PlaneShift

Fan Area => Fan Art => Topic started by: Cynwrig on April 14, 2007, 02:54:41 am

Title: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 14, 2007, 02:54:41 am
After seeing Xanacru's Black UI I got inspired to try again at designing my own interface for Planeshift. I have tried designing a new UI in the past( here (http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=17602.0)), but ended up giving up trying to actually put it in the game.
Well I have started working on completely new design and have decided to post it here so that I can get opinions on how it is looking so far. The color scheme was also inspired by Xanacru, from his new forum theme. Also anyone that would liek to help, please let me know. I could really use someone to do the icons for the toolbar etc.

Here is what I have done so far:
(http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/8178/firstcopycc7.jpg)

BTW at this time I doubt it will be possible to actually put this theme, at least in its entirety, into the game due to the limited ability of customization.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Karyuu on April 14, 2007, 03:00:22 am
I would kill to have a default UI look this clean :)

My only immediate suggestion is to perhaps tone down the various bars - the saturation is a bit too strong for me and it may be hard to read with several things going on as you play in the game. If the bars are darker, the text will pop out more and it shall create less stress for the eyes.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Nurahk on April 14, 2007, 03:07:21 am
Hehe, Shadowfax...part of the Calen Vakhar.

You might remember me, Cadoras...I annoyed the hell out of you guys.

Anyways, just a small note, you don't have an edit button on your buddy list, besides that it's a very clean UI, a bit modern looking for myself.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Caarrie on April 14, 2007, 03:17:03 am
The tell button should read edit as that was changed for this release. In your info window you need to have space to list the target's name and hp. [unless i am just not seeing it]
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Idoru on April 14, 2007, 03:18:32 am
I like this very much. I would certainly use it if you get it finished.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Nikodemus on April 14, 2007, 02:19:55 pm
Will we need to compile PS source to see it? it looks like it goes outside editing of xmls and some art only.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: minetus on April 14, 2007, 02:27:53 pm
as far as i see only thing that wouldnt work right now would be tabing transitions on the chat window that would need code, the rest seems doable with alpha's. looking great :whistling:
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Xanacru on April 14, 2007, 03:27:57 pm
Hi, Cynwrig

Thanks for the compliments and for being inspired by my UI and forum theme. This is a pretty sleek looking concept so far and the new forum theme colors are looking quite smooth with it.

I do remember your "Concept GUI" thread when you used to be Shadowfax, and was inspired by it as well (even had it bookmarked), since before working on a UI, I searched the forum for other peoples' attempts to do the same. It's a shame that you lost all your files when you computer crashed, so you couldn't complete your effort.

Making everything custom in a UI is a huge undertaking and a crazy amount of work, as you will soon find out (or already know). And if you drastically change XML, as you were planning in your original concept, it will also mean the end of the existing skins. It would no longer be a matter of choosing a different UI in a setup menu. However, it is also a great practice, so don't let that discourage you at all. If the skin is really good, I'm sure that Atomic Blue will budge and make it default.

Out of all people, I should be the one inspiring you the most, considering what you said, so I will say this - if anyone's going to make an amazing new and fully custom UI for PlaneShift, it's going to be Cynwrig/Shadowfax, so I definitely hope to see it succeed.

Guys, feed him cookies.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 14, 2007, 07:59:26 pm
@Karyuu: I'm glad you like it. I agree with your suggestion about the info bars and decided to tone them down a bit. I also decided to try more unusual hues instead using the standard colors.

@Nurahk: I do indeed remember. It has been quite a while since I have been around and it seems most of my old friends have gone so it is nice to see a familiar name. I have fixed the error on the buddylist as suggested. I guess I was working off old screenshots.

@Caarrie: As mentioned I fixed the "tell" error and don't know how I overlooked the target info. I have now added a separate target window to only be displayed when a target is selected, though such a thing isn't plausible to implement through skinning so if I do begin the effort of making a working skin, I will come make a more realistic solution.

I also redid the chatbox a little as the dropshadow effect I had earlier wouldn't come out right in the game.

@Xanacru: Wow much thanks for such a flattering reply. I'm happy to hear I inspired you as well with my past efforts, and btw I have learned the value of backing up file. Yes creating such a custom skin is very hard when it comes to the xml part, I know this all too well. Though my dream would be to create a whole new UI, completely redoing how things work, instead of trying to fit it in with what has already been defined.

Well here is what it looks like as of now:
(http://img486.imageshack.us/img486/3347/firstcopyse6.jpg)

I haven't had the time to do too much to it, but I plan to get more of it done soon.



Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Karyuu on April 14, 2007, 11:22:00 pm
Love the centered target bar :) Do you have any ideas on how to incorporate the attack stances into the GUI, or will you be taking them out entirely? Hope you don't mind if I've taken the liberty to play around with your concept screen a bit:

(http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/3306/conceptguigi0.gif)

The chat, char info, and menu icons would collapse their associated screens.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Narure on April 14, 2007, 11:25:36 pm
I like the having a symbol for the target but im kinda fond of the menu having icons  ::)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 14, 2007, 11:37:53 pm
No I don't mind at all, I must say your changes look very good. I was puzzled on how to incorporate attack stances and things like that because I'm not skilled enough to draw up my own but you have done a wonderful job of incorporating the old ones, which makes a nice way of preserving some elements of the default layout. If you want I would be glad to send you the psd to make changes to.

