High contrast UI mod - anyone interested?

If you have the desire to modify SR2010 here is where you can discuss and share your designs and ideas. NOTE: Mods are a change to the original program and are not supported by BattleGoat Studios.

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deanco
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Joined: May 20 2005
Location: Paris, France

High contrast UI mod - anyone interested?

Post by deanco »

Hi all,

I went and modded the UI a tiny bit, after reading a thread complaining about the fonts being too small to read at higher resolutions. Apparently, nothing can be done about enlarging the fonts, so I increased the contrast, making the letters stand out more. While I was at it, I did 3 or 4 other little things that were bugging me. Here's what I did:

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The bottom panel, and the emails, now have a dark blue background, and I reduced the contrast of the original, making the background pattern less prominent. This is the biggest change, and it does seem to help the letters stand out.

(update) The generic unit icons, which were once a uniform gold color, have been redone. Green for land, yellow for air, blue for sea, and purple for missile. We also have green for active units, yellow for reserves, and red in production. There are a couple screens where this really helps a lot. (update)

The game speed buttons have a little '0' '1' '2' '3' on them so I can see what speed the game is running at without squinting.

The buttons in general have been brightened up, although I would like to brighten them up more. The game seems to automatically put a dimmer on the buttons so they brighten up when you mouseover, and I would love to minimize this a bit, but haven't figured it out yet. I love the game, but man, these are the muddiest looking icons I've ever seen in a game, due to this 'fog of war'. I am dying to fix this. Devs, is there a way to change this by mere mortals?

The 'X' to close windows is now white on red, in good xp fashion. Stands out more, easier to find.

A red X on the 'delete email' icons. This bugged me, that the delete mail button looks hardly different than the icons next to it.

There's some other little stuff, to make the blue harmonious with the rest.

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I should say that the files I modded are from the demo, I don't have the game yet. So I have no idea if they are compatible. I would guess not, but it's only a guess.

So, is anyone interested in this? Does someone have a fansite here I could send them to? I also need a victim, I mean volunteer to test them with the retail version.

For the moment, you can pm me with your email and I'll send you a copy, but I'm only gonna send out so many by hand, I would prefer to have a fansite host them if possible.

Feedback is welcome, and don't forget to make a backup of your graphics folder if you don't like it. I have some other ideas I need to check out as well, so this is a work in progress. Later,

DeanCo--
Last edited by deanco on May 25 2005, edited 1 time in total.
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Legend
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Post by Legend »

you may have some luck on www.supremewiki.com
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deanco
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Location: Paris, France

Post by deanco »

Thanks, Legend. I took a look, but I didn't see a way to upload a file to the wiki.

I have someone testing the mod with the retail version ATM, so I should know if it works real soon.

Oh, and I finally figured out the economy last night and was able to get Portugal running smoothly. Then Madrid attacked, and just about the time my armies ran out of steam, Barcelona attacked like a good human player would. But I had built antiair emplacements, man those things are good, I had no idea. Since he was air based, he really couldn't do anything. Then my economy went to hell, then I went to bed. :) Great game. Now I have to figure out how to keep my country running during wartime...

DeanCo--
acantoni
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Joined: Apr 27 2005

Post by acantoni »

I'd be definetly interested in trying out your mod :)

My sight is quite weak and i have some trouble with some tiny number
Fordson
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Post by Fordson »

acantoni wrote:I'd be definetly interested in trying out your mod :)

My sight is quite weak and i have some trouble with some tiny number
Me three!
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deanco
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Post by deanco »

Fordson, acatoni, check your inbox.

Everyone else, click the 'pm' button just under my sig, and send me your email addy, OK?

DeanCo--
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Legend
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Post by Legend »

Contact Red. He is running the Wiki. He may be able to help you out as I've seen Baloogan's mods there. Or contact Baloogan!
deanco wrote:Thanks, Legend. I took a look, but I didn't see a way to upload a file to the wiki.

I have someone testing the mod with the retail version ATM, so I should know if it works real soon.

Oh, and I finally figured out the economy last night and was able to get Portugal running smoothly. Then Madrid attacked, and just about the time my armies ran out of steam, Barcelona attacked like a good human player would. But I had built antiair emplacements, man those things are good, I had no idea. Since he was air based, he really couldn't do anything. Then my economy went to hell, then I went to bed. :) Great game. Now I have to figure out how to keep my country running during wartime...

DeanCo--
mikesinn
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Joined: May 23 2005

Post by mikesinn »

deanco wrote:Thanks, Legend. I took a look, but I didn't see a way to upload a file to the wiki.

I have someone testing the mod with the retail version ATM, so I should know if it works real soon.
Deanco,

I had a chance to test your mod this morning with the full version and it worked like a champ :-) Nicely done!!

I play on a IBM T40 laptop and the small yellow font on a light background is a killer on a small LCD screen. Your mod has made a huge different. Hope you are able to post it on the Wiki

Thanks,
Mike
red
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Post by red »

Zip and tar files may be uploaded to the wiki.
red
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Post by red »

Deanco has uploaded it to SupremeWiki, and you can preview a screenshot and download it at the Hi Vis Mod page.
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deanco
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Location: Paris, France

Post by deanco »

Yeah, red made it look like a real page, an' everything! Thanks red! Go check it out!

http://www.supremewiki.com/Hi_Vis_Mod

DeanCo--
Baloogan
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Post by Baloogan »

This is currently the most useful mod for SR2010 out. I salute you.
acantoni
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Post by acantoni »

Thanks for sending it through e-mail
By far the best user-made addition made by user.

I suggest to incorporate this in future patch aswell and maybe give the users the ability to pick the 'skin' for his interface :-)
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deanco
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Location: Paris, France

Post by deanco »

Baloogan, acatoni, you're very kind, thanks very much.

I'll tell ya what I like, are the green, yellow, and blue generic icons. Yes, there are a couple places where they help you see stuff better, but I like them because they makes the game look more gamey, brighter, more fun. I was surprised, myself, how well that turned out.

I'm gonna ask again, because the question kinda got lost: Devs, is it possible to mess with the 'dimming' effect, the kind of 'fog' over the buttons that goes away when you mouseover? This is the last thing still bugging me, I'd love to make the buttons stand out more from the rest.

DeanCo--
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Balthagor
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Post by Balthagor »

hmm, yes and no. The "darker buttons that are disabled" effect is created by placing a "grid" over the object of alternating black/clear dots. You can find the pattern for this on SRBITS4 to the right of the blue tab graphic. The dots are white in the image so you'll need a background to see them. they are made "black" in the interface. However, that is only one location of a grid pattern, a few places needed a custom grid. It's somewhat complicated...

e-mail me a sample of what you'd like a "grided" image to look like and I may be able to make further suggestions.
Chris Latour
BattleGoat Studios
chris@battlegoat.com
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