[UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

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Arahatree
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by Arahatree »

Yes, it looks like a full information overkill. But the tooltip appears with a delayed time after we stop the cursor over the unit we want to inspect, for that reason this big tooltip would never be overwhelming.
Arahatree
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by Arahatree »

mrgenie, your mod that shows research in the vanilla UI is very clean and neat! It feels really REALLY nice! it's the big UI that we like so much to see all research without problem and at the same time so neat and nice! omg.... I didn't know such a prehistoric tool that you call "pen" could be so powerful :o

Now that you know so much about HAPS, and also you Evildari that see it possible, do you both think all that UI "units manager" design that i showed before, that i have being dreaming for years, could actually be done? Do you guys like that design? what could be improved, added... etc. into that design?

Well, i feel like "Evildari" + "mrgenie" = "Nothing is impossible now" :D :D :D

Mrgenie, I'm going to get to work right now into the skins you asked for this mod and i will upload them here as soon as possible :-) :-) :-)
Arahatree
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by Arahatree »

By the way, i almost forget, we could include that button of "units manager" into the hotkeys too.
Arahatree
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by Arahatree »

I have finished the three skins for this mod. But i don't know how to make the top part of the ui become smaller. I don't understand why, because i made it exactly the same scale than the rest of UI windows, but this one becomes disproportionate:
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Arahatree
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by Arahatree »

Well, that's strange.

Anyways, i upload here the skins :)

Actually i like it more with the colors of the research being brown instead of same color as the skin, so i'm uploading the two versions:

- Same color as theme.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10BaAnF ... sp=sharing

- Brown.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-WMjN4 ... sp=sharing
Arahatree
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by Arahatree »

Here is the screenshot for the brown version.

This version looks less immersive, but the top part is not disproportionate and i like that brown window, is so clean and neat.

Well, both versions are there, you can choose :)
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Arahatree
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by Arahatree »

By the way, could you make this one
Version 4 on date 8 DEC 2020 / 7 DEC 2020 - Extended Lower Left Menu

but with the extended tooltip from Evildari? i mean, having both versions of the mod at the same time. Because i like your extended tooltip in diplomacy (when trading techs and units with other countries), but the evildari big tooltip in production and research.

Thanks :) :)
mrgenie
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by mrgenie »

My own ToolTip already has all the Information and I like it more than the ToolTip of EvilDari, which isn't a tooltip basically a UnitInfo Panel pops up instead of a tooltip.

And my own ToolTip works also in Diplomacy, Research, Unit.. since I just use the already existing vanilla links.. (for multiple-mod compatibility)
it's always the best to NEVER change the vanilla links.. keep them.. and just add additional links to your own..
[UI-MOD] All-In-One viewtopic.php?f=91&t=31906
mrgenie
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by mrgenie »

To answer your question, yes a "unit management only" panel with everything you said is doable..
Just need to find the proper commands to select/add/filter and the proper graphic in the bitmap.. I know how to tweak the bitmaps.. but not how to add any
more as I don't have the source codes available..

if I had, I'd simply add another png file.. since loading a bitmap in a c++ engine is the easy part LOL

But sadly BG never exposed any such tools to the modding community.. But we can add existing..

instead of whole panels, it would have been better if BG didn't load whole panels.. but panel elements instead..
different headers, different sidebars.. different bottom bars and different "inner" panels..

that would have been extremely flexible even without loading own png files..

sadly BG also didn't do that..

that is moddable however EXTREMELY lots of work..

But theoretically, and practically if enough time, we could actually take let's say a few panels out of the current bitmap..
5 is the bare minimum.. and then right, top, bottom, left, center ..
replace 5 complete bitmap panels with 5 parts..
ingame we then put these 5 together.. you then have 5 times the same panel though..
take out a 6th panel and add a different header and now you have 1 times 2 = 2 different panels
take out a 7th panel and add a different bottom and now you have 2 times 2 = 4 different panels
take out an 8th panel and add a different left (one with and one without button possibilities) and now you have 2 times 4 = 8 different panels
take out an 9th, and split the first center into a half and this 9th panel into a half center, both you can crop and extend and you have 16 different panels..
take out a 10th, and you have 32..
11th and 64
12th and 128

So I wonder why BG never went for this solution..

by adding just like 20 panel bitmaps, you'd have the possibility to create
256
512
1024
2048
4096
8192
16384
32764 panels..

Now we're stuck with a bunch of fix panels.. 20? never counted them..

Guess when BG created the game, they never thought about modding initially..

I always had hoped for, them to go that path with SRU.. before going to a space race game..

