Classic style menu in C2?

Creating menus and the likes is always going to be daunting, but I remember reading a CC forum post regarding using inherited layouts and sheets to design the menu system in, that way you can design it then call on it where ever in the game. Does C2 also do this, or is there another practice for it?

I was looking for the old CC posting regarding this topic, but I was reading it almost 24 hours ago and now I can't seem to find it.

I use one layout, and various layers to make menus. You can set layers visible/ invisible etc. so you can cycle through menus by hiding them etc

also put the events for menu in group and activate/deactivate group so that user doesn't trigger an event accidently.

So menu is always on top of game, it is just invisible and deactivated until I activate, make it visible with button or whatever.

Some tutorial in tutorial section with basic menu and tabs etc.

Worth a look

Thisalso explains a bit.

Because I'm working on a MMO style game and hope to make it multiplayer, my menus cannot be pausing the game. They should be quickly accessible and more of a glance and see sort of system.

Check out my site to get an example of what I'm doing:

http://roracle.x10.mx

Not many skills programmed yet, and a few things I've changed, so don't take the game as anywhere near finished. To access the menu system, drag the scroll to the right, or drag your stats down.

Lol, you misunderstand me

You make menu invisible on layer 18. You disable the menu buttons in group "Menu Buttons" So user clicking doesn't click the invisible buttons.

When user clicks menu button it does 2 things.

Make layer 18 visible and enable group "menu buttons"

What you are talking about is a global user interface GUI which I have on my last layer and use zoom to fill screen.

I have my event log, my health, my whatever I want in it. It is always active, always visible.

If I want me player to go to options screen then, I disable gui butons, and make gui layer invisible and same other way round so to speak.

You can have them pop out with mouse over or whatever you want.

I think the one example is pop out menu.

Edit Number something lol - nice mmo, looks good. Nice equiping of axe,shield, dagger etc.

Whats wrong with your menu, it looks good? Maybe I not understanding the question?

Suggest a button to pop it out is always nice, and make the menu background less see through as it is hard to see with game behind.

I'm saying I don't intend on having a pausable menu (like Final Fantasy or Zelda) but instead a place to see what all is happening without interrupting gameplay. The transparent skills menu is transparent because it's a quick menu, not meant to be kept out. But when it's out, it's transparent so the player can see what's happening in the game while the menu is out. (It was more transparent, so trust me when I say it's better at 75 opacity instead of 50 lol). It's just I've seen so many menu types out there and all of the examples I found here would have helped me out 10 years ago when I aspired to make zelda clones and stuff, but today innovation is lacking with menu's.

See, in my system, there will be another menu on the right for your equipment/inventory, and another at the bottom where the text currently is for a hotbar, etc. (the text will eventually be going away, but not for a long while. Misses, hits, crits will all be visual/audible and any typed text will be chat bubbles above player heads eventually.)

I guess I didn't have another question really, just brainstorming out loud since I don't really have anyone to bounce ideas around with.

But for the hotbar menu on bottom (not yet put in) I intend on having the skill list as it is, but adding little blue bubbles next to active skills, ones you can drag to the hot bar (like peace making or hide, etc). I will get rid of "hit A to attack" in favor of a button that refreshes based on your swing speed algorithm.

I remember one thing I wanted to ask. What did you mean a button to pop it out? I'm trying to minimize the interface as much as possible so I'd hate to have too much on screen. That's my problem with most MMO games is there are too many things to look at, and most of that comes from the developers trying to balance a game so they keep adding stuff. Look at WOW vs UO: WoW and UO are the same, but to make a class system, WOW had to offer a traditional leveling system (which we do not see in UO). So though you have skills that can be leveled, you are limited to weapon skills based on class, which my game won't be doing. Mine will be a sandbox, build your character how you want it, change it later by doing something else, that sort of thing.

If you guys haven't played Ultima Online, then you probably won't understand how my game will be working or how the menus should work/display for a modern approach to this game play style. Because of this, I recommend anyone interested in my game go play Ultima Online. There is a server called ABCUO and another classic server called T2A (The Second Age) and they are both free so you don't have to spend money to catch up with my mind.

The menu/ user interface is in no way a pause menu. It is a transparent or semi transparent layer that is higher up than the game layers.

A button. little button under your health next to scroll. with letter M for menu easier that dragging out the menu. Keep the drag as well, just another option. Or set key "m" to pull out the menu as well.

Trying to put everything on screen, even if 90% of it is hidden and accessed when needed is every developers headache.

Best of luck.