Don't mind that I haven't incorporated your changes, I plan on doing so but here is the new work I have put in so far, just a new idea on the party window. When a party is formed the buttons become located on top of the info window as seen:
(http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/2835/firstcopyld7.jpg)
Only problem with this is that I have to find a new place for the clock.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Karyuu on April 15, 2007, 12:04:37 am
Another try :)

(http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1986/conceptgui2qe0.gif)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Reikar on April 15, 2007, 12:17:06 am
Very nice, i would most definetly like to see this UI in. Good Job  \\o//
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 15, 2007, 12:39:05 am
Yes I agree the new menu is looking very good. I really like the background gradient you added, a very nice touch, especially with the little bump out you have going.


Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Baldur on April 15, 2007, 01:23:56 am
Amazing work! That's all I can say. :]
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Xanacru on April 15, 2007, 04:24:32 am
@Cynwrig: No problem. I was happy that I inspired you, so more encouragement could only be a good thing.

I'm liking the little tag team that Cynwrig and Karyuu have going here. Keep at it, guys. Here's just a small addition to it:

(http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/498/conceptguiht8.gif)

It's just a rough idea that character concept art can be used as a team member portrait, since not all character 3D models are implemented. Also, the portrait resolution could probably be somewhat larger (or maybe not). Like I said - just a rough idea.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 15, 2007, 06:29:35 am
The more help the better. I really like your addition, you an Karyuu have really helped to make the theme look more "Planeshifty" instead of being so generic.

Edit: I've updated it and started on a possible inventory window.

(http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/6873/firstcopysq5.jpg)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Ice_Stovo on April 15, 2007, 09:40:46 pm
it reminds me Regnum or Rappelz UI, but this one is far better. I also take a little part and suggest this ...
(http://dwarves.ic.cz/images/conceptguiht8.jpg)

Shows charakter in-game portrait when you are for some time with cursor over it. Left-Click should target the cahrakter if is in range

(http://dwarves.ic.cz/images/firstcopysq5.jpg)

Just messing a little with inventory window. I like the idea of having different backpacks in tabs. i also added buttons to switch between Armor and Casual Clothing.
sorry for having more anoying ideas  :(
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 15, 2007, 10:00:19 pm
Well I finally got the inventory window done. I didn't see yours, Ice_Stovo, till now but you have some good ideas. I like that you used the tabs to separate more than just bags, it will help keep things organized and easy to find. I also like your portrait idea.

Here is mine:
(http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/4174/firstcopyla8.jpg)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Nikodemus on April 15, 2007, 10:45:57 pm
stances idea

(http://psgrafika.republika.pl/conceptgui.png)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Karyuu on April 15, 2007, 11:48:35 pm
Love it! Let's keep up the tag team guys, this is a ton of fun :]
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: ThomPhoenix on April 16, 2007, 12:12:48 am
Wow, I really love that idea! Looks so great!/me sends love to everyone

Just keep things realistic though, if you're going to change the inventory too much it's possible too many code changes are needed. An example is the "bags-in-tabs" idea.
Also, does the menu disappear when you click the crystal icon? I'd love to open/close the menu with the crystal icon.

Keep it going!
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Karyuu on April 16, 2007, 12:23:31 am
Yes, the menu and the chat disappear when you click on their icons.

And even if many code changes are needed... I think an inventory screen like that would be worth having in the end :) We can have fun and concept away here.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cherppow on April 16, 2007, 12:28:00 am
Hi,

Very nice concepts everyone. I especially like the black border around the fonts, it makes the text so much readable. We need it. We'd also need the gui graphics to show up exactly as drawn, or the single pixel lines will get quite smudgy and not nice at all. I've tried this before. :) Another problem is the transparency/select thing. In short, even if a part of window is transparent, you can still click that part, and select the window, causing lots of confusion.

My few notes on the infowindow:

 - I'd lower the gradient inside the stat bars, so they'd be as easy to see/read as possible.
 - I'd also like an option to hide the bar labels. In my opinion they're blocking and messing up the actual information. Although you have made it good looking, I personally would like them hidden. And everyone knows the red is health, right? :)
 - Finally I'd make the stamina bars a little thinner to distinquish them from the health and mana.

Here the changes in image:
(http://users.tkk.fi/~vrantapu/PlaneShift/Diagnostics/hpbars.png)
Top: original
Middle: softer gradient & text colors
Bottom: Cherps style info bars

Good work, keep it up! :)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 16, 2007, 01:26:41 am
@Cherppow: I like the thin stamina bars. I think the softer gradients makes it look so flat but if it helps I guess I wouldn't mind changing it.The text on the status bars is meant to only show up on mouse over like it does now, similarly to the random blue buttons seen in the older screens that I removed to avoid causing confusion. I have tried putting these graphics in game and the borders do come out smudged all over the place and it looks really bad, but I'm not sure how to fix it or if it can be.

 I really do want to redesign the interface and not just re-skin it, so I would intend to rewrite the code although that isn't realistic, I know, but this is just a concept. I think that the interface could use code changes but that would probably "break" the other skins already in the game but I don't think it would be hard to make them work with the new code.

I appreciate it that many are so willing to add their own ideas to it. So please keep at it if you wish and if anyone wants I will gladly send them the PSD because I have noticed the "tag teaming" has some negative effects on the quality of the images and sometimes it's hard to tell what is intentional.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Karyuu on April 16, 2007, 05:37:19 am
Lowered the gradient effect on the info bars some (not sure how to decrease their height without affecting the visibility of the text), and made some additions/changes to the inventory screen:

(http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/6986/conceptgui3jj1.jpg)

My .PSD can be downloaded here (http://www.gigasize.com/get.php/1167037/conceptGUI2.psd).
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Baldur on April 16, 2007, 07:58:13 am
You better check the spelling on that stamina bar ;]
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 16, 2007, 08:00:44 am
I like what you've done with the inventory window. I downloaded your PSD and updated my own with it so now I have one complete PSD. I also went through and organized mine, naming and deleting layers after seeing how nicely kept yours was. I changed a few things around and didn't really like the new stances so I left them the same.
Here:
(http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/3381/firstcopyme2.jpg)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Karyuu on April 16, 2007, 08:05:07 am
I was rather fond of the arc stances :)

Also, do you plan do to anything with that inventory space on the left?
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 16, 2007, 08:10:04 am
I was rather fond of the arc stances :)
I dunno it just looks funny to me. Maybe it can have a "click to change style" like the menu bar in the game now.


