Main Screen Layout

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Eleazar
Retired Terrain Art Director
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Main Screen Layout

Post by Eleazar »

There's been a disproportionate amount of criticism directed to the main screen. Sometimes everybody decides to pile onto an issue no worse than dozens of other problems that nobody notices.

While fitting everything on a 800x600 screen is nice, the current version does suffer aesthetically at larger sizes. Here i'll suggest some simple math that should make everything look OK at any resolution.

* There a 3 mobile elements, the logo, the tip box, and the menu buttons
* None of these elements should come closer that 32px to the edge of the Wesnoth window. I'll call this the margin.
* The tips box has a maximum width. On IRC i gave an offhand range for that number. On further consideration it was too big. Most tips are only 1 line long + a few words. It should stop at 650 px wide, which still has room for an extra line with the longest english tip i could find.
* Now where to float things when there's extra space?
* * The bottom of the tips box and menu buttons always stays aligned
* * The logo is centered horizontally (as currently)
* * Find the amount of extra horizontal and vertical "extra space"
* * * For horizontal subtract the width of the tips + menu buttons + 64px from the total window width.
* * * For vertical subtract the hight of the logo + menu buttons + 64px from the total window hight
* * 1/5th of the extra vertical space goes between the top margin and the top of the logo
* * 1/5th of the extra vertical space goes between the tips/menu-buttons and the bottom margin
* * 1/5th of the extra horizontal space goes between the left margin and the left edge of the tips
* * 1/5th of the extra horizontal space goes between the right margin and the right edge of the menu buttons
* * obviously that will leave 3/5th between things

I realize this is a lot of words, but the mathematical relationships that i'm clumsily expressing are pretty simple. Hope that helps,

P.S. The menu button for the editor used to read "Map Editor". Currently it is "Editor". Since we already have people requesting and expecting to be able to build campaigns in the editor, i think the full label "Map Editor" is best. Changing the name could be taken to imply a broader function.
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Here's approximately what it would look like at 1600x1200
Here's approximately what it would look like at 1600x1200
Feel free to PM me if you start a new terrain oriented thread. It's easy for me to miss them among all the other art threads.
-> What i might be working on
Attempting Lucidity
Sangel
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Re: Main Screen Layout

Post by Sangel »

I gotta say, that menu looks awful small floating down there in the right-hand corner. Would it be possible to dynamically resize the menu and its buttons to occupy more screen real-estate where space permits?
"Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
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Eleazar
Retired Terrain Art Director
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Re: Main Screen Layout

Post by Eleazar »

Sangel wrote:I gotta say, that menu looks awful small floating down there in the right-hand corner. Would it be possible to dynamically resize the menu and its buttons to occupy more screen real-estate where space permits?
It is small. It's a half-size mock-up.

Dynamically resizing GUI elements would be cool, but that's a huge jump up in complexity from flexible positioning. I wouldn't say no to it, but i doubt if it it worth pursuing code-wize at this time.
Feel free to PM me if you start a new terrain oriented thread. It's easy for me to miss them among all the other art threads.
-> What i might be working on
Attempting Lucidity
SkeletonCrew
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Re: Main Screen Layout

Post by SkeletonCrew »

@Sangel, do you mean increase the size of the buttons or the size between the buttons?
Sangel
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Re: Main Screen Layout

Post by Sangel »

SkeletonCrew wrote:@Sangel, do you mean increase the size of the buttons or the size between the buttons?
Ideally, we'd be able to do both; on very high resolution displays, the buttons become quite small, as do the gaps between them. Being able to alter these would allow us to keep things proportional and easy-to-use.

Of course, Eleazar makes a good point about the coding involved. If repositioning the UI elements is an easier coding task than resizing the UI elements, then it's only natural to handle the repositioning question first.
"Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
SkeletonCrew
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Re: Main Screen Layout

Post by SkeletonCrew »

Increasing the distance is easier, whether it's needed I'm not sure.
If we want larger buttons there are two ways:
- scaling the buttons which causes me being chased by artists with torches and pitchforks
- have somebody make larger buttons which look good

The engine doesn't support switching between those two button sizes yet, but that is planned.

Further I implemented eleazar's proposal, or close to it. I think it needs some more tuning,
but the knobs are there so eleazar can look at it when he has time for it (already spoke
with him on IRC).
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Eleazar
Retired Terrain Art Director
Posts: 2481
Joined: July 16th, 2004, 1:47 am
Location: US Midwest
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Re: Main Screen Layout

Post by Eleazar »

Ultimately most of the GUI should be redone. I'd like to aim for something like this. But of course that's a long term goal, with a ton of work in-between.
Feel free to PM me if you start a new terrain oriented thread. It's easy for me to miss them among all the other art threads.
-> What i might be working on
Attempting Lucidity
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