the buttons would be dark red, but the color of the text cannot be changed.

[CloakedKiller]

We don't have that part of the code?
Or you mean you can't mod it individually...

I don't see why we can't come up with a new global UI...
I think the light blue is a bit much, but I think something sharper could spruce things up a bit.

[Jibbit]

If it is possible to change the coding for the GUI, the entire thing needs doing. Not just a face lift. I wont say too much against stardocks original but it seemed to me the GUI was not a high priority. Theres no need for the huge left hand bar taking up half the playing space. And i know that graphics engine file size was a big problem back then. But now we all have 3g of ram, massive amounts of pixels, dual core proccessors and graphics accelerators. SF needs to be upgraded to 24bit PNG and the GUI needs a complete revamp. I have a very cool program (PhotoImpact X3) if anyone interested i can knock up some sharp crispy GUI examples.

One more thing......Drop 800 x 600, anyone running this needs to buy a new computer.

[Jibbit]

This is a general idea of what i'm talking about. It's done in 1024 x 768 just to show it on the lowest res. The text aint great but i only used it in the essence of speed. All of your own ship data is across the top, the map is smaller, but the amount shown is the same just reduced the sizes. The chat window is on the left, it's smaller but i removed the scroll bar and turned em into buttons. in the middle at the bottom is the info/vid window the idea here was to have 2 columns, especially for looking at things like planets or pilots. the six buttons next to the map do the same as the six now under the vid screen. As you can see even in 1024 there is a much bigger playing field. All colours, buttons can be changed the idea was just to show a different GUI. The main thing that i think will not change is the text, coding new ones in would be a proper pain in the ar*e.

Comments please !!

[CloakedKiller]

^ Awesome 

[ChillFactor]

I'm in lvoe with it... I demand this is included on the next update lol
Excellent work Jibbits!
Looks like you have some competition, sand!

[Sandtrooper]

I'm impressed with the layout Jibbit, but I'm not sure making the scrollbar into buttons was a good idea...plus it might look alien to some of the vets. I also wonder what you did with the wireframes as they're not shown (where are you gunna place them?).

I also wish there could be files to change the layout for custom graphics to the UI for custom themed skins.

(Odd note: is that font Agency FB?)

[NiteHawk]

Psh redoing the GUI will take a good awhile. I think we can work on something though. Let's make it perfect.

Here is my list of good/bad I see. (But it's way better then the current!)

Pros:
-The GUI gives way more room, much cleaner, more new style GUI.
-I enjoy the way how you added the credits, and system list.
-Top bar also looks great, as does the target bar. Placing the number beside the power/etc and removing it from the system list gives great expansion since we can now have 20 modules, it is simply a great idea. The damage button works good here for just viewing damage if you wish.
-The blue gives a nice feel and the shine gives a nice 3D edge. As well, we can have multiple color interfaces -- Blue/Red/Yellow/Green/Gray(like current gray for oldies) perhaps.
-This will lower a good amount of FPS of needed framerate since the interface will be smaller rather then very large. We will split up the two bars as topbar and bottombar.

Cons:
-The Chat and Minimap are pretty small, it would be very hard to read from the chat window. I know you did state its 'smaller', but the minimap has to be well clickable and not tough to select small objects such as ships or small planets without having to fineclick. But it's more or less a bit to small -- I think. That may just be my say on it, others may feel different (And should reply.)
-What about different resolutions? The game currently uses the same size interface for all resolutions. We should try sticking to that so it doesn't cause an issue or a super tough change, but what shall we do on solving this? The highest resolutoin is 2048x15xx (forgot the last two and to lazy to look in game.) As well, the smallest is 800x600. One thing that could be done perhaps for 800x600 is double stack the buttons at the top, to shrink it. Normally I'd want to keep it, but pretend 800x600 isn't there for now I suppose until we figure out a good interface.
-Alot of gap at the bottom with the target area, but maybe will be okay with 20 modules displaying.. Not sure yet, could you provide an example of how modules will look like, maximum 20 modules. Please include WEAPON HEAT as well, as we will be having ballistic (ammo only) weapons in the future. So basicly weapon energy(bar), weapon heat(bar), weapon damage(bar), ammo left (as in damage on itself, having this bar gone means your weapon will not fire.).. It doesn't need to be a bar for weapno heat or energy, buts it better then having like a dot that slowly changes color for example, I'm not sure.
-Removing stars from the chat/bottom target/minimap/top will improve on people trying to squint, Take a look at a 1.2 server gui and the 1.3 server gui, removing the stars improves on the font alone, hugely! There shouldln't be see through there, it will cause some issues i think to be honest.
-As Sand said, I as well don't think the scroll buttons should be like that, let's make it more new style, by adding up and down arrow keys perhaps. One arrow up/down for one move up or down, and two arrow up/down for a pagedn/pageup maybe?

