Z-Eras -- Reality alternatives

1) Blank'ening it will be then. Somehow glowing on mouse-over? Sure why not! :lol:

2) Perhaps we will have to disagree on this. Nationals are so rare and in short numbers that creating a whole new Pod for these is an overshot. Let that value formatting and premise alone (for now) ... it might be simply (Purple, remember?) recolored to gain some focus, No?? SEE pic below...
Tag_Concepts_GS_AN.png
:) :) ;)

3) Don't really have time to work on that old spreadsheet (right?!)... if & when -- i might get it up to speed with BNW. I've recommended you to have a look only - just for kicks and to realize what Center might offer.

4) It should be used as a secondary place-holder for some other stuff that simply fits the default area. The only weird thing about it is that somehow overlaps the image above by (again) two smally pixels. But in the eyes of my scrutiny and compulsive obsession(s) with precision - it's blasting a friggin' flaw to the gameplay screen.

5) Yep - is all. Ideally, with some added diversity & features. If i correctly recall my early design steps for this stuff... the backgrounds were given a masking overlay that nearly blackened the framework where a bunch of "Spreadsheeting principles" deployed at Players' will. A sort of Q/A gimmick. Probabilities, technical details & so on. A statistical beast along side a cute Mini-Tree device for the math freaks. ;)

PS; Looks like we got ourselves some new TRIO-Pods, sized at 168x110!

Which will be dropped as follow onto the framework;
ATU: 92, 0/110, 260
BWC: 664, 0/110, 832

A as in -- Units_Actions
C as in -- Concepts (more like Functionalities and multiple special raise of Yields, etc)
**Much more than Nationals, btw

Alllllmmmmooost... 4 Down, 4 more to go!

PS2; Just corrected a silly mistake -- Horse & IRON are revealed in Ancient Era! -duh
 

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Are you able to open any *.PSPImage as asked for... the Multi-Layers format (PSD, XCF equivalent) for such files?
That tricky Corel stuff can't be converted to anything, AFAIK.
Gimp! even claims having a PlugIn for that but it doesn't work on my PC. I should update to their 2!8 version though.
 
I haven't tried it, but there appears to be a PSP plugin for Photoshop here.

EDIT: Though it looks like it doesn't properly handle layers... it does appear that I'd at least be able to manually open each layer one at a time.

I don't use it, but Paint.NET has built-in DDS support and it's free, if you want to try something else.
 
Maybe i'll just make one directly in Gimp as XCF for you. Paint.NET has been installed for so long i can't even remember if i ever needed it. They too claim having a PSPImage plugin but that didn't work either when tried yesterday.
The trick with DDS conversion processing is that "bad" plugins can certainly ruin the DXT1_to_5 compression modes. Just hate the quality loss, so i hardly use anything else but RGBA8 (exclusively in Gimp) without compression or (almost useless) mips -- for what i want anyway.
NVidia also has some great Plugins for PSPro. Controls & UV mapping features. My PSPRo-X3 had slight difficulties handling those a while ago but i've fixed the compatibility problems since.

I'll give that PhotoShop version a shot. (oooppps... you meant that one COULD allow opening of my PSPImages!) Let's try it that way then.

In the meantime -- i'm making HUGE design progress.

-- Classical lost its cheezy overlays (Gladiator & BenHur).

-- Medieval will now use the Chillon castle as background with the Templar Knight reduced and dropped to the right side instead.

-- Industrial should be more complex to edit. Liberty-Statue must be moved to Modern, so i simply mirrored the previous back. Train is now right and i'll re-mask the left to receive a sea platform... for OIL!

-- While a number of other key elements are being altered (or moved around the framework - without affecting our locations scanning stuff) to be consistant throughout the whole set.

-- The 6 Pods fit quite well, left & right. Not too intrusive, just there and easy to access.

-- I feel Unit-Actions *and* Functionalities should be used as separate sections from the first (Farm) Pod for ToolTip TXT-data gathering. Similarly to the headers of Wonders+Nationals... these would have Orange+Brown.

