Visuals: Tactical Frames Rework

[rexorcorum]

[EDIT] The whole idea is to have the new frames as a toggle option along with the old ones (under "Shift+T"), so that everybody can pick up their favourite visual cues, not a full scale replace .
Also I've received quite nice feedback in irc regarding colour-blindness and bad eyesight so will take all suggestions into consideration and make new proposals.[/EDIT]

I'm currently working on the minimizing of the tactical frames, which at their present state appear to be somewhat disliked. Having used some of the suggestions and ideas from these threads,this is what me, DarkGod and some good folks at #tome have come up with:

Old frames:

New mockups with bottom frames as per DarkGod's request:


Mockup with vertical frames:

x2 size:


The changes are:

• Discarded the large rectangular frames and made them into decorative resourcebar-likes, keeping the colours used;
• Made the healthbar vertical for a more unobstructed view;
• Made a positional distinction between friends and foes - the bars & frames of the pc, friends and neutrals are to the left, the ones of enemies - to the right;
• Added a bit larger deco-head on the top of the frame, so that you can still see relatively easy the frame colour

The exact colours and deco-head choices are still in development and subject to changes and ingame tweaking.

Frames variations (forms):

Frames suggestions (forms & colours):

x4 size:


The frames are (from top left):

Code: Select all

tactical_self / tactical_friend 1 / tactical_neutral  / tactical_powerful
tactical_friend 2 / tactical_enemy / tactical_enemy_strong / tactical_danger

All comments, suggestions, further improvements, critiques and ideas are most welcome (and also mandatory )!

[Doctornull]

These look nice!

The two greens & purples look too similar, recommend making a bigger visual shape distinction rather than a minor (easily missed) color distinction.

All of the are very similarly shaped (triangular). Recommend spreading between triangle, square and semi-circle.

Thanks!

[rexorcorum]

I thank you for dropping a reply with nice suggestions. Will definitely explore them in tomorrow's session. Cheers!

[StarKeep]

They look extremely nice at first look, but after looking at them a bit longer, what if you extended the bars along the top of the square, to give them more 'structure'?

I don't know why, but they look a bit... disconnected with the single bar.

[zephyr7913]

How about coloring the whole HP bar with the different colors? I don't think there's any benefit for all the HP bars using the same green.

[Zireael]

I say the head could be extended more at the top, so that it covers the entire corner, like this:
-----
|
|
|

Otherwise, I love it!

[Doctornull]

Trouble with "top" bars is that they'll bisect some of the taller monster tiles.

Trouble with "bottom" bars is that they'll disappear behind walls and trees.

I'm using the 'flagpole' bar addon and just having a sidebar is sufficient; I got used to it quickly.

[rexorcorum]

Thank you all for the wonderful replies, comments and suggestions. In the meantime DarkGod (in quite a godlike move ) has adopted the horizontal minimal tactical frame / healthbar position and committed it to git. I'm keeping everything said here and on irc in my notes though, so that if more reworks are coming I'll be able to use our combined wisdom immediately.

Thanks once again to you all .

[Matanui3]

The main problem I see with the new type of frame is it is not nearly thick enough for me to actually tell which (color) frame it is - easily differentiating rares from trash mobs is pretty important. Otherwise, I like the style and the way it doesn't hide the ends of the healthbar anymore.

[rexorcorum]

And what are your suggestions for colours? I used the colours of the legacy frames with some tweaking and more saturation and if you have better idea, I would like to hear it.

Oh, and there is always the Shift-T option to toggle the different tactical frames .

[Zireael]

Speaking of tactical frames, where's the code which determines the violet (boss) frame to show up?

[rexorcorum]

One more tactical border display added: flagposts !



And don't forget that you can toggle all displays under Game Options - UI (and also Shift+T for the visible elements of the currently applied option).

[Doctornull]

Nice! Very good disambiguation.

Strongly suggest putting the "flair" at both ends of the bar just because tiles can be weird.

Also suggest some kind of highlight / shadow on each, emphasizing the "flair" shape, just because background tiles can be isochromic and/or isoluminescent with any of those colors.

[rexorcorum]

Hmm, I can try both suggestions . Actually they are already bevelled/embossed, but it's very soft. In the limited test run they were looking all right though.

[Suslik]

Rexo don't forget about folks like me who play on lower-resolution tiles like 32x32 or 24x24. It'll be impossible to tell one type of foe from another with such thin borders