But.. can't always get what we wish for hehe

Anyway, the existing bitmap initialization seems to FIXED load the png into the game memory..
So it IS possible to redo them all, and take 20 panel bitmaps out of the png.. do our own "moddable" bitmaps and then rewrite the whole
game HUD..

BUT.. that's A LOT of work..

Would be neater if BG for the sake of helping the modding community write a routine to have us load 4 sets of own png files
2048x2048 pixels
and add to each an alpha layer to allow the modder to set how to load them into the memory..
from left to right and then top to bottom, like you read a book, initialize these as obData 5001, 5002, 5003, 5004, 5005..

To add such functionality to the game isn't too much for the coder.. BUT would cost him time on the space race game nonetheless..

anyway.. I feel the strength of games like these lies in the modding community..

The more you support modding, the more customers you'll get.. I'm very sure about that.
[UI-MOD] All-In-One viewtopic.php?f=91&t=31906
mrgenie
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by mrgenie »

Arahatree wrote: Dec 07 2020 By the way, could you make this one
Version 4 on date 8 DEC 2020 / 7 DEC 2020 - Extended Lower Left Menu

but with the extended tooltip from Evildari? i mean, having both versions of the mod at the same time. Because i like your extended tooltip in diplomacy (when trading techs and units with other countries), but the evildari big tooltip in production and research.

Thanks :) :)
You just overwrite the link using the changed file from Evildari.. it's just a link to another HAPS file..
[UI-MOD] All-In-One viewtopic.php?f=91&t=31906
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Balthagor
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by Balthagor »

mrgenie wrote: Dec 08 2020Guess when BG created the game, they never thought about modding initially...
UI modding is not something we ever expected, definitely not to this level. We're never going to try and stop it, but it's not something we're going to try and enhance.

Some of the suggestions you make would require use to know 100% of what we were going to create at the start of the project. It just doesn't work that way. Due to progressive elaboration, we have to assemble some parts to know what we want to do with others. That's just the nature of a project.
Chris Latour
BattleGoat Studios
chris@battlegoat.com
mrgenie
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by mrgenie »

Balthagor wrote: Dec 08 2020
mrgenie wrote: Dec 08 2020Guess when BG created the game, they never thought about modding initially...
UI modding is not something we ever expected, definitely not to this level. We're never going to try and stop it, but it's not something we're going to try and enhance.

Some of the suggestions you make would require use to know 100% of what we were going to create at the start of the project. It just doesn't work that way. Due to progressive elaboration, we have to assemble some parts to know what we want to do with others. That's just the nature of a project.
Actually Balthagor, this morning I got an idea..
and it worked..

here an example.. I can now load my own bitmaps from files I define myself what's in the files and thus can create the own panels, own size, without resizing or stretching..
just as Arahatree wanted..

So now I know how to make own GUI panels.
how to define them
how to load them into the game engine
and give them unique bitmap numbers..

example of screenshot where I put a bitmap in a bogus file..
defined to load the bogus file
defined the area in the bogus file with the bitmap
and put that in place of the diplomacy panel.. while leaving the original diplomacy panel in the game untouched..
I just gave it a new ID :lol:
showcase.jpg
Note, the Jesus picture was just a random.. I gotta go in 15 minutes and just wanted to see if it can be done, making our own panels in a new bitmap file and load it into the game as unique image
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[UI-MOD] All-In-One viewtopic.php?f=91&t=31906
mrgenie
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by mrgenie »

Arahatree, in short:"I can now confirm what you want is doable!"

In fact, I might even redo the whole tooltip thingy LOL Now I know how to design own panels heheh
[UI-MOD] All-In-One viewtopic.php?f=91&t=31906
evildari
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by evildari »

mrgenie wrote: Dec 08 2020 Note, the Jesus picture was just a random.. I gotta go in 15 minutes and just wanted to see if it can be done, making our own panels in a new bitmap file and load it into the game as unique image
i order a RNGESUS background for the treasury !!!
my mods
http://www.bgforums.com/forums/viewtopi ... 79&t=25932 (even techs and units for everyone - AI will own you too)
http://www.bgforums.com/forums/viewtopi ... 79&t=29326 (MARSX2)
mrgenie
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Re: [UI-MOD] All-In-One Package

Post by mrgenie »

evildari wrote: Dec 08 2020
mrgenie wrote: Dec 08 2020 Note, the Jesus picture was just a random.. I gotta go in 15 minutes and just wanted to see if it can be done, making our own panels in a new bitmap file and load it into the game as unique image
i order a RNGESUS background for the treasury !!!
:lol: As in Christmas Theme? That would be fun actually.. but too much work .. doable but my days are also just 24h/day :)
[UI-MOD] All-In-One viewtopic.php?f=91&t=31906
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