Doubt they'll be any good. Been working on the System screen for a few hours. Doing and redoing areas. I'll try and post up a draft tomorrow or the day after.

I could post what I've done so far, but I don't think it's up to par. Think I'm going to re-re-restart by going through ever single screen and writing down the important parts. Then organise them, like I'm thinking the trade routes should be part of the trade page.

well, trade routes are used and set much more often than the more global trade via stock exchange. I think having it in the system view comes in quite handy since one does not have to switch that often from the trade to the system menu..

another thing UI-related. I'm currently creating a startscreen for bote. You all know that small box you have at game start, well, and it should be transferred to something more integrated in the game. So far I've come this far. What still is to be improved might be the text and I need stylish (radio) buttons and text input field frames for the chat and the name and server description fields. Everyone who wants to help should open bote and try to "convey" this picture to my background below (or even create a whole new background if you're up to that). Ah, and I should add that star trek things (and copyrighted things in general) are not wanted, at least in the official start pic. Anyone's modded pic could have it in of course .

Edit: pic removed, see newer version below!

I was thinking something like listing all possible destinations for trade routes, having them sorted by profit. Then you could just select the top however many trade routes you can have, maybe even an automated way to do this. Perhaps it's wishful thinking.

not a bad idea at all (and btw. not that difficult to implement either). let's see what sir p. thinks about that. Could help "compressing" the screens..

I just thought you'd also have to put the name of who you are trading with as it might be worth more to trade with a minor, make less profit and improve the relationship than with a major.

that's right. you also might want not to trade with a specific major because trade routes work two-way (the "target recipient" also gets a few stripes of latinum out of the trade route you lay towards them).

btw. here's my latest work on the start screen showing some button selection effects:

Sorry I got completely sidetracked playing botf.

no problem, hope you got a good game going .

btw. here's another attempt of mine and derek's work:

do you have the alpha4 of bote btw.? your join date suggests otherwise . anyway, just wondering.

3

that explains why you're still being distracted by playing botf . anyway, version 4 will make you sweat in your seat, I'm sure about that (it made me so, loosing systems isn't nice, it never was ).

Finally got back to restarting my work.

Version 0.1 - Basic layouts for the 7 different screens.

Galaxy


System


Research

a research / tech database button and whole screen would be nice. I know it's currently not even implemented in the "old" style but something like the botf database would sure be nice to have in bote.

I don't think the whole ship list and special design menu fits into that small area on the left or should that one be a separate menu?

looking good otherwise. Though I think we need some people first who actually take the old style with its gimp files for the menus and rearranges them nicely to fit into your new style..

I was thinking of having an F1 type screen that listed all the tech and what tech levels you needed for what ships and buildings rather than putting it into the main game. For now I'm just trying to fit in what is already there.

It's still version 0.1 I can adjust them when I move them up to full size if there are any problems. I actually had an idea about ship design that might warrant its own screen.

Diplomacy


Trade/Empire


If I add Ship Infomation to Intelligence then I can get away with 6 screens. I am missing news, however most of the stuff on it isn't that useful and late game its very cluttered.

Does Intel work currently? I couldn't seem to do anything.

yes it does. it has a depot system in order not to be able to shift and bash someone newly-met with your intel power. you have to build up race-specifically some amount of intel points and can then allocate them to actually do something. try it out .

I cant seem to depot espionage or sabotage points.

there is a german pdf manual coming with the game with screens and explanations. if you run the intel parts thru an online translator you should get the idea of how to do that. Or by simple "brute-force" trial and error. Move points away from inner security, then the depots should fill in automatically equally for all known races. To be honest, in my Heyoun games I played so far, I never used intel for more than inner security cause frankly the Heyoun suck at this (like they should ) so I can't be of more help here to you. but it works, that much I know .

Hopefully that'll work for Intelligence.

I think the button menu might be better at the bottom.

I'd like to have the end turn at the upper left plus bote is separated/tiled into 4 different screens so the basic style with the buttons at the left, the systemview below and the menus on the upper right will never change, I'm sure of that. One can only shift things around in those areas, not intersecting nor shuffling them around. Would be too much work to do to recode all the UI (stupid MFC, I know kinda envy mike here, he's got it better there with .NET ).

So you mean the windows are fixed like this:



and I should design around it?

exactly .

That piece of information would have been handy when I posted the first examples

you're right. but i was already cropping it down to "2" in the pic above . The interesting parts are taking place in the upper right menu part (1075x750 in size). The rest is more or less empty space, i.e. already filled out and unchangeable .

Moved trade routes to another screen with ship information that was missing. With another idea. The amount of points in Espionage gives you some basic information on the strength of enemy fleets, that way if someone with twice your fleet power asked for money you would think twice about not paying. Could that work?

you mean a totally new screen dedicated to enemy fleets and traderoutes? but what have traderoutes to do with enemy fleets? That should be something that stays either within the old intel menu or in a diplomacy window cause that's where the information is needed right-hand.

Btw. it would be possible of course. The intel menus we currently have already offer you quite a lot of information about the strength of any given enemy depending on how many IP you allocate to espionage on them. Have a look there.

Nothing, they are both just left overs that I will try and put together with other stuff they should be with if there is room to fit them on the same screen. I guess you could argue they are both about spaceships

It's not really a new screen, I've only posted 7. I still haven't played that much with intel, normally by the time I get to the point where research is worthless and start converting research planets to intel the game is already over with my 250 Khaoron heavy cruiser fleet.