Also, do you plan do to anything with that inventory space on the left?
Yea I noticed it looks so empty on the left, maybe I'll just cut that space out.
Oh and I also realized I forgot to add the horizontal lines to the Inventory window, guess I overlooked it.

Edit: Here (http://www.gigasize.com/get.php/1167472/ConceptGUI.psd) is the .PSD with the bars added.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Rongar Elani on April 16, 2007, 08:18:17 am
Hey!

You're doing great a job with modifying, especially with the inventory. Just one thing though, I would KILL for an inventory, in which i wouldn't have to scroll down, to see all the items I am carrying. If you could make the slots smaller, or the window biger, so all slots would be visible at once, it would be great! Same goes for the slots in the furnace by the way ;-)
However, keep the good work up and good success on it.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Eliseth on April 16, 2007, 09:35:09 am
Great work so far guys, really, this is the best gui for planeshift I've ever seen in my life ever :P I also liked the arc stance buttons. Can't wait for this to be implemented. Keep it up!
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Ice_Stovo on April 16, 2007, 12:53:47 pm
Great will be ability to be able to switch tab type. One will group items due to their location (Backpack, sacks, Backpack of your Megaras ...), the other mode will group them due to their use (weapon, armour, food, quest items). Purified glyphs will have separate category and clicking on their tab should open glyph combination dialogue.

BTW, congratulation for great work everybody, because PS current GUI looks really aged (it is not matter of skins).
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Induane on April 16, 2007, 06:40:41 pm
I've always thought it would be nice to name inventory as well - for instance if you have various inventory tabs it would be cool if they were locally editable so that it could be more easily managed.  I used to keep the various inventory tabs in Neverwinter Nights organized but there was no way to name them.  I had one tab for potents, one for armor, one for weapons, etc, and was always annoyed because I'd forget which was which.  Another option is to have the main inventory be simply 1 screen with no scrolling, or tabs, and to have a row of tabs along the bottom for the various bags you own.  (I see you have something similar started already). The more bags the more tabs, and being able to label your bags would rock.  I'd like an ore bag, my glyph bag, etc... :D
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Karyuu on April 16, 2007, 07:23:39 pm
I'm thinking about limiting the number of bags you can carry. In my opinion having one "backpack" as the biggest container, then a glyph pouch, and two regular sized sacks would work as a default. I don't want to have an unrealistically overloaded inventory screen with about 10 containers your character would have no idea how to carry :)

Thoughts?
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Ice_Stovo on April 16, 2007, 07:30:57 pm
I'm thinking about limiting the number of bags you can carry. In my opinion having one "backpack" as the biggest container, then a glyph pouch, and two regular sized sacks would work as a default. I don't want to have an unrealistically overloaded inventory screen with about 10 containers your character would have no idea how to carry :)

Thoughts?
But your Rivnak, Pterosaur or Megaras should have some place to store items too
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Karyuu on April 16, 2007, 07:33:46 pm
I don't think that should be in your inventory screen. Your mount is another entity with their own inventory.

*edit*

Test with smaller inventory icons:

(http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/568/inventorykp6.jpg)

I think 36 slots is enough :) Will put up the PSD as soon as I'm home from class. Cynwrig: can you name all the fonts used, by any chance? I think I'm missing one - probably due to my recent font cleaning.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Nikodemus on April 17, 2007, 12:38:03 am
Why this love to limited slots and unability to segregate, with wondering where is some free slot, to drop there and item? I fail to see what's advantage of such a system, besides ability to put different items into patterns you like.
There are many categories for items, like raw materials, aimal parts, ides, armor, food and so on. Items should be segregated with such categories under different tabs and then limited amount of slots seems pointless too.

Maybe i manage to draw it later, for the sake of arty stuff \o/ \o/
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 17, 2007, 03:40:39 am
I like the smaller inventory slots. You won't have to scroll so much.

I started work on the stats and skills window as seen here:
(http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/7900/conceptguinewcopywp9.jpg)
.PSD (http://www.gigasize.com/get.php/1171811/ConceptGUInew.psd)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Ice_Stovo on April 17, 2007, 05:48:18 pm
faction should be in the stats window, but I don't like the fact it is in row with skills
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Narure on April 17, 2007, 05:53:34 pm
Thats the way it is now. I think it should be after 'other'. Also having a bin in the invetory window is abit  ??? because in real life you can just evaporate things can you? There should be a way to dispose of items but it should be a bin in the plaza which is emptied into the stone mouth, the rubbish should stay in the bin for 3 days so scroungers can find stuff  :offtopic: :oops:. But yes, no bin in the invetory,
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Suvok on April 18, 2007, 03:11:51 am
Thats the way it is now. I think it should be after 'other'. Also having a bin in the invetory window is abit  ??? because in real life you can just evaporate things can you? There should be a way to dispose of items but it should be a bin in the plaza which is emptied into the stone mouth.

In the middle ages, I believe that there wern't bins around the place to stop littering, and I definitely don't think there were any Bin Collectors. I would have thought that it would only be people like the Octarchs or Vigsemi that have enough money to have their waste disposed of.

