Classic Homeworld2 interface in HWR

[quote=“Dwarfinator, post:8, topic:1333889”]
shhhhh, just don’t tell them you’re replacing HWR UI lua files with those from HW2 :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
[/quote]By the way, I did try this initially… But it failed miserably.

I suppose some of the harcoded parts have changed a little. And with the new layout system, there must be some internal changes in the way the UI works.

I think that only a long period of trial and error can make a classic interface functional on engine of HWRs/ I was hoping that someone already did it once and have a classic Game interface.
In HWRs, All interface was changed to adapt the game for the Complex mod. I see it, because I know this mod.

Having worked on the HW2 UI for more than 10 years (and currently working on my “rainbow” mod which offer an interface to change ships colors directly ingame), I can tell you that most of the logic behind it hasn’t changed at all. The only real new thing is the layout system for graphical elements, but the old system still works (the two can even be used together)

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Oh man, you’ve got that very, very wrong. If anything, the members of the HWRM team before release who are doing Complex hated the new UI system.

What everyone forgets is that the ‘old’ design was a bunch of hard-coded massive images, that worked only for a limited # of screen resolutions, etc. Our UI scales to most resolutions, takes way less RAM, is sharper/cleaner, faster - and even though few have tried, oddly easy to ‘skin’.

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Believe me, not everyone forgets that. I still remember when I was trying to code a system to make the UI automatically adapt to 16/9 screens… it was a nightmare, I never managed to have something that worked for every resolution. Graphical elements would never really place themself as intended because of the coordinates rounding which where different between each resolution. For example, I would try to have an element centered in one resolution, and it would be too much to the right or left for bigger or smaller screens. A nightmare I tell you !

That’s why the new layout system is fantastic I must say <3

By the way @BitVenom, will we have UI function to control it like there was for the old system ? (UI_SetElementPosition & UI_SetElementSize)

Agreed, the classic UI was horrible for HW2. Shame HW2 didn’t use the same “hidden” UI of HW1 Classic, but that’s a topic for another day :stuck_out_tongue:

Unless it’s an UI mod, UI is the last thing to change in a mod. Everybody is focusing in something else, because the current is good enough and brand new. New UIs will rise naturally.

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pretty true. I’d love to reskin the UI for hwat, but even designing a desired UI is labor intensive, let alone implementing it. There’s other things that need that time more urgently.

I could help you if you want to tackle this one day :wink:

Then how do you explain the empty space on the panels classes?
In the classic game it was completely full! In turn, the complex uses many advanced classes!
If you answer my question, then I believe you.
When I look at these panels I see only compex mod/

Seem my picture:

I really respect the team Complex, but I think they got too big impact on the new version of the game. Thus some of the classic design, are left behind.:sunglasses:

You can’t read?

I asked that no need to praise/criticize any interface!
Please keep your opinions to yourself. My thread is about how to bring back the old interface, but not about praise for this new interface of this game

A tip, mickey…insulting the Devs is not going to go over well.

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You may be better off having this conversation someplace else then. If you come here for info/help - people are free to express themselves in whatever way they feel relates to your thread - just as you’re free to ask these questions. Telling others what to do isn’t acceptable.

As somebody who wrote the entire new UI system, did all of the initial porting for it, built many of the early layouts, and was there for the entire process, I can say with absolute authority that your opinion is not grounded in reality, at all. At no point in the process did we cater in requests from Complex members for features in the UI. Indeed in some cases they’ve asked for changes we were unwilling to make, and they haven’t been made.

If you want the ‘classic’ UI back, you are going to have a very, very long road - but don’t let that stop you.

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The forthcoming patch is ‘locked’ right now, all that’s left is killing some stubborn bugs - and we didn’t make changes to any of those systems. I’ll look in a bit to see if I can do anything about these interfaces, but I very much doubt it.

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OK I won’t argue.

THREAT IS CLOSED (for me at least)

Seriously… I was just responding to @BitVenom on a specific part of the UI coding, not the visual aspect of it…
I had a thought about putting back the old UI for you, but thanks to your behavior, you can forget it.

If you had any idea of how the UI works (which is clearly not the case), you would know why it’s looking like this. The UI is not a simple image. It’s a lot of different elements placed by coordinates. In the case you are pointing at, the fighter/corvettes/etc… buttons are automatically placed and arranged starting from the left, EXACTLY like it was in the original HW2 ! The only reason why there is free space here, is because of the width of the menu, and nothing else.

I understand. Thanks for your honest answer, even if it’s not a good news for the UI modding :’(

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Mickey, no offense, but you’re being childish. You don’t look like the same guy with knowledge of RelicNews. The empty space is not important. It can be empty placeholders, for example. The reason is empty there is to provide awareness for the old players, presenting the same funcionalities in the same place. We just don’t need mega buttons, therefore the empty space. Or whatever, edit the lua files and make them retangular, if it’s that all important.

The main accomplishment so far is the variable scaling of the UI, because we don’t play games for the UI in the first place - the smaller it can gets, the better we will play and enjoy. Anyone wanting a different layout, go ahead and make it. You’re capable of doing it. And the majority of the players and modders don’t want an entire team redesigning an UI.

Not right now.

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That extra space seems like it could be a pretty natural consequence of the transition from 4:3 screens of HW2’s UI to modern wider monitors. Seems pretty coincidental to me.

If you want a project after you get done with the rainbow stuff, you’re more than welcome to do it. We’ve got some general directions we’d like to go in, but only that.

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Consider the arrangement as made ^^
I’m just waiting for the patch before finalizing the rainbow thing, because it seems (from one past discussion with @BitVenom) that I could lose some functionnalities (mainly concerning the badge part) which where possible only by accessing DOS commands (possibility which could disappear for security reasons).

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