Edit: this is what I mean about user interface.

Ah, yes, that's a good idea about having a keyboard button (likely "M") to pop all menu's out. I should figure a way of allowing each to individually pop out, as well as adding an "on touch" auto-popout too.

Regarding the user interface: I think it will all be integrated into the menu system. As I said, the way the skills and the stats menu come from the left and top, the inventory/equip screen will pop out from the right, and the hotbar will pop out from the bottom.

The goal is to keep an area of game play visible, keeping the left and right side menu's semi-transparent so players can see mobs that may have spawned coming for them, or other players that are coming. I'm considering putting all the stats (the top menu) on the right side, and putting the more accessible and less gameplay-intrusive top menu to task as the inventory/equipment screen.

As for the bottom menu, the "hotbar" if you will, it will likely remain up at all times and should be exempt from the "hide all menus" function (but not from the "show all" in case the user personally hides the menu). The attack and jump button should be on the hotbar, but not able to be hidden with the bar, as it is a necessary feature. It should also look different than the rest of the hot bar. (The hotbar will contain skills or spells dragged from the skill list or spell books).

Text notifications will be limited to skill leveling and display it in a similar style as Elder Scrolls V did it, displaying your level progress. (No levels in my game, so it will show how much longer until a skill's governing stat is raised by a point.)

If you have any tips based on the things I've mentioned here, please tell me. I'm not beyond rearranging the menus because it's all on the fly anyways. The game I pretty much have written out and semi-planned as much as a one-man army can, but menu's were defiantly an afterthought.

I appreciate the help you have given, and any you may yet enlighten me on further.

...

Okay so just to clarify, in case I missed something:

Can the menu be designed on one layout and called on from other layouts? If so I must have missed how this is done.

OR

Do I have to put a menu in each layout I use?

Oh, I see where the confusion is.

You have one layout. That layout has multiple layers. Layers 3 to 9 can be for levels 1 to 6. and Layer 10, 11, 12 can be menus and layer 13 can be GUI.

As user completes level1 layer 3 is hidden and group for layer 3 is deactivated.

Layer 4 group is activated and layer 4 is made visible.

or if you using tons of layouts, then you will have to clone those menus for all layouts. I haven't tried it, but isn't there something like snapshot or something - maybe that could be solution to snapshot layouts.

I prefer 1 layout with multiple layers, but that isn't the right/wrong way. It is just what I found best for me.

In the layer groups I include the layers event sheet so when I activate deactive the event sheet gets turned off.

So layout 1 gets own event sheet which is master event sheet which is mostly groups. Layers groups in master sheet get includes to there event sheets. Master turns on/off layers etc

My intent is to have a full game world, and different players will come in to play as well. I think multiple layouts would be best to keep things clean. This isn't going to be a "pick a level" and the level is a one screen puzzle. This is going to be a full explorable world, and I know it's doable, but I need to get it right some how without the menu having to be copied over to each layout.

I edited as you posted.

ok. just remember a layout is a layer, it is just seperated and can't be combined. You have unlimeted layers (layouts in there on sense of the word.)

But agree, you need to wrap your head around what is best. Changing these sort of things down the line isn't recommended.

I don't understand still. I have a layout called "menu" that I created. I copied all the menu things I had in my test area over to the "menu" layout, which is the size of the screen. How do I make it show up on any other layout?

Layout:

Layouts contain a stack of layers. Objects that appear on the screen do not belong directly to a layout - they always sit on one of the layers in the layout.

A layout for me at least is a container that holds all the layers.

Important. Layout has event sheets.

layer:

Layers are like a piece of glass that user can see through.

HUD (top layer - health bar, UI info etc.)

Foreground (main game objects)

Middleground (a parallaxing background layer)

Background (bottom layer - the background)

A menu on a layout is something that a user clicks and leaves current layout and goes to menu screen, option screen, save, load screen, help screen etc.

Layouts are also nice for different levels etc...

To answer your question:

Have a button that when user clicks takes him to another layout (found in system) called goto layout.

That makes user leave current layout and go to menu.

That is the reason for on start of layout this loads all the user info back. I put seperate event sheet that handles this, and include it into the on 'start of layout'

So if your menu is seperate layout you can't have it show up on another layout.

Well, you can have a snapshot of your layout using the snapshot canvas (I don't know how to do this), I don't know if that is how it works. I am guessing here.

So layouts can't be shared.

BUT,

Layout1 with 150 layers. THose 150 layers can be activated / deactived. Made visible etc. Which is why I went that route.