As most people in the medieval times just chucked their waste out of the window, I think the bin should just be a shortcut to throwing the item down on the ground. Maybe if you are around the Stone Head, you can chuck it in there.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Karyuu on April 18, 2007, 03:22:14 am
One thing I want to suggest to fellow artists or conceptors, is to not only make the GUI more visually pleasing but also slicker and smaller. In the Stats and Skills window for example there is no need for the character doll. A lot of the space can be consolidated, so that there is just the bare minimum of unused real estate. Consider what is truly necessary - do we need an online player counter by default? It's neat information, but you will have no real use out of it. Consider how training skills may be made easier through the skill window than a single Buy button. I am a bit distracted with other work, but I would love to see further progress here.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Raleigh on April 18, 2007, 04:26:41 am
I think the character model could be safely removed from the inventory screen, and a generic body drawing could be there with the slots on each of the appropriate regions of it(arms slots on the hands, armor on the torso and so on). I know it's fancy and all, but don't we already have the character view from the game itself?

For me cutting down the model view(or perhaps the most more daunting task of putting the equipment slots directly over model, something I wouldn't recommend) would allow to make the inventory screen much more compact.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 18, 2007, 05:23:34 am
Well I have been pretty much just been copying the windows out of the game, rearranging and adding items as I feel necessary. I'll have to go back over them and  "strip" them down if you want things to be more compact. Keep in mind the sizes in the pictures don't necessarily represent what size they would be in game, plus they all won't be that cluttered together.

I started working on the Quests window:
(http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/9775/conceptguinew2copykz3.jpg)
I'll post the .PSD later when I have time, got to clean it up.
BTW the only fonts I have used are Bookman Old Style and Verdana.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cherppow on April 18, 2007, 01:02:56 pm
Greets,

A long one.

Quote from: Cynwrig
@Cherppow: I like the thin stamina bars. I think the softer gradients makes it look so flat but if it helps I guess I wouldn't mind changing it.The text on the status bars is meant to only show up on mouse over like it does now, similarly to the random blue buttons seen in the older screens that I removed to avoid causing confusion. I have tried putting these graphics in game and the borders do come out smudged all over the place and it looks really bad, but I'm not sure how to fix it or if it can be.
Aye, the bars'll look more flat, but I'd sacrifice little on the looks in favour of usability. The mouse over labels are nice, would be good if they could be set to appear on a pre-defined position (over the stat bars), instead of hovering next to the pointer.
 The background stretching is quite bad currently. There is option to prevent windows from scaling between resolutions (resizetoscreen="no"), but many of the current BG images are of different size than the windows they're used in, so they get stretched anyway. In addition if not scaled to resolution, the gui will look tiny on big resolutions (or huge on small res, depending how you set the size). The problem is not simple.


Quote from: Cynwrig
I really do want to redesign the interface and not just re-skin it, so I would intend to rewrite the code although that isn't realistic, I know, but this is just a concept. I think that the interface could use code changes but that would probably "break" the other skins already in the game but I don't think it would be hard to make them work with the new code.
Many changes can be applied with xml, and don't need changes in the cpp code itself. New functions would require support from code though. If the interface is redesigned, old skins will break. But old skins shouldn't hinder development. Stone skin could possibly be transferred with modifications, elves would have to be re-done.


Quote from: Karyuu
Lowered the gradient effect on the info bars some (not sure how to decrease their height without affecting the visibility of the text)...
Aye, the bars were maybe a little bit too thin. Instead I decided to broaden the health and mana, while keeping staminas quite the same.


Quote from: Cynwrig
Quote from: Karyuu
I was rather fond of the arc stances Smiley
I dunno it just looks funny to me. Maybe it can have a "click to change style" like the menu bar in the game now.
I'd have to agree with Cynwrig here. I think the design of using multiple buttons to change one thing is somewhat clumsy. However, neither do I like the scrollbar design, currently used in the spell power. I don't think multi-state-button is the perfect solution for this, but I like it better than the two alternatives. Picky me. :)


Quote from: Karyuu
I'm thinking about limiting the number of bags you can carry. In my opinion having one "backpack" as the biggest container, then a glyph pouch, and two regular sized sacks would work as a default. I don't want to have an unrealistically overloaded inventory screen with about 10 containers your character would have no idea how to carry Smiley

Thoughts?
Sounds applicable to me, one can only carry so much. Maybe two sacks is too strict though? I mean I can surely carry at least 4 on my shoulders . :) Depends a bit on the size of course. Hmm, would be cool if backpacks/sacks would appear on the char model. You could spot a "mule" from the distance.


Quote from: Karyuu
Test with smaller inventory icons:
(http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/568/inventorykp6.jpg)
I like them, and the fact that you could see the whole backpack at once. The only thing that pokes my eye, is the difference between inventory and equip items. Especially since the r/l hand slots are so huge. I'm not sure why it's so in the current inventory. (Is there plans to make bigger than one slot items? And if so, why is torso armour still one slot?) Hmm... but for now, I'd make hand slots standard size.


Quote from: Karyuu
One thing I want to suggest to fellow artists or conceptors, is to not only make the GUI more visually pleasing but also slicker and smaller. In the Stats and Skills window for example there is no need for the character doll. A lot of the space can be consolidated, so that there is just the bare minimum of unused real estate. Consider what is truly necessary - do we need an online player counter by default? It's neat information, but you will have no real use out of it. Consider how training skills may be made easier through the skill window than a single Buy button. I am a bit distracted with other work, but I would love to see further progress here.
I agree. Smaller and smarter, while still pleasant to view. User interface can make or break a game. If we really want to design new ui, instead of thinking "where should I put this button", we should think "what does the user want to do here, and why". It's not an easy task though, and shouldn't be given to one person/department alone. It's also a double edged sword, the more you change, the less likely the gui will happen. On the other hand if you do a million small changes, you'll end up with a patchwork. ;) eg. do we need to have so many windows? Doesn't loot/quest reward/merchant/trade/containers share the same idea, transfering items between two entities. Could they be handled through one "general transfer" window, and should they be?