5 Down... 3 more to go! :D

PS1; The Wealth & Research (25%Production-convert) are special cases (previously were on the Top_Trim) in Medieval. I'll insert them at the bottom in the same area as Horse-Iron on Ancient. Their ToolTips should indicate which Techs allow these though... possibly with an exact replica of the Tech-Tree process.

PS2; Top-Trim design is very simple to determine. Central(128) TechIcons are hints on the "Best" choice. Left-Side "Buttons" are mostly either a Unit or Tech (again as suggested "Best") while right could be a Building or Wonder.

PS3; There must be a specific code pattern that evaluates and then, allocates the Advisory Icons (Military, Science, Foreign & Economic) in a number of places; 1) Drop-Down of suggested Tech choices from a list of currently valid selections.. 2) City-View production list for Units, Buildings, etc. THAT's exactly what the CENTER feature should be loosely based on -- or something of the sort, freshly devised via custom code. We'd simply gather the *already* available data and distribute it on our new gimmicky PopUps -- per Era.

PS4; I will also create a new (BNW-Gold for now) 300x120 (PopUpTop) file which should be integrated to our Grid framework. Always the same for each Era.

What'A'Ride of creative juice!!;)
 
Alright... this probably deserves its own post.

Here's the PSPImage for the Medieval Era. Pretty much final except for the Top-Right-Side "Magic_Button" (128x128 layer element, current picture is anchored with a 16x16 gap just as the Faith Yield on the left) which will have to wait a little more until i'm through with every other Eras.

I've also included the "blank_texture.dds" file in case you want to test it also. Works fine on my end.
As predicted -- it's a HUGE Zip. :lol:
Enjoy...
 

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:cool: BTW, Nutty... you should know that our dear "ZNW-Symbolic Ideology Tenets" has gathered a whopping 324+ subscribers in less than 4 days! :king:

Funny how -remaining- on page ONE of the Steam Workshop can achieve for public awareness.

Ooooooppppsss - 327.. and counting. ;)
 
blank_texture.dds is part of the base game (it's 4x4); you don't want to replace it. Use a different name if you'd like to make your own.

So I've been revising the Lua. I've added worker actions, and have made the ancient era deal properly with items having no [tech] prerequisites. At the moment, it specifically excludes all UUs/UBs/UIs, but I'm working on changing it to list the appropriate uniques for the player's civilization.

Re: your PSP image, the plugin I had found either doesn't work with CS6, or doesn't work with your Paint Shop Pro version. It says it supports PSP v5-9. I don't know what version of Paint Shop you have, but is it possible to save in an older version of the PSP format? Currently it sees 5 layers (Background and Rasters 1-4), but can't open any of them.

EDIT: I have a viewer called IrfanView that (with a plugin) will display the pic and allow me to re-save it in a different format, but it only sees the background layer. Did you have the other layers hidden? No, that appears to be a constraint of the IrfanView plugin... :(

EDIT #2: I downloaded Paint.NET; it has plugins for PSP and PSD. But it also doesn't like your PSP. I found this on the plugin's forum thread:
It appears that PSP X2 and later use a new format for the layer data that is not backwards compatible with previous versions, and Corel has not updated the public format specification to describe it.

In order for the files to be loaded by this plugin you must save them with the compatibility options set to PaintShop Pro 10 or earlier.
...So, there you go. Send me a compatible version please!

EDIT #3:
327.. and counting. ;)
Hooray!
 
blank_texture.dds file (64x64_32b_RGBA8_no compression) that i made is the only "version" that actually worked. When i first tried (without anything) i got a big box filled with black. So i dumped mine into the ART folder, VFS_True... problem solved. It's weird but i guess we'll either have to use it or find a different (or more efficient) way to handle the process through XML changes to the code.

Re; LUA, Actions, etc... good to know. Next - functionality stuff?!

PSPImage; Forget the whole Plugins quest and messing with compatibility issues. I just managed to copy/paste each individual layers straight into Gimp to exactly reproduce the original structure from PSPro-X3(btw, which i think uses PSP12 parameters as default). I've also found the options you're mentioning - tried #8 #9 and #10 - Gimp still wouldn't load these altered files. IrfanView (registered this wonderful asset years ago!) also gives me the first layer only.