The Works:
Overall, the GUI is tons better. I like it alot. Again I'd love to see that example of damage/modules as well.. In the future it would be great ot come up with a refit screen that pops up. Basicly how I vision refitting, much like mechwarrior series, if you played one before. Drag and drop style or double click, for example. Nice popup window in the middle of the screen with refit stuff..

The GUI will be a heavy process to modify. This is why I'm being a bit picky. Because once its in, its rough to change. I have huge difficulty adjusting the modules list alone to 20 because the game was so picky with things. Then again, creating it from scratch, it would be my own code, prob alot easier to edit in the end, just alot of work to get there.

Again, the resolutions is my biggest niche here, What about bigger resolution. How will that work for example. It looks great at 1024, but what about 2048 (max res currently.) In SF aspects, the game doesn't change the GUI interface size, rather just expands on the space size. But the problem here is that the interface is different, and may have issues adjusting to look good. So we'll need to solve that before anything as well.

I'll post an example to what maybe I think the interface should be. Height wise. Just note, this is just a example, I'm not saying do it, I just want some feedback and ideas as well. The sides are 210x210, and the middle is 165 high. Would give more room for the chat and minimap I'd feel..

But good work man. When we get it all solved I'll need to PM you and get some things going for the GUI to be ready

Edit: As well, like Sand was talking, the wireframe. Where would that be? I'm not entirely sure we should use it ther,e it wouldn't make a huge difference. Perhaps we can use it for the new refit screen I was talking about above.

[AdmiralTigerclaw]

This is one place that it helps to have military training.  Plus years of game interfaces ranging from Xwing to HALO...

When it comes to an interface, especially in combat, the most important thing to ask yourself is:

"What do I NEED TO KNOW at a glance?"

In order of Priority it will be the following.

1- My local space.  What is around me.  This would be the main view.
2- My surroundings.  That's the minimap.
3- What is critical to me surviving.  This is your critical equipment.
4- What are the criticals of my chosen opponent?
5- Communications
6- Everything else.


In this case, giving the player plenty of open game space is very important, keeping the interface as uncluttered as possible is important here.

With that in mind, I have to prioritize what I can have on the interface that tells me what I need to know at any given point while keeping this space clear.

A nice minimap, big enough to use effectively, but tucked into a corner to keep it out of the way is one thing.

I need to be able to tell my status at a glance.  So a small window dedicated to my critical systems.   Shields, Hull/Armor integrity, Reactor integrity status.  I need to be able to know those at a GLANCE.  If I'm in combat, I don't really have time for doing a cross examination of the damage to the cloaking device or the third weapon tube... I'm going to know simply that it works, or it doesn't... "Woop, teedo..."  So the critical systems display needs to tell me my ship status.

After that, I need to know the criticals of a selected target. 
However, I only need to know that when I select the target.  so I can relegate them to an optional position.

Then there's communications.  Being able to see the 'comms' at all times is important.


So what you need to know can really be filtered down to four displays.

1: Sensors/Navigation Minimap
2: Critical systems display (And it's pretty small)
3: Chat Window
4: Combat Multi-view display, or CMD.

The CMD is the 'catch-all' window.  Anything you need to know in detail, you have time to bring up in the CMD. 

In the current way the game operates, the upper right window acts as the CMD, and admittedly, in combat, that's really the only display I'm paying attention to asside from glances at the sensors/minimap.  The entire buttom screen showing your ship and the target is a complete non-essential because I'm always snapping between the S and T keys for my status, and foe's status respectively.  That means that entire window can actually be dumped.  One, is because the target information is clearer in the CMD,and 2 is because... so is mine.

You have to apply some disapline between the 'shiney' and the important.  What's a shiny?  Well, the credits display.  Do you REALLY need to know how many credits you have in a firefight? 
Another shiney is fancy graphics on the display.  Sure, I like the metallic feel of a nicely done display, but do I need to clutter up space with this fancy shield information graph made of up boxes that are spaced and have little colored squares in them? 

Let me run you guys past some examples of an interface:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWghOA692w0&feature=related

Go to 2:42 in this video, this is where you'll see the X-Wing.  It's instrument panel gives you EVERYTHING you need to know at a quick glance, but it's still cluttered with the fancy Xwing interior design that blocks everything up.

It was enough of a bother that people actually commented on it, and it resulted in the following...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCHnCMdjhew&feature=related

Around 4 minutes or so, well into the gameplay, look at the interface for that Xwing from Xwing Alliance.  It's improved upon the general 'seeing keeps you alive' standpoint.


You have your priority being plenty of visual sight.  Then you have your minimap, in this case, sensor displays in the left and right corners.  (One front, one rear)
Then the crits.  That's the shield and hull indicator on the left side.  The ELS display from the previous game is now spread across these displays to keep them out of the way.  (The green red, and blue bars are the ELS, or Engines, Lasers, Shields display.)

Then note the three 'windows' along the bottom.  The middle is the classic CMD, while the other two act as two more CMDs... note the left one is effectively communications while the right one is more or less just being used for mission objectives.