Ah well, back to the new UI Concept. :)

Tried some futher changes to the infowindow.
 - Changed Attack stance and Spell power to multi-state-buttons. (LMB increases, RMB lowers)
 - Added daytime indicator (instead of giving exact time, I like "early morning" or "midnight". Sorry for the wrong font.)
 - Replaced Invite, join and leave/disband with initials only to gain more space for long names. Icons could be even better.
 - Changed inventory window icon to char portrait, clicking opens stat window. I liked the inv icon too though. Not 100% sure about this yet.
 - Changed tooltips to indicate current + "//" + max, instead of percentage. Just personal preference. Also low items appear as red, overcharged as green.

That's about it. Here's the changes in image. First without tooltips, then with tooltips visible.
(http://users.tkk.fi/~vrantapu/PlaneShift/Diagnostics/infowindow_test.png)
Thanks for reading, any comments welcome.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: ThomPhoenix on April 18, 2007, 04:12:59 pm
What about the Stop Attack button of the stance buttons?
It would be clumsy to get to Stop Attack via Normal and Bloody for example.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Rongar Elani on April 18, 2007, 10:00:44 pm
Cynwrig, I really like your quest window, especially the part where you could make notes about the quests. The background looks paperlike and the font fits perfectly, IMHO. I wished the all of the windows were a bit more fitting with the setting, though, just like the notes part of the quest window does :)
Oh, and the health bar is a bit too long, if you ask me. In this case, the shorter, the better ;) Maybe it would even be possible to make the bars a bit more squiggly, not just going straight. Maybe a bit like a spiral in the beginning and then going straight, like this: @_____
Just a thought :)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Narure on April 18, 2007, 10:06:39 pm
You can make notes already and the idea is that its simple and doesn thave curves and wiggles :)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Rongar Elani on April 18, 2007, 10:11:56 pm
I know, I can make notes already ;) I just meant i like the paperlike background and the font. But okay, if the idea is to keep it simple, I won't suggest any wiggles anymore :)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 19, 2007, 06:17:22 am
@Cherppow: I like the multi-state buttons for the stances and spellpower. I agree it wastes a lot of space having all the icons laid out. The stop attack button could possibly be located in the target window, that way it would only appear when attacking something and would be easier to click mid-fight because you would already have your eyes there anyways.

I also like that you brought back the time icon, though I meant for it also to show the current weather. I'm not sure if people use the game time as a reference, but I doubt it so replacing it with general "early morning" seems fine.

Well we could always take advantage of tabbed windows to reduce their number. For example clicking the portrait icon could go to a "character" container window that can be tabbed between inventory and stats. Each tab could still have its own shortcut key as if it were its own window.



     


Just because the design is meant to be simplistic and elegant, doesn't mean it can't have some more "artistic" elements. It's just a matter of 
keeping it clean. That is why I decided to try adding the old-paper-like feel to the quest notes and will also to the spell book. I have redone the Title Bar of the window. I think these few touches help keep the design from being too simple and boring.
(http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8796/questwe2.jpg)
I was thinking that clicking the window icon could minimize the window into just the Title Bar as to quickly get it out of the way when you don't want to close it.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Xanacru on April 19, 2007, 07:42:19 am
I haven't examined the posted .PSD files yet but I would also prefer a more compact inventory screen. While I don't mind the character "paper doll" being displayed, I would prefer for it to be smaller and displayed by itself, with the only background being the UI window. Right now, some sort of special room dedicated for "paper dolls" is also visible behind the character.

The right/left hand slots that take up two slots each are also unnecessary because the actual in-game equipment icons only take up a single slot. Also, unless the "elves" UI equipment slots are only used temporarily, simply desaturating them causes quite different intensity in each graphic. That is why such things had to be tweaked in my "Black UI" skin.

Here's a quick-n-dirty edit of an equipment/inventory window from a different game, showing how I'd like this UI's inventory to be adapted:

(http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9805/inventoryll0.png)

The "black area" below equipment is for general inventory items (should also have empty slots graphic). And the small window on the left is for a character "paper doll". The small tabs on the very left are for different equipment categories - from combat equipment to crafting equipment.

The money/tria icons in the current UI also take up an unnecessarily large space. Simply position them horizontally along the very bottom of the window's frame. Make the icons themselves a lot smaller. It would look like in a typical RTS (strategy) game with small icons at the top or bottom for gold, wood, stone, oil etc.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on April 20, 2007, 09:23:01 am
I updated the info and party window. I also redid the window styles a little as seen by the quest window:
(http://img379.imageshack.us/img379/6892/31555024js3.jpg)
I'm not sure if I like the squared corners better but I think they will show up better in-game.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Xanacru on April 22, 2007, 04:33:57 pm
I personally like the rounded corners much better but if squared ones help with in-game appearance, they're fine too.

Keep up the good work, Cynwrig, it's looking awesome so far. :)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: socia on May 10, 2007, 01:12:55 pm
it's great work, I'd love to already have it.
Is there way how to make this working in ps? btw have you looked on pssetup ui too? it would be nice to change that too.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: capetorial on May 13, 2007, 07:27:35 am
that LOOKS easy to do..might be able to..not sure tho..but the basic scheme of colors, etc. would be easily done

*edit*

hey, i made a ui too (not nearly as good) but i got a tip you may not know of:  sign up with a guild or something and every time you make a new pane or something, have some fresh eyes look at it, like what i found myself doing is starting off with everything oversaturated then everything turning black so id have 2 schemes int he same ui (not in a good way).  this i found is prevented by having someone with your tastes looking at it with fresh eyes that hasnt been staring at it the whole time.

