The User Interface - Appearance and Organization

[Nique]

do we need one? hmm... does it have to be constantly on the screen? do we use it that often? I could place it in the upper left corner...

I think so. I always use the minimap to click on it to get my camera to a specific location on the field.
I think the bottom left corner is great for a minimap. 

[tomkeus]

Menu is complete (edit: I'm only talking about the code here):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywGmAGcEkdc


Menu appearance is easily changed so don't consider this design set in stone. What is important, is that all functionality needed is there.

[WC_EEND]

I just had a look at it and functionality-wise, it looks very good so far. I'd personally use another colour than that yellow (something a bit more...blue), but that's just my 2 cents

I think the bottom left corner is great for a minimap. 

How would that be    now, seriously: Most games place their minimap there, so if a minimap would be includer, that would be the place to put it

[Jonathan]

How about making the minimap moveable. I think the entire UI should be click and drag moveable with a lock icon to change between using the UI as a UI and moving the UI.

[JoeST]

Indeed, reordering the menu on the fly would be awesome too!

[Nique]

Menu is complete (edit: I'm only talking about the code here):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywGmAGcEkdc


Menu appearance is easily changed so don't consider this design set in stone. What is important, is that all functionality needed is there.

Great!
http://www.youtube.com/v/ywGmAGcEkdc

Is that menu colorized?

[tomkeus]

Is that menu colorized?

I don't get it. What do you mean?

[toberas]

Looks great. I always imagined the radius popping up in the center of the screen, but I think this is better because it acts even more as a quickmenu because you don't need to change your focus to a different spot. Also the way it pops up is good. It's very tempting to over-animate such menus, but that would become very annoying after a while (citiesxl anyone?) so this is fast, works good and looks great! GJ.

I don't really understand what people have with rearranging the UI. I can understand why a developer would want to build the UI adjustable for modders, but to have all UI elements draggable and resizable by the player is not a good idea imo. Their needs to be a base on which you can trust and build as a modder and as a player. A certain style and guideline for the game to be cohesive and understandable is necessary. The UI needs to be well thought out and balanced for it to be usable and even fun to use. Draggable elements most of the time do the opposite of what their purpose is. It will clutter as hell because there will be elements obscuring each other and the balance will be gone. As a player you don't want to have to look and search every time where that certain button is. In a fixed UI you'll know where everything is after a short time and you'll be able to go to what you want with minimal effort so your focus is on playing and not on searching.

I don't think that draggable/resizable elements are the way to go but that's just my 0,02

[Nique]

I don't get it. What do you mean?

I mean, did u use the grayscale sprites, and then color it orange?

[tomkeus]

No. Textures are orange. I though it might be too restrictive on the design.

[Nique]

Ok,

before we continue, maybe it is a good idea to choose a 'font' for the game. If we use different fonts the game's interface will become a mess. 

[townscape]

are there any copyright laws we need to take notice before looking into the options?

[Nique]

are there any copyright laws we need to take notice before looking into the options?

Yes, only use free fonts that may be used for open source projects.

[townscape]

the first thing that came up my mind is DejaVu Sans Condensed:

but i'm still searching for some open source fonts on the internet

also here is a recolor in blue-grey and the radial menu in the colors. the main goal of the color is to bind seamlessly
in urban landscapes and not distract from the game experience

[Jonathan]

I'm not sure whether it's open source but it's a widely used font I believe and I know Apple use it, though it isn't theirs. called Helvetica?

EDIT: and how could I forget, the UI is looking awesome

[MOREOPTIONS]

  The menu is great,  like the colors and the way i see you working it in the vid...  are you planing to colorize the items per there zones?  that would be brilliant :-).  look forward to the beta.. would be happy to try it out... 

[townscape]

if it werent for possible copyright issues i would have suggested MP Helvetica and Myriad Pro

The menu is great,  like the colors and the way i see you working it in the vid...  are you planing to colorize the items per there zones?  that would be brilliant :-).  look forward to the beta.. would be happy to try it out... 

what do you mean? color buttons green for residential, blue for commercial, etc.?
maybe...

[tomkeus]

townscape: 2 things

If you haven't figured so far you can take screenshot in the app I've sent you by pressing the 'p' key. Also, I've noticed on your enlarged screenshot that stripe is not being drawn correctly. I've fixed that so remind me tomorrow to send you fixed version.

[Nique]

How to remind you 

[tomkeus]

How to remind you 

In our chatroom. We have a chatroom, remember?