[Freeciv-Dev] Re: (PR#7127) [FS] Screen design

["Raimar Falke" <i-freeciv-lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://rt.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=7127 >

On Tue, Jan 06, 2004 at 01:32:48AM -0800, Morgan Jones wrote:
> 
> <URL: http://rt.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=7127 >
> 
> >>>>     * chat output area ALTERNATIVE: fading output at top-left
> >>>> corner like in Diablo2
> >> 
> >> Diablo 2 IIRC relied on the top left corner of the screen being
> >> pretty dark or black. I don't think we can guarantee suitable
> >> conditions over the mapview.
> > 
> > There is no explicit dark area in this corner. It is more that
> > Diablo but itself is pretty dark and that the action is in the
> > center of the screen.
> 
> Looking at that GalCiv shot you used, the city name/production text is
> contained in a transparent greyish black box.  This looks very nice
> and would solve the problem of messages being hard to read over the
> map view.

You mean like http://freeciv.org/~rfalke/fs3_pics/mapview2.png (photo
manipulation). This is ok for chat message but not for others since
you can't click. Or at least people don't expect that you can click
it.

> So we could use the fading text idea but there would still need to be
> a messages dialog that you can call up to check back over previous
> messages.

Yes scrolling and clicking is required for the messages.

> > Excellent. You just got the title "Chief Freeciv Screen Layouter" ;)
> 
> Thanks.  I'll see what else I can come up.  Are you wanting assistance
> designing the various dialogs/reports as well?

Yes. After the main map the city screen is next ;)

> >> Theoretically it would be nice if the layout automatically adjusted
> >> to the size of the images and fonts...
> > 
> > You have to specify a new config file containing the layout for
> > different screen resolutions. I think this is acceptable.
> 
> This is good.  But what happens if someone defines an image/font that
> is too big for the layout?

The one who changed it is responsible for the layout. If he breaks it
he has to change it.

> I think maybe that the font style could be changable (not everyone
> has/likes the same fonts) but not the fontsize.

It is planned to use freetype (http://www.freetype.org/) to render
text. The true-type font to use will be included as part of the theme.

It may happend that for very slow computers (like an original A500)
freetype is too slow. In this case the platform code could use native
fonts.

> This would, I imagine, remove a lot of headaches for both layout and
> coding.

gui-fs is about fixed screen sizes and so layouts. You design the
layout for a given screen resolution like 640x480.

I can assure you that a fixed layout makes the programming a lot
easier.

> City name and production font sizes could still be changable though.

You can define for every label, text, button and tooltip a seperate
font.

> > Two points:
> > 
> > I want to remove the message dialog. I want it part of the main
> > screen layout. For this chatline output area will used for this. It
> > will be made clickable. However for this the area must get
> > scrollable. What do you think?
> 
> I'm not quite sure what you mean.  At least on the MUI client all
> messages and chat output appear in the same scrollable text region
> below the main map.  There's a message dialog that's available from the
> menu, but I never use it as everything appears on the mainscreen
> anyway.  Important stuff I have as popup requestors.  Is this
> different from other clients?

No the client isn't different but your usage pattern. There are 3
possible ways to get informed about an event (chat area, message
dialog, popup). Depending on how you view it:
 - I want to remove the message dialog and to make the chat area
 clickable or
 - I want to remove the chat area and move the message dialog to the
 place which is used by the chat area now.

> The area I've defined in layout.png in the bottom right hand corner of
> the screen was where I intended all messages and chat to appear.  It's
> pretty small in 640x480 but on larger screensizes there would be heaps
> of room.  I forgot to draw a scroll bar on this, it should have one.

Good. Problem solved for my part.

> The transparent black textbox could provide an alternative solution. 
> Maybe it could be used just for popups, or it could be permanently in
> place displaying a user defined number of recent messages.  In which
> case it should be scrollable.

Some of you may remember Settlers I. If there was an important issue
an icon fall down on the right side and sat there till you clicked
it. I want this feature for at least diplomacy meetings. I think it
can be used for other popuping up messages as well. This may look like
http://freeciv.org/~rfalke/fs3_pics/mapview3.png.

> > A minor point: is it really necessary to have the global warming and
> > cooling icon on the main screen?
> 
> No, but they're pretty :-)

Good. Than we can also remove then. And add some more quick icons
there. But only pretty ones ;)

        Raimar

-- 
 email: rf13@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 "Just because you put a flag on the moon doesn't make it yours, it just
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