[ Please avoid making one post right after the other in the same thread. Just "Modify" your first post to add more information. Thanks! --Karyuu ]
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Induane on May 14, 2007, 03:48:34 pm
Well, the forums provide a nice fresh set of eyes too so getting some readers interested in a thread works wonders.  There are lots of people posting suggestions, just as a WIP thread should be.

Its a great concept and very well done.

@Zan :) agreed!  Well said.
/me raises his super duper slappy hand just in case!
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Zan on May 14, 2007, 04:12:27 pm
Alright now I feel like wanting to slap random people if no efforts are done to get this in-game.  :P  This work is way better than any of our current UI themes, you guys really should  get working on the actual application of this with this team.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Mithodin on May 14, 2007, 05:03:02 pm
this ui is really amazing... i can't wait to see it ingame, really great work
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Quitarias on May 14, 2007, 05:33:22 pm
I agree with Zan it is a very player friendly UI and making it a default will make some newcomers less lost in it.
Also it looks sleek as hell.And ill be damned if that isnt what i want to see when i turn on the inventory.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Otcho on July 27, 2007, 11:26:31 pm
Is there any update on this gui?  :woot:
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: ebuney on August 12, 2007, 09:53:08 pm
Woow, really, good work.Is it hosted?Where ?I want to  download it.
Cool...Go on
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Karyuu on August 12, 2007, 09:57:05 pm
This is only a concept, not an actual UI yet. It's just a photoshop image :)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Otcho on August 13, 2007, 04:25:08 am
well..its been a long time from the last update on this image. I was wondering if anybody has even tried to make it yet.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: ArcaneFalcon on August 18, 2007, 05:25:43 pm
I'm not sure if you were just using them as placeholders for now, but all those icons with the green backgrounds need to go. Make them more the look and feel of your shiny ones. Also, keep in mind that some of the things you're talking about will take some creative xmling. That's not a bad thing, but reblooting PS every time just to find out you're off 1px is annoying. :)

Looks great, can't wait to see it in game.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Nukm on August 30, 2007, 03:03:44 am
hope this gets actualy implemented as i gui, would definitely use it, so keep up the good work
i especially like the font thats suits the gui perfectly
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Raa on September 09, 2007, 06:00:11 am
I hope y'all are still working on this. The concept looks really nice, and the other skins are getting a bit boring.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Ver on September 09, 2007, 07:56:39 am
Incredible work. \\o//

This should be the UI they use for the 0.4 release.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Kilroo on September 19, 2007, 11:49:26 pm
I would like to chime in as yet another person who would use this in a heartbeat.

Or less.

Currently I'm using Stone, because it distracts me the least. And seems to crash less often, although that may just be my imagination.

I hesitate to blame crashing of anything on something other than the fact that for some reason I don't seem to be able to get my video drivers installed correctly.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Xolani on November 29, 2007, 04:30:28 am
I like the inventory when the items are small because you can fit many items in the window but on the downside you can't appreciate the look of each item. To remedy this would it be possible for the invenory item to enlarge a bit temporarily if you scroll over it or click on it. It may be best for the enlargement not to be too drastic so the sorrounding items arn not blocked out. Love the UI it will look great ingame!
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on December 09, 2007, 03:21:39 am
Well it has been a while since I have updated, but I plan to continue working on the concept.

I have streamlined the interface a bit, and I redid the window borders.
@Xoiani: The small icons help reduce clutter, but it could be possible to have a larger view icon displayed upon examining the item.

(http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/6172/screencu0.jpg)

EDIT: Boosted color to make it look less dull. (Makes it look a lot better in-game.)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Kayden on December 09, 2007, 10:43:23 am
Cynwrig!  I'm really glad to see you continuing this. Your thread here has been a big inspiration to me—Arianna and I have always wanted to improve the GUI, and this has really encouraged me to work on it.  So many great ideas, mockups, and good discussion.

I started implementing your group and target windows, and hope to work on a lot more UI after this upcoming release.  I would really like to see many of these ideas implemented, and I think we can make it happen.

So now for some comments!

Inventory Window
If you don't know, the inventory subsystem rewrite back in 0.3.019 was one of my first huge projects, so I'm pretty painfully aware both of issues surrounding it and also how hard it is to implement.  We simplified it a lot by disallowing nested containers, and this is even better.

I really like bulk inventory becoming your "backpack"—presumably everyone has such a container, and it cannot be dropped or sold.  The tabs for containers are wonderful.  For clarification, in the new design, other containers like Sack 1/2 don't appear in slots in your backpack—only as tabs?  Presumably you could drop containers by dragging the tab outside the window, just like items.

One problem I foresee is moving items from one container to another—you can only see one tab at a time.  While there are several approaches one could take, the one I like best is to add a "shelf," a concept I think I'm borrowing from the NeXTSTEP UI:

(http://www.explorersguild.org/storage/kayden/gui/mockups/inventory-shelf-2007-12-09.jpg)
(it probably wouldn't have to be that big, but we can play with the layout)

The idea is that the shelf is "temporary storage"—if you want to move an item from one container to another, you drag it to the shelf, switch tabs, and drag it back.
You could put as many items as you want in the shelf—so if you want to move everything around, you could just stick a bunch of things there, and then move them back out.

Naturally, to avoid infinite storage, you wouldn't be able to move/fight/cast spells/craft while you had something on the shelf—just like overweight now.  You'd have to put the offending items in real slots, first.