I couldn't remember how "cumbersome" Gimp's Layer methods are... PsPro familiarity and process are much easier to cope with in my case.

I'll insert the XCF Zip in place of the other above. Strangely it zips+compresses the file with lower byte count than PSPImage. Sooooo weird.

Only have to mask Liberty and the Oil-Platform and insert them on their respective layers (example'd by the Medieval version you'll be able to use - now!). Just two PopUp files remain. Yeah!
 
Nutty, check your cfc_PM box... just given you a direct link to some nice stuff!

More comin' later. ;)

-- Something new;
Eras_Center_w_Magic_512.png


Dead smack in the middle of this hypothetic "Invisible_GridFrame" for the Center Popup is the "Magic-Button" i've hinted about earlier.
From now on, i will work on a solid and obvious Mock-Up of that feature... so that you could determine whatever is needed to produce it. I thought it was going to be a very complex device but after some rational design decisions, it will be a LOT simpler than i imagine it could get. Strictly a summary of data and info presented in a similar style found in most Overview screens already available.

Justifiably, a cool asset with serious options displayed in a parsable spreadsheet_like structure. Size_128 icons to the top-right, meter bars for each advisors, click-consult, grouping of types, Eras referencing & so on.
It certainly will be much easier to grasp in a picture approximating the "final" condition.

Please, be patient... this will take time. Don't want to botch it for you.

:D
 
Getting a lot of things done here on this awesome Saturday afternoon...

The snapshot below integrates pretty much everything that should make it to the final frameworks;
Spoiler :
Ancient_Era_w_Top_Magic_Button.png

The magic button has been added, and i've also inserted tiny(!) CargoShip, Camel & Religion beliefs Thunder-Bolt symbol near Horse+Iron. More about all of these outside this spoiler box.

PS; oKay-just removed the tinys at the bottom. They aren't really essential and were a bit silly looking within the game UI.

The eraspopuptop300 image has been manually attached to the grid to expose it. Its DDS file is in the Zip below -should you want to try adding it to the code itself.

-- Only three other small assets remain to be "added" to these Popups;

1) Custom 128 Icons (currently working on the first... then, 7 more to do!) representing Eras individually. Similar to what Wonders deploy in the middle of their bottom areas.

2) Simply, the Quotes... as spoken by the Narrator. On the right side. We'll have to come up with something for the Ancient?
Example;
"You've just entered a World in chaos. Food is sparse and savages roam the wilderness. Your only hope is to explore and conquer all - if need be!"
-- Zyxpsilon

PS; I wrote it, so it's mine. But, YOU should write one too! Easily added at random just as the default code already does. :)

3) Haven't decided yet what but it's going to be on the Left... Would you like to suggest anything?

Secondly,

The Gameplay Concepts: Pod... fairly simple code-wise. Here's a temporary list of what should be added to some custom (only) ToolTips with corresponding numbers;

1) ANCIENT: Barbarians, Ruins, Trade, Religion Beliefs, Embassy, Tradition, Liberty, Honor, Piety (Thus... 9 lines or more)
2) CLASSICAL: Patronage, Aesthetics
3) MEDIEVAL: Wealth, Research, Commerce, Exploration
4) RENAISSANCE: Espionage, World Congress, Rationalism
5) INDUSTRIAL: Antiquity Sites, Ideology Tenets for Freedom, Order or Autocracy,
6) MODERN:
7) ATOMIC: United Nations, ((PROJECTS: Manhattan Project, Apollo Program))
8) FUTURE: Spaceship Parts, Victory Conditions,

Maybe more...
Some of these facts are actually illustrated by special 80s Icons (their frames are colored per Era) straight onto the screens. Example; United Nations activation in Atomic --but-- could still be triggered in Future. Half design, glowing trails, etc.
Projects could get a specific title row (and color) too.

Thirdly,

My dear "Magic-Button" must be freakishly obvious to you by now. All it does is deploy another shorty ToolTip with a custom TXT like this...
-----------------------------
+ Center...?!

