The very top bar is the headlines bar. Immediately below that is the game screen. To the right of the game screen is the menu box. Below the game screen and the menu bar is the subtitles bar. Below the subtitles bar is the multipurpose box(es).
The multipurpose box(es), surprisingly, has (have) many purposes. You may have noticed my use of brackets to signify indeterminate numbers. This is because, by clicking on the (...) button on the subtitles bar, one can select to divide up the multipurpose box into multiple sections.
During normal gameplay, the multipurpose box(es) will show announcements, which can be customised via the (...) button on the subtitles bar. For example, you might have one box showing combat logs and the other showing the minimap. The large white arrows are used to navigate up and down within the multipurpose box(es), and are only visible when relevant
The headlines bar and the subtitles bar are almost identical. Each has a (...) button. Clicking that (...) button will cause a full-screen menu to appear. From this menu, one can select what is shown on the relevant bars. You may have noticed that some of the information is cut off. If too much information is selected, then the text scrolls from right to left to display it all. The menu is also used to reveal that
The game screen is the big square thing. This is where the fortress is viewed. The red square will not be visible in gameplay; it is simply to signify that if the mouse strays outside of this square, the view will scroll in the relevant direction. The (+) and (-) buttons are to zoom in and out respectively.
You may have noticed that a lot of the bars/boxes have arrow buttons on them. This is to reshape the view. For example, clicking on the left arrow on the menu bar causes it to extend into the game screen more, whereas clicking on the right arrow causes it to retreat to the left, extending the game screen. The up and down buttons on the subtitles bar do the same thing. The left and right arrows on the subtitles bar change where the divider on the subtitles boxes is.
Finally, there is the menu bar on the right. Each menu option has a hotkey and two buttons (except examine, pause and keyboard button select, which each have 1). If the submenus seem familiar, it is because I have largely stolen them from jiri petru. I shall go through each of the options.
Pause should be simple enough - clicking pause or pressing space pauses the game, and when it is paused the pause button changes colour.
If one clicks mine or presses m, then the multipurpose box(es) merge into one (if applicable) and display the following:
a-Open space
b-Channel
c-Up stairs
d-Down stairs
e-Up/down stairs
f-Up ramps
g-Smooth rock
h-Engrave rock
i-Carve fortifications
j-Cancel mine
Once an option has been selected, whether by clicking or pressing the key, the area to be affected is now selected. A cursor appears in the middle of the screen that can be controlled by the standard keyboard input, or one can use a mouse. If one clicks the
- button or presses capital M, then the full-screen mining menu opens up. The full-screen menu gives the same options as before, but it also explains what each option does. Once an option is selected, it goes to the same screen as if one had pressed m and selected that option. If the multipurpose boxes are too small to display all the options, then the arrows or relevant hotkeys can be used to scroll to different pages.
The Workshops option contains all the workshops, plus trade depots, kennels and furnaces. Clicking the + button or pressing W opens up a full-screen menu giving detailed explanations.
Architecture allows one to build floors, walls, stairs, ramps, Fortifications, Supports, Bars, Grates, Roads, Windows, and Wells.
Rooms works differently than in original DF. The rooms work rather similar to mining. After selecting a room, the area that it encompasses is selected. One can select multiple areas, forming non-rectangular rooms. After a one presses space, The room is selected as if it had been selected using the examine menu.
The stockpile menu works similar to before. Some of the menu options are custom stockpile 1/custom stockpile 2/etc. what goes in the custom stockpiles can be selected from the full-screen menu.
The full-screen fortress screen is basically the stocks menu from the current DF. If one does not go for the full-screen fortress screen, then the different areas (justice, stocks, etc) appear in the multipurpose box and one must be selected. After one is selected, the information is summarized in the multipurpose box.
The machinery button allows one to build siege engines, traps and mechanisms.
Pressing the military button summons the military screen and its options.
The examine button can be considered to be selected by default: If one clicks on any square, then a list of all the objects on that square appear in the multipurpose box. After selecting one of these, the menu box is also replaced by further information. A cursor also appears on the tile that was clicked. This cursor can also be summoned by pressing the examine hotkey.
If an object is examined, the multipurpose box splits in two. The smaller, left hand box contains the list from before. The right-hand box contains the description of the item. The menu bar lists the owner, the value and the task it is being used for. It also allows one to mark it for dumping, melting or forbidding.
If a unit is examined, then its name and job will appear on the right hand side of the multipurpose box and its inventory will appear on the menu box. Its skills in descending order will be listed underneath its name and job.
If a workshop is examined, then the right hand side of the multipurpose box will list the items in the workshop, and the menu bar will list the tasks.
If a room is examined, then a full screen menu opens up. The full screen menu allows one to set the room for use as a garbage dump, water source (drinking and non-drinking), sand collection zone, meeting area, or fishing zone. One can also select what purposes the room will serve: Archery range, barracks, jail, Sculpture garden, zoo, Bedroom, office, dining room and tomb. Additionally, one can select which dwarves are allowed to use the room. From this screen a button or hotkey will take you to another screen from which you can assign items to the room. One can select what items you want in the room, choosing an item type (statue), then selecting what material it should be made out of (diorite), and selecting a quality (any). After all the items are selected, one goes back to the main interface, and selects where in the room the items should go. If they do not exist yet, then if a fortress manager is present, orders will be added for the items.
Finally, the keyboard select button. This allows one to select a button without a mouse or pressing the relevant hotkeys. If tab is pressed, then one can cycle though the buttons before pressing enter to select a specific button. Shift+tab cycles though the buttons backwards.
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Topic: Total Interface Overhaul (now with sparkles) (Read 74540 times)