Inventory is incredibly difficult to code, and one of the hardest places is handling failure.  Before I added the "overweight" system, we had to handle failure when we didn't have the weight capacity to carry an item.  Imagine trying to handle this halfway through an exchange, or when getting a quest item, or...who knows.  You really don't want to hit that case and risk losing your quest item or completely botching the exchange.  My clever trick was to make weight never fail us—we allow the operation anyway, but set the player "overweight" and let them sort it out themselves.  Humans always do this better than a program.

The part I love about the shelf, aside from being a natural solution to the container-switching problem, is that it solves the "out of slots" problem too!  Get a quest item, but didn't realize you were out of places to put it?  No problem!  Into the shelf it goes—and once secure in your possession, you can find something unimportant to drop.  This has the potential to clean up not only the UI, but one of our ugly problems in the server code.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on December 10, 2007, 07:35:58 am
I'm glad to hear the GUI is being updated, and that this thread has been a source of inspiration. It's good to know it is actually helping the game in some way.

Well as for switching between tabs while "holding" an item could be achieved by allowing the user to switch into a tab with a mouse over, instead of actually having to click it. Though the shelf idea is very interesting.

I have started testing out actually implementing this GUI in-game and must say the results have been very satisfying so far. The last time I tried implementing my reskin (Seen Here (http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=17602.0)) I found that even when restricting the GUI from resizing to fit the resolution (an idea pointed out to me by Cherppow) I found that the graphics were distorted when rendered ingame and ended up looking terrible.
This time I found out a new trick (Pointed out here (http://www.crystalspace3d.org/main/EfficientTextures_Tutorial)).
Quote
3D hardware (but also software) can render textures more efficiently if the dimensions are powers of two(abbr. "PO2") (e.g. 256x256, 512x128...), going so far that hardware and graphics APIs (e.g. OpenGL) require textures to have PO2 dimensions. So does CrystalSpace for all textures, 2D and 3D. While you can feed non-PO2 textures into CS, they will be resized internally to a PO2 size (e.g. 640x480 will become 512x512). The resizing isn't very good, though: the texture will end up looking rather ugly when rendered.
So I created my texture at dimensions that are a power of two, and then turned of scaling, and resizing due to resolution and here is the result:
(http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/523/picture1yg4.png)
Not a single smudged pixel.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: ThomPhoenix on December 10, 2007, 09:09:46 pm
I knew that Arianna had passed her GUI-fever onto you, Nilaya, but not that you were actually working on something! Yay!

Cynwrig: Very interesting what you have there, that's a very beautiful buddy window! I'm not sure if you can or are willing to share it at this stage of development, but some people would be anxious to get their hands on it :D
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Earl_Listbard on December 10, 2007, 09:22:35 pm
I really like how the party info for each player shows an icon depicting their race.

Then again it all looks so clean and well made, keep up the good work man!
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Zetsumei on December 11, 2007, 09:35:05 am
I want to get my grubby little paws on the UI
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on December 12, 2007, 06:16:09 am
Well I got the buddy window almost completely functional, everything but the close button works. I might put it up for download later if any one wants to try it out.

I started work on the Launcher concept:
(http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/4513/updater1dy9.jpg)

(http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/5673/updater2qq6.jpg)

(http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/5797/updater3cy9.jpg)

The drawings were taken from the concept art section of the website.

Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Baldur on December 12, 2007, 09:12:57 am
I love it! Loveitloveitloveit!

The concepts could have different opacities, or one of them should go. The wind elemental looks like it's peeking out from behind the fortress, making it more of an anticlimax than the epic feeling you're trying to deliver.

Love it! \o/
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: ThomPhoenix on December 12, 2007, 05:41:50 pm
Coincidentally a "PS Launcher" tool has already been developed by Xordan. I'm not sure how it looks yet, as I can't get it to work, but perhaps you could mod it.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: rast on December 12, 2007, 06:12:49 pm
It looks awesome Cynwrig (both the launcher and the main concept) :)

*rast dreams of it being developed into a working UI*
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Mordaan on December 12, 2007, 06:31:16 pm
Looks awesome!  To me this is such an improvement over the current GUI.
*begins chanting* "im-ple-ment ...  im-ple-ment ... im-ple-ment ..."   :D
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on December 12, 2007, 08:12:49 pm
Yea she was "towering" over the tower in an earlier version, but I noticed she was kind of awkwardly placed and I moved her without much thought.


I have seen Xordan's launcher, if it is what I'm thinking of, and I did use it as a base when designing this one. Though mine gives it more of the feel of a launcher with the news being added and the emphasis taken away from the updater.

I have also created a new login screen:
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4372/login1pg2.jpg)
The background would be an animated environment.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: ThomPhoenix on December 12, 2007, 10:27:30 pm
Guildwars style, eh? I'd be nice, but hard to do now I think.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Zetsumei on December 13, 2007, 10:29:26 am
Y'know, I do believe that this has the potential to be the most useful mod since Aineko's (+5 points for everyone who knows what I'm talking about).
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Mordaan on December 13, 2007, 03:35:42 pm
Y'know, I do believe that this has the potential to be the most useful mod since Aineko's (+5 points for everyone who knows what I'm talking about).

*raises his hand, remembering Aineko fondly*

Who could forget the first instance of chat logs?  I still have mine.   :D
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Raa on December 14, 2007, 06:49:23 pm
IT'S SO PRETTY!