The Info Corner panel now has
a new Button that leads to
a summary of each Eras along
with additional features.
-----------------------------

So far - So good! :D

PS; btw... ZNW-SIT latest count off Steam? 406 .. .. .. and barely two hours later -- 542 !

PS2; Another bunch of resources... the ErasAtlas128.dds file. Which has this image for Renaissance and the rest of hem' candy stuff to chew on. ;) ---EDIT; Just realized that i had zipped the 256 versions. Here's what is really needed; the TRUE 128 Atlas. Sorry.

PS3 (Sunday_03-08_PM); In order to synchronize our alterations to the LUA+XML files... i've added a zip with the Popup/Folder changes i currently stand with. Mostly new colors for a few fields. Just in case, you'll be coding some extra-stuff -- soon. :D
 

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I'd have some weird questions about some UI coding processes, if you don't mind...

All the Techs, Units, Buildings, Wonders, Nationals will get displayed individually when accessed for details. In this sort of "device"...

C_Four_Meters_Panel_Test220.png


It's a very early design but you get the general idea.
Now the source files for the middle are techpanelframe & techpanelmeter (modified) which defaults are sized at 220x220. Yet, the Icons would need to use 128 maximum only.

I use small-scale UI. The top-left corner Tech currently in research certainly isn't 220x220. More like 158_174 or so. Thus their 128 fit exactly in that area.

Q; If i define the Center framework as using these files... will they automatically resize within the Popup **IF** someone uses Small-Scale UI or *Not*?? Puzzling fact, just want to make sure the design relies on specific proportions for every sections and (predictable) anchoring methods within a visually cohesive structure.
 
No. You'd have to go out of your way to make Center change depending on whether small-scale interface is activated.
(...which makes me realize that was something I could have done with CSL2 rather than forcing a smaller popup for everybody. Oh well...)

EDIT: Regarding the topper, this gets to why I had to shrink CSL2's popup... note that there are users out there with widescreens with rather small vertical resolution. Because it doesn't do anything, I suppose there's less harm if it goes offscreen, but I don't know if that's ideal. I can remove the bottom section, or shrink it, to compensate, but it sounded like you potentially wanted to put lots of data down there...

Can you explain your item detail interface idea? I'm a little confused about the four meters. You're trying to show mixed recommendation levels?
 
The problem is not the Small-Scale trick - indeed. I figured out that the Combo of Frame+Meter do resize on UI from 220 to 134. So, i'm guessing that the easiest way for us (and surely you, with the XML structure definitions and values) would be to simply provide a custom DDS-duo already sized at 134 to squeeze all the needed 128 icons (the net imaging area is 88 pixels only, btw) into that gimmick.

I gather a majority of core gamers have gone beyond the old 1024x768 standard. Key here is 768, right? Okay -- let's compare stuff to make a point;
Spoiler :
Compare_Pop_Ups_Wonder_Eras.jpg


If Wonder PopUps can do it, so can we! :D
Seriously, these two snapshots are very near in net proportions...
1) Wonder closes from an external button -- the bottom Red stripe on the Era version seems tall enough ((AND... it is!)).
2) Both TopTrims are exactly the same size; 300x120.
Weird isn't it? I suspect there are some provisions for re-framing code functions according to users' monitor and resolutions. If they can adapt their maximum Wonder... so will we with our (even slightly smaller) custom Eras. Possibly. Unless we must close the (current format + new toptrim) Grid straight from the bottom grid-bar section as seen in numerous other screens and mods -- *IF* there's a vertical limit conflict, only.

Can you explain your item detail interface idea? I'm a little confused about the four meters. You're trying to show mixed recommendation levels?

Yep... something like a 0-10 gap system (-/+) that evaluates the importance of every items as they relate to Science, Foreign, Military or Economics. This is a simple DB grab of personally created (or determined already by the incode Advisory procedure - at least in part) values. Techs, Buildings, Units & Wonders+Nationals.

