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[Egan_BW]

Yeah, more a thing for myth.

[Zesty]

Right now, latest test on my end, looks like this:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I like this a whole lot better, but do you think the gold pops a little too much? Draws your eye away from the important parts?

Here's a real dirty darkening, just to see if it feels better. Now it's the white text that pops, which is what you want your eye drawn to anyway. I tend to favor darker themes, and DF has always felt like a darker game in the past. Though I really appreciate the colorful direction the main game has taken.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Meph]

Mouse-over tooltips with an item description is something I did suggest to Tarn. We have it for a few UI elements as a test, but for new players it's kinda important to know what items do. You can't expect everyone to only learn the game from the wiki, especially when some item uses are counter-intuitive. (Want to get a dwarf down from a wall? Can't use a ladder, you have to construct stairs.)

Zesty, good point about the color.

[Starver]

(Want to get a dwarf down from a wall?)

(You can't get down from a wall or a dwarf. You're obviously thinking of ducks.)

I would actually find it a bit distracting to have tooltips on everything (if automatic/default on hover - even with a 'delay in place' trigger[1] to it), and you probably know from Windows how 'helpful' file or folder details tend to pop-over some of the normal background that you're actually more interested in. One reason I tend to leave the mouse alone, cursor off somewhere safe/unimportant on the screen, and use keyboard controls for everything I can. I imagine I'll do the same here if the GUI revamp allows.

Right-click[2] menu access to relevent functions including "Description"/helpfile-window/whatever might be the better idea.

Or perhaps a dedicated/configurable/dockable bit of side-bar pane that can hold the 'pop up' info, but that depends upon giving over dedicated screen real-estate (like DF does now, or perhaps GIMPish, or Transport Tycoony) but I haven't seen mock-ups including any new-version general game-time layouts (beyond the clipped 'map' graphics), and I imagine that is still being bashed out heavily.

Configuration settings for 'levels' of note-pop/overlay/positioning, with "intro"/tuorial levels as default/initial option up to "not unless explicitly called upon" would be the obvious response, perhaps to encompass multiple such possible paradigms (quickly pointed out to new players as options to choose/rechoose to suit their preferences), if you can't be surewhat is the ideal solution to this.

Not sure how this ties in with easy "wall problem" solving. Except as tutorialised popover notifications during the actual Dwarf Is Stuck On A Wall/In A Tree contrived setup[3] used to explain external stairway/ramp solutions.


Also, this is beyond Steam/Itch tileset stuff, probably more FotF (which I remain several months behind in reading up on, must have another session to cut that down a bit) so I don't want to bother you artists much more with my thoughts on this somewhat separate aspect (it'd use your 'filligree bordering' and perhaps a texture, no doubt, but graphics and pallette taken in theme from other major elements, probably, either wholesale or tweaked).


[1] Which might force a player to pause the game to ID a moving creature/object/phenomenon. But better than the rapid cycling of pop-up info as things moving under the cursor and/or the cursor passes over intermediate things on the way to the next click of meaning.
[2] Or equivalent, where it's a different system pointing device and/or accessibility.
[3] Two-step ziggurat is spawned[4], perhaps, two dwarves teleported to its steps, third dwarf has to be made to place a ramp against first step, then an offset up-, up/down- and down-stairs, a bridging floor and an additional wall on the first-step to allow wall-top access to/from the second... Would cover a lot of the common principles in one short lesson.
[4] Has anyone considered, rather than constantly disrupting the embark fort, having "image-in-image" mini-embark tutorial maps? Small independent slices of fort-like terrain that take focus during the tutorial. Generated exactly as required for the tutoring lesson (including stockpiles and wildlife), banished when complete/dismissed when the player is finished learning/bored/done sandboxing in it, to get back to regular play that was suspended for the duration. Means no awkwardly 'magical' adjustments or requirements are needed in the main game to enable tutorialising, can be restarted (from scratch, if not with cached changes) at will as required...

[[HYBRID BEING]]

Alternate opinion on parchment UI (since it's well received and all) - wouldn't it better to make left side a parchment from skeuomorphism point of view? Sorta like a real life shortlist.
Also, instead of huge lists containing single item in different materials on the right side, why not have a separate drop-down (or at least not visible initially on item selection) list for item material instead? Huge list is visually daunting, and material selection would indicate that material doesn't affect item's purpose, but it's properties instead. It could also have some graphical indication of said properties (like magma-safety) and be color-coded to show if material is wood/stone/metal.

[teh sam]

Meph, the latest mockup is awesome!  I notice that some sliders have red gems while the far right is blue.  Is this just for variety or does the coloration indicate something?

Also, I would echo what others have suggested about embellishing the Embark button in some way to draw the eye.  Currently it does have the exclamation point, but I'm wondering if there's something else that would be tasteful to help it stand out a tad.

[Meph]

I notice that some sliders have red gems while the far right is blue.  Is this just for variety or does the coloration indicate something?

The cyan one is when you hover the mouse over it.

Embark button is embellished now.

[Meph]

And now for something completely different. A saguaro test. We know have the code support for different tree types.

[Egan_BW]

A saguaro! Praise the artists!

[teh sam]

All saguaros are of the highest quality.

[Zesty]

And now for something completely different. A saguaro test. We know have the code support for different tree types.

They're enormous.

[Ziusudra]

Yes they are.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[voliol]

And now for something completely different. A saguaro test. We know have the code support for different tree types.

This makes me happy. Looks great except for the weird straight cutoffs, but I can’t imagine they are intentional.

[Dishmab]

I feel like it looks great, but it should have points on the end to make it look like its going up or something, rather than just cut off.

[Meph]

I feel like it looks great, but it should have points on the end to make it look like its going up or something, rather than just cut off.

I can make it appear like they are going up on those ends, but the image is exactly how they grow in DF.