What do you want to know about HUDs and Onscreen Text?

ID:109330
 
Feb 9 2011, 4:25 pm
Keywords: silk_games
Yesterday I released the Silver Version of the Silk Games HUDs and Onscreen Text demo/tutorial. As I now turn my focus over to the more feature-filled and complex Gold Version of the demo, I'd like to know what people want out of it.

The major additions that I'm planning for the Gold Version are customizable dialogue boxes (what you see in any traditional RPG), a simple Player inventory HUD plus NPC shopkeeper HUD demonstration, and stuff like Yes/No prompts and auto-updating numbers up the HUD.

The Gold Version will show you how to do stuff like this

The dialogue boxes will probably be the big draw, as developers will be able to drop them into any existing project without much hassle. Line breaks etc. are all calculated automatically (and only once, when the world boots up).

My question: Is there anything else that you'd like to see demonstrated with HUDs? Anything that is lacking in the other demos currently available on BYOND?

Please post a comment with your suggestions or requests. People have been asking me about how Silk Games HUDs work for years: now is your chance to uncover the specifics!
Feb 9 2011, 5:12 pm
I'd add the Yes/No handling, the classic rpg name selection, and perhaps some sort of menu system?
Feb 9 2011, 5:15 pm
DisturbedSixx wrote:
and perhaps some sort of menu system?

Any particular type of menu you have in mind, or just some sort of display menu like the NEStalgia status screen?
Feb 9 2011, 5:16 pm
This is hard to answer considering I know how to do each, but I think the menu system is rather essential.

Yes/No is basic input, so I guess it's useful to include.
Name selection is derived from menu systems so I don't think that's necessary, only if really requested I suppose.
Inventory systems w/ drag and drop capabilities are quite useful actually.
Text-on-screen is probably the most wanted feature.

I vote to add the menu system, and am excited for your text-on-screen system.

[EDIT:

I was thinking more along the lines of the original Pokemon game type menu system, but that was my opinion. Not too hard, but quite a few might find useful.]
Feb 9 2011, 5:25 pm
Everything CauTiON said and for the menu perhaps aside from just a click interface having the old fashion arrow navigation? Where you move to your selection with the arrows.
Feb 9 2011, 6:00 pm
Ah okay, now I know what you're talking about with the menus. Very doable, thank you for the suggestions.
Feb 10 2011, 2:44 am
I just want to know if I can get a discount on the "Gold Version" since, you know, I gave you the idea for it and everything.
Feb 10 2011, 6:41 am
Same as Caution here, but perhaps maybe a scrolling inventory window, instead of just a set max number of items? I don't know about it though, since most games don't have inventories like that.
Feb 10 2011, 10:38 am
maybe a nice tutorial on how to handle huds on different maps of the same interface?
Feb 10 2011, 2:36 pm
It's certainly commendable that you've released your system to the public.
I hope people put it to good use.
Feb 10 2011, 4:43 pm
Damn, it looks like my onscreen dialogues won't be special anylonger =P Good work, I think I'm going to replace my "text on screen" system with yours if it eats less CPU than mine xD
Feb 11 2011, 2:24 am
I'd rather have you release a demo/tutorial on how you do your fantastic cut scenes. Now that I would pay for.
Feb 11 2011, 2:54 am
Yeah cutscenes for sure. Those are da shizzle.
Feb 11 2011, 7:10 am
Cutscenes are much simpler than this o.0

example:
usr.sight |= ~(SEE_MOBS|SEE_SELF)
//this will make you not to see other players and yourself

var/obj/O = new/obj(locate(10,10,1))
//create one invisible, nondense object (actor :P)

src<<image(/mob/Magician,O)
//make the object look as /mob/Magician and make it visible only to yourself

walk_to(O,locate(2,2,1),0,4)
//make the actor to move :P

sleep(666)

del(O)
usr.sight &= (SEE_MOBS|SEE_SELF)
//delete cutscene's actors and make you able to see yourself and other mobs again :)


Sorry, I cannot write good comments in the code.

PS. You have to highlight the code to see it in this CSS :P