The meters (from each 1/4th areas) mimic the Production-Research methods with a three-tier brightness variation of the curve. Top(-)Bottom (Minuses or Zero).. Left(+)Right (Pluses or 10). Military maximum is then Sharp-RED (for its entire crescent) while lowest priority items could only have 1-2 less-bright "ticks".

Wanted to wait until i have a much more complete mock-up but since you seem to ask for a detailed interface...
Spoiler :
Spoiler :
MOCK_UP_Test4.png

Still cool stuff.. agreed?

Current (v4)...NOTES:

#1) The top-left corner now has its double-Eras switcher_selector (per era and categories of Techs_U_B_W_N which will be similar to the "pages" style of Info-Addict... with Single-CapsLetters rather than 1-2-3, etc) component. The Industrial section has its pips row a bit off -to fix later. The magic-button in this case represents quick access to a bottom listing(2!) where ALL items (in or out of focus) of ALL Eras are available.
These are tied with the drop-down lists (TWO) of items currently in focus. The rows are simply produced with Civilopedia resources. Almost a copy/paste Grid structure.

#2) The individual Tech-panel boxes (ex-BronzeWorking) above the mini-tree should provide a clickable system for the usual maximum of their five items. Their background will also be colored to match with the Eras. Soooo... in this specific case -- Spearman, Barracks, Statue-Zeus, Iron & Chop-Action will be accessible from that UI-Location too instead of "returning" to the Drop-Lists and searching again. ETC.

#3) The cost(s) and item(s) dropping framework (top-right section) is also pretty much finished. Headers (w/shortened TXT for clarity, btw) are moved inside some items, the "navigator" component (tiny arrows) simply scans for elements... which stay within the general area below. They just slide up-down at will.
...#4) Incoming: Mini-Tech-Tree connections and the new but tricky Scroll-Arrow_Buttons functions ---

Spoiler :
Next Test-MockUp below;

MOCK_UP_Test5.png


(v5) NOTES:

#5) Panels are now referenced as follow;

R1 = Righty which contains many sub-components.. FAM (Four Advisors Meter), DDD (Drop-Down-Details), TIF (Tech In Focus), MTT (Mini-Tech-Tree).

E2 = Eras selectors. Two master drivers that control what types of items deploy in the lists underneath and from which (pip selected) Era.

L3 = Lists duo. Which will have to somehow be semi-transparent (i suspect we'll need to use a custom Civilopedia Row-file for this to work out (as intended) unless there's a genial coding trick that could do the same - more easily) to let through B/W Era images. Here's a test attempt to give a sense of how it could be;
Spoiler :
BDL_Ancient_556_X375_Test.png
Both are "navigated" with two simple Arrow_Pointers instead of a (yet-TWO) stick-scroll-bar (AND, repetitive clicks on Up/Down arrows -duh). These slide Up&Down only. I could squeeze in *!*17*!* lines which in of itself might not seem so low or high or even.. inconsequential. But --trust me on this-- after extensive inspection of the entire Civilopedia, it is a magical limit to efficient distribution of datasets.

P4 = Panel-Bar(s). Direct parsing device for the lists. ex-Find anything that relates to Production, Culture, Food, etc. Two more sections (L&R) will perform other tasks.

#6) I've introduced the Units (R1) new DDD principles. Generally, compressed data with concise info only. Beside Cost, Type is being replaced by a symbol (mostly promo-Icons 45s), Combat & Movement fit together in a single Box. Similar arrows as the Techs (seen in v4) allow for quick access to additional "Pedia" boxes if needed.

#7) The Mini-Tree is even smaller while combining nicely with the TIF reference box above it. As it was a simple visual reminder of Tech locations, didn't make sense to have it sooooo big as the last version. The connector piping smoothly integrates with the tiny boxes and only ONE checkmark (white22) is ever used on it at any given time.

#8) To its left is a temporary "Navigator Tool" attempt. Might not be absolutely necessary though. To discuss later.

#9) Under the FAM, we have two more small but important instances. Name of the item in focus and a supplemental feature box named "Temp" for now. Let's just say... it's social_policies (and more) related! :) ((I just hate the crazy size of Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, btw!))