Keep working on it!
  NOOOW!
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: acraig on December 24, 2007, 01:59:33 am
This is very interesting and I would like to take a greater interest in adding some of these into our system. 
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Nalain Tarek on December 24, 2007, 02:30:44 am
Please, PLEASE, PLEASE!! finish it!,  This looks so good!  I would definitely use it!  And I like the moving Environment login screen idea.  But to do it you would need  either the server to be up and running, or a seperate environment model that the camera moves through.  Love it.  FINISH IT!, PLEASE!!
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Ravenguard on December 31, 2007, 02:37:45 am
First off, I'd hug you all.  Here, I'll do it digitally.
/target everyone
/hug

Wow.  I just realized how much of a geek I am.  Anywho... :offtopic:

Fantastic.   :D

And as far as the moving screens go, why not just have some generic city... things.  Having a panned overview of Hydlaa, then Ojaveda, then finally the BD Fortress would be awesome.  I don't think that it needs to be long at all, just five seconds per city, cross fades, different moving patterns for each of the cities, and it loops on itself.
Doing that and not needing to render the cities can make the startup screen look very nice.  Having a computer that has low detail on everything, seeing more low-detail cities wouldn't be big on my list.  Not to mention potentially using my time.  But, if high res pre-made shots were taken and shown, it'd be a more 'wow' factor, as well as letting me see the cities in full splendor, not just as gray blobs.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: nakai on January 27, 2008, 08:10:08 pm
These are really awesome. I hope someone is looking at implementing this,the current UI is clumsy and ugly.
This would really make the game look a lot better.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: neko kyouran on January 27, 2008, 08:18:26 pm
there is a new gui in the works for an upcoming release, yes.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Caarrie on January 27, 2008, 08:40:24 pm
there is a new gui in the works for an upcoming release, yes.

no there is not for this release, just some changes to make the current look better due to a change to how font scaling looks
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: neko kyouran on January 27, 2008, 08:43:08 pm
I never said it was this upcoming release now did I?
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Caarrie on January 27, 2008, 09:13:10 pm
I never said it was this upcoming release now did I?

oops
/me should not make posts when tired
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Tyrania on February 12, 2008, 10:49:52 am
Well it has been a while since I have updated, but I plan to continue working on the concept.

I have streamlined the interface a bit, and I redid the window borders.
@Xoiani: The small icons help reduce clutter, but it could be possible to have a larger view icon displayed upon examining the item.

(http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/6172/screencu0.jpg)

EDIT: Boosted color to make it look less dull. (Makes it look a lot better in-game.)

this one looks very well.

there is a new gui in the works for an upcoming release, yes.

Also, this will be available in the next client version?
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Zan on February 12, 2008, 11:21:38 am
/me points up

Not the next version, a future version and I don't know if it is this GUI either. I'd like it if it were but any improvement over the current, rather unattractive one will do.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Caarrie on February 12, 2008, 12:24:47 pm
/me points up

Not the next version, a future version and I don't know if it is this GUI either. I'd like it if it were but any improvement over the current, rather unattractive one will do.

there are no new skins but there has been a lot of work on the current gui for the next release done by many members of the testing team, including ThomPhoenix, Vornne, and myself
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: fright on February 17, 2008, 09:39:05 pm
I want, I want, I want  :thumbup:

This would really give the game a great boost since the GUI is just about the only thing I annoy myself on. =)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Tyrania on February 22, 2008, 07:50:02 am
Can someone upload the files and a xml for this new UI, please?
So we can use this now?  :lol:
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Kayden on February 22, 2008, 08:30:49 am
It's not that simple, unfortunately.  Redesigning the user interface requires changes to not only XML, but C++ code.  Sometimes the underlying widgets (listboxes, menus, etc) need a bit of work as well.

The inventory is the hardest part.  Notably in the new design, containers do not live in slots.  This would require rewriting the server side inventory code, and how it handles containers...which then has repercussions on crafting, and other fun things.  It may not be a bad thing to do eventually, but is rather low on my priority list. :)

--Kayden
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Cynwrig on March 01, 2008, 09:00:46 pm
Well I havent been working on the GUI in a while, so I have no changes to show.
I also haven't done any work towards getting it working in-game other than a few experiments with the buddy window. I'm not so sure it would be a good idea to invest efforts into a GUI mod this early in the games development. Every update could easily break it's functionality and who knows how much the GUI will change in the future.

Im glad to hear the current GUI is being improved on, though I will mention I have nothing to do with it, atleast not directly. I did see in the 0.4 Changelog:
Quote
A new Group Window, it's more minimalistic and displays race icons.
and can hope I had some help in inspiring that addition.

I can't wait to see what the new version is like (hopefully the mac client will shortly follow), and I do plan to continue working on this concept.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: ThomPhoenix on March 01, 2008, 10:33:34 pm
Im glad to hear the current GUI is being improved on, though I will mention I have nothing to do with it, atleast not directly. I did see in the 0.4 Changelog:
Quote
A new Group Window, it's more minimalistic and displays race icons.
and can hope I had some help in inspiring that addition.
Almost 100% ;)
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Mesmer on April 24, 2009, 08:22:53 pm
Well I havent been working on the GUI in a while, so I have no changes to show.
I also haven't done any work towards getting it working in-game other than a few experiments with the buddy window. I'm not so sure it would be a good idea to invest efforts into a GUI mod this early in the games development. Every update could easily break it's functionality and who knows how much the GUI will change in the future.

It could also change late into the development. They'll either need a new skin/layout to change the code or you'll need a new code to change the skin/layout. Someone on their team needs to take a serious look at their UI and see how they want to improve it, create a template, modify the code, and post a basic layout template publicly. You could also post a template and let them modify the code and create the graphics.

The main goal for the UI should be to avoid obstructing viewable area as much as possible, and use transparency (e.g. chat window), while still remain functional. Maybe something like this (http://tcos.com/uploads/news/Devblog02/Report_to_Dalheart.jpg) and better.
Title: Re: New UI Concept
Post by: Xemmas on April 26, 2009, 04:27:21 am
I really love how this looks!! specially the inventory and menu windows!! hope to be able to see it IG! or at least be able to use it ;)