It's about time the art directors on OOO got to making the UI less intrusive. It can keep the style and look and all of its current functions, but at least make it scale appropriately when I choose a smaller resolution.
UI Scaling
Mon, 08/04/2014 - 08:31
Wed, 08/06/2014 - 09:42
#2
Wed, 08/06/2014 - 10:41
#3
↓
Short response:
Scaling, especially with text, is difficult. Not because it can't be done, but because it can't be read.
Longer response:
Tons of modern games support 640x480 resolution. Almost none of them support actually reading things on that resolution (Ex: Dungeon Defenders scales text to range from 8 to 3 pixel height, while only readable at smallest around 8). I've actually designed a completely random font as something completely unrelated to this game. However, I did learn a ton about svg images and readability of scaled images. Fonts are crazy, and often aren't readable at tiny resolutions unless the font is specifically designed for that. The smallest fonts that I've run into that are relatively readable are at smallest around 6 pixels in height (for the english language).
The non-scaling UI may seem like a simple thing to fix - but it may in fact bring up many other problems. Questions such as "How is it controlled", "Is it still visible and readable", "Will it still function well at large resolutions", and "How small is too small" all should have clear solutions prior to undertaking the task of implementing a scalable UI.
Wed, 08/06/2014 - 10:59
#4
The assets are already there. All that's needed is a couple hours of "Hmm, how can I use THIS instead?"
There are already two border images for character portraits; the big one where your character is, and the mini one for your sprite and other players. Instead of using the REALLY LARGE portrait for the corner, use the "mini" portrait for the corner.
The border portrait can also be used for the mini-map. Sidebar buttons can have their text replaced with suitable symbols.
There are images for smaller health bars. The scaling for the assets are already done! Just make use of those assets.
Text scaling is a completely different beast, but scaling the space the chat can take up is more feasible. More preferable, a button that hides the chat altogether.
Wed, 08/06/2014 - 11:18
#5
↓
Rank and HP exist on the portrait. Instance name (or depth) exist on the minimap. UI on the bottom that can be hidden have hotkey letters on them when open. Quite literally all aspects of the UI have text. The images could arguably be scaled without problems - but the text will definitely be a problem.
Can't avoid all the text.
Wed, 08/06/2014 - 12:03
#6
You are experiencing a PICNIC ERROR!
Well, I think all we need is for the images to scale a bit, and we'd be good.
Mainly the minimap and the user portrait.
Wed, 08/06/2014 - 16:18
#7
Scaling the images is the obvious and simplest solution. Especially as there already exist smaller versions of most of the vital UI elements, like the health bar, character portrait ring, etc. If the rest of the UI isn't as obtrusive, scaling the text would merely be superfluous.
Wed, 08/06/2014 - 18:28
#8
This should really be a given.
It's not like we can change the resolution whenever we please. Even if it's just an edit for how the UI looks on different resolutions, it would be super helpful.
Wed, 08/06/2014 - 20:23
#9
While we're at it...
This problem also exists in the opposite direction.
Keep in mind, this is on a 15" screen. So that line of text in the chatbox is about 2 inches long.
Thu, 08/07/2014 - 07:19
#10
But will it blend?
The UI text and widgets being too small could be fixed by an integer based nearest neighbor scaling factor. The question is, is the code base workable to implement this?
Dear god, why is the minimap so... not mini?