#10) The Red and Blue empty boxes underneath are for later development. At this moment, i'm thinking about allocating the Blue with some parser tricks for the list on its left only.

PS; Nevermind the Green surrounding or the Magenta & Red & Blue dividing lines... these will be correctly discarded_colored_replaced by some grey-black bars eventually.
Soooooo.. next time (Version 6) will most probably finalize the rest of the remaining assets. Concluding (my "easy" share) the entire design phase!

****
Tadaammm! FINAL MockUp below;

MOCK_UP_Test6.png


What a wild creative rush this has been - buddy. ;)
Some conclusion NOTES to explain what's new or finalized;

#11) E2 -- Renaissance_Technologies and Modern_Units (TXT colored) are given focus in the L3 lists underneath. The @ choice represents "ALL items" (TUBW together).

#12) L3 -- Battleship is active and we've just clicked on the full advisory button (at the far right) from the P4A area. Thus, its "color-coded values" (will also be shown into the R1-FAM crescents, btw) are inserted near the end of its line. We are also using the "Checkmarking" option from the P4C section. These allow for various tagging styles, parsing alphabetically or dropping ID stuff which are mostly useful (or necessary!) when the listings include many, multiple Eras (via Magic-Button) or even, all categories.

#13) P4S -- Right-Side panel with 8 tiny Icons... TB+LR;

a) Techno+... List techs along with each of their related items - in sequence.
b) Unit Upgrades... From-To.
c) Promotions... per categories of Units, very similar to Pedia.
d) Religion Beliefs, etc.

e) Terrains... exactly as Pedia content.
f) Improvements... sic.
g) Resources... also.
h) Actions... probably custom stuff.

That panel of Options only ties with the Right-Side L3 currently in use... or with specific data_features (d-h).

#14) R1 Panels... generally similar to what was mentioned earlier. I've added an alternative way to deploy R1-DDD and its numerous info boxes via a Scroll button/function instead of drop-down-arrows (Red&Green) open/close of each items. Up to you to find the best or choose easiest coding-method. Could be somehow fun to use the tiny arrows though.

#15) R1-INF -- Right below the R1-FAM component. Name of Items and Flag (current player!) of Units. Could be used for additional info if need be.

#16) R1-TIF -- Uses the Modern color theme for Electronics.

Yup, i'm done! Any questions or comments - feel free to share your thoughts in the thread.

:)
This is a VERY ((but now... much-much-mucho less!)) early design. Mini-Tech-Tree (No Connectors, yet... might use simple greyish lines only)), limited or expanded automatic grab of some Civilopedia infos (Drop-down style of individual sections, via arrows scanning), drop-down list (two of them simultaneously), tiny pips for Era focus switching... etc.
Once i have the nearly final version, i'll insert Tags and proper details about anything on that potential screen. And, it has got a custom Top-Trim (256x64) too -- which will fit, trust me. ;)

I'll try to finish it by this Friday --

PS; Have you got the files from my One-Drive Link??

PS2; Okay... i've decided to help you keep track of my progress with the MockUp design stages. This way, you will always have the latest development steps right from the spoiler box above.
I'll simply replace the images right there and add some key-notes at the bottom if need be. Much easier to "think" about what the code might endup being done with. I'll also make sure to hand over every component sizes, locations & anchoring values.
I know how XML can be "difficult" to manage when framework and structure must be defined precisely instead of juggling with fine-tuning stuff. Case in point, the Pods calibration for numbers. ;)
 
I hadn't done the math, but you're right, the size is fine for now. It would be rather painful to do dynamic resizing, so for now let's try to keep it no larger than the wonder popup.

Re your mockup: Wow.
That's going to be a pain to hook up...

I did download the newest era screens, yes.

I've integrated your color changes to my version with worker actions and cleaned up logic (and some new tooltip/pushbutton areas), but I didn't otherwise have any time to work on it this weekend. I'll try to get something to you in the next couple of days.
 
Great! Take your time... as i will.
Re--PS2 in the previous post. Progress will be much easier to follow and coordinate with our unique tasks.

That's going to be a pain to hook up...

You should see my development folders... they are FILLED with custom resource files which will eventually need conversion to DDS. I've got me some buttons, screens, pips, boxpips, layers of test stuff - heck, various sizes of multiple UI elements. All of these must be kept track of for later XML definitions and values.
No pain, no gain! ;)
 
So I found some time to do some learning and playing around with the era popups.

  • Uniques are now dealt with appropriately, and I added asterisks to the number pods when a unique unit/building/improvement is available.
  • The rightmost "placeholder" pod is (for now) used for new strategic resources available. If you give me a better use for that pod, I can simply move that information to a tooltip on the bottom area.
  • I've further increased modularity by removing some hardcoding in favor of new database entries. Now the color, the image, the name of the focus (in the upper left), and the top middle 3 icons (a key unit, tech, and wonder) are based on these values. The 3 icons are added to the popup by the mod--they don't need to be part of the image any longer.
  • Mouseover glows are added.
  • Work has begun on the framework for the Eras Center.

I have to say, your design has gone from busy to hectic. I'm not sure that all of that has to be on one page at the same time... and you've certainly bit off more than I can chew programmatically. But I'm willing to see how far I can get.

EDIT: As for the 3 top icons, I guess I don't actually play the game enough. I think I know all the techs, but can you list the units/wonders you've picked for each era?
 
My friend, this is some superb work for the Eras PopUp!

I particularly like how you managed to integrate (which i previously wished for) the top-three icons as "customizable" if need be. Focus corner, (some references of??) colors & image(s) are an extra bonus i appreciate a lot.

-- Uniques.. again, really cool thought. Adding asterixes to the Pod orbs gives them a nice visual touch.
-- Rightmost Pod.. i guess you must have skipped what i mentioned about that one in post #50 above. This is intended to simply list a few key Gameplay Concepts within a "custom" Tooltip - only. It would have been nice to have specific Tooltips for the bottom area where strategic resources and other stuff resides - but i don't think it's a harsh priority. Their icons are somehow obvious enough, AFAIC.
-- Mouseover glows.. i consider myself as a fairly knowledgeable artist, so that "gimmick" will certainly be fun to have.

((Oh, Please-Please-Please insert the currently validated "code" for the above changes in a ZIP here, asap!!))

I have to say, your design has gone from busy to hectic. I'm not sure that all of that has to be on one page at the same time... and you've certainly bit off more than I can chew programmatically. But I'm willing to see how far I can get.

Soooooo true. The whole structure is a bit crowded while trying to offer as much features as possible - within a certain limit. This limit is somehow flexible in a sense that visual impact slightly takes the back seat to minimal functionality.

I'd call the "CENTER" principle a Civilopedia on steroids, indirectly. So, everything is as centralized as rational choices can be. Compressing the DDD boxes (and how they display) is a perfect example of such a reasoning.
I'm just being rational here, ya know. I don't want too much elements on screen and yet, we have a precious opportunity to hand over a central device that users will **want** to use for good enough reasons.
Tricky ergonomics or multiple assets aside, the objective remains the same; explore core facts while obtaining quick & concise information(s).

IIRC, you mentioned that you'd use this project-task as a "learning experience". Well - now - is your chance. Give yourself some credits, so far you've achieved plenty and whatever comes next will be tasty icing on a huge cake. I have every confidence in your abilities, friend.
We'll combine our efforts even for logic and repetitive typing -- when & if necessary. You just have to ask and i'll volunteer for anything you might need. Thus... the magic of collaboration goes beyond skills or willingness. To me, it's an intellectual ride - shared for the best! :D

Top Three Icons rundown? Sure...
From left to right, middle is still in between the smaller two's;

1) Ancient...... = Trireme - Sailing - Great Library
2) Classical..... = Composite Bowman - Optics - Colossus
3) Medieval..... = Education - Theology - Workshop
4) Renaissance = Caravel - Gunpowder - Forbidden Palace
5) Industrial.... = Scientific Theory - Electricity - Factory
6) Modern....... = Battleship - Flight - Eiffel Tower
7) Atomic........= Rocketry - Atomic Theory - Pentagon
8) Future........ = Satellites - GDRobot - CN Tower

;)

PS; Did i say, i truly appreciate your EXCELLENT work? Yep, and it goes on.., don't worry - be happy. Enjoy the ride.

PS2; I'll have a cool gift (or two, beyond money concerns!) for you soon. You certainly deserve anything i can offer.
 
  • Work has begun on the framework for the Eras Center.
As long as you're ready - so am i!! ;)
Told you i was going to make your task somehow a lot easier in some ways...
Well -- here's a package of necessary (at this point in time, i guess) resources.
Mostly;

-- Many DDS files... some of these are finals while others might need further work.
-- The Center caller pseudo Grid (activated from an Info-Corner trigger Icon) and its buttons are included.
-- TopTrim for the PopUp.
-- A set of grid9TIF_*.dds files for each Eras which will be used to color the R1-TIF panel instances.
-- A few tiny custom Font-Icons that would be used in the processing of features.
-- Pips, Boxips and other small stuff already shown in some Panels.

-- Seven ((+2)) major-and-minor Panels and their current (Identified as Temp) framework; R1-FAM, R1-DDD, R1-TIF, R1-MTT, E2, L3 and P4. I've also included a referencing png image that indicates each of their "Anchoring Dots" with a tiny CYAN pixel in top-left corners. ((Replaced by multi-color boxes)) I rationalized you'll be treating E2 and L3... (additional REFs are available with the "overlapping and centering" Middle divider+DDS) as two seperate instances (L&R sides). Also included the Top & Bottom divider bars for the entire width of L3. ((These are now integrated directly in the L3 Image))

-- That PNG has a box with surrounding green lines. These aren't part of the final setup and could be deleted if you want exact coordinates for each Panels Cyan-Dots.

-- Never mind some magenta & blue lines too, as explained earlier.

Fairly sure such stuff will help you designing the code with On-The-Fly experiments with the actual structure in a temporary popup. I certainly envy you now! :)

Everything is in the Zip below. Have fun. :D

PS; oooooppppsss... completely forgotten that i also wanted to give you the exact Anchor-Dot references (8 Eras Icons & the Magic-Icon in the middle) for the Center-Grid ((gridErasCenter_512.DDS File)) that pops up when invoqued via the Info-Corner button. I'll do this tomorrow morning! Good night folks. ;)

PS1; Alright, here are the exact "Anchoring Dots" values (Left,Top) for the above; Magic8=(216,216) -- AN(216,64) -- CL(322,110) -- ME(368,216) -- RE(322,322) -- IN(216,368) -- MO(110,322) -- AT(64,216) -- FU(110,110).
** I'll do the same for the E2 Eras-selectors Pips --which will deploy the Checkmark_W22.DDS Overlay(s)-- later today...

PS2; Gee, that was sooooo easy.

* E2L-eft = PipsRow(109,13) and each to its right +20 -- Magic8(115,33)
* E2R-ight = PipsRow(9,13) +20 too -- Magic8(131,33)

* The Era Icons are 128,128 and thus are relative to the anchor corner with (+1,+1 -- these tiny "Grey" boxes will eventually become black just as the backgrounds of every panels - right now they're in place just to help with copy/pasting to the MockUp.). Their Frames are made with a "citizenframe128_GS.DDS" ((*incl.)) custom file which can easily be re-colored to represent each era at runtime.

I've also created two extra (but necessary) icons for this component, NO-Eras & ALL-Eras(which is activated by Magic8's)...((*incl.))

PS3; I have decided to get rid of the R1-MTT_Navigator "component", btw. Doesn't really add anything worthy and it's too much and/or useless supplemental code work. From Hectic *back* to Busy, somehow. ;)

PS4; Since you hadn't downloaded anything yet and i presently hold many more assets to work with -- included in a new Zip below. Does it for now. Next will be the (most probably) final Mock-Up! :D

***
PS5; Alright... Final MockUp is absolutely ready for anything (Refer to post #53 section as usual)! I've also joined the most recent "workflow" assets in a new